It wasn't great but I did like Miranda's 'treat' and the Gervais interview.
What are you watching on TV? Page 1,330
Gold +1 - The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon - you know, I bet this probably seemed like a really funny idea in the pub. Unfortunately, Coogan and chums tried to turn a one joke character into a full length show.
I never liked that character at all.
The character never had enough depth really to sustain the comedy. Some of the songs were really good pastiches, but overall Ferrino was too much of an in-joke, simply not accessible enough. In some ways, a dated Eurotrash/Eurovision pop act was both beyond parody and yet, at the same time, too esoteric to garner any affection or interest from an audience.
Iceland advert now - very educational... As someone with a deep social conscience, I feel it's important to be aware of what the poor and feckless will be forced to eat during their version of Christmas.
That is clearly Coogan's major flaw though. His ability to emulate or parody slight or eccentric characters is very brilliant but his notion of what humour the public may get out of it is way off sometimes.
AP Knowing Me Knowing You suffered from this, arguably House of Horrible suffered terribly from it and though I like Saxondale, many were cool about that too. It's his achiles heel.
Call me a comedy snob if you will, but in the case of Saxondale I blame the audience. Ingrates. 
I suppose all characters, no matter how deeply (or how flimsily) they are carved out, need an indefinable something in order to engage with an audience. Coogan certainly struck a deep and broad chord with Partridge and, to a lesser extent, Paul Calf. I always admire him for trying to create fully-rounded comedy characters, even if he doesn't always hit the target. (For that matter, which comedian does/has?)
EDIT: Oh, re: Ferrino, the song (on which he duets with Gary Wilmot) Fishing For Girls is genuinely excellent. 
Channel surfing...
You know how they say wherever you are in London you're never more than 20 feet away from a rat? Well, be that true or not, wherever you are on late night cable channel schedules you're never more than twenty minutes away from an episode of Two Pints.... *shudders* 
With Saxondale and the Calves (Paulene was even funnier) he definitely got it right as well, but Coogan is a purist and clearly a perfectionist, he sometimes does leave a populist audience behind, I definitely agree. It is all high quality in his portrayal, but sometimes the idea itself is too up there.
Random line from this episode of Two Pints... -
"JANET: Well I do have an unusually flexible twat."
The BBC, ladies and gentlemen! The British Broadcasting Corporation! Envy of the world! The light that shines in the wilderness! 'Nation shall speak unto Nation'! And what will it say, that civilising voice from afar? It will say "Well I do have an unusually flexible twat"!
F**kers. 
Hmm, which one is Janet again? I know which one I'd like it to be.
The blonde one with the big tits, played by Sheridan Tits.
For crying out loud, why is ALL late night television seemingly chosen to appeal only to benefit cheats, wife beaters and people who consider attempting the 'Take A Break' crossword as the zenith of human achievement? 
Ah, then I feel it's my bedtime now, I feel it in my undies...
This is on tonight and looks like a potentially very fun 15 minutes...
https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/little_crackers/episodes/1/5/
Yes, I know, it's on Sky Television... but I hear that Sky is now available even in some of the most respectable households (and not just sink estates, crack dens and "massage parlours"...).
I recommend they read another book (also his best) of his, The Hippopotamus, instead.
Quote: Griff @ December 21 2010, 6:47 PM GMTI'm not such a fan of Making History.
Too much of Fry being clever and experimenting with the novel form (the screenplay elements, for example). Also the parallel historical passages are pretty dull and add little to the main story. (To be fair, a similar issue affects both The Liar and The Hippopotamus, but to a lesser extent. I quite liked Fry's modern re-working of 'The Count of Monte Cristo', The Stars' Tennis Balls, though not enough to recommend it to the discerning folk of the BCG.)