It was suggested that I might try a comedy called Fleabag. I don't have Netflix or Sky, just terrestrial and Freeview, so on YouTube I found some clips of Fleabag and it's probably an age thing, but on the strength of these clips it's not for me. Laughs for me come from good scripts and actors regardless of where the scene is set. Maybe I'm lazy, but if I watch an episode of The Vicar Of Dibley I laughing all the way without trying. All the best.
Quote: everhopeful @ 31st March 2018, 2:11 PMIt was suggested that I might try a comedy called Fleabag. I don't have Netflix or Sky, just terrestrial and Freeview, so on YouTube I found some clips of Fleabag and it's probably an age thing, but on the strength of these clips it's not for me. Laughs for me come from good scripts and actors regardless of where the scene is set. Maybe I'm lazy, but if I watch an episode of The Vicar Of Dibley I laughing all the way without trying. All the best.
Slow-burners can take a bit of getting used to, usually a lot more than a trailer. I recommend you watch a few episodes before making your mind up on it, that said it could just not be for you
That's a fair point, I will watch a few full episodes. With slow burners, for me, I never know if they will ignite my interest and for how long I should watch them. All the best.
Have to agree that most current comedies just leave me cold, IMHO comedy is there to make you laugh and the 4 programmes mentioned by OP all fall into that category. Maybe they are not supposed to be comedies like a sit com, as has been mentioned more like a dramedy.
Another shocking one is Bad Move, how that even go into production is beyond me
Comedy-drama as a term seems to be thrown around a lot just to mean any single-camera comedy the person writing doesn't like, now removed from whatever definition it originally had. When I was looking at old TV listings from around the turn of the millennium, Two Pints was described as one! As were repeats of Porridge and Only Fools and Horses
I can't disagree on Bad Move
Bad Move was the best of the recent sitcoms. I guess that you just don't like Jack Dee.
I dont mind Jack Dee as a stand up, but in this sit com, not just him, the whole programme is simply not funny, not even mildly amusing
Seconded. Lead Balloon was good though
As a new member, I have just come across this thread and now don't have to start my own on the same subject. I don't find most of what are billed as comedy shows funny. I had high hopes for 'Scarborough' as I really liked 'Benidorm' and thought it might be a Brit version of it. Alas apart from a couple of funny moments in the first episode I might as well have been watching Eastenders or Corrie. Same with 'Don't forget the Driver' (should have been called 'Don't forget the Comedy'). I loved 'The Detectorists' but not for the comedy. What is billed as comedy should just be billed as drama.
Comedy to me was 'Only Fools and Horses', 'Vicar of Dibley', or 'One Foot in the Grave'. Something that makes me laugh throughout. I appreciate the point someone made above about comedy dramas. I have written one myself, six episodes based on my experiences learning to fly called 'Cleared To Land'. I have entered it into a few comedy competitions but no luck yet. I am just going to enter it into Sitcoms Geeks contest but listening to their podcast about what a comedy series should be and contain, I think is it worth it? They only read the first ten pages before binning it if it isn't brimming with jokes and good characters. In ten pages??? And if that is the criteria for a good comedy, how do all the crap ones we get on TV get selected?
I'm confused.
Quote: smc4761 @ 12th December 2018, 4:31 PMI dont mind Jack Dee as a stand-up, but in (Bad Move), not just him, the whole programme is simply not funny, not even mildly amusing
I would never describe Bad Move as funny but I found it highly enjoyable and I'd rate it among the better sitcoms of recent times.
It was written with quiet confidence and it was performed with quiet confidence by Jack Dee and Kerry Godliman.
Nobody, whether writing or acting, was working themselves into a lather but everybody was doing an excellent job.
As I've said (controversially) before, comedy isn't all about making people laugh.
Quote: navpaks @ 31st October 2019, 5:11 PMAs a new member, I have just come across this thread and now don't have to start my own on the same subject. I don't find most of what are billed as comedy shows funny. I had high hopes for 'Scarborough' as I really liked 'Benidorm' and thought it might be a Brit version of it. Alas apart from a couple of funny moments in the first episode I might as well have been watching Eastenders or Corrie. Same with 'Don't forget the Driver' (should have been called 'Don't forget the Comedy'). I loved 'The Detectorists' but not for the comedy. What is billed as comedy should just be billed as drama.
Comedy to me was 'Only Fools and Horses', 'Vicar of Dibley', or 'One Foot in the Grave'. Something that makes me laugh throughout. I appreciate the point someone made above about comedy dramas. I have written one myself, six episodes based on my experiences learning to fly called 'Cleared To Land'. I have entered it into a few comedy competitions but no luck yet. I am just going to enter it into Sitcoms Geeks contest but listening to their podcast about what a comedy series should be and contain, I think is it worth it? They only read the first ten pages before binning it if it isn't brimming with jokes and good characters. In ten pages??? And if that is the criteria for a good comedy, how do all the crap ones we get on TV get selected?
I'm confused.
Ten pages is plenty for a strong plot to get going and lots of jokes. Just cut the waffle.
Quote: navpaks @ 31st October 2019, 5:11 PMAs a new member, I have just come across this thread and now don't have to start my own on the same subject. I don't find most of what are billed as comedy shows funny. I had high hopes for 'Scarborough' as I really liked 'Benidorm' and thought it might be a Brit version of it. Alas apart from a couple of funny moments in the first episode I might as well have been watching Eastenders or Corrie. Same with 'Don't forget the Driver' (should have been called 'Don't forget the Comedy'). I loved 'The Detectorists' but not for the comedy. What is billed as comedy should just be billed as drama.
Comedy to me was 'Only Fools and Horses', 'Vicar of Dibley', or 'One Foot in the Grave'. Something that makes me laugh throughout. I appreciate the point someone made above about comedy dramas. I have written one myself, six episodes based on my experiences learning to fly called 'Cleared To Land'. I have entered it into a few comedy competitions but no luck yet. I am just going to enter it into Sitcoms Geeks contest but listening to their podcast about what a comedy series should be and contain, I think is it worth it? They only read the first ten pages before binning it if it isn't brimming with jokes and good characters. In ten pages??? And if that is the criteria for a good comedy, how do all the crap ones we get on TV get selected?
I'm confused.
Well, I think the Sitcom Geeks contest is looking for things that are traditional sitcom-esque, like the Dibley types you cite. If you've written a comedy drama then it's probably not right for a sitcom contest? Dave would certainly be happy to read such a script as part of his other services though.
As to your point about comedy on television - it's a mystery to us all.
Quote: navpaks @ 31st October 2019, 5:11 PMThey only read the first ten pages before binning it if it isn't brimming with jokes and good characters. In ten pages???
I suspect a great many scripts are binned well before the end of Page 1.
If the first page is good, a reader will go on to the second page.
If the second page is good, he/she will go on to the third.
At the end of the 10th page, if it's still good there's a chance the writer might be the sort of person they're looking for.
However, if you can't write 10 pages that put a genuine smile on the readers face, you're probably not the sort of person they're looking for.
In practice, of course, it may be that some readers do read the first 10 pages (out of a sense of duty or contractual obligation) but, even if they do, it's still entirely possible that they'll bin it for all practical purposes before reaching page 10.
