Ok, so there are already spoofs of spoofs, and sitcoms about clowns (or the circus, anyway). Has there ever been a sitcom involving psychics?
Psychics
I knew you were going to say that.
Quote: NoggetFred @ July 16 2009, 6:07 PM BSTOk, so there are already spoofs of spoofs, and sitcoms about clowns (or the circus, anyway). Has there ever been a sitcom involving psychics?
There was one show - it wasn't sitcom but had some geezer pretending to be this camp psychic.
Now PHYSICS - that would be funny.
Hilarious Brownian Motion gags and a guest appearance by a speccy git with a funny voice in a wheelchair.
It may not be British, or a full-on comedy, but Psych is a really funny comedy-mystery-drama about a fake psychic.
Quote: hotzappa11 @ July 16 2009, 9:27 PM BSTIt may not be British, or a full-on comedy, but Psych is a really funny comedy-mystery-drama about a fake psychic.
Psych is a medium drama at best. And it's not funny, well at least the first 3 episodes I watched anyway.
Quote: Ladma @ July 16 2009, 6:12 PM BST
Shirley Ghostman was essentially a prank show, not a sitcom. And it was a flop.
Paranormal comedies are a very hard sell. I know that from experience. 
Paranormal stuff is a bit beyond parody, really.
Idiots believe in it, rational people find it annoying; charlatans, arseholes and the mentally deluded practice it.
Hard to see how you'd have a take on the subject that would be sympathetically funny.
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 16 2009, 11:39 PM BSTParanormal stuff is a bit beyond parody, really.
Idiots believe in it, rational people find it annoying; charlatans, arseholes and the mentally deluded practice it.
Hard to see how you'd have a take on the subject that would be sympathetically funny.
My take on it was the massive success of all these paranormal shows coming out of America right now, like Lost, Heroes etc, as well as the huge interest over here in Doctor Who, Most Haunted etc. And the supernatural has been used to good effect in comedy films before, Ghostbusters, Death Becomes Her, Beetlejuice, Little Nicky, Bruce Almighty, the list literally goes on. So my argument was always "why hasn't there been a paranormal sketch show made yet?", to which quite often the reply was "because Shirley Ghostman was shit".
I absolutely guarantee that someone will make a comedy sketch show about the supernatural. Probably someone like The League Of Gents. And I'll be very pissed off but also vindicated somewhat.
The difficulty with sketch show format proposals is convincing a producer that it was actually their idea. They like their ideas when it comes to sketch. 
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 17 2009, 12:27 AM BSTThe difficulty with sketch show format proposals is convincing a producer that it was actually their idea. They like their ideas when it comes to sketch.
The producer liked it in my case. It was the channel commissioner who ultimately turned it down in favour of something else.
Oh well
Booooooooooooooo! 
Quote: Lazzard @ July 16 2009, 6:13 PM BSTThere was one show - it wasn't sitcom but had some geezer pretending to be this camp psychic.
Now PHYSICS - that would be funny.
Hilarious Brownian Motion gags and a guest appearance by a speccy git with a funny voice in a wheelchair.
'Big Bang Theory'
Quote: Stan Doubt @ July 17 2009, 12:01 PM BST'Big Bang Theory'
Good point.
Kind of glad I didn't spend a month working up an outline now.