Whats an example of an office clone?
Xerox
Lab Rats Page 9
Quote: Marc P @ July 11 2008, 2:08 PM BSTI thought the little woman with the giant Lemon was great, and you almost see her corpsing at one point.
I think i spotted the lemon looking embarrassed that he was involved.
When they were all leaving at the end, was the older woman dressed in flat cap and mac, with a paper bag a nod to Eric Morecombe somehow? You know, when Ernie sings and he wanders on.
Quote: Pete @ July 11 2008, 2:11 PM BSTWhats an example of an office clone?
Quote: Marc P @ July 11 2008, 2:08 PM BSTI don;t know really Aaron, I spose the science aspect, but also the daftness of it. I think the daftness is the point that people missed. If you don't find that kind of humour funny - watching thirty minutes of it won't help.
I love daft humour. The cruder and stupider the better. But this was just odd. It wasn't that it was silly, or that it was in a science lab, I just didn't find it funny.
I don't really understand the comparisons to The IT Crowd though. Apart from them both being in front of audiences, and subject being science/tech, what's the similarity?
Quote: Nil Putters @ July 11 2008, 2:12 PM BSTAnd the 'Russians' accent was terrible
Agreed!
Quote: Nil Putters @ July 11 2008, 2:15 PM BSTWhen they were all leaving at the end, was the older woman dressed in flat cap and mac, with a paper bag a nod to Eric Morecombe somehow? You know, when Ernie sings and he wanders on.
Morecambe* >_<
Quote: Aaron @ July 11 2008, 1:51 PM BSTNot that I'm saying that they'd think Lab Rats is good if they weren't writers, but just a general point.
Because I have been thinking about sitcoms lately, I did, unusually for me, watch Lab Rats with my writer's hat firmly on. I think it probably killed any chance of my actually enjoying it, but at the same time it also seems to have enabled me to take a more balanced view than most. What I do find surprising is would-be fellow professionals being so dismissive of someone else's efforts.
I think I shall have to watch it again with my writer's hat left off - if that is still possible. 
Quote: Timbo @ July 11 2008, 2:50 PM BSTBecause I have been thinking about sitcoms lately, I did, unusually for me, watch Lab Rats with my writer's hat firmly on. I think it probably killed any chance of my actually enjoying it, but at the same time it also seems to have enabled me to take a more balanced view than most. What I do find surprising is would-be fellow professionals being so dismissive of someone else's efforts.
I think I shall have to watch it again with my writer's hat left off - if that is still possible.
Watch it again and count the gag quota - there were loads. Whether people find them funny is a different matter, it was gatling with gags.
Quote: Aaron @ July 11 2008, 2:48 PM BSTI don't really understand the comparisons to The IT Crowd though. Apart from them both being in front of audiences, and subject being science/tech, what's the similarity?
I did think the exaggerated style of humour was similar, the problem was that the daftness was diluted with too much lame banter, as if the writers were trying to stick to a so-many-jokes-per-minute quotient. This affected the audience reaction, a continuous ripple of polite laughter rather than any genuine reaction the performers could work with. The biggest problem though was the performances, most of which were pitched wrong for the material. Addison was particularly poor, and since he was on screen almost continuously that pretty much sank it. Try imaging Chris Dowd or Dermot Morgan in the role to get an idea of how it could have worked.
I watched it on a cross trainer in the gym...i wasn't sat there with a note pad! And Marc P is right - it was FULL of gags, the problem is when they were that crap the audience laugh was just cringing....i was left thinking "what the hell are they laughing at"
In a few hours i'll be in the audience for Clone and i'm dying to see how they get us to laugh at every gag (cash would do it!)
Quote: Marc P @ July 11 2008, 2:53 PM BSTWatch it again and count the gag quota - there were loads. Whether people find them funny is a different matter, it was gatling with gags.
No I saw that, but to be honest I wondered if that was part of the problem. I shall have to watch an episode of the IT Crowd and compare the pacing.
Quote: Pete @ July 11 2008, 3:02 PM BSTthe problem is when they were that crap the audience laugh was just cringing....i was left thinking "what the hell are they laughing at"
Yes, I agree. Rather than encouraging me to laugh, the audience were just putting my back up.
Quote: Pete @ July 11 2008, 2:11 PM BSTWhats an example of an office clone?
Perhaps 'clone' was the wrong choice of word. I'm talking more about the general shift of tone that is produced in sitcom, from studio-audience based to those filmed without. Although there are a great many, recent examples of the latter, (some of which I named in my original message), there are other shows such as Never Better, Freezing and Lead Balloon, which, although entertaining, tend, rather lazily, to make use of the kind of subtlety prevalant in The Office, without, on the whole, being that funny. There's a lack of effort sometimes with these programme that studio-audience based ones can't (or at least, shouldn't, but very often do) get away with.
Noooo, Freezing was acetastic!
Quote: Aaron @ July 11 2008, 3:20 PM BSTNoooo, Freezing was acetastic!
Perhaps next time they'll make more than three bloody episodes!
Well that I won't argue with. Leon particualrly is an absolutely brilliant character.
Anyway, we're going off-topic in one of the only two forums where it's now discouraged. Erm. Lab Rats. As with any show, I'll be watching next week. I hope it gets better.
Thanks TCM. I'll no doubt forget to look again, but it does look like it could be an interesting series.
On which point, I see that Chris Addison himself wrote Lab Rats. Yikes.