Quote: zooo @ October 18 2010, 1:24 PM BSTNot really. The ordinary now is completely different to the ordinary in 1985.
But talking about the ordinary is nothing new.
Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow - Series 2 Page 12
Sure. But writing crime novels is nothing new either. No one says that should be stopped.
What people seem to forget is that genuine comedy fans (i.e. people who can name more than 5 current stand up comedians) make up a tiny percentage of the TV audience, perhaps only 5%, or less, of the UK population has ever set foot inside a comedy club or gone to see a comedian live at a theatre, thus there is a massive, mainly untapped audience for "mainstream" comedy, which is something that McIntyre has tapped into.
Now comedy elitists and fans can bang on all they like about it being "obvious" or "hack" but to 95% of the audience it's new and fresh, this is what MM has tapped into and is why he is earning a lot of money for bring totally new people to stand up comedy, for this alone I think he deserves to be applauded.
Quote: zooo @ October 18 2010, 1:38 PM BSTSure. But writing crime novels is nothing new either. No one says that should be stopped.
Who said it should be stopped? I answered the statement "doesn't it make a nice change to have a comedian talking about the glaringly obvious".
This thread isn't improving my mood.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ October 18 2010, 1:04 PM BSTHow about just bring on all kinds of comedians? So we have a variety?
Indeed, but sadly these things get "profiled" probably. So they appeal to some theoretical audience. Which often means bland is unavoidable.
Is it me or was Noel Fielding not funny? I love The Mighty Boosh but didn't think the whole fly thing was funny at all.
Quote: Tony Cowards @ October 18 2010, 1:43 PM BSTgenuine comedy fans (i.e. people who can name more than 5 current stand up comedians)
That's like saying nobody genuinely likes sex unless they can name more than 5 currently active sex-workers.
Quote: Tony Cowards @ October 18 2010, 1:43 PM BSTperhaps only 5%, or less, of the UK population has ever set foot inside a comedy club or gone to see a comedian live at a theatre
That may be so but, again, perhaps only 5% or less of the UK population has ever set foot inside a brothel or gone to see a live sex show in a Soho dive. It doesn't mean those people are not huge fans of sex and it doesn't mean they don't know a great deal about its history, its techniques and how to tell good sex from bad. It also doesn't mean they haven't watched superb exponents of the art on TV, the Internet and on DVD.
I've just got round to seeing this, McIntyre's 'putting the kids to bed' bit and Gunn's whole 'wedding dress' routine were exceptional. Give Gunn his own show imo 
I'm not liking these half hour episodes, it's spoilt it.
The feeling I'm getting is that they were experimenting with the format. I noticed that midway in the half hour format, McIntyre gets a much longer bit of stand up focus than he does in the hour shows. Maybe viewers or McIntyre himself felt that the man in the title was lacking from the actual show?
Quote: Nogget @ October 18 2010, 1:21 PM BSTThe Sun is one of the biggest papers, but that doesn't stop it being shit.
This is such an ill considered thought. It's akin to those who say "spice girls" are shit, "x factor" is shit "anything doing very well" is shit.
Nothing becomes huge by being shit AT WHAT IT AIMS TO DO. The Sun is a brilliant paper for its target audience. It doesn't want to be the Guardian, nor do its readers.
What the Sun, the Spice Girls and MM have all done is realise that there is a huge market that isnt being satisfied so they create a specific product to fit. I shop at M&S.....but I'm not so narrow minded to think ASDA is "shit" and if I had to own one of the stores, I'd rather it was ASDA!
On a comedy level, what still surprises me is how many open mics HAVEN'T copied MM. From my very first gig I did material that was TV friendly, luckily this required no concession on my part as I like that stuff.....but I was struck by how many comics do stuff that no TV exec in their right mind is going to consider. I don't know if this is because they don't care about TV (which is fair enough) or if they don't realise.....part of me hopes it's the latter because it shows that the few cats who do tailor their stuff to the mainstream deserve it when the mainstream picks up on it. Their commercial sense is rewarded.
edit - cats should be acts...but I quite like it saying cats!
My material is TV friendly but not mainstream. The Sun is a big pile of toss though.
Quote: Nat Wicks @ October 25 2010, 10:25 AM BSTThe Sun is a big pile of toss though.
It is indeed.
Quote: Mr Lewis @ October 25 2010, 10:18 AM BSTOn a comedy level, what still surprises me is how many open mics HAVEN'T copied MM.
One of the ways to rate any performer is by the influence they have.