British Comedy Guide

Twenty Twelve - Series 1 Page 8

Quote: ContainsNuts @ March 25 2011, 9:46 AM GMT

That is the right definition. The audience has to like them. Who would actually want to live or work with Malcolm Tucker, David Brent, Blackadder, Basil Fawlty, Kenny Powers etc. Actually, that could make a great sitcom. Could you imagine David Brent getting a bollocking off Tucker?

I'd love to see Tucker give Blackadder a bollocking. I imagine that the latter would just stand, stony-faced, perhaps an eyebrow raised slightly, before poking Malcolm in the eye accompanied by a fantastically simple dismissal.

BLACKADDER: Their plans are as intricate as wily fox who trained at Wily Nursery, went to Wily Primary, Wily Secondary, and is currently studying for a course in Wiliness at the Wily University.

MALCOLM: F**king shut up, you f**kwit!

I think Blackadder will win this...

First of all: sitcom.

Watched the first two of these. Agree with 'Nuts really, it's watchable without being classic or unmissable. First episode better than the first and should really be better for the cast it's got.

I don't really buy into Jessica Hynes playing this kind of character. Admittedly, she'll always be Daisy to me and maybe I think she seems to be much posher in every other role. That said, she was probably the best thing in Magicians and certainly the most likeable character.

Hugh Bonnewille should be in sitcom more but that sitcom should be around its fifth series by now: Freezing. Whichever idiot didn't recommission that should be shot.

Dan

Quote: swerytd @ March 26 2011, 4:10 PM GMT

Hugh Bonnewille should be in sitcom more but that sitcom should be around its fifth series by now: Freezing. Whichever idiot didn't recommission that should be shot.

Hear bloody flipping hear!

You can really see the People Like Us influence in this show.

Without scrolling through the other pages, why is this not in the sitcom forum?

I've found it OK, Hugh Bonneville's character is very witty and by far the best. Jessica Hynes is verging on annoying and on the whole it's decent but could have a few sharper gags.

Quote: dennispennis123 @ March 27 2011, 1:49 AM GMT

Without scrolling through the other pages, why is this not in the sitcom forum?

Some guff about mockumentary not being sitcom; which in this case, it clearly is.

Quote: dennispennis123 @ March 27 2011, 1:49 AM GMT

Without scrolling through the other pages, why is this not in the sitcom forum?

Because the BBC classify it as a comedy drama.

Quote: Aaron @ March 27 2011, 12:30 PM GMT

Because the BBC classify it as a comedy drama.

Well it certainly isn't! Drama?! Whoever put that down has it obviously wrong.

*shrug* It's not our place to redefine programmes. If the BBC say it's supposed to be a comedy drama, then it's a comedy drama - albeit one with an identity crisis, in your opinion.

Quote: Aaron @ March 27 2011, 1:35 PM BST

*shrug* It's not our place to redefine programmes. If the BBC say it's supposed to be a comedy drama, then it's a comedy drama - albeit one with an identity crisis, in your opinion.

Why not? Letting marketing people call the shots doesn't make any sense.

Re-judging shows ourselves makes even less sense.

On what basis do we judge that the categorisation is wrong? If we go around re-classifynig things, I'll obliterate Spaced and Mark'll delete the likes of Coming Of Age and Two Pints from the comedy map. And yet all are, clearly, sitcoms - just not ones that work for us personally. And if we were going to give Twenty Twelve a genre of our own choosing, it'd be better classified as a 'mockumentary' than a 'sitcom'.

And who said anything about marketing people? Much of the information comes through PR offices to us, yes, but it doesn't necessarily originate there.

This is okay; but toothless. The fact that Lord Coe is cheerfully appearing in it, rather than being the butt of every second joke as he richly deserves to be, is telling. I wonder if it was originally envisaged this way, or this is Auntie playing safe?

And if a sitcom is light on laughs you cannot get away with calling it a comedy drama. There is nothing remotely dramatic about this.

Quote: Aaron @ March 27 2011, 9:46 PM BST

Re-judging shows ourselves makes even less sense.

On what basis do we judge that the categorisation is wrong? If we go around re-classifynig things, I'll obliterate Spaced and Mark'll delete the likes of Coming Of Age and Two Pints from the comedy map. And yet all are, clearly, sitcoms - just not ones that work for us personally. And if we were going to give Twenty Twelve a genre of our own choosing, it'd be better classified as a 'mockumentary' than a 'sitcom'.

And who said anything about marketing people? Much of the information comes through PR offices to us, yes, but it doesn't necessarily originate there.

Spaced is a sitcom; Coming Of Age and Two Pints are a sitcoms. It has nothing to do with whether they 'work' for us or not; they just are. If they've chosen to classify this as a Comedy Drama, than that's very peculiar and up to them, but clearly off base.

I haven't seen this yet, possibly because I don't look for sitcoms on BBC Four. I thought BBC Three was the place for new sitcoms they didn't have much confidence in now, so why are they sticking this on BBC Four? I thought that was for documentaries and repeats of The Old Grey Whistle Test, and stuff.

Quote: Charlie Boy @ March 1 2011, 10:03 AM BST

I was thinking of writing something along the same lines, but from the Paris point of view, where after discovering how much it would cost, they attempted to sabotage their own bid. The tears at the bid, where tears of joy at saving so much money.

:D That could be true, seeing as Paris were the strong favourites right up to the final month or two, when they could very well have got cold feet and feared the Athens effect, or really any other, Beijing, Barcelona and the rest. Hasn't it left every host city with a legacy of debt?

Share this page