hen lockdown 1.0 was lifted, one of the first things I did was get rid of all the DVD box sets I had of my favourite TV shows. A man came to the house and I handed him two tote bags’ worth. (To be clear, I’d put this bounty on FreeCycle; he didn’t just fortuitously appear on my doorstep). I wasn’t sad to see them go. I don’t have a DVD player; my laptop doesn’t have a DVD drive; my shelves heaved with books. As with many people, I consume “television” these days via streaming services (in fact, I don’t own a television at all). But I do miss one thing about DVD box sets: the blooper reels. Along with a director’s commentary and cast interviews, the blooper reel was a staple of a DVD release – and still is. Though Netflix do put out some bloopers on YouTube, I would love to see them make a comeback as an option on streaming menus. It isn’t just outtakes from comedy shows that make me crease with laughter, either; all genres are capable of providing a brilliant corpsing or a tumbling prop. I love blooper reels because they provides insight into production; a glimpse into how television (and film) is made. But more so because they give us a slice of the actors’ real sense of humour and the camaraderie between cast and crew. Occasionally, sitting in cafes or bars, I overhear conversations between friends that make me laugh. This, too, is what blooper reels offer. It’s also why the reels from later series of shows tend to be better, because there is more of a rapport between those on set. The easy way to get your fix these days are the clips uploaded by fans – with the downside of pixellation that would rival an old Atari game. But in times as depressing and uncertain as these, we should elevate the blooper reel once more. Here are some gems to start. Friends You’d imagine that a show that lasted 10 years would have a cast with a close rapport (boosted by a live studio audience) and also a lot of mishaps. Here is Jennifer Aniston getting her skirt stuck in a door, Courteney Cox incapable of saying Dick Clark’s name without breaking into laughter, and more. Game of Thrones Peter Dinklage struggles so often to pronounce benevolent (“ben-elephant”, “bevelent”, “benelevent”) in one scene that, weeks later, the writers insert it again into a script just to mess with him. Bridesmaids It comes as no surprise that the Bridesmaids outtakes are as funny as the scenes in the actual movie. Put it this way: it takes a lot of time for Jon Hamm to stroke Kristen Wiig’s nipple without them bursting into laughter. Orange is the New Black Flickering lights, Natasha Lyonne pushing a trolley into a wall (a few times) and Laura Prepon accidentally taking her ostensibly broken arm out of a sling. Curb Your Enthusiasm In which Larry David struggles to say the word “ejaculate” without cracking up (or “ejakalate” as the joke in the show goes) and he and Jeff Garlin laugh so hard during a restaurant scene that their faces turn crimson and their veins bulge out of their necks. As a commenter has written underneath: “You can tell the whole reason Larry David made this show was for his own entertainment”. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air If you can deal with the extremely low quality, you will be rewarded with Will Smith and Alfonso Ribeiro beautifully corpsing together and extending these into improv scenes. The Office How many takes for Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman to nail a particular scene? 26.The Inbeetweners If you are wondering how the rest of the cast got through James Buckley’s Jay-isms, the answer is: they didn’t. Veep With a show as endlessly hilarious as Veep, you’d expect an excellent gag reel. And that’s precisely what you get. These are the highlights from season seven, when the cast know one another inside out. And finally … As a final treat, here are the best bloopers from news programmes.