Bill Burr's special had a profound effect on me

Ali Woods picks his comedy favourites

Edinburgh Fringe comedian Ali Woods shares his Perfect Playlist...

The Simpsons

Every day, 6pm, BBC Two. Then it was every day, 6pm, Channel 4. For years, The Simpsons was my religion. Whether it was a new episode or a repeat, I would watch it every day without fail, and my parents even respected this to the point that it was the only TV I was allowed to have on during dinner.

On my birthdays I would get another season of The Simpsons on DVD, and then I would watch those as much as I could, trying to learn the words off by heart.

It's no understatement to say this cartoon has shaped my sense of humour. Watching it back, those episodes hold up to this day and it is still some of the funniest, most heartfelt writing on TV.

When I started doing sketches. my first thought was: how can I make these feel like The Simpsons?

Life of Brian

My Dad is the main reason I got into comedy. He would show me comedy shows like Fawlty Towers and then when I got older we used to watch comedy films together, the most impactful of which was Life of Brian.

I remember thinking how amazing it must have been to play all these different characters, essentially with a bunch of mates, and have people still laughing years down the line.

It strikes that balance between being silly and edgy so well, and that's a tone I still try to mimic in my stand-up. I'm thankful to this film for showing me a fabulously inventive way to do comedy, but also for helping me and my Dad to bond.

Friends

If there was a TV show that was second to The Simpsons in terms of my religious watching, it was Friends. I just loved how warm and funny it felt, the prospect of six friends hanging out all the time in a big city while navigating their careers and relationships. I would love to have lived it!

The thing that always seems to be understated about Friends is how brilliant the acting is. It is a rare instance of the whole cast being gifted, and I still try to copy their deliveries and mannerisms in my own sketches.

30 Rock

In the Noughties, as teenage boys started getting their own laptops they could use in their bedrooms, all I was interested in at that age was watching other sitcoms that I previously couldn't access. I had heard good things about 30 Rock and I immediately fell in love with it.

Each character is great value on screen, and the jokes vary hugely from the satirical to the surreal. Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin are still one of my favourite comedy double acts.

Bill Burr: I'm Sorry You Feel That Way

Having graduated from Uni and moved back in with my parents, after failing to line up a job, I felt like a loser. It wasn't clear what I should do, and I remember just sticking on anything on Netflix while I wasted my day away.

This special had a profound effect on me. I had never heard of Bill Burr, but I just thought the idea of stand-up in black and white was cool. Watching someone absolutely destroy a huge theatre, doing honest, risky, topical material was so inspiring. It made me want to be him, and start doing stand-up.

Michael Che Matters

Having started stand-up, this was the special that had the most profound effect on me. Similar to Burr, I was watching something I didn't realise I was desperate to do.

Seeing Che plod around the stage nonchalantly while delivering some of the best written lines in contemporary stand-up is a treat every time I rewatch it. I was able to see him live at Union Chapel in 2018 and it was one of the coolest, funniest things I have ever seen.