#jfda

It is a thing that happened and I still kind of can't believe it

I went to Tall Tales and it was so lovely and there were such talented people (including Susanna Pearce of the JFSP musical element who sang two songs from a musical she's working on) and JF did a 35 minute staged reading with three other people of something he's working on that's essentially fanfiction of one of my favorite book series and it was so much fun

AND THEN I STOPPED HIM IN THE AISLE AFTER AND TOLD HIM HOW MUCH I LOVE HIS WORK AND HOW MUCH IT'S MEANT TO BE ABLE TO, IN MY WORST MOMENTS, JUST SWITCH ON HIS SHOWS AND CARRY ON AND FEEL BETTER

AND HE WAS SO NICE! I HAD ALWAYS HEARD HE WAS NICE AND HE REALLY WAS, I'M SURE HE HEARS THIS KIND OF THING ALL THE TIME BUT HE WAS SO SWEET IN HOW HE RESPONDED, I'M KIND OF FREAKING OUT, IT JUST FELT SURREAL BECAUSE I WAS TALKING TO HIM AND EVERY SO OFTEN A SYNAPSE WOULD ACTIVATE AND I'D BE LIKE "I'M TALKING TO JOHN FINNEMORE RIGHT NOW"

Anyway, sorry for yelling, I'm just very not over it. Didn't get a photo because I was too chicken to ask in the moment and then too chicken afterward to go up to him later at the bar and then our cab came

Behold! Series 1 of John Finnemore’s Double Acts is currently being rerun on BBC Radio 4 Extra. As of today, the first four episodes are available on iPlayer (including everyone’s favourite, The Goliath Window) with the final two to be broadcast on Fridays at 11pm.

If you haven't yet LISTEN TO CABIN PRESSURE! As of right now Muriel is striking me as somewhat of a female version of the Cabin Pressure character Arthur Shappey, who is a) one of the great fictional characters of all time and b) not only played by but also of course written by the phenomenal John Finnemore, who ALSO co-wrote Muriel! And indeed, that scene from NYCC is incredibly Shappean, or should I say Finnemorean. Cabin Pressure incidentally also has some incredible plotting (including mystery plots like the Birling Day episodes), hilarious jokes, brilliant character development and possibly the number one ending of all time. Also perfect found family vibes!

Basically, once again I am SO glad that JF was brought onboard for the comedy side of Good Omens 2 and the “kind of quiet and gentle and romantic” vibe that Gaiman mentions in this is so up his street it's not funny. (Also the specific JF anecdote Gaiman brought up in the NYCC panel was quite frankly very reassuring to me.) I am incredibly excited for this!

Found this in my drafts recently and honestly, I feel this is evergreen, so here y'all go:

As I mentioned semi-facetiously in my previous post, I don't care whether you loved or hated Good Omens S2- you're probably sleeping on John Finnemore. He's a super talented writer and while he's collaborated with other writers like Mitchell and Webb and Armando Iannucci before, I still think his best stuff is his solo stuff.

But where to start? Behold! I shall now recommend a different Double Act (that is, a different episode of his radio series of excellent half-hour two-hander comedies) for every kind of person who has reacted in literally any kind of way to Good Omens.

If you love stories about two people working on opposite sides in a conflict who over time break down each other's defenses to become valued friends despite the continued conflict between their sides, with some queer undertones: Unquestionably you want S2 E4, Penguin Diplomacy

If you loved Good Omens S2 because it's quiet, gentle, and romantic: S1 E6, Hot Desk

If you like quiet, gentle and romantic in principle but wish there was a bit more plot structure: Still Hot Desk

If you like quiet, gentle and romantic but watched Good Omens S2 and were like "this is quiet, gentle and romantic?!?!": DEFINITELY still Hot Desk

If you hate quiet, gentle and romantic and want something darker and more cynical: S1 E3, Red Handed

If you were meh on S2 but did find yourself enjoying the Job minisode: FREE ROLL! You can choose any Double Act at random and will probably enjoy it.

If you loved Good Omens S2 because you love characters who give off vibes of being dim yet helpful: Well, really you want to meet Arthur in Cabin Pressure, but from Double Acts you'll do great with S2 E5, Here's What We Do, and in a very different way S2 E2, Mercy Dash

If you loved Good Omens S2 because lesbians: S2 E3, The Rebel Alliance

If you like lesbians in theory but wish that Good Omens S2 had maybe sketched out theirs a bit more: Still try Rebel Alliance

If you were annoyed by the minisodes because there wasn't enough old-timey dialogue in the olden-day bits: S1 E4, The Goliath Window

If you like the Victorian minisode because you like the era: check out S2 E1, The Queen's Speech, which literally has Queen Victoria in it

If you think that Crowley making gentle fun of Aziraphale's magic tricks is entertaining: try S2 E6, The Wroxton Box

If you like relationship dynamics where one half is trying/pretending to be cool and the other one has absolutely no interest in it and likes the first half just how they are: try Here's What We Do

If you enjoy the whole corporate-nonsense aspect of Good Omens: give S1 E2, WYSINNWYG a whirl

If you think that one of the main flaws of S2 was that it didn't have Mr Young in it anymore: S1 E1, A Flock of Tigers

If you like Good Omens because you like fandom and fanfic: S1 E5, English for Pony Lovers

And, if you love the idea of a cliffhanger but also want the satisfaction of knowing there's an amazing ending coming: Wait on Double Acts and just listen to Cabin Pressure. And when you get to the end of Yverdon-les-Bains, before you move on to Zurich just take a moment to remember all of us who nearly died for two years waiting for the finale.