Am I missing a joke from "Toast of London" or is it a mistake?
September 19, 2017 3:48 PM Subscribe
The BBC show "Toast of London is full of surreal jokes, so I can't tell if I'm missing something or it's just a filming glitch.
There's a tiny scene in season 2, episode 5, where he's talking to his agent. She's telling him that a client he did voice over work for is giving him a new phone. In one of the reaction shots, he is really clearly replaced by someone else, just for a second or two.
It takes place at about 18:22 (on netflix, dunno about other places, but around there)
I have screen shots
(I freely admit that a lot of the show flies over my head because I'm not british. Maybe the stand-in is a well known actor or person that I'm supposed to recognize, but I don't. This scene has massive fore-shadowing so I thought that after watching the whole episode I might get it, but I still didn't)
There's a tiny scene in season 2, episode 5, where he's talking to his agent. She's telling him that a client he did voice over work for is giving him a new phone. In one of the reaction shots, he is really clearly replaced by someone else, just for a second or two.
It takes place at about 18:22 (on netflix, dunno about other places, but around there)
I have screen shots
(I freely admit that a lot of the show flies over my head because I'm not british. Maybe the stand-in is a well known actor or person that I'm supposed to recognize, but I don't. This scene has massive fore-shadowing so I thought that after watching the whole episode I might get it, but I still didn't)
I can't answer specifically on the question, but I definitely think that it's some kind of subliminal-ish joke building off something else in the episode. The director of all Toast of London episodes is Michael Cumming, who also worked on Brass Eye, another surreal series with editing-room humor.
(Look up "Brass Eye Michael Grade") if you want to know the details.)
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 4:21 PM on September 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
(Look up "Brass Eye Michael Grade") if you want to know the details.)
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 4:21 PM on September 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: HOLY SHIT I just watched this too and noticed the same thing. I think it was supposed to reference his agent's acid problem and take us along with her. I think this was also the episode that references subliminal messages offhand in the beginning as Pluto stated, so maybe it was just a crack at that as well.
posted by Young Kullervo at 4:37 PM on September 19, 2017
posted by Young Kullervo at 4:37 PM on September 19, 2017
That is Matt Berry in the reaction shot. He is famous.
posted by w0mbat at 4:53 PM on September 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by w0mbat at 4:53 PM on September 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: There are 2 photos - the one of Matt Berry is the character "Steven Toast"
Who's the other one?
posted by RustyBrooks at 5:05 PM on September 19, 2017
Who's the other one?
posted by RustyBrooks at 5:05 PM on September 19, 2017
I just watched the rewatched scene with the agent and didn't see this gag. However, just as all episodes start with Clem Fandango, Toast is usually in his agent's office at around 5 minutes into the show.
Did his agent give him a giant new cellphone in this scene, with odd features?
posted by Sunburnt at 5:14 PM on September 19, 2017
Did his agent give him a giant new cellphone in this scene, with odd features?
posted by Sunburnt at 5:14 PM on September 19, 2017
Response by poster: Yeah, it's right before she gives him the giant phone.
Where were you watching it?
posted by RustyBrooks at 5:52 PM on September 19, 2017
Where were you watching it?
posted by RustyBrooks at 5:52 PM on September 19, 2017
I've been binging through Toast too (which I thoroughly recommend, it's one of the best TV comedies of recent years) and completely failed to spot this. Something like that doesn't happen by accident though - pretty sure it's what The Pluto Gangsta said above.
As to who it is, I don't know. There's something a little bit Kevin Eldon-ish about his face, and he pops up in almost literally everything, but I don't think it's actually him. Could try asking Matt Berry himself on Twitter?
posted by parm at 2:11 AM on September 20, 2017
As to who it is, I don't know. There's something a little bit Kevin Eldon-ish about his face, and he pops up in almost literally everything, but I don't think it's actually him. Could try asking Matt Berry himself on Twitter?
posted by parm at 2:11 AM on September 20, 2017
Response by poster: OK, I tweeted him. I don't really do twitter but I'll try to keep an eye on it.
posted by RustyBrooks at 8:42 AM on September 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by RustyBrooks at 8:42 AM on September 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I don't know if this is British thing but it's in a lot of British comedies. There was a show called Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, starring Matt Berry. The entire series is basically mismatches and this exact same thing. Here is an episode. Most of the dialogue is dubbed and the whole thing is basically continuity errors.
posted by shesbenevolent at 9:41 AM on September 20, 2017
posted by shesbenevolent at 9:41 AM on September 20, 2017
I am british (although I've never seen this show) and I don't get it. If there was a giant phone involved I'd expect it to be Dom Joly but its definitely not him.
Sometimes writers like to cameo in their own work so maybe it is something similar (although it doesn't look like any pictures of the other writer that I can find) and he doesn't appear to be credited on IMDB in the episode
posted by missmagenta at 12:38 PM on September 20, 2017
Sometimes writers like to cameo in their own work so maybe it is something similar (although it doesn't look like any pictures of the other writer that I can find) and he doesn't appear to be credited on IMDB in the episode
posted by missmagenta at 12:38 PM on September 20, 2017
I am a big fan of British comedy, and this is a trope of British semi-surrealist comedy. I've not seen Toast, but if it's Matt Berry and has the involvement of a Brass Eye alumnus, then I submit that it is not a reference "to" anything in particular, and just "is". A funny sight gag, especially if there were some rapid back-and-forth cuts leading up to it.
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:55 PM on September 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:55 PM on September 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Well, I can sort of accept that. There is a lot of unremarked and unexplained surrealism in the show, like how Toast lives in a time bubble where every piece of tech he owns is decades old even if he didn't buy it, wheras everyone else has iphones and what not. And plenty of anti-jokes and jokes with no payoff.
But it was so brief and completely unreferenced as far as I could tell, I thought there might be something more there. If the replacement of one actor for another was meant to be surreal, I guess I'd expect it to be obvious enough to be noticed. Several people I know who saw it did not notice - and actually my wife insists they're the same person, just a slightly different angle, which I think is absurd.
posted by RustyBrooks at 5:15 PM on September 20, 2017
But it was so brief and completely unreferenced as far as I could tell, I thought there might be something more there. If the replacement of one actor for another was meant to be surreal, I guess I'd expect it to be obvious enough to be noticed. Several people I know who saw it did not notice - and actually my wife insists they're the same person, just a slightly different angle, which I think is absurd.
posted by RustyBrooks at 5:15 PM on September 20, 2017
Well, if it helps, I definitely know the other guy and have definitely seen him in other stuff - but what, and who he is, I have no idea at all.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:53 PM on September 21, 2017
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:53 PM on September 21, 2017
Best answer: I'm late to the party, but I think Young Kullervo's got it. In season 2, episode 4 during Jane's acid trip, she sees Toast in double and one of the Toasts is that other actor.
posted by legendarygirlfriend at 10:43 AM on September 29, 2017
posted by legendarygirlfriend at 10:43 AM on September 29, 2017
FWIW, RustyBrooks and I did some comparisons in PM, and it does seem to be the DVD-release version that has the Imposter Toast; the aired version did not.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:49 AM on September 29, 2017
posted by Sunburnt at 11:49 AM on September 29, 2017
Response by poster: I'm late to the party, but I think Young Kullervo's got it. In season 2, episode 4 during Jane's acid trip, she sees Toast in double and one of the Toasts is that other actor.
Woah, really? I am going to have to go back and check that. That is incredibly obscure.
posted by RustyBrooks at 10:13 AM on September 30, 2017
Woah, really? I am going to have to go back and check that. That is incredibly obscure.
posted by RustyBrooks at 10:13 AM on September 30, 2017
Response by poster: Yes, you are totally right, here it is
posted by RustyBrooks at 10:24 AM on September 30, 2017
posted by RustyBrooks at 10:24 AM on September 30, 2017
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It's about 4:50 from the beginning of the episode.
posted by RustyBrooks at 3:49 PM on September 19, 2017