Me1 vs Me2 Snooker with Richard Herring
{{Short description|Comedy podcast about snooker}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox podcast
| title = Me1 vs Me2 Snooker with Richard Herring
| image = Me1 vs Me2 Snooker with Richard Herring.png
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| hosting = Richard Herring
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| began = 2011
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| num_episodes = 168
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Me1 vs Me2 Snooker with Richard Herring is the world's longest running snooker podcast, presented by stand-up comedian Richard Herring.{{cite web|url=http://me1vsme2snooker.weebly.com/faq.html |title=FAQ - Me1 vs Me2 Snooker (we're not going funny) |publisher=Me1vsme2snooker.weebly.com |access-date=2013-07-28}} First published in December 2011{{cite web|author=British Comedy Guide |url=https://soundcloud.com/britishcomedyguide/richard-herring-me1-me2-snooker-frame-1 |title=Richard Herring Me1 The biggest bummer v Me2 Snooker - Frame 1 by British Comedy Guide on SoundCloud |publisher=Soundcloud.com |date=2011-12-02 |access-date=2013-07-28}} it peaked at number one in the iTunes charts of the same month.{{cite web|url=http://www.itunescharts.net/uk/artists/podcast/comedycouk/podcasts/me1-vs-me2-snooker-with-richard-herring/ |title='Me1 vs Me2 Snooker with Richard Herring' by Comedy.co.uk (British Podcasts iTunes Chart) |publisher=iTunesCharts.net |access-date=2013-07-28}} In each podcast Richard Herring performs against himself in a game of snooker (typically in the guise of the titular sportsmen Me1 and Me2).
It is not only notable for being the only audio podcast (to date) which actually incorporates the game of snooker within it, but for the subtext of a man satirising mental health issues and "fighting against a tide of mediocrity and repetition, struggling to create a brave, new and original vision."{{cite web|url=http://www.freakinawesomenetwork.net/2013/05/podcast-purview-me1-vs-me2-snooker-w-richard-herring/#sthash.RXvkT43v.dpuf |title=Podcast Purview: Me1 vs Me2 Snooker w/ Richard Herring! |publisher=Freakinawesomenetwork.net |date=2013-05-01 |access-date=2013-07-28}} As of 14 September 2023, 168 frames have been played for the podcast - with the scores, amazingly, sitting at 80-80.
Origins
Richard Herring had found success with other podcasts such as the award-winning Collings and Herrin which had made a successful transition to BBC Radio 6 Music in 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qvldp |title=BBC Radio 6 Music - Collins and Herring |publisher=BBC |date=2011-03-26 |access-date=2013-07-28}} His move into snooker podcasting originated through tweeting a live commentary of a game of snooker he played against himself backstage at a comedy club, what started as a joke became something more serious. Herring stated "I attempt to antagonise and lose listeners by commentating on myself playing snooker against myself in my basement. Most people are baffled, confused, even angry about it. But 5,000 people around the world tune in to find out which me will win this week's frame."{{cite news|author=Comedy |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10145324/Richard-Herring-All-power-to-the-podcast.html |title=Richard Herring: 'All power to the podcast' |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=2013-07-28}}
Filmed and live performances
Filmed versions of the snooker podcast act as bonus features for Herring's stand-up DVDs What Is Love Anyway (2012) and Talking Cock (2013), which both feature special cup performances. August 2013 saw the first ever frame of Me1 vs Me2 Snooker to be played in front of a live paying audience at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.{{cite press release |url=http://www.avalonuk.com/assets/files/Me1vsMe2PR.pdf |title=RICHARD HERRING - Me1 vs Me2 SNOOKER PODCAST GOES LIVE AT 2013 EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE |publisher=Avalon Group |access-date=2013-07-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102194225/http://www.avalonuk.com/assets/files/Me1vsMe2PR.pdf |archive-date=2014-01-02 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2013/07/19/18320/there_are_fewer_nipples_on_display_in_comedy...|title=Comedy News Round Up|publisher=Chortle |date=2013-07-19 |access-date=2013-08-01}} In 2016 a five frame match was filmed and performed at the Tempting Failure Festival dedicated to transgressive art.{{cite web |title=Tempting Failure 2016|url=https://www.temptingfailure.com/tf2016 |access-date=3 September 2020}} On 4 December 2019 a live performance was given in front of an audience (and filmed for the Kickstarter) for the 2019 Chris Evans (not that one) Trophy at the Cockpit Theatre in London.{{cite web |last1=Herring |first1=Richard |title=Wednesday 4th December 2019 - Warming Up |url=http://www.richardherring.com/warmingup/4/12/2019/index.html |date=December 2019}}{{cite web |title=Richard Herring: Me 1 vs Me 2 Snooker |url=https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/richard_herring_me_1_vs_me_2_snooker |website=The Cockpit}}
In July 2020, a special filmed performance was broadcast on BBC Two.{{cite web |title=Comedians: Home Alone, Series 1, Episode 6 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000kqmc |website=BBC |access-date=19 August 2020}} Since Frame 103 in August 2020 – when the podcast returned from a hiatus of several months during the Covid-19 lockdown – matches have been live-streamed on the video streaming service Twitch and subsequently made available on-demand via Herring's Twitch and YouTube channels.{{Cite web |date=12 August 2020 |title=Me1 vs Me2 Snooker with Richard Herring: Frame 103 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozUy1w8fPbg |access-date=16 November 2022 |website=YouTube}} The traditional audio-only versions continue to be released as the podcast. During this time, the format has expanded further to include occasional knockout tournaments and leagues featuring matches between other numbered versions of Herring besides the familiar Me1 and Me2, each with their own personalities and characteristics.
Media coverage
In July 2013 the Huffington Post described the podcast as being "representative of the diversity of podcasting."{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/23/podcast-itunes-billion_n_3638585.html?ir=Technology |title=Apple Announces 1 Billion Podcast Subscriptions In iTunes |publisher=Huffington Post |date=2013-07-23 |access-date=2013-07-28}} Time Out pre-emptively described the event as one of the top ten Edinburgh Fringe comedy highlights of 2013 stating that listeners "will either have to giggle away at the ridiculous concept, or become deeply irritated."{{cite news|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/edinburgh-fringe-comedy-highlights-2013-top-ten-late-shows-and-odd-nights-out|title=Edinburgh Fringe comedy highlights 2013: top ten late shows and odd nights out |publisher=Time Out |date=2013-07-29 |access-date=2013-07-30}} In April 2014 Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann interviewed Herring about the podcast on BBC Radio 4, which premiered clips of self-playing snooker on the radio of the first time.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03zdkk5|title = BBC Radio 4 - Podcasting - the First Ten Years, Episode 1}} In the same month The Telegraph included Me1 vs Me2 Snooker in its list of top podcasts describing it as a "wonderfully oddball, regularly hilarious series - in which Herring splits into two versions of himself… other over a long drawn-out game of snooker".{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10124887/The-best-comedy-podcasts.html|title = The best comedy and drama podcasts|newspaper = The Telegraph|date = 30 November 2016}}