British Comedy Guide

Newsjack - Series 3 Page 19

I missed the show this week on account of being on my back watching Big Brother on 4 + 1 and being too lazy to turn over. How was it?

Quote: Bomsh @ June 23 2010, 5:38 PM BST

Fantastic. A truck load of rubbish rubbish England vox pops goes down two hours before broadcast and Lo, the cartoonists have covered just about every first wave budget gag going a day and a half before we could even theoretically get them on air. And they were the two big stories of the week.

It's a minefield out there, isn't it?

With so much 'topical comedy'* filling the airwaves these days I'm sure I'm not the only one who hopes that something very important (but not too tragic) happens on Sunday night/Monday morning.

(*I can't think of the correct term for 'making jokes about the news in a non-satirical way')

I think topical is quite accurate enough, isn't it? Yeah.

One problem is you can pick stories that are forgotten about when they record. I did a sketch about Pavlos, the guy who crashed the England changing room. But by midweek he was largely forgotten (I'm assuming he didn't get a sketch?).

I didn't think episode 2 was as good as the first but well done to everyone who got on. There was a sketch about free schools in which a school was set up in a shop. I submitted a sketch based on this idea although in mine it was the shop from open all hours. I was very pleased with it but I guess there could have been copyright issues. I didn't completely rip it off but Arkwright was clearly Arkwright. I might post it up in critique.

Well done to anyone who got stuff on. I didn't think this week was anywhere near as good as last week but there were still some good bits. There was even a joke about taking viagra and having diarrhea (not knowing if coming or going) which is as old as viagra itself!

Quote: Will Cam @ June 25 2010, 8:27 PM BST

There was even a joke about taking viagra and having diarrhea (not knowing if coming or going) which is as old as viagra itself!

Yes, that was shocking. Also, they don't care too much about the topical aspect, do they?

Yeah, this week wasn't nearly as good as the first episode (which was *really* good). This seemed a bit undynamic. All the sketches seem to be 'here I'm talking to xxx' and then there was an interview. No real 'sketches where things happen' happened.

Dan

NJ has always been over reliant on Jupp, at the expense of other characters or a distinctive sketch style.

Don't forget the Scotch fella that does the impressions.
He carries most of the sketches along with the other lady impressionator.

Jess & Lewis?

I haven't heard the latest but perhaps one problem is they haven't nailed Cameron or Clegg yet, either vocally or what their comic angle is. Last series they had a great Brown persona to keep things ticking over nicely.

He did do a great Gordon Brown, His leaving has definitely left a whole (or two) that aren't so easy to parody.

Can he do anything other than a Scots or Geordie accent?

Quote: swerytd @ June 25 2010, 9:07 PM BST

Yeah, this week wasn't nearly as good as the first episode (which was *really* good). This seemed a bit undynamic. All the sketches seem to be 'here I'm talking to xxx' and then there was an interview. No real 'sketches where things happen' happened.

Dan

I think this is a bit of a viscious circle. The brief says very clearly 'listen to the show and write in that style'. Well, the majority of items ARE of the form 'here I'm talking to XXX' with an interview, there's only ever been a couple of (technical term!) sketch-sketches. So almost all of the sketches I now submit are in that form.

Quote: swerytd @ June 25 2010, 9:07 PM BST

Yeah, this week wasn't nearly as good as the first episode (which was *really* good).

Oh, I don't know. The sketches seemed pretty solid though the Voxpops were a bit dull.

If its original aim was to be 'Weekending' then it's certainly getting there.

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