British Comedy Guide

Horne & Corden Page 35

Quote: Aaron @ March 5 2010, 7:46 PM GMT

https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/horne_corden/

Ah I see the omnipresent Dawsons were involved. Nice blokes, they do good work.

The show clearly didn't work, and the way I see it, Corden has just held his hands up and said "Okay, it was a bit crap", which is to his credit IMHO. Perhaps a much-needed lesson in humility - we've all heard tales of his supersized ego, although like anything in the media they're probably exaggerated.

But I don't think it's fair for him to take all the blame. A sketch show has tons of people all sticking their oars in, picking apart sketches, the producer might love a character, the director might hate it, the performer might want to take it in a different direction, yadda yadda. Sometimes at the end of the process - by some sort of comedy cookery miracle, we have a nice piping hot bowl of delicious comedy Ready Brek that satiates your comedy pangs and embues you with a warm glow. Or when the mix goes wrong you get a steaming plate of dogshit. It's just the way it goes - and has always gone. For every Fast Show there's a <insert one of a hundred rubbish shows here.>

Quote: Mickeza @ March 5 2010, 7:15 PM GMT

I'm sorry but that is utter nonsense.

It's really not. You're nonsense. I'm allowed to have my own opinion and thoughts. The Queen said so. Probably. It is quite a big thing, and quite gracious, for this person who others have painted as arrogant to admit that perhaps he wasn't up to a particular task. Artistic integrity doesn't come into it; if you were on a good streak and were offered a show that seemed appealing, you'd jump head first into it too. Don't pretend otherwise. Everyone, especially in comedy, is going to fail or go beyond their talent at some point.

I only saw two episodes but I thought it was excellent. It was certainly much funnier than Gavin and Stacey.

Critics don't matter. The critics of every newspaper panned the first series of 'This Life'. A recent Guardian poll of the 50 best television dramas left out most of the best ones. Danny Broklehurst's 'Talk to Me' was comfortably one of the best drams of recent times and probably the best drama ever shown on ITV. It didn't even feature. I bet Sam Woolaston wouldn't remember it from his own arsehole - if he ever saw it.

I despised G &S and Corden for inflicting it on me, but I've warmed to him a little lately. Horne is harder to like, being a terrible actor, wearing more eyeliner than Gary Sinise and having lego duplo hair.

And his skinny clothes. I hate the skinny clothes.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ March 6 2010, 12:26 AM GMT

It's really not. You're nonsense. I'm allowed to have my own opinion and thoughts. The Queen said so. Probably. It is quite a big thing, and quite gracious, for this person who others have painted as arrogant to admit that perhaps he wasn't up to a particular task. Artistic integrity doesn't come into it; if you were on a good streak and were offered a show that seemed appealing, you'd jump head first into it too. Don't pretend otherwise. Everyone, especially in comedy, is going to fail or go beyond their talent at some point.

yep.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ March 6 2010, 12:26 AM GMT

It's really not. You're nonsense. I'm allowed to have my own opinion and thoughts. The Queen said so. Probably. It is quite a big thing, and quite gracious, for this person who others have painted as arrogant to admit that perhaps he wasn't up to a particular task. Artistic integrity doesn't come into it; if you were on a good streak and were offered a show that seemed appealing, you'd jump head first into it too. Don't pretend otherwise. Everyone, especially in comedy, is going to fail or go beyond their talent at some point.

How very rude of me to call what you said nonsense, please accept my most humblest of apologies kind sir. Saying that, I do completely disagree about artistic integrity. To stay at the top I think what you don't do is every bit as important as what you do do, especially when you're a household name like Corden had become by this stage. And you can be arrogant and still admit to making mistakes, my point is that he was arrogant enough to think he could pull it off in the first place. He was the BBC's golden boy at this stage, he could have ran the table on any project he saw fit, and his next two career moves were the sketch show and Lesbian Vampire Killers, his reputation must have taken a slight knock after them. Of course the BBC will probably still do whatever he wants to do next, he co-created a genuinely successful sitcom, both critically and ratings wise, which are like gold dust for the BBC nowadays. So short term probably no damage done, but I think what he does next is now all the more important.

I remember thinking the show didn't work, but there were some perfectly good sketches in there.
It wasn't all terrible, by a long shot.

Quote: Mickeza @ March 6 2010, 11:29 AM GMT

How very rude of me to call what you said nonsense,

I'm going to take that apology for realsies, it makes me feel good about myself. :)

Quote: Mickeza @ March 6 2010, 11:29 AM GMT

my point is that he was arrogant enough to think he could pull it off in the first place.

I don't see what's arrogant about thinking he could do it. If I'd written a super successful sitcom and was offered a sketch show, even if I had no experience really of sketch work, I'm sure I'd give it a good go too. Rather than arrogance, it seems more like confidence and hope, both of which you should have in plentiful supply as a writer. Obviously I have no way of knowing what he's really like, maybe he is obscenely arrogant, who knows.

As far as sketch writing goes, particularly when you've been a successful narrative writer, would one not have to do it first in order to know that it was not within one's talents?

(I.e. I'm with Matthew on this.)

Quote: Matthew Stott @ March 6 2010, 2:01 PM GMT

I'm going to take that apology for realsies, it makes me feel good about myself. :)

I don't see what's arrogant about thinking he could do it. If I'd written a super successful sitcom and was offered a sketch show, even if I had no experience really of sketch work, I'm sure I'd give it a good go too. Rather than arrogance, it seems more like confidence and hope, both of which you should have in plentiful supply as a writer. Obviously I have no way of knowing what he's really like, maybe he is obscenely arrogant, who knows.

WQasn't it that women who wrote Gaggin' and Lacey/

Quote: sootyj @ March 8 2010, 7:42 AM GMT

WQasn't it that women who wrote Gaggin' and Lacey/

They wrote it together.

Gavin and Stacey quickly became garbage - all content after Series 1 was dross. Worse: repetitive dross.

The sketch show they did was almost a meta-sketch show. It was just awful.

Knowledge.

Quote: jim field @ March 8 2010, 2:45 PM GMT

Gavin and Stacey quickly became garbage - all content after Series 1 was dross. Worse: repetitive dross.

The sketch show they did was almost a meta-sketch show. It was just awful.

Knowledge.

Now write about something you like...

Will do! Literally!

Basically, I like vibrant and challenging content that is zeitgeist-affirmative.

Quote: jim field @ March 8 2010, 3:12 PM GMT

Basically, I like vibrant and challenging content that is zeitgeist-affirmative.

Weird. I like stuff that makes me laugh.

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