Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle - Series 1 Page 19

"From telly to belly"

"It's bigger than big, it's large."

"What will the history books say?" "John Major hit the Queen, the rest will be a footnote".

"Today is the anniversary of 1942"

"See you respect the pig - but the pig doesn't respect you, that's your problem"

"When you go to the toilet do you have an Armitage-Shanks defaecation scenario? Or do just have a shit?"

"Bad ecclesiastical hurting"

"The Sun simply goes with Robin Cock"

"Not too late for Freddy Mercury says minister..."

And many, many more...

Quote: zooo @ March 24 2009, 9:57 PM GMT

Well I don't know, because he's cleverer than me!

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I believe the Emperor's tailor had a similar sales pitch.

I approached this with a lot of good will because of fond memories of This Morning With Richard Not Judy, but it just feels like no-one told him that the sort of mugging that goes down a storm in front of fans determined to have a good time is not necessarily going to make good telly.

Yes that's it, I don't find him funny or clever, I'm much too ignorant to have a genuine opinion, I'm just following that darn herd again...!

From this thread, by the way, it seems the herd are the people who don't like him. They are outnumbering the people who enjoy the show.

From 5 to 1 on we have drifted out to evens I would say.

And in fairness I was only quoting back your own expressed opinion of yourself. Which I did not take entirely seriously.

Well perhaps you should!

Quote: Martin H @ March 24 2009, 10:53 PM GMT

No because it was actually a fact. Lee did come through the comedy gates with Iannucci and Morris and co. He did help create the first formation of Alan Partridge. He was attacking the media on radio and television, while Brooker was still writing game reviews. And he is one of the most acclaimed stand-ups in the country or the world according to Channel 4, 41st best ever apparently.

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Brooker writing games reviews? 41st best ever?

Now Martin is repeating himself just like Stewart Lee, this cannot end well.

Before people explode into fits of 'you're too dumb to get it retard', can I just reiterate that I like Stewart Lee but didn't like the second episode much.

I thought it would have been better to just say about the sewage rather than show it three times but other than that I'm still loving this series.

Someone else mentioned Bill Hicks (my favourite of all time) and I didn't always know with BH what he really thought or whether he was having a go at himself as well as everyone else. Especially as he'd change his mind at times.

I loved March of the Penguins and Del Boy falling through a hatch at the time, but that didn't detract from my enjoying Lee's rants on the subject. I enjoy the awkward moments e.g. at the end where he's waiting for his applause, whether that was predetermined or not.

And I can almost enjoy the shame when he talks to the camera and tells me off! I'll try to do better.

As long as he's not ripping anyone else off I'm not fussed if he's doing a similar thing to other people. He's putting his own slant on it. This is now one of my 'TV highlights of the week...'

Jx

Quote: Timbo @ March 24 2009, 11:43 PM GMT

but it just feels like no-one told him that the sort of mugging that goes down a storm in front of fans determined to have a good time is not necessarily going to make good telly.

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So you haven't watched any of his acclaimed stand up since then? And mugging? He's hardly Lee Evans now is he!

Quote: zooo @ March 24 2009, 11:45 PM GMT

From this thread, by the way, it seems the herd are the people who don't like him. They are outnumbering the people who enjoy the show.

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Well, it feels more like the people that don't like him are enjoying hanging around and slating him again and again, whereas a lot of the people who praised him have done so once or twice, then legged it, leaving us to hold the fort!

*Swings Massive Sword* Back Aaron *Slash!* be gone Timbo!!

I love this show, he's using a lot of material from his stand up tour last year but it's still good for me. Its very cutting, cynical and clever (and probably more words beginning with 'c'). Of course people don't like it - it's comedy, we all differ in taste.

Personally, Del Boy falling through the bar is genius. He criticises the lack of craft for the joke but that is all in the setup, situation and execution. But with Stewart Lee you don't know what he really feels, its comedy.

Woah! You don't watch it until a day afterwards and ten pages of opinions bounce up!

Again, quality. *So* different to the normal stuff.

Don't people 'get' that he's taking the mickey out of himself as much as anything else? The futility of coming up with something he thinks is new, innovative, potentially (thought not necessarily) ground-breaking comedy, for everyone else to laugh at something so mainstream causing him to drop to the lowest common denominator by hanging his life by a thread from an 'art-deco' balcony, just to appear popular.

It screws him up inside that the more mainstream he becomes, the less act he has. Anybody who's followed the journey it's taken to get this commissioned/finally on TV would probably understand his frustration. Most of it stems from the fact that he wants to be popular, but on his terms, and by making everyone else in the country more intelligent.

Surely the point of the repetition sketches was that all that is on is shit, but we'll still watch the shit for ages. And even though it was shit, we'll still check what shit's on there again. And again. And again. Maybe it was laboured, but not to do it would have lost the whole point, no? Anyway, if you have to explain it...

Perversely, he's perhaps at his best (and I'm sure he'll hate this) is when he f**ks things up, as can be seen in the 'red button' bits. He's *so* quick to react/jump on his own mistakes with humour, that is probably the 'live' aspect that's missing from the show itself. You can also tell he's thinking *all the time*, when he's starts up about dubbing his mistakes and the impact that would have.

Incidentally, I did agree about Richard Herring's voice being part of his act. But then, why split the money now you've learnt to do it yourself?

Dan

Quote: swerytd @ March 25 2009, 9:09 AM GMT

Surely the point of the repetition sketches was that all that is on is shit, but we'll still watch the shit for ages. And even though it was shit, we'll still check what shit's on there again. And again. And again. Maybe it was laboured, but not to do it would have lost the whole point, no? Anyway, if you have to explain it...

Dan

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Hi Dan - You're right from a comedy POV. It was purely personal taste, that I didn't like watching it over and over.

Thanks for the red button reminder though. I keep forgetting that bit - I'll look it up on the 'net later.

Jx

Quote: Jane Perrin @ March 25 2009, 9:31 AM GMT

Hi Dan - You're right from a comedy POV. It was purely personal taste, that I didn't like watching it over and over.

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Stewart Lee is not going to stop just cos *you* don't like it

Thanks for the red button reminder though. I keep forgetting that bit - I'll look it up on the 'net later.

I couldn't find it online yesterday. Luckily (as someone's already mentioned) the red button seemed to have it on a constant loop if you click on 'BBC Comedy'. If you even have the red button!

Dan

I watch comedy to have a laugh not necessarily to be 'challenged' or lectured or think "oh this guy is VERY clever... very thought provoking.."

Other comedians make similar points about how shit TV list shows are, about the banality of mainstream TV in general, but they make you laugh at the same time. That was one of the main themes of Extras amongst other things.

All that "My Grandad..." stuff was just oh-so-clever deconstruction of his own act- 'aren't I clever and brave and different'.. But oh-so-well rehearsed and lacking in spontaneity. And wit.

It seemed like 15 minutes of material stretched out to 30 minutes just be speaking verrrrry slowly...

Quote: Maurice Minor @ March 25 2009, 10:08 AM GMT

I watch comedy to have a laugh not necessarily to be 'challenged' or lectured or think "oh this guy is VERY clever... very thought provoking.."

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Some people read the Beano for humour some people read Aristophanes. It's no biggie.

Quote: Maurice Minor @ March 25 2009, 10:08 AM GMT

I watch comedy to have a laugh not necessarily to be 'challenged' or lectured or think "oh this guy is VERY clever... very thought provoking.."

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Personally I like to have a whole range of different comedic experiences, but each to their own. I suppose you could always not watch this, if you dislike it so much??