Christopher Banks

I am a well-known collector of things Cluedo – I was obsessed from the early age, and the obsession leaked through into my first film, ‘Quiet Night In’.  Then I discovered the guy who runs this site.  Not only has he collected every variation of the board game released anywhere in the world, but he’s managed to get signed copies of scripts and early drafts from the 1985 movie.  A board game geek’s museum, or heaven, whichever you prefer.

2.  Are You Being Served?

Deliberate camp is often the realm of low-rent television comedy, where it is believed that accumulating enough kitsch objects and stereotypical characters and sticking them in a sketch or a sitcom is, in itself, amusing. 

It’s clear from interviews with the writers, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, that the intention for this long-running classic sitcom was pure camp nonsense, and yet somehow the actors (Mollie Sugden, Arthur Brough and John Inman in particular) transcended the sexist, racist and homophobic scripts to create something quite sincere, funny, and touching.  

3. Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena

From creationism and chiropractic, to the perils of microwaves and cellphones, Brian Dunning’s 10-minute audio essays have got debunking down to a fine art.  Learn things you never knew about the world, and be inspired to think more critically and do a bit of digging of your own.

4.  Uncyclopedia

Just as Wikipedia has shown that, collectively, human beings can work together to strengthen our body of knowledge as a species, Uncyclopedia uses the same principles to show how clever we are at coming up with utter nonsense.  It’s a bit hit and miss (a bit like Wikipedia’s accuracy rate), but check out the Maya Angelou entry to get an idea of what it’s like at its best.

5.  Woody Allen

Without a doubt, my favourite living director.  He doesn’t have an official website, but he does have this immaculately kept fan blog detailing every aspect of his career, from film analysis to how budget constraints have affected his working methods over the years.  

6.  Trixie Belden

While most children growing up in my generation plumped for the more glamourous Nancy Drew, I opted for the more camp and ludicrous Trixie.  The books have only gotten better as I’ve grown older, taking on an air of “Five Go Mad In Dorset”.  Out of print for years, these books have just started to hit the shelves again, complete with anachronistic 1950s references and attitudes.

7.  Teddy

Time for the plug – this is my latest film project. It’s a nice story about two men and a bear, and if you sign up for the newsletter you could win a free DVD. Never let it be said that bribery was beneath independent filmmakers.