View Full Version : Death of British Comedy
Big Adam
02-07-2003, 16:36
It's not all bad........some of it is just plain terrible :(
There's been recent high points (notably The Office) but after switching off after 20mins of the excruciatingly painful FortySomething (what was Hugh Laurie thinking?) a couple of days ago I found myself thinking:
Will British TV ever produce 30mins of TV as funny as episode "Bob" of Blackadder II???
(If you don't know which episode "Bob" is, identify someone who can inform you by telling them you have a plan and seeing if they reply "and it's as hot as your pants!")
I'm sure we have the talent, but TV companies are just not willing to take the 'risk' anymore and are happier to rely on family-orientated canned-laughter efforts like My Family (which used to be amusing but is now s***)
What's changed? I grew up on the much quoted classics in the seventies and eighties, had real treats like A Bit of Fry and Laurie in the Nineties but what's around now?
:rolleyes:
Anybody heard of any upcoming British TV programmes which might actually be funny? (and I don't include documentaries on Tourettes Syndrome in this)
B "she's got a tongue like an eel" A
it may not be your cup of tea but I love the young ones spin-off 'bottom'
its not on tv anymore but they still do their stage show... bottom live.
i'm going to the new one in a couple of months. should be a grin.
and i think the jelly in the stapler on the office is one of the funniest sketches i have ever seen.
Remember that ad campaign the BBC did a few years back responding to people's view that the tv license fee wasn't worth it? Then they'd reel off all these programs they made etc. etc. That advert could NEVER be shown now. The license fee is blatently not worth it. For the past 3 or 4 years, we've had to put up with a combination of the following and nothing else -
* hospital dramas
* pop star and it's spin offs
* airport fly on the wall dramas
* hairdressing fly on the wall dramas
* reality tv (stick em on an island or in a house)
* american sit-coms.
* graham norton
As you rightly say, there has not been a good british comedy for a long, long time. I never saw the office but by all reports, that was excellent. Actually, I tell a lie, Peter Kaye's Pheonix Nights was an exception.
And little else. I really believe that the tv production companies have either a. run out of ideas so are pinching ideas of other channels, or b. haven't the bottle to try new ideas. It's exactly the same as the music industry.
There's a tried and tested formula that appeals to very slightly more than half the viewing/listening public and so they're going to milk the formula for a few years more no doubt.
You just have to look at BBC and ITV, who are blatently copying what has proven to be a success on either tv channel and never coming up with ideas of their own. Popstars comes on tv, its a success so they follow it up with Pop Idol. BBC thinks, "hang about! we want some of this" and so Talent Academy or whatever the hell it was called, is thrown at us. Channel 4 comes up with that hairdressing fly on the wall documentary. BBC sniffs a potential earner and comes up with what ever the hell their their variation was called. Same with Sky TV and "Ibiza Uncovered"/"Holiday Reps" and then ITV with "Club Reps".
I can put up with ITV having a lack of ideas but BBC? When we're paying good money for this ****? This is the entire reason the last time I watched tv was literally over 3 months ago.
Sorry! Beginning to go on a bit now! :mad:
Welly
Big Adam
02-07-2003, 17:24
They are even showing RE-RUNS of Holiday Airport blah blah now.
For some reason I missed most of Pheonix Nights. I heard it was good though.
I loved Bottom! I actually thought it was funnier than The Young Ones. Do you remember Filthy, Rich and Catflap?
I saw Bottom Live (the original show) in Margate years ago. Even bought the "Who needs birds when you've got your mates?" t-shirt. I almost drenched my socks it was so funny. It might be funny on TV but when you get Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson interacting with an audience it is fantastic.
That said, I thought the videos for Bottom 2 and 3 were rubbish. Suppose you have to be there really?
BA
ling_thing
02-07-2003, 17:37
bring back monty python
thats what i say :)
it was good to see fawlty towers beign shown on BBC2 over past week or so as well :)
good old classic brittish comedy
What about the last series of alan partridge :D
There are still soem good british comedies around.
Phoenix nights, the office, alan partridge.
Trigger happy tv was funny. Spaced was class.
The best british comedy IMO though of late was time gentlemen please. I saw al murray live last year and he was brilliant.
Thing is there are some brilliant stand up comics in this country at the mom they just dont really translate well onto tv
danielctull
02-07-2003, 19:01
Harry Hill.
If you liked it on Channel 4, as I did, you probally hated the new look ITV version :@
It had a bigger budget, "better" guests but this ruined the classic brilliant style of the show :(
[GPO]Solitaire
02-07-2003, 20:52
Things are getting worse people!!!
the US are planning to Remake "Father Ted" it's now on an island called off the US New England coast!
I wonder how bad they will butcher the scripts :)
Originally posted by [GPO]Solitaire
Things are getting worse people!!!
the US are planning to Remake "Father Ted" it's now on an island called off the US New England coast!
I wonder how bad they will butcher the scripts :)
Hope they don't do the remake as badly as they did with the American version of Men Behaving Badly. Why do they need to remake it anyway since it was only done a few years ago?!
Big Adam
02-07-2003, 21:36
Originally posted by kopite
Spaced was class.
Actually Spaced was excellent..........and I'd forgotten all about The League of Gentlemen!! But it's so infrequent that you get a real gem.
BA
For me, The office, Pheonix Nights and please don't forget The League Of Gentlemen (it's a local shop for local people you know):)
I think TBH we probably get a decent new show or series at least once a year.
master baits
03-07-2003, 00:28
ma i was just thinking the would do fatter ted , but the humour doesnt travel well , the black humour of the celt doesnt cross the pond at all.
Now it may not have a script but the funniest thing im watching these days is dirty sanchez.
but overall british humour is well dead , still game is ok though from the glasgow perspective as is chewing the fat..
My favourite comedies have to be:
1. Red Dwarf (mostly the old series as the new ones becam americanised :P)
2. Blackadder
3. Dad's Army (As much as ppl say it's crude, it still makes me chuckle... They don't like it up 'em!)
4. 'Allo 'Allo
5. Yes Minister (both series)
6. Morcambe and Wise
Although they are dated it shows that you can still get a luagh without the constant need for swearing.
Big Adam
04-07-2003, 09:43
Allo Allo? - Really? Surely it's up there alongside hi-de-hi?
Although when I was sick with the chickenpox a few months ago, I do confess to watching the re-runs on the BBC :rolleyes:
But I was sick!
:D
BA
:D
I never really liked Hi-de-hi
But 'Allo 'Allo should be higher up my list in priorites where else would you find a gay german named pubert who fancies Rene like crazy :D or 2 waitresses that work upstairs ;)
Originally posted by master baits
but overall british humour is well dead
Sorry but thats utter crap.
On tv there may not be many good comedies but look at some of thge british comedians that are doing well
Bill baily, Billy connoly, Johnny Vegas, Steve coogan, Al murray, Sean huges, Chubby brown.
and a load of up and coming comedians who i cant remember their names of.
The problem is that tv is scared now. its much easier to make a reality show than to put comedians on
LANcaster
04-07-2003, 16:11
The first two series of "Coupling" are really quite funny, especially the early second series episodes, it's kinda lost it in the third series, but still one of the better modern comedies out there I would say. Also as kopite points out, there are quite a few good comedians out there; Ross Noble, Sean Meo, Jimmy Carr, Matt Welcome, etc.
Big Adam
04-07-2003, 16:31
Originally posted by kopite
The problem is that tv is scared now. its much easier to make a reality show than to put comedians on
Sure, British Comedy in the clubs is alive and kicking. Billy Connelly (as you mentioned), Eddie Izzard, Tim Vine (saw him on TV too actually), Boothby Grafoe etc etc.
But British TV comedy is dross and apart from a small minority flying the flag, the infusion of cheap mainly-American cobblers is killing it off.
(although just to contradict myself, Scrubs is absolutely great!!!)
BA
PJ Matthews
04-07-2003, 19:02
Scrubs isn't british....
Everyone is getting used to American Comedy, we can understand it well. On the other hand Americans can rarely understand ours. It took them 20 years to understand Monty Python!
Alot of British Comedians have buggered off to the states to try and crack it. Eddie Izard is relatively well known in the states, which is odd as it could be argued his comedy is very British.
Jack Dee, another fantastic comedian. His comic genius is very British indeed. Sarcasm is more popular than regular jokes into todays society (greatest form of wit) and no one carries it off better than this guy.
Lee Evans has the traditional slap stick approach which is amazingly funny.
Its not all gone but I do frequently finding myself looking across the atlantic for my comedy. There does seem to be something lacking here.
PJ
Big Adam
04-07-2003, 20:09
Who said Scrubs was British?
I just said it stood out from the US dross. :)
BA
We have a pool of great comedians like the ones mentioned. The problem imo is the poor quality of comedy writers these days. The comedy is either crude or predictable! The writers need to stop trying to make comedy (which I swear is for the IQ of a 10 year old and could easily feature on CBBC or CITV) all about someone falling over and that being the funniest part of the programme and put some intelligence back into it! There hasnt been a BBC sitcom that has made me fall of my chair with laughter like the moment where del and rodney ran through the smoke as batman and robin when that MP was getting mugged by a gang! SO well done! IMO they should never have made anymore after that! BTW I also agree with teh guy who said Red Dwarf became Americanised, i only ever watch I-VI now
danielctull
06-07-2003, 18:18
Originally posted by Poogash
BTW I also agree with teh guy who said Red Dwarf became Americanised, i only ever watch I-VI now
So what if it got a bit Americanised?
I love the scripts in VII and VIII, but in a different way to I - VI. I think it needed a slight change and get it back up to date, to take off again.
Ending to VIII is pure evil though. Just evil.
Yeah it was evil after saying "The smeg it is...". There was suppost to be a Red Dwarf film in the making, but i've heard nothing more than them rehearsing for it, and seeing concept designs.
The problem is the tv companies now wont take a chance on putting a decent comedy out in case its a flop so they go with safe stuff.
The 90`s had some brilliany probs but the millenium so far hasnt had any.
one of the really big problems is the tv companies seem obsessed with making clones of opther programs.
take scrubs for example, its good, the humour works really well.
the bbc (i think, mebbe itv) made a british version. if you can watch the whole thing without actually slitting some part of your body to relievve the pain, i salute you.
big train was class, the guys that made that came up with a new thing on 4 i think, like big train but a lot darker, which is saying something :o
Black books was good (think thats what it was called. the bill bayler series)_
Originally posted by iggy
the bbc (i think, mebbe itv) made a british version. if you can watch the whole thing without actually slitting some part of your body to relievve the pain, i salute you.
I can't agree more with that! The humour on that was so stupid and is exactly what I was talking about before, it's the kind of humour that barely entertained me when I was 10! But it is a sad fact that TV is always looking to America for inspiration instead of thinking of something new and original. Take Coupling for example, it is pretty much a rehash of Friends!
I thought Spaced was great - just got the series 1 DVD :) Hopping across the Atlantic, does anyone else watch Malcom in the Middle? I think it's really funny, but none of my friends do!
Classic Brittish Comedy, especially on TV was so good because it was made by educated people - the humor was there because it was a satrical look on the world from people who knew what it was and what it meant.
Most of the stuff you see nowadays is just taken from the originals - although some of it is good you have to admit the majority is just crap.
All of this american crap just drives me mad. I have never watched a full episode of any american programme. Theres no humor involved and canned laughter makes me want to scream. Kill it... Kill it all!!
scrubs doesnt have any canned laughter :) (i think, ive never noticed it)
danielctull
12-07-2003, 19:54
Canned laughter? Is that when the "audience" laughs?
If so, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have canned laughter.
It is, yes. That inane and mindragingly annoying waste of resources.
danielctull
12-07-2003, 20:35
I hate that woman on the front row ;)
She's always there with that big mouth :D
The Day Today was a class peice of satirical comedy! There was sooo much humour in it and alot of it is subtle and requires a brain
One of my favourite shows EVER ... black books. British comedy at it's best.
hillhopper
24-07-2003, 05:15
I'm lucky Big A, in the USA I see reruns of "Last of the Summer Wine" and "Keeping Up Appearances"
These are really fun comedies...I love them:cool:
Teachers on Channel 4 is brilliant. According to the adverts the new series is 'coming soon', but no date has been given yet. :(
I also like Red Dwarf. I wonder when the series 3 DVD will be released?
Series 3 release is sometime in novemeber and the box will be starbug colour :)
http://www.reddwarfshop.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=48&osCsid=376bfc2c7a7a1e438eb742b983a581eb
Will
BRass Eye I thought was brilliant comedy :D
hillhopper
24-07-2003, 12:02
Originally posted by PJ Matthews
Scrubs isn't british....
Everyone is getting used to American Comedy, we can understand it well. On the other hand Americans can rarely understand ours. It took them 20 years to understand Monty Python!
Alot of British Comedians have buggered off to the states to try and crack it. Eddie Izard is relatively well known in the states, which is odd as it could be argued his comedy is very British.
Jack Dee, another fantastic comedian. His comic genius is very British indeed. Sarcasm is more popular than regular jokes into todays society (greatest form of wit) and no one carries it off better than this guy.
Lee Evans has the traditional slap stick approach which is amazingly funny.
Its not all gone but I do frequently finding myself looking across the atlantic for my comedy. There does seem to be something lacking here.
PJ
I am a huge fan of Red Dwarf & I love the old british sit coms like "The last of the Summer Wine" & "Keeping up appearances"
oh well, I'm out-numbered here, naturally we americans have no couth or breeding
hillhopper
24-07-2003, 12:07
Originally posted by EJ Will
Series 3 release is sometime in novemeber and the box will be starbug colour :)
http://www.reddwarfshop.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=48&osCsid=376bfc2c7a7a1e438eb742b983a581eb
Will
Thnx , I was wondering when it would be out, My hubby just bought II for my birthday cos Red Dwarf is my fav
Hooray - Red Dwarf 3 is out soon(ish)!! Thanx for that EJ Will. Now that I've got 1 & 2 I'm gonna have to get the others so that I have the complete logo on the spines!:D
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