PODCAST · tv
Comfort Blanket
by Cheese & Pickle
Talking about the films, TV shows, books or music which people go to again and again to feel safe, happy and welcome. To join our Patreon, with access to exclusive companion podcast 'Home Comforts' visit www.patreon.com/comfortblanketpod "Brilliant... A lovely listen" - Sunday Times "Highly recommended" - The Week Selected as one of the Sunday Times' TOP 25 PODCASTS TO MAKE YOU HAPPY Presented and produced by Joel Morris. Part of the Cheese And Pickle family of podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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Them!
Rewatching and reconsidering the greatest SF films according to the list published in 2000AD comic in 1980. This time: Them! The definitive American atomic big-beast picture, and the original bug-hunt (inspiring the soldiers-take-the-nest shenanigans of Aliens). Thanks to the support of our...
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When Worlds Collide
Rewatching and reconsidering the greatest SF films according to the list published in 2000AD comic in 1980. This time: George Pal smash! It's When Worlds Collide, in which the puny Earth is spectacularly knocked about in a game of interplanetary billiards. Thanks to the support of our listeners…
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The Day The Earth Stood Still
Rewatching and reconsidering the greatest SF films according to the list published in 2000AD comic in 1980. This time: Robert Wise sets Michael Rennie loose with a giant robot, and teaches the world to say Klaatu Barada Nikto. Thanks to the support of our listeners on Patreon and Substack who…
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The Thing
Rewatching and reconsidering the greatest SF films according to the list published in 2000AD comic in 1980. This time: The Thing. Howard Hawks sends his usual capable men to deal with an intelligent carrot from outer space. It's for a Thing. Thanks to the support of our listeners on Patreon and...
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Things To Come
Rewatching and reconsidering the greatest SF films according to the list published in 2000AD comic in 1980. This time: Things To Come, in which H G Wells and Alexander Korda predict the coming of The Helicopter Men. Thanks to the support of our listeners on Patreon and Substack who made this…
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Metropolis
Rewatching and reconsidering the greatest SF films according to the list published in 2000AD comic in 1980. We start with Metropolis, Fritz Lang's tale of robots, big clocks, and eyeliner. Thanks to the support of our listeners on Patreon and Substack who made this series possible. More short...
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Count Duckula - with Jay Foreman
Writer, comedian and YouTube star Jay Foreman (Map Men) returns to talk about another vivid and unique cartoon world: Cosgrove Hall’s wild and crazy Dangermouse offshoot Count Duckula, and celebrates the subversive joys of children’s television on the (gasp) commercial channels… Goodness! Support...
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Country Living Magazine - with Madeleine Brettingham
Writer and comedian Madeleine Brettingham (Harry Hill's TV Burp, Have I Got News For You) talks about the cyclical comforts of wicker-basket obsessed hedgehogs-and-pumpkins glossy Country Living Magazine, and becomes the first Comfort Blanket guest to bring on something that is actually mainly...
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Keeping Up Appearances - with Athena Kugblenu
Writer and comedian Athena Kugblenu (Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Horrible Histories) talks about the family-all-together-on-the-sofa comforts of 90s sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, the comedy of class, the thorny issue of fitting in, and recognition humour as high art. Support us making these...
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Wallace and Gromit - with Hattie Williams
Author Hattie Williams (Bitter Sweet) talks about Nick Park’s lovable Oscar-smashing plasticene cheesepunk technologists, the joy of vegetable puns, silent villains and doomed romances, and the comforts of slow, careful, human craft. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber...
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Howl's Moving Castle - with Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch
Writer Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch (Horrible Histories, Cursed Under London, Darkwood) talks about Hayao Miyazaki’s 2004 beautiful animated adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle, and how the Studio Ghibli masterpiece subverts fairytale tropes and flips hackneyed gender roles, while...
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The Third Man - with Geoffrey McGivern
Actor Geoffrey McGivern (Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Ghosts, Back) talks about the bittersweet Viennese comforts of Graham Greene and Carol Reed's blackly comic thriller 'The Third Man'. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or:...
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The Ladykillers - with John Finnemore
Writer John Finnemore (Cabin Pressure, Souvenir Programme) talks about the comforts of Alexander Mackendrick's classic 1955 Ealing comedy 'The Ladykillers', and explains how the film cleverly subverts the audience's expectations, while satisfying them at the same time. Support us making these...
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They Might Be Giants' 'Flood' - with John-Luke Roberts
Comedian John-Luke Roberts picks the 1990 LP by They Might Be Giants (the one that contains their hit single Birdhouse In Your Soul, and 18 other wildly inventive songs) and talks about the idea of ‘too much’, of overwhelm, of an invigorating deluge of ideas, and how that connects the worlds of...
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The Fallen Idol - with Robin Ince
Writer and comedian Robin Ince (The Infinite Monkey Cage, Cosmic Shambles Network) talks about the comforts of Carol Reed’s masterpiece The Fallen Idol, the beautiful film he made between Odd Man Out and The Third Man, and touches on the links between film and our memories of loved ones. Support…
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Heart Of The Angel - with Neil Forsyth
Writer Neil Forsyth (The Gold, Guilt, Bob Servant) talks about the comforts of Molly Dineen's 1989 fly-on-the-wall documentary 'Heart Of The Angel', a surprisingly deep study of the people working in a failing London Underground station. The documentary is available on the BBC iPlayer here:...
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The Thing - with Will Maclean
Writer Will Maclean (The Apparition Phase) talks about John Carpenter's classic 1982 sci-fi horror film The Thing, and why its tale of gruff short-tempered men failing to deal with an impossible situation in a pitiless white landscape is a comforting place to return to again and again. Support us...
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The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole - with Beth Morrey
Sunday Times bestselling author Beth Morrey (Saving Missy, Lucky Day) talks about Sue Townsend's definitive comic coming-of-age novel The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or:...
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30 Rock - with Sara Barron
Comedian and writer Sara Barron (Firecrotch & Normcore, They Like To Watch) celebrates the comforts of 30 Rock, Tina Fey's sitcom skewering of network TV, and the joy of seeing relatable character Liz Lemon surviving and thriving (even if she has lettuce in her hair). Support us making these...
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Ben Stokes' 2019 Ashes Innings - with Ed Morrish
Comedy producer Ed Morrish (Non-Censored, Soundheap, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme) brings his personal comfort blanket, Ben Stokes' 2019 Ashes innings at Headingley against Australia (and more broadly "all sport") to try and persuade Comfort Blanket umpire Joel that it's allowed - and…
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Allo Allo - with Tom Price
Actor, comedian and broadcaster Tom Price (Torchwood, Magic FM, My Mate Brought A Toaster) talks about the lifelong comfort he draws from Allo Allo, Perry & Lloyd's broad and shameless French resistance farce. Listen very carefully, we will say this only once: it's actually brilliant. Support us...
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Kind Hearts And Coronets - with Naomi Alderman
Writer Naomi Alderman (The Power, The Future) chooses as her comfort blanket, the 1949 Ealing black comedy 'Kind Hearts And Coronets', with its mixture of revenge (served cold, of course), and vicious social satire, managing to possess, one might say, "all the exuberance of Chaucer, without,...
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Friends - with Larry Rickard (PART TWO)
In the second part of our two part look at definitive 1990s sitcom Friends, Larry Rickard (Ghosts, Horrible Histories) talks about how comedy reflects its times, how audiences want (and don't want) things to change for their favourite comedy characters, and when it's time to say goodbye. This is...
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Friends - with Larry Rickard (PART ONE)
Writer and actor Larry Rickard (Ghosts, Horrible Histories) talks about his love for the smash hit 1990s sitcom Friends, and the craft of making warm, gag-filled, ensemble television comedy with your... er... friends. This is Part ONE of a two part episode. Support us making these podcasts by...
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Don't Look Now - with Danny Robins
Writer and broadcaster Danny Robins (Uncanny, 2:22 A Ghost Story) talks about the unexpected comforts of Nic Roeg's classic 1973 supernatural thriller Don't Look Now, a masterful study of how humans try and make sense of life, death and the unexplained. Support us making these podcasts by…
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Withnail & I - with Jim Howick
Actor and writer Jim Howick (Ghosts, Horrible Histories) talks about his love for Bruce Robinson's 1987 film 'Withnail & I', the studied debauchery of the striving, starving artist, its ache of regret for the 60s, and the strange, romantic comforts of desperation, booze and enormous herb-laced...
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Rush - with Rufus Wright
Actor Rufus Wright (Rogue One, Quantum of Solace, The Audience) talks about the comfort he gets from the often overlooked 1974 debut album by Canadian heavy prog rock trio Rush, and we share our thoughts on the appeal of heavy metal for teenage boys, the gawky magic of school bands, and the sweet...
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The Good Place - with Bec Hill
Comedian and writer Bec Hill (Makeaway Takeaway, Horror Heights, A Problem Squared) talks about the comforts of Michael Schur's philosophical afterlife sitcom The Good Place, and how comedy can tackle the really, really big stuff. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at:...
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Laurel & Hardy - with Andrew Male (PART TWO)
The second part of our 2-part celebration of the sound shorts of Laurel & Hardy, with journalist Andrew Male (Sight & Sound, Mojo, Sunday Times), talking about Towed In A Hole, Their First Mistake, Them Thar Hills, and its sequel, Tit For Tat. Please do listen to part one first! Support us making...
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Laurel & Hardy - with Andrew Male (PART ONE)
Journalist Andrew Male (Sight & Sound, Sunday Times, Mojo) talks about the sound shorts of Laurel & Hardy, and the leap forward in comedy instigated by their unique, warm double act adapting to the new technology of sound. Part one of two, dealing with Stan and Ollie's craft, and looking at their...
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Spider-Man - with Carrie Quinlan (PART TWO)
PART TWO of actor and writer Carrie Quinlan talking about Spider-Man, and the endlessly retellable tale of the nerd-turned-neighbourhood superhero. This part talks in more depth about the latest Spider-Man film 'Across the Spiderverse'. If you haven't heard part one, please find it and start…
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Spider-Man - with Carrie Quinlan (PART ONE)
Actor and writer Carrie Quinlan (Home, Agendum, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme) talks about her love of the comic character Spider-Man, in all his (and her, and its) incarnations, and what enables the story of the teenage nerd turned neighbourhood crime fighter to be endlessly reinvented, to...
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Pride - with Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Comedy actor and podcaster Margaret Cabourn-Smith (Crushed, John Finnemore, Penny Dreadfuls) talks about the uplifting British comedy film Pride (2014) with its story of unlikely alliances and the power of unity, and the winner of an imaginary BAFTA for best White Writing At The End In A Motion...
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Asterix - with Jay Foreman
Comedian and YouTuber Jay Foreman (Map Men, Politics Unboring-ed) talks about the comforts of Goscinny and Uderzo’s indomitable Asterix, about the sort of jokes and storytelling that can only work in comic form, and how good it is to read something from a neighbour's point of view. Support us...
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Bridget Jones's Diary - with Daisy Buchanan
Author and journalist Daisy Buchanan (Insatiable, How To Be A Grown Up) talks about the comforts of Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding, and how book Bridget differs from the version we now think we know, how the book acts as a manual for self-acceptance, and how it might open a door to...
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Monty Python (Series 4) - with Michael Spicer
Comedian Michael Spicer (The Room Next Door, Mandy, The Mash Report) talks about the comforts of Monty Python's final, short and strange TV series (the one nobody really talks about), why sketch shows are all-hit-and-no-miss (provided you love them enough) and why enjoying the weird stuff is...
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Ronald Searle - with Jo Neary
Comedian and artist Jo Neary (Ideal, Man Down) on illustrator Ronald Searle, in particular his school satires: St Trinian's and the immortal Molesworth books, with Geoffrey Willans. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or:...
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Pride and Prejudice - with Abigail Burdess
Writer and actor Abigail Burdess (Mother's Day, Mitchell & Webb) talks about the comforts of the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and talks about the invention of the romcom, and whether Jane Austen is the most successful comedy writer ever. Support us making these podcasts by becoming…
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Home Comforts: Absolutely Fabulous (Sample episode)
If you like Comfort Blanket, we are launching a Patreon so you can join in and show your support. www.patreon.com/comfortblanketpod Patreon membership gives you early ad-free access to future episodes of Comfort Blanket, as well as our exclusive companion podcast 'Home Comforts'. Here's a sample...
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The Last Of Us - with Melanie Gutteridge
Actor Melanie Gutteridge (Salisbury Poisonings, Undeclared War, The Bill) talks about the comforts of the 2013 video game The Last of Us - recently adapted into the hit HBO series - the power of interactive fiction, and how video games are more like theatre than TV, how they tell their stories…
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Home Comforts: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Sample episode)
We are launching a Comfort Blanket Patreon. Please join and throw some coins in the lovely Patreon hat if you feel you want to support the podcast... www.patreon.com/comfortblanketpod You'll get early ad-free access to forthcoming episodes, as well as EXCLUSIVE access to our companion podcast…
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BEST OF COMFORT BLANKET series one and two
A look back at some favourite moments from the first two series. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate via ko-fi at: https://ko-fi.com/gralefrit Hosted on Acast. See...
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Doctor Who (Classic Series) - with John Higgs
Author John Higgs (Love & Let Die, The KLF: Chaos Magic...) talks about the comforts of classic Doctor Who, and how a science fiction series for children seems to have almost willed itself into being as something far bigger, more powerful, and magical within our culture. Support us making these...
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Sheila Ferguson's 'Soul Food' - with Samira Ahmed
Journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed (Front Row) talks about the comfort she finds in 'Soul Food', the 1989 cookbook by Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or:...
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Animal Crossing - with Ellie Gibson
Comedian, games journalist and twitch streamer Ellie Gibson (Scummy Mummies, Go 8 Bit) talks about the comforts of Nintendo's gentle community-simulator video game 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons', and how it helped her, and millions of others, through the isolation of pandemic lockdown. Support…
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - with Ben Willbond
Actor and writer Ben Willbond (Ghosts, Horrible Histories) chooses John Le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (in all its forms) and discusses how it comforts him by being a masterful attack on a very particular British form of cruelty and certainty. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a...
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Madness' pop videos - with Paul Putner
Comedian and actor Paul Putner (Lee & Herring, Little Britain) talks about his lifelong love for one of Britain's best-loved pop bands Madness, and their unbeatably witty, inventive and, well, nutty promo videos. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at:...
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The Goon Show - with Mike Wozniak
Comedian and writer Mike Wozniak (Man Down, Taskmaster, Three Bean Salad) talks about the influence and warmth of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe's anything-goes 1950s radio programme The Goon Show, and the comforts of its self-contained, lunatic world. Support us making these...
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Beautiful Thing - with Jonathan Dryden Taylor
Actor and writer Jonathan Dryden Taylor (Mitchell & Webb, National Theatre) talks about the 1996 film 'Beautiful Thing', and the comforting message it offered: maybe there is another sort of rom-com that isn't just boy-meets-girl, and that maybe it's all going to be all right. Support us making...
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Ripping Yarns (PART TWO) - with Professor Sophie Scott CBE
In the second part of this two part episode, neuroscientist Professor Sophie Scott talks about Michael Palin & Terry Jones' set of self-contained stirring Edwardian boys' story spoofs, and discusses the importance of shared laughter for humans. PART TWO of a two-part episode. Support us making...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Talking about the films, TV shows, books or music which people go to again and again to feel safe, happy and welcome.
To join our Patreon, with access to exclusive companion podcast 'Home Comforts' visit www.patreon.com/comfortblanketpod
"Brilliant... A lovely listen" - Sunday Times
"Highly recommended" - The Week
Selected as one of the Sunday Times' TOP 25 PODCASTS TO MAKE YOU HAPPY
Presented and produced by Joel Morris.
Part of the Cheese And Pickle family of podcasts.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
Cheese & Pickle
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Comfort Blanket have?
Comfort Blanket currently has 76 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Comfort Blanket about?
Talking about the films, TV shows, books or music which people go to again and again to feel safe, happy and welcome. To join our Patreon, with access to exclusive companion podcast 'Home Comforts' visit www.patreon.com/comfortblanketpod "Brilliant... A lovely listen" - Sunday Times "Highly...
How often does Comfort Blanket release new episodes?
Comfort Blanket has 76 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Comfort Blanket?
You can listen to Comfort Blanket on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Comfort Blanket?
Comfort Blanket is created and hosted by Cheese & Pickle.
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