Comedy Duo Dead Weights

Comedy duos, they're greeeeaaatttt! (As a famous tiger once said.)

The Two Ronnies, Reeves and Mortimer, Harry and Paul, Lee and Herring, The Mighty Boosh, all fantastic comedy parings, but not all of the partnerships have been equal in my opinion.

When I think back to Morecambe and Wise, I often wonder if Wise could have been just about anyone off the street?

And when I think of David Baddiel, I often wonder how he got on telly in the first place?

Perhaps I am missing the subtleties involved and that the comedy pairings weren't misguided. Perhaps if I had had a Tardis, I could have witnessed the Wise and Baddiel show in a parallel universe and thought it the funniest thing ever.

In the case of French and Saunders, you had two equally strong performers, hence their separate successful spin offs - Ab Fab and Vic of Dib. Can anyone else think of situations / pairings which just didn't work?

Sorry to ask, but I've just re-watched the Mitchell and Webb 'Chip and Pin' sketch on YouTube as a direct response to the news that Cannon and Ball are currently touring and it made me think about comedy duos and such.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ March 11 2009, 5:55 PM GMT

When I think back to Morecambe and Wise, I often wonder if Wise could have been just about anyone off the street?

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Grrr...

Quote: Balf @ March 11 2009, 6:03 PM GMT

Grrr...

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Agreed.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ March 11 2009, 5:55 PM GMT

And when I think of David Baddiel, I often wonder how he got on telly in the first place?

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That's the opinion of someone who doesn't know anything.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ March 11 2009, 5:55 PM GMT

When I think back to Morecambe and Wise, I often wonder if Wise could have been just about anyone off the street?

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Actually, I think the fact you've said that is testament to their success, and how natural they were. If they'd been forced, then the intricate preparation would have shown and their reliance on each other more apparent. But they really were one and the same.

Rob Newman was the better half by a long chalk, only mildly funny thing Baddiel did was the Poltergeist stuff.

Ernie Wise was GENIUS. Watch him dancing behind Jack Jones, or with Cilla, or, or anything really!
In the first place, a funny man needs a less funny man to be next to, to show how funny he is- and that role is very important and just as hard. In the second place, little Ern was funny himself anyway. The 'Little Ern' persona was a well defined, well played creation in its own right.

Situations and pairings that don't work?- well, there's Horne & Corden for a start...

I also feel it necessary to mention that before Eddie Braben started writing for them, Eric was the straight man and Ernie the comic.

Its also worth mentioning that Braben didn't start writing for them until he'd met them, talked to them and observed the warmth between them - something that comes across in spades in the scripts AND performances.

Which is maybe another reason Horne & Corden isn't working. Just 'names' performing a 'script'.

H&C seem to have just been thrown together in a deliberate way.

There's no dynamic or chemistry between them.

I don't doubt they think each other is hilarious and are probably the life and soul of the party. But that's not enough to carry a show is it?

Crikey! Didn't realise I'd hit a nerve with the Ernie Wise fans. I just didn't find him that funny compared to the Godlike Morecambe. I can understand the affection people have for him and the wamrth between M&W, but you could say the same thing about Jennifer Stevenson (Hynes) and Simon Pegg or Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. However Pegg is the stronger of these two duos, just as Morecambe outshone Wise.

As for Baddiel, I'm still of the opinion that he's a comedy parasite when he teams up with Newman/Skinner. He's a posh writer now, so maybe he's found his real talent.

Thanks for explaining the subtleties of the comedy pairings by typing 'Grrr, you know nothing!' That's helped me loads.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ March 12 2009, 12:07 AM GMT

Jennifer Stevenson (Hynes)

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(Jessica)

Whoops! Typical me, I looked up her new married name and added it to be all factually accurate and the like and then boobed up the first name. At least I didn't call her Juliet Stevenson or Gregory Hynes.

Was he the black tap dancer?