Quote: zooo @ April 5 2011, 10:25 PM BSTThere's probably about 3 fat women on TV.
In the world.
There's now an American sitcom called Mike & Molly being broadcast in Australia. Judging solely from the promotional ads, it looks like Everybody Loves Raymond for the obese. Makes Roseanne Barr and John Goodman look like they just escaped from Belsen.
Back on topic, I thought Extras was just as much fun as The Office.
Quote: Skoob @ April 5 2011, 11:29 PM BSTOnly on this forum Chip. Most have forgotten already. Mention it these days and it generates zero enthusiasm.
Yes, it is more revered in comedy circles, but I can't think of any breakout comedies in recent years that have permeated the public consciousness. You have to go back to One Foot In The Grave for a mass appeal sitcom that also wowed the critics.
I think The office is and will continue to be regarded as a classic.
On the broader issue of whether it's a classic (outside comedy circles) is a bit of a moot point. I love timeless classics like Hancock, Steptoe etc. and they certainly are classics by the general definition. However mention them to the average man or woman in Tesco pushing his /her trolley round and I expect you'd get a fairly blank look. My point being that it's only comedy geeks, like what us lot on here are, who really care enough about these definitions anyway.
Agree with some of the others mentioned earlier too and would put in a word for Lead Balloon. Just watching these again on DVD & series 3 reruns and they really are excellent.
Probably won't be regarded by the public at large as a classic but for me it's very definitely a yes.
Looking forward to the much delayed series 4 coming soon.
Blenky...if I may call you that.
Exactly the point.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that nonsense.
I just watched Early Doors - the last episode, and to me it's a classic, but I doubt very much that others would agree.
The Office - as I said, very good for and of its time, but in the greater consciousness, I can't see it enduring in the same way that One Foot, Till Death, Python, Fawlty, etc have.
Ergo - is it a classic?
I think not. It was very good, but it won't ever be a classic outside of closed circles such as the one we're writing in here.
Regards
Skoob.
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ April 5 2011, 11:07 PM BSTBut there aren't many women who can get their sitcoms commissioned still. Of the few that do, nearly all of them are fat! Wood, French, Saunders (not slim), Wax, Hart. And they all had comedy careers already. That's a high ratio of fatness to female sitcom star. It can't be long before the Brands get their own sitcoms, doing basically the same stuff as the others, mostly making fun out of their weight and their addiction to food. The one or two that don't are usually making comedy out of sex, exploiting the other main stereotypical female vice.
I haven't got time to debunk all your theories tonight, Kipper, but Jo Brand has already co-written and starred in Getting On, which made no refrences to either sex or her weight. None of skinny Julia Davis's sitcoms (Human Remains and Nighty Night) have been about sex. And Victoria Wood rarely relied on her weight or sex for the jokes in dinnerladies.
Quote: chipolata @ April 5 2011, 11:48 PM BSTYes, it is more revered in comedy circles, but I can't think of any breakout comedies in recent years that have permeated the public consciousness. You have to go back to One Foot In The Grave for a mass appeal sitcom that also wowed the critics.
Or to Miranda.
Sorry, but I thought this thread was about comedy classics...
Not about if being fat makes a woman funny.
Sorry.
I'm new here.
Not female and not fat.
But I can be a cranky git...
You've been warned 
Skoob
Quote: Aaron @ April 6 2011, 12:08 AM BSTOr to Miranda.
Miranda hasn't come close to One Foot's viewing figures. And I like the writing in it, but she's no David Renwick.
Quote: chipolata @ April 6 2011, 12:07 AM BSTI haven't got time to debunk all your theories tonight, Kipper, but Jo Brand has already co-written and starred in Getting On, which made no refrences to either sex or her weight. None of skinny Julia Davis's sitcoms (Human Remains and Nighty Night) have been about sex. And Victoria Wood rarely relied on her weight or sex for the jokes in dinnerladies.
Chip
With you 100% on that.
What's weight got to do with anything?
I thought we were talking about The Office being a classic sitcom and wondering if we'd ever see its like again...
Told you I could be crabby, and pedantic...but not a troll.
Regards
Skoob
Quote: Skoob @ April 6 2011, 12:05 AM BSTBlenky...if I may call you that.
Exactly the point.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that nonsense.
I just watched Early Doors - the last episode, and to me it's a classic, but I doubt very much that others would agree.
The Office - as I said, very good for and of its time, but in the greater consciousness, I can't see it enduring in the same way that One Foot, Till Death, Python, Fawlty, etc have.
Ergo - is it a classic?
I think not. It was very good, but it won't ever be a classic outside of closed circles such as the one we're writing in here.
Regards
Skoob.
Yeah, Blenky's fine by me Skoob.
I suppose you're really asking a different question. Not so much "Is the show a classic in terms of its writing, performances and production values" but more "Has it crossed over into the wider public conciousness" and if so, it then has transcended its comedy roots as indeed have the examples you've given.
I think some of the big scenes have done that (Red Nose Day Dance - Telling Finchy to f**k off) but whether or not they'll still be remembered in the same way as Hancock's Blood Donor is fifty years hence I wouldn't like to say.
I do still think that notwithstanding these rather onerous tests we're applying it was blimmin funny and I know that it will still make me laugh for the foreseeable.
Quote: chipolata @ April 6 2011, 12:14 AM BSTMiranda hasn't come close to One Foot's viewing figures. And I like the writing in it, but she's no David Renwick.
It may not have done, and she may not be, but you said "...breakout comedies in recent years that have permeated the public consciousness" - and Miranda is that.
Arguably Little Britain did too, but a sketch show is a different proverbial ball game.
Quote: Aaron @ April 6 2011, 12:18 AM BSTIt may not have done, and she may not be, but you said "...breakout comedies in recent years that have permeated the public consciousness" - and Miranda is that. Arguably Little Britain did too, but a sketch show is a different proverbial ball game.
Miranda's come closest to breaking out, but as a comedy character Miranda is a long way from grabbing the public by the balls in the same way that Del Boy, Blackadder or Victor Meldrew did.
Quote: Blenkinsop @ April 5 2011, 11:51 PM BSTOn the broader issue of whether it's a classic (outside comedy circles) is a bit of a moot point. I love timeless classics like Hancock, Steptoe etc. and they certainly are classics by the general definition. However mention them to the average man or woman in Tesco pushing his /her trolley round and I expect you'd get a fairly blank look.
And I suspect you'd have a similar reaction if you mentioned Libya, Osborne (the twat not Ozzy), NHS reforms, AV referendum, Beethoven, Michaelangelo etc.
However, try Rooney. Cheryl Cole, no likey no lighty, Jordan and whoever and their little faces will light up almost as bright as their England replica red shirts with the little gold star . . .
That's exactly what I was saying Oldrocker.
Only you said it better.
Frankly, The Office, Gavin and Stacey, and all that are okay, but they won't endure.
A fleeting moment in time - revered by those who are somewhat desperate to prove that the modern is as good as the old days.
The old days weren't always great (understatement).
But the bottom line is that something is funny, or it isn't.
My view is that if comedy has to be explained, or if only a particular section of the audience "get it" then it doesn't deserve to be rated as a classic.
All comedy shows have absolute stinkers from time to time, old and new - it seems to me that there's a generation gap going on here. To my way of thinking, if something makes me laugh, it's funny.
Thing is - when people have to tell me why I should find it funny - I tend to switch off. I can draw my own conclusions thankyou very much.
I think Little Britain is for the most part execrable garbage, but I don't expect everybody would agree. We all have opinions.
That's what it's all about.
Skoob
So everyone has to find something funny for it to be a classic?
I think you'll be looking for one for quite some time...