Ken Urban Advisor Sketch

Feedback welcome. Avoided the Caracus puns this time.

INT. HUGO CHAVEZ'S OFFICE.
KEN LIVINGSTONE ENTERS.

CHAVEZ
Comrade Livingstone!

KEN LIVINGSTONE
Chavvy! Good to see you, Comrade!

CHAVEZ:
Touch, blud (THEY TOUCH FISTS).

Ahh, your London "youth speak". As Venezuela's new Urban Advisor, perhaps you'll teach me the rest of the lingo. But first, you say your London experience is helpful for regenerating Caracus, in line with our Socialist ideals?

KEN
First, congestion needs to be improved. I propose a charge for all cars into the city. Of course, this won't apply to the millions living in poverty.

CHAVEZ
Of course. They can't afford cars.

KEN
Next, public transport. I suggest more bendy buses.

CHAVEZ
Ah, the sweet smell of revolution. Of burning, anyway

KEN
As for policing, whilst Mayor I had extensive experience at dealing with South Americans.

CHAVEZ
Actually, we‘re a bit short of plumbers as it is.

KEN
Also, I'd like to stay in a better hotel

CHAVEZ
I'll see what I can do. To Socialism!

KEN
That hotel had better be five star!

Good idea, but where's the punchline?

Initially, was the dictator line. The end was meant to show the "Communist" who always gets unequal accommodation. Tend to get a bit lost with forming coherent punchlines, get distracted by afterthoughts and clumsily include them

I thought this was a bit patchy. The plumbers gag was fine, if slightly obscure. But the public transport one was strained, the press one a bit old hat, and the barrel of grease thing did not really work for me.

The ending was actually okay.

Maybe it's because I actualyl am a massive socialist, but this didn't work for me.

Now, give me a good Boris Johnson skethc, and I'll laugh my arse pink whether there are any gags in it or not.

Quote: Jonathan21 @ September 1 2008, 8:43 PM BST

Maybe it's because I actualyl am a massive socialist, but this didn't work for me.

Now, give me a good Boris Johnson skethc, and I'll laugh my arse pink whether there are any gags in it or not.

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Well, as it happens I tried the same from a Boris perspective (The above wasn't so much a comment about socialism as an attempted Ken sketch using stereotypes - but I agree was rather strained. Be thankful I didn't post the one about Ken working for "Socialist Services").

Anyhow, here's the Boris one (couldn't make it work but seeing as you don't care about gags):

BORIS JOHNSON'S OFFICE

BORIS IS READING THE PAPER

BORIS
Oh, bugger. Frederick!

FREDERICK, AN AIDE, WALKS OVER

FREDERICK
Sir?

BORIS
What's this piffle about Red Ken working for the Venezuelans now?

FREDERICK
Well, as London Mayor he made an agreement with them that they'd provide cheap oil, and we'd give them advice on running a successful city.

BORIS
Yes, yes. We cancelled that didn't we? Immoral to be subsidised by a poor South American country, and all that.

FREDERICK
Yes, sir. At a cost of £12 million. But now Ken's giving them free advice anyway.

BORIS
Right. Err, so we're now a poor Western country subsidising a poor, South American country?

FREDERICK
Is that more moral or shall I cancel that, too?

I think the BoJo one has a bit more focus. The Ken one starts brightly (e.g "Chavvy") and has a few decent back and forths, but as someone else said there didn't seem to be a punchline.

Also, satire about incumbent politicians and their views is more relevant than something about a man who was voted out.