Quote: James Turner @ December 26 2009, 8:43 PM GMTwhat british comedy needs, cheap sketches that are as bizarre as python without the pop culture references. and funny.
Sounds like a backward step to me. And was Python dependent on pop culture references?!
Quote: Ben @ December 27 2009, 2:52 PM GMTAnd was Python dependent on pop culture references?!
Semprini?
Quote: Ben @ December 27 2009, 2:52 PM GMTSounds like a backward step to me. And was Python dependent on pop culture references?!
Never step on a python is my advice.
Comedy is such a broad genre now on TV, there's plenty of stand up stuff on, panel shows, chat shows, sketch and impression shows, comedy drama and the newish experimental stuff like We Are Klang, Mighty Boosh and others. Comedy has even taken over much of kids' TV with some big names like Marcus Brigstock unafraid to tie themselves to the CBeebies mantle. There is a massive range of comedy on TV now but for me this has meant 'quantity over quality' the last couple of years, so yes I think there is room for a new top quality comedy show, and I would love to see it in Sitcom most of all. Once the gold standard of all TV comedy forms, it has definitely lost ground to the edgier adult stand up and panel show stuff. Sitcom is the one area where I would certainly say a 'saviour' was needed at the mo. Miranda is good but let's face it, it's not going to be an Only Fools And Horses or Dad's Army, is it. TV commissioners, pull your fingers out and LOOK for that new classic sitcom we badly need. And stop thinking everything HAS to be edgy!
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ December 28 2009, 8:12 AM GMTI think there is room for a new top quality comedy show/
I think that concept was better suited to the times when there was only radio, and the streets emptied as Hancock was broadcast, or when there were just 3 TV channels, and the Christmas Specials got huge audiences. Now that we have so many different means of communication, the monopoly is broken, and we can enjoy countless specialist shows instead. We can have subjective 'top quality' for lots of different audiences, rather than some theoretical 'top quality' for the masses.
Yes, those days have largely gone, but don't you miss them? Look how well the nostalgia channels do, or how well old favourites like OFAH sell on DVD. I think if another classic sitcom came along then people would start to tune in in their masses once again. I can't understand how it's taken so long for any channel to find another long running classic sitcom. I just think they're interested too much in the new and edgy, myself, to bother trying.
Sorry, I should have been more accurate. The main reason that Monty Python is timeless and never really feels dated is because it DOESN'T rely on pop culture references. While you get programmes like the boosh, witty and clever though it is, the consistent reliance on pop culture references makes it have a certain amount of shelf life. I was meaning there should be a sketch show more like python that doesn't rely on them.
Quote: Ronnie Anderson @ December 26 2009, 12:08 PM GMTIt is pretty clear to me if no-one else that British Comedy at the moment is going through a bit of a barren patch. People seem to want studio audience sitcoms, which do not challange or offer any real orginality, an example of this is Miranda and in my experience, when presented with cleverer pieces of work, producers are scared that audiences are too thick to get what is going on.
This means there is a chance sometime in the next two or three years for someone to come up with not even a totally original piece of writing but just something or high quality that will get it back on its feet.
Do you think this is a rocky patch for comedy? And do any of you think you will be that person responsible for saving? I am going to sound like a twat now bt I reckon if this barren patch goes on long enough I will have developed my style enough (it will take a while) to be that person.
Although there isn't a 'must' see sitcom on at the moment I don't think it can be described as a barren patch, you quote Miranda as an example of a poor show that doesn't offer or challenge originality - that may well be true but what Miranda does offer is fun and entertainment. Surely these are the gospels of sitcom, if you want a challenging and original piece of work then go to the theatre.
Personally I also believe that the 'people' couldn't care less if a show is studio based or not. For most people these things don't even register, as long as its fun and entertaining that's all that matters.
FFS it's only comedy, not finding a cure for AIDS.
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ December 28 2009, 12:21 PM GMTFFS it's only comedy, not finding a cure for AIDS.
Laughter is the best medicine.
*immediately regrets posting*
Quote: Kevin Murphy @ December 28 2009, 12:24 PM GMTLaughter is the best medicine.
Although Interferon comes a close second in lab tests.
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ December 28 2009, 12:21 PM GMTFFS it's only comedy, not finding a cure for AIDS.
No at it's best comedy and in particular sitcom is art and yes medical developments are more important but at it's best art and particularly comedy can be a highly personal thing and in many ways, when it is done well, provide a sort of therapy for it's audience.
When I have been going through rough patches I have become obsessed with comedy shows, as I am sure lots of you have, and for me sitcom is not such a personal thing if it is patronising and bland and has clearly been contrived to reach as big an audience as possible. I am not circising popular shows but it is pretty obvious when things have been watered down to make them more saleable.
This is how I feel but I must admit I have just been prescribed some pretty strong painkillers.
Quote: Ronnie Anderson @ December 28 2009, 10:05 PM GMTI am not circising popular shows but it is pretty obvious when things have been watered down to make them more saleable.
Yeah, that's what they do.
From my knowledge, which I agree will be less extensive than yours, a lot of writers are guided by producers to make their show's humour broader. I have a feeling that this was the case with Lunch Monkeys which seemed to have been written as a fairly naturalistic piece but was given loads of broad strokes. If the show is broad then this is a good thing but if it is meant to be subtle it just ruins it, an example of this is the Royle Family Christmas special which tried with more the obvious jokes and died on its arse.
I also recall YesNo who has written his own sitcom series (though he wouldn't say what) saying that his show was meddled with and made too broad.
Again I am not having a go at broad comedy but I think one problem is is that even the most successful studio audience comedies seem to be good for retro purposes rather than offering anything original.
Big Top is the broadest comedy I've ever seen. It makes hi de hi look edgy. In my opinion it's complete shit on a stick. The performances are crap (but not in a witty phoenix nights kind of way).