Though Eric got most of the laughs, many were generated by Ernie's pompous persona, his "short, fat hairy legs" and his famous thatch of hair, which Eric would tug insisting "you can't see the join".

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The press, currently so pious and pompous about the BBC's mistakes, faces the Leveson report at a very low level of public trust, and unless it learns to deal with its mistakes in a serious and transparent way, that is how it will remain.

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There's also this slightly pompous suggestion that a best-of-seven series is the most honest way of sorting out the best teams.

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The two military men of note are the regimental doctor (Tom Nelis, compassionate and a bit pompous), and Fosca's kindly cousin, the colonel who leads the regiment (Stephen Bogardus, briskly authoritative).

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Then of course, there's Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr. in a knockout performance), a pompous multi-Oscar winner who is always eager to show audiences just how far he'll go for the sake of art.

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