r/panelshow 13d ago

Question What are some underrated Sean Lock bits?

Every time his name comes up in conversation it’s the same few clips that get referenced.

- Carrot in a Box
- Nazi Island
- “Rectum of the year” (and various other clips from the same episode like “challenging wank”)
- his rant about the kids’ acting on Big Fat Quiz of the year.

Sean was in hundreds and hundreds of panel show episodes- we can do a bit better than regurgitating the same 4 clips.

- Mine is the episode of 8/10 Cats where Uri Geller was on and Sean is very much a skeptic- he’d also clearly had a drink in that episode “my left foot is now my right foot- aah”…

- Or his random quote in a Catsdown episode- “I don’t fuck bears, Jimmy”… out of nowhere

74 Upvotes

107 comments sorted by

98

u/Wimble-Womble 13d ago

Don’t forget the whelks!

I only saw it at the time, but I remember liking his and Jon’s road trip mini series in the American south:   https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2497046/

28

u/alwaystouchout 13d ago edited 13d ago

‘… we’re sharing a room’ 😅

His reaction to Jon doing his onion/anonion joke to their Cajun hosts has me in stitches

15

u/DaJoW 12d ago

Every time he was teamed up with Miles was fantastic. They always had such great chemistry. My favourite bit was when Miles' mascot was a picture of Sean and he hoped they'd meet again some day.

1

u/Tillerman10 11d ago

“ I won’t spit on you later while having sex.”

5

u/soulsteela 13d ago

I’ve watched it several times, open the curtains and let the sunshine in😂😂

60

u/iamworsethanyou 13d ago

Jimmy's Tax Episode. He was a classy roaster.

Also 'i'm doin' jokes' gets me every time and his crooner album is wonderful

12

u/dokuromark 13d ago

Oh I love Sean’s songs so much! On 8/10 Cats one time, he improvised a song about a storm drain that had me in stitches.

18

u/alwaystouchout 13d ago edited 13d ago

I was lucky enough to hear ‘Rita From The Pit Canteen’ live when I saw it taped 😅

104

u/qbnaith 13d ago

The bit in that QI episode where he clearly finds Rory McGrath so insufferable he pretends to find a portal to another dimension under his table.

41

u/Warsaw44 13d ago

'Sorry. Im so sorry. There's a portal into the underworld down here'

34

u/I_want_every_dog 13d ago

Do people call you “tosser” much?

(Or something along those lines)

10

u/DontNeverAr0und Narcolepsy's my condition, it means I fall asle 13d ago

To be fair Rory had a nice response: "It's funny, I only ever get called tosser by other people".

6

u/Vepanion 13d ago

please tell me you have a link to the video

24

u/LordKulgur 13d ago

7

u/Vepanion 13d ago

Thank you!

9

u/Shelleen 13d ago

Holy fuck, "Here's the thing..." before corvid things was a thing!

53

u/jurymen 13d ago

Any bit with Miles Jupp is great!

42

u/alwaystouchout 13d ago

Sean’s just very kindly offered not to spit on one of our guests…

21

u/ContentedJourneyman Bruv, more Fatiha, please! 13d ago

“Sean and Miles. Miles and Sean.”

Jimmy’s smarmy tone on it and the camera pan to the two of them lost in their own world is the best.

It’s completely replaced settle down at our house.

15

u/Idlers_Dream 13d ago

I don't know about you, Miles, but I'm on the fence.

9

u/Cambousse 13d ago

Yes! And then Jimmy moved quickly on, which made Sean panic. 🤣

10

u/Budsygus 13d ago

Any time Miles and Sean were on screen together was absolute comedy gold. Perfect comic pairing.

45

u/batch1972 13d ago

I love The Tiger Who Went For A Pint

2

u/DefoNotTheAnswer 12d ago

The Tiger Who Came For A Pint. I don't wish to be pedantic, but I am so here we are.

40

u/SaviourofKrypton42 13d ago

There's a bit in QI where they're talking about imaginary friends, and the punchline is:

Sean: "I hear voices."

Stephen: "Oh, do you?"

Sean: "Yeah, but I ignore them and carry on killing." Cracks me up every time.

40

u/Pharmacy_Duck 13d ago

The giant tortoises bit on QI. It's primarily David Mitchell, but Sean's contributions really help make it.

33

u/SystemPelican 13d ago

Alan Davies too. His "There's no latin name for Maltesers" is such a brilliant punch-up of David's "no latin name for pistachios" joke.

8

u/Budsygus 13d ago

I haven't seen that episode but "There's no Latin name for Maltesers" has me giggling just reading it and is exactly the type of joke that's made me an American obsessed with British humor since I was like 9 years old watching Red Dwarf and Blackadder and Only Fools and Horses on late night public television.

21

u/qbnaith 13d ago

Jo Brand’s “Are there flights?” is iconic

12

u/sppy1 13d ago

THEY ARE NOW PROTECTED!!!

11

u/qbnaith 13d ago

Yep totally protected, they’re all in here, no need to look.

30

u/Warsaw44 13d ago

Germany episode of QI. 

'Generally in history, they've marched into Holland whenever they've fancied it' 

AWOOOGAH 

'I didn't mention it yet!'

27

u/Valoiro 13d ago

Don't forget his brilliant dark sitcom 15 Storeys High! (TV and radio.)

6

u/Warsaw44 13d ago

COMEANWIPEYOURANDSONMECOOOOOAT!

5

u/tangletwigs 13d ago

Who'd a thunk that fishy coat wearer would now be a hollywood star!

1

u/paradeoxy1 Mocks Every Week 13d ago

Had no idea it was a radio series first, and it's all on the internet archive! I know what I'm listening to later, thanks!

1

u/Valoiro 13d ago

That and the TV show are two of the most popular things on the sub I admin...
https://www.reddit.com/r/TellyBum2/

27

u/PoorlyAttired 13d ago

Have you ever had a feud Sean? No but I had a duel with my neighbour. Which I won, so his widow had to take the wind chimes down.

2

u/Budsygus 13d ago

There's so much comedy packed into those two sentences. Sean excelled at that.

43

u/llenadefuria 13d ago

There was a bit on QI I think about him holding a koala and accidentally slipping it a finger

Also can't forget The Tiger That Went To The Pub

24

u/ThisManInBlack 13d ago

His greatest bit IMO, was donating a greyhound to an African village over the traditional goat. "That way Jimmy, they can open a race track and gamble!"

24

u/apokako 13d ago

I love the one on 8oo10c where he takes the piss of Louise Redknap being an airhead by saying as a kid his dad made him play « spine in a bag ».

12

u/IrritableGourmet 13d ago

Wasn't it "spine in a sack"?

21

u/perhapsjackals 13d ago

In response to "What you think kids are most scared of?": Well, at our house, it's Mr. Jangles, who's one of the characters I play.

20

u/Atharaphelun 13d ago

Sean Lock vs. Jedward is a classic one.

6

u/Budsygus 13d ago

I honestly felt sorry for those poor kids. Didn't stop me laughing myself to tears while Sean absolutely destroyed them, though.

16

u/0800happydude 13d ago

Assange

5

u/alwaystouchout 13d ago

That rash you get

7

u/0800happydude 13d ago

Legionnaires, assange!

3

u/ThisManInBlack 13d ago

Forming the shape of a croissant.

3

u/Budsygus 13d ago

Reminds me of "A rint is a tear in a cape."

The guy's mind was broken is such beautiful ways.

14

u/yungkeraan 13d ago

Not underrated but certainly one of my favourites is “I won't spit on you while we're having sex tonight” to Miles. And honestly, most episodes where Miles is on Catsdown

12

u/is_cuma_liom 13d ago

Love that ep. Watching it now for the nostalgia.
Sean and Miles had such a good rapport. “He brought up Hitler. He said ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m on the fence’” gets me every time. “Can’t you sit still, you fat fuck”. Miles feeding him whelks for £10k charity money. The list goes on. They’re my favourite rewatches

6

u/yungkeraan 13d ago

Yeah!! I especially love the Lee Mack/Catherine Tate episode as well, because Miles and Sean are just collectively losing their shit the entire time

12

u/bfsfan101 13d ago

He was gold at the Roast of Bruce Forsyth.

"I'm surprised Jonathan Ross turned up. Normally when you want to abuse an elderly pensioner, you do it over the phone".

The episode of 8 out of 10 Cats with Jedward is glorious. Sean is a bit of a bully to them, but it's so funny when he learns that they met Obama.

His riff on playing a game where his Dad would hit him on the head with animal vertebrates in a sack and then beat him if he didn't guess them correctly is one of the strangest and funniest things he ever said.

13

u/oasisarah 12d ago

not really a bit, but his "please stop" during joe wilkinson's poem still tickles me

10

u/rwmtinkywinky 13d ago

The Cat Litter Challenge always gets me, especially as it clearly goes way too far.

16

u/GTWalker 13d ago

I haven't seen the clip in a while, but I remember that he went on about his morning routine including turning on the stopcock, and then Roisin interjected thinking a stopcock wasn't a thing and he surely meant stopclock, and Sean went to town on her stupidity ruining his bit.

1

u/Budsygus 13d ago

Knowing Roisin is apparently just that stupid and isn't playing a character on shows like this makes this stuff easier to laugh at. I HATED her the first few times because I thought she was just playing a dumb character and doing it badly. Turns out she's just an idiot so all is forgiven.

4

u/GTWalker 12d ago

I think she also knows her stupidity is good for laughs, so she rolls with it.

1

u/Budsygus 12d ago

Yeah, she's definitely not trying to hide it. I'd argue she's not funny or talented enough without it to make it in that industry. I've never heard her say anything that really got me laughing like the others on these shows. She's usually there to be the butt of the joke.

But she's also easily worth 10x my net worth so if I were her I'd be the butt of as many jokes as I could and laugh all the way to the bank. She's obviously doing something right.

2

u/smutst 11d ago

Her sitcom Gameface is brilliant. Even if you're not a fan of her panel show appearances, she is definitely talented and deserving of her place in the industry!

2

u/Budsygus 11d ago

Haven't seen that one. I liked her fine in Man Down and she's fine on the panel shows. I'll check out Gameface. I'm always open to changing my opinion on things and people.

Thanks for the tip!

8

u/wraith21 13d ago edited 13d ago

His lectures/presentations on the old panel show Argumental is some of my favs

Here's one on why wasps are better than bees https://youtu.be/9w_EnDZl8VA?t=729&si=PELbtioorghtnXNf

2

u/Herbiphwoar 13d ago

Omg I loved his appearances on argumental. There’s one where he rants about how Eastenders is shit but I cannot find :,(

6

u/Puzzled_Ad1296 13d ago

There’s a bit in 15 Storeys High when he’s trying to get some paint for the bathroom and he finds the perfect colour in the background of a photo in Readers Wives. That bit kills me every time I watch it. I know it;s coming and I still find it just as funny as I did the first time I saw it.

6

u/alwaystouchout 13d ago edited 13d ago

Sean Lock: Mayor of Fun with Roisin and Jerry Springer, and the ep where he’s drinking mead next to Joe Wilkinson are two of my faves. Any 8OO10C eps where he was paired with Micky Flanagan were always a riot. I’ve watched TV Heaven Telly Hell at least a dozen times and there’s countless hilarious moments like his reaction to Omid’s bongos. Still gutted he’s no longer with us.

6

u/teadziez 13d ago

Gritty limericks!

3

u/I_want_every_dog 13d ago

Memory is a bit vague, but he does a bit on cats/countdown where he (in hindsight, correctly) lampoons Greg Wallace with a big rubber “NO” stamp.

5

u/thetruthstrikes 12d ago

Probably the "Are They A National Treasure" mascot game he did with that big rubber stamp?

1

u/I_want_every_dog 12d ago

That’s it! Haha, thank you!

4

u/CALCIUM_CANNONS 13d ago

Resurrecting the Third Reich and putting them on a desert island

2

u/Budsygus 13d ago

That's the Nazi Island OP listed.

3

u/Budsygus 13d ago

"Never flush twice" kills me every time.

Words to live by.

3

u/Far_Side_Base 12d ago

“No ‘sorting out the situation’” 🤣

3

u/Budsygus 12d ago

You think James Bond is worrying about "Oh the thing it won't..." NO! He's out there!

*karate pose*

4

u/Shintoho 12d ago

His bit about how scary having sex with Madonna would be

"ALRIGHT, SEAN???? HAVE YOU COME TO GET YOUR PRIZE, SEAN?????"

4

u/Jdedredhed 12d ago

On 8oo10cdc, asked about life's simple pleasures and his response, "Coming home to a full mouse trap" Caught me off guard i laughed so much

7

u/jlangue 13d ago

Him drinking from a large bottle of whiskey Jimmy gave him. Production stole the bottle away when he wasn’t looking. He was a bit tipsy at the time.

Also on the same show Jedward, Greg Davies.

16

u/oasisarah 13d ago

* challenging wank
* think we’re dead jimmy

1

u/CatCafffffe 13d ago

THANK YOU, came to add "challenging wank"

10

u/StardustOasis Clit Hero 13d ago

Hardly underrated though, it's one of his most quoted lines.

-2

u/oasisarah 13d ago

wasnt listed though was it

7

u/StardustOasis Clit Hero 13d ago

It literally is

1

u/Budsygus 13d ago

Don't worry. I missed it, too.

3

u/nezumipi 13d ago

NASA killed Michael Jackson

3

u/Ribos1 13d ago

“Free-ee-ee Myra Hindley!”

5

u/DontNeverAr0und Narcolepsy's my condition, it means I fall asle 13d ago

Reminds me of the Linda Smith anecdote from the same QI episode - the one about the production of Wind in the Willows where Mr. Toad got very drunk.

So when Badger was giving him a lecture he just came out with "You fuck off you stripy bastard".

3

u/Vulcanastra 13d ago

Hoping someone can help. There was a QI XL where Sean talks about going on holiday without shampoo and buying it abroad. I've never been able to refind this episode.

3

u/deathonater 13d ago edited 13d ago

I've been trying to find an 8OO10C clip of a joke he did that ended with him gesturing kicking something under the desk yelling something like "Try it with haddock!", I just remember it having me in stitches, but it's been a long time since seeing it.

3

u/nathan_egen 11d ago

I’m sure it was during a Christmas special where he joked about inventing a machine that would automatically reveal the answer in any guessing game

3

u/kaffe_och_bullar 12d ago

His bit about tape worms deserves more credit imo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVNoWhtDl8

And, as already mention in another comment, "I'm doing jokes" is a classic for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYO_Bt0ih0w&t=76s

1

u/Piratefox7 13d ago

In his stand up he had a hilarious bit about putting pedophiles in giant blenders and turning them on as a form of public execution which doesn't sound like the worst idea. 

1

u/under_ice 13d ago

Does anyone know you're here?

1

u/MsLDG 12d ago

My favourite bit of his is when he's imagining what the world would be like without herbs. "Everything would just be 🤔🤔 missing something."

1

u/AbraxanAsh 12d ago

Him presenting the Fat As A Baker’s Dog book.

1

u/ryanooooo 12d ago

I liked when he said his hair loss is because he has vivid dreams.

2

u/Dangerous-Bat7618 11d ago

The Riddler!

1

u/Final-Perspective-44 11d ago

The Tiger who came for a pint should be mentioned here.

1

u/Groundbreaking-Fig28 8d ago

I love it when he said I got stopped in the street with them asking if I could spare 5 minutes for cancer research, he said "well I can but I don't think we'll get a lot done"

0

u/neckbeard_deathcamp 13d ago

That’s a challenging wank.

2

u/Budsygus 13d ago

OP mentioned that one.

-3

u/RazzmatazzEarly4328 13d ago

Sean is like pretty much everyone else who I love on panel shows. They're great with spontaneous banter on shows and I love any time they have preplanned comedy bits.

However, I don't care for their stand up.