Looking forward to this 
Sky1 tonight 9pm
The Café - Series 1
It was rubbish. Shame, as it was filmed in my home town. It was like a poor amateur dramatics performance.
Quote: Alski @ November 24 2011, 10:12 AM GMTIt was rubbish. Shame, as it was filmed in my home town. It was like a poor amateur dramatics performance.
Bloody pretentious Weston-Super-Mare with its Latin phraseology! Why can't it be on-Sea like lovely Southend?
Not very funny and incredibly boring!
It was very slow and gentle, but I rather liked it. I think I'll be watching the rest.
It strikes me that it's one of a (sadly increasing) breed of shows that aren't 'sitcom' in any recognisable, traditional, or identifiable sense of the term. Rather, it's a light-hearted narrative serial. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with such a format or series per se, but when they 'masquerade' (for want of a better term) as sitcom, it's neither accurate nor fair to either the series itself, or to the sitcom genre.
I just find it really quite depressing that so many writers seem to be content with just raising a faint smile rather than inducing proper, full-on belly laughs. Is this really what passes for comedy in the early 21st Century?
Anyway, the first two episodes specifically. Almost retardedly slow. Only 2 or 3 things happened over the entire hour: a former resident arrives back in town and .. um. No that was about it actually. You had the establishment of the characters, but plenty of other series have done that and provided some kind of story. Nevertheless, there was some wonderful dialogue, which provided the occasional (about 2 per episode) light snigger of amusement, and the broader story of the café's and main characters' futures that they seemed to be setting up, looked potentially quite interesting, so I'll stick with it.
To be honest, the fact that the main character is a writer is a fairly big part of why I like it. Was quite funny to see her ringing agents and making a bit of a twat of herself. And of course sitting in a cafe by the sea and being able to write all day is very attractive prospect.
The problem with it is that it is seriously similar in tone to The Royle Family and Early Doors, but without the ear for dialogue that Caroline Aherne has, and that Craig Cash has a little of. If Early Doors was watered down Royle Family in a pub, this is watered down Early Doors in a cafe. Which, if you think about it, is exactly what you'd expect Ralf Little(talent) to write. He has surprised us not a jot. Thus, it is an awful 'comedy'.
Great review in The Guardian (shock): http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/nov/23/the-cafe-tv-review
Summary: realistic sitcoms in the past have shown that real life can be funny, but not all realistic life is funny just because it is real life.
Writers and commissioners alike would do extremely well to remember that.
Quote: Aaron @ November 24 2011, 6:44 PM GMTSummary: realistic sitcoms in the past have shown that real life can be funny, but not all realistic life is funny just because it is real life.
Writers and commissioners alike would do extremely well to remember that.
Conversely, not all gag-laden sitcoms are funny just because they have loads of overtly "funny" lines in them. In fact, most are painfully unfunny.
The point is, style of sitcom is no barometer of whether an audience will find it funny. People who bang-on about "Whatever happened to the good old British sitcom?" would do well to remember that.
I'm pretty certain that, for virtually all established and aspiring sitcom writers, making their scripts funny is THE single most important objective. How they achieve (or fail) this goal is a matter of personal style and taste. How that script is then acted and shot is a further stylistic choice, in which the writer may not have much final say. Finally, I doubt that any comedy commissioner has ever said "What I'm looking for is a sitcom so realistic, with such subtle humour, that the audience won't even realise it's meant to be funny".
Unfunny sitcoms are (and have always been) ten a penny, but in no case did the writers and producers actually actively try to make an unfunny show.
As for The Cafe... well, I haven't seen it yet. The only cafe I'm aware of in W-S-M is known as the "relapse cafe", frequented as it is mostly by struggling recovering drug addicts.
Quote: Tim Walker @ November 24 2011, 7:19 PM GMTI'm pretty certain that, for virtually all established and aspiring sitcom writers, making their scripts funny is THE single most important objective.
Not for me, I'm afraid Tim, sorry. Make it interesting to watch first, then make it funny. I know this seems like argument for the sake of it, but it's no good having the funniest jokes you can, if your first thoughts after watching it are: "That's half an hour wasted..."
Quote: Tim Azure @ November 24 2011, 7:29 PM GMTNot for me, I'm afraid Tim, sorry. Make it interesting to watch first, then make it funny.
Then you're barking up the wrong tree, in my unhumble opinion. Whatever the style of the show, if you're intending it be called a sitcom, then finding the funny is your number one priority. (This does not equate to filling it with gags, wacky two-dimensional characters and tissue-thin plots BTW.)
Quote: Tim Walker @ November 24 2011, 7:40 PM GMTThen you're barking up the wrong tree, in my unhumble opinion.
Haha, at least you admit it. In fact, it's the sort of thing that Ricky Gervais might say. 
Tim's the guy Ricky Gervais wishes he was.
Quote: zooo @ November 24 2011, 4:49 PM GMTAnd of course sitting in a cafe by the sea and being able to write all day is very attractive prospect.
I agree, just ask Marc P.