Did anyone else catch this on BBC One last night? I was wary because Ben Elton preaching about good sitcom did seem a tad ironic, but actually he made some very salient points, a lot of which I agreed with, especially when it comes to judging sitcoms prematurely.
The Wright Way is utter tripe though.
I caught some of this, and intend to watch it in full. I think he made some good points in the bits I saw. It's always interesting to note the interest with the audience, and I notice Stephen Fry was less than impressed when he was in shot a couple of times.
No, but I shall seek it out.
Ben Elton is like Marmite and I have blown hot and cold with him for years, but here he was an excellent choice for this inaugural lecture of which it was about time too and a fitting person for it to be named after.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and glad I watched it (this evening) on the digi-box so I could "star" spot people in the audience. 
I enjoyed it.
Now I'm wondering, did I judge Mrs. Brown's Boys too quickly?.....probably, but I still doubt that one is for me. S'alright though because I'm no where near at a loss for new comedy (and old) to explore and enjoy right now.
I am glad to hear a rallying call for studio sitcoms and a call for audiences not to write them off in this still-post-Office era, and for commissioners to give them their due, even though they're expensive to make compared to say a panel show, and even though it seems people think audiences don't want more studio sitcoms anymore, and that we want them to die off. I think we do want them though, don't we? Seems like that's something we've all been complaining about the lack of lately on here for ages. All this talk about modern comedy being rubbish always seems to come down to people yearning for good old studio sitcoms. There are only like 2 studio sitcoms out there right now (could be wrong on that one).
Twas a good lecture. Ben Elton knows what he's talking about, even if he is kind of awful half the time.
Ben Elton started to lose it with 'The Man From Auntie' - coincidentally, just as the 80s ended. It was fine by most people's standards, but didn't have the bite and energy he was known for. Compare s1 ep2 to 'Motormouth' and you'll hear what I mean. 'The Young Ones' was awesome and 'Happy Families' is a gem.
I f**king hate Blackadder.
2017's Ben Elton lecturing on how to write sitcoms is like Stephen Hawking coaching the art of backflips, but the comments are positive so I'll BubeTube it.
Seems like this place is a common venue for whinging that there are no good new sitcoms. Here we have someone with a voice advocating for saving the art of the studio sitcom, and for commissioners and audiences to give new sitcoms a chance to flourish. He's speaking on all our behalf, isn't he? Fighting for what we love? This is a good thing, no?
I've just seen it. A splendidly entertaining and thought-provoking lecture from one of our best comedy writers. My ambition now is to write a studio sitcom!
I hope you do Beaky. I would watch it.
Perhaps Nitrous Oxide could be released amongst the audience.
Ha! That would be an interesting comedic experiment/experience. Book me in for tix to the taping of that. Sure beats going to the dentist.
I know at actual tapings to things fueling the crowd with booze is pretty ubiquitous. Makes sense though.
Quote: Davida @ 2nd September 2017, 7:53 PMFighting for what we love?
I love Melanie C's shoulderblades. Another series of The Wright Way comes fairly low on the list.
Quote: beaky @ 2nd September 2017, 9:30 PMone of our best comedy writers.
If he'd been frozen in 1988.
I'll iPlayer this later as Elton is pretty sharp about stuff and is a true sas fan, even if he is an odious little champagne socialist trendy intellectual lefty shitehawk.
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 4th September 2017, 8:07 AMI'll iPlayer this later as Elton is pretty sharp about stuff and is a true sas fan, even if he is an odious little champagne socialist trendy intellectual lefty shitehawk.
We're none of us perfect!
