No, I like to set my standards a bit lower than most, otherwise I set myself up for disappointment, reality and a possibly dreary future life. I remain optimistic.
Wouldn't say the first episode of Black Books or Father Ted was "hilarious". Good certainly, but not amazing. Haven't seen The Inbetweeners, so can't comment on that.
I thought it was all right, not the greatest thing i've seen but certainly not one of the worst. Some good lines, and I still laughed at the bulb and the chair scene, also the giant snail was a good. But that's it really. I like Chris Addison as a performer.
The giant snail was superb. They must have watched del boy at bar, basil and the tree branch and Brent's dance for inspiration.
Back to earth - is it not on at an odd time? Don't bbc2 post 9pm viewers want a bit more subtly? This felt like Saturday afternoon stuff...kids might laugh at big lemons?
Quote: Pete @ July 10 2008, 10:23 PM BSTThe giant snail was superb. They must have watched del boy at bar, basil and the tree branch and Brent's dance for inspiration.
Back to earth - is it not on at an odd time? Don't bbc2 post 9pm viewers want a bit more subtly? This felt like Saturday afternoon stuff...kids might laugh at big lemons?
You can do trad without using funny foreign accents and jokes from 1978 though, can't you?
Those weren't jokes from 1978. They just weren't jokes.
Quote: Seefacts @ July 10 2008, 10:30 PM BSTYou can do trad without using funny foreign accents and jokes from 1978 though, can't you?
Those help to make it funnier. I love funny foreign accents (I like imitating them all the time), and old jokes are made funnier when characters know how old they are - the Russian scientist's surname for one. I soon got over the foreign accents anyway.
I didn't get the surname bits. 
Quote: Aaron @ July 10 2008, 10:40 PM BSTI didn't get the surname bits.
You missed Billy Ray Cyrus? And Babooshka? Let me guess, you missed the "non-jokes" deliberately... 
Pretty feeble all in all and I only just managed to sit through the entire half hour. I like one of the actresses (the girl who was in 1 ep of Phoenix Nights) but apart from that there was little to commend it.
Quote: Gluben @ July 10 2008, 10:41 PM BSTYou missed Billy Ray Cyrus? And Babooshka?
The Babooshka thing, yeah. But the others I didn't get.
Hmm.
The jokes came thick and past, but the quality control was not there, though the annoying indiscriminate laughter made it difficult work out what was actually funny and what was not. Was I the only one who thought this suffered from being filmed in front of an audience? I also felt some of the younger cast members, particularly Chris Addison had their timing thrown off by the audience, rather than them bouncing off them.
There were also problems of tone. The performances ranged from the almost naturalistic to the painfully over the top.
On the whole the broader the comedy got the funnier it was, but they kept falling back into banter to keep the gag count up. Pausing for breath and going for the big laughs might have worked better.
It will probably run a lot smoother when we know the characters. For instance the Professor blowing the budget on erecting an equestrian statue of himself might have been funny if we had known who he was. When people say that shows were funny from the first episode this can involve an element of hindsight if the first show is being revisited in the context of what followed.
There was certainly potential. I don't think the current series is going to catch fire, there are too many issues to sort out. But If the BBC give it another season, and maybe lose the studio audience, it could work. Possibly.
I'm afraid this was undeniably an attempt to cash in on the success of the IT crowd as I think Seefacts said.
I'll watch the second episode if they have some chugging beagles or they cut the speech centre out of a monkey's brain.
I thought it was certainly an interesting programme with some good ideas and great effects, although it was not as funny as I hoped it would be. I'll watch the next episode mind.
Terrible. Even worse than that hiphop sitcom Dreck and Flippoff.
