Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights Page 21

I watched first two episodes then removed it from my Sky+ series link. I thought it was a poor effort for a show that had loads of promise.

I saw Boyle live in Ipswich recently. Some of the material was repeated. He still uses some of his old Mock The Week stuff, which I just think is lazy. The sketches, IMO, are not that funny at all. The George Michael sketch was just ok.

With regards to his jokes regarding Harvey Price. I really don't think he can justify these jokes. It's extremely harsh of him to just poke fun at somebody like Harvey just because he can't defend himself. I dislike Katie Price, but she was totally right in her response to the jokes. How would Frankie feel if his daughter was badly disabled?! I don't think he'd like anyone to joke about it.

His jokes re. cancer victims and charity runs - I don't see a problem with this. The line 'What is it about cancer victims who think they can suddenly run the marathon' is a nice joke. I think the newspapers are now desperate for reasons to stand against Frankie now, hence their report on the cancer joke.

I loved the first episode, but it's beginning to wear on me now.

I guess there's only so many shocking ways to end a sketch.

The standup bits are still pretty strong, I think.

Quote: Kevin Murphy @ December 16 2010, 2:39 PM GMT

I loved the first episode, but it's beginning to wear on me now.

I guess there's only so many shocking ways to end a sketch.

The standup bits are still pretty strong, I think.

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Yes the stand-up bits are strong, but it's the same stuff you'll see on a soon to be released DVD of his stand-up show, and on some of his MTW performances. I think he's becoming really lazy with his material. He just seems to have the attitude 'that will do'.

Andy Parsons, who worked with Frankie on MTW, said that once you've performed your stuff on DVD or TV once, it's time to put that material to bed. I agree with this.

Quote: Lord Meldrum @ December 16 2010, 2:32 PM GMT

It's extremely harsh of him to just poke fun at somebody like Harvey just because he can't defend himself.

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Come, come, my Lord.

Frankie didn't poke fun at Harvey 'just because he can't defend himself'.

He pokes fun at a great many people who are extremely capable of defending themselves either physically or via expert lawyers.

Harvey isn't in a position to punch Frankie personally but his multi-millionaire mother is, and his new father is more than capable of ripping Frankie limb from limb. Frankie knew that and he also knew he'd have a number of national newspapers on his case too. Whatever else he might be, he's not a coward.

To me it comes down to this, can he justify this joke? Can he justify a joke about Jack Tweed making the most of Jade Goody's tight pussy before her death? (This from his recent live stand-up show.)

I don't think he can really justify these jokes.

I used to be a big fan and enjoy his early Mock The Week appearances. Now though, I find nothing clever about his work. He just does it to shock.

Life is Beautiful, 4 Lions and Team America are all proof that dark humour absolutely has a place. Infact a good incisive bit of dark humour can have much more power than a measely documentary or polemic.
Certainly Brass Eye was one of the most powerful bits of critical artillery of recent years.

But.

I get thoroughly sick at tawdry 2 bit hate jockeys like Boyle, Chubby 'Brown et al. Some how pretending their vile over cooked bile is somehow daring and original. No it isn't.

Comparing Frankie Boyle to Chris Rock or Lenny Bruce. Is like comparing a surgical scalpel with a stanley knife to the scrotum.

You can say anything as long as you have something to say.

The thing with Boyle is how cock eyed his aim was.

Quote: Lord Meldrum @ December 16 2010, 3:44 PM GMT

To me it comes down to this, can he justify this joke? Can he justify a joke about Jack Tweed making the most of Jade Goody's tight pussy before her death? (This from his recent live stand-up show.)

I don't think he can really justify these jokes.

I used to be a big fan and enjoy his early Mock The Week appearances. Now though, I find nothing clever about his work. He just does it to shock.

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A perfectly reasonable attitude.

I have/had little sympathy for Jade or her now-rich family, however, so I find the joke far less offensive than if it had been directed at a 'nice' person.

The Jade version easily passes my 'funny v offensive' test.

Quote: Veronica Vestibule @ December 16 2010, 4:20 PM GMT

A perfectly reasonable attitude.

I have/had little sympathy for Jade or her now-rich family, however, so I find the joke far less offensive than if it had been directed at a 'nice' person.

The Jade version easily passes my 'funny v offensive' test.

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Do you mean, because you didn't like Jade, you think the joke is fine? Not sure if I understood that correctly or not.

Quote: Lord Meldrum @ December 16 2010, 3:44 PM GMT

Can he justify a joke about Jack Tweed making the most of Jade Goody's tight pussy before her death?

I don't think he can really justify these jokes.

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What do you consider justification? That joke made me laugh - a lot - so is reason enough to tell it in my eyes.

Well yes it made you laugh, but there's more than one kind of laugh.
How much do we need this sort of low playground humour that's just about shock?

Reminds me of a history teacher who pointed out he could be a standup comic for 12 years olds. Just by saying bum, fart and willy. Well yes when he repeated the class was in paroxysms of laughter.

But surely there must be more to comedy then looking for a shocking/tragic event and then making a joke about it, with the ambition of shocking people?

I meanthat's like living off of KFC and sugar puffs. It won't kill you but you'll be pretty unhealthy and full of shit.

Quote: Aaron @ December 16 2010, 4:27 PM GMT

What do you consider justification? That joke made me laugh - a lot - so is reason enough to tell it in my eyes.

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I consider justification to mean whether someone can explain the joke. There are no winks, no laughter after he says these things to make them seem as if he's just saying them to be funny. He says them as himself, as Frankie Boyle. Trying to shock an audience, not trying to be clever in any way. It's not even a joke really, it's just a harsh comment about a disabled kid being stopped from shagging his Mum. Where's the cleverness behind that?

It's each to their own in terms of what people like, and I don't dislike Frankie, I just think he became known for doing shock comedy on Mock The Week so he's gone so far that way, that it's become just one harsh comment after another. Anyone can write harsh, shock comedy.

Speaking of the Harvey gag, I'd read elsewhere on this forum that the word in his standup set was "raping" not "f**king". Did Frankie tone the gag down for TV?

I also read an interesting opinion piece yesterday that made some great points, but also criticised apparently 'right-wing' (or rather, just not-easily-offended) people for liking Tramadol Nights and for trying to get others to like it, whilst in almost the same breath criticising the likes of Manning and Davidson and their fans. Perhaps the piece had been edited down to such, but still a perplexing "I can't take it but I'll happily give it" stance.

Hmm, sounds a little bit like something I wrote somewhere. I admit the piece was something of a rant which I wrote in about half an hour, but the point I was making was this: there are some comics who make jokes about the powerful, and some who make jokes about the powerless. Personally, as said wet liberal, I prefer the former.

I wasn't criticising apparently right-wing people for liking this stuff, merely asking that they stop coming across all hurt and offended when I say I don't like it. The point I was making about Manning, Davidson etc was that they are often cited as outspoken voices suppressed by some liberal media mafia, when in fact they, their jokes and their views were constantly out there in the mainstream.

As I said in the piece, I'm never going to stop people from making jokes I don't like, or from finding stuff funny that I don't. All I asked was to be free to be a wetlib without also being accused of political correctness gone mad and of suppressing free speech.

Although you may be talking about a completely different article of course...

Of course Manning, Davidson and Chubby Brown have been persona non grata on the broadcast media for some years now.

This seems to be an odd sort of censorship.

Boyle who is vaguely viewed as edgy or ironic can appear where he likes and say what he likes.

But Manning who had a rather more honest hatred of minorities was pretty much chased off of the TV (well barring repeats of The Comedians and the very, very odd interview documentary slot). Was this because he didn't sugar glaze the almond of his racism with irony?

The argument of "it's ironic" is starting to piss me off. I expect Charles Taylor in the Hague to declare "Genocide? I was being ironic... c'mon you guys have got a sense of humour haven't you?"

The whole thing gets even more boondoggled by Summer Heights. That had a white male comic playing female, gay and polynesian characters (in Bisto body make up). In a manner that could certainly be viewed as dergoatory and excessive.

But on the flip side the show was also hilarious, surgically satirical and made some deep comments about modern Australian culture.

And the Little Britain team seem to be doing something similar for that Christmas airport thingumy.

The whole thing leaves me confused.

Quote: Lord Meldrum @ December 16 2010, 4:25 PM GMT

Do you mean, because you didn't like Jade, you think the joke is fine?

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I don't 'think' the joke is fine.

The joke IS fine (by me).

The funniness and/or offensiveness of any joke, the target of which is someone we know, are determined by our feelings for the targetted person.