Quote: Jinky @ January 28 2012, 1:17 AM GMTHave you watched Delocated and Check It Out!, David?
If so, would you agree that they are a cut above most recent British comedy?
Those are two shows I haven't got around to watching yet, but if you're asking me whether I think American comedy currently has the edge on British comedy then the answer from me is an emphatic "yes".
I barely even know what the channel Adult Swim is, to be fair.
But I'm prettttttttttty sure they weren't involved creatively in the making of the Goon Show...
Quote: zooo @ January 28 2012, 1:20 AM GMTI barely even know what the channel Adult Swim is, to be fair.
But I'm prettttttttttty sure they weren't involved creatively in the making of the Goon Show...
In the States it's Cartoon Central after midnight. Don't know how it's programmed here anymore because I have a wife.
I didn't know England had it.
Quote: zooo @ January 28 2012, 1:24 AM GMTI didn't know England had it.
Did for a while. I lived in a place for a couple of years that had all the channels and it would show up after pub closing.
Those are two shows I haven't got around to watching yet, but if you're asking me whether I think American comedy currently has the edge on British comedy then the answer from me is an emphatic "yes".
Well we are probably in agreement then.
People do tend to forget, I think, that the USA has almost 5 times the population of the UK and this is quite important when it comes to demographics and economics and the like.
They can afford to have Colbert Reports and Daily Shows and Delocateds because these shows tend to get 0.3% of the US population watching, which is enough to make money. It's still one million people.
Shows in the UK with a comparable audience (200,000) are economically dead in the water.
It's much harder to be edgy and economically viable in the UK because there just isn't enough of us.
(And we don't have a public broadcasting system)
Quote: Jinky @ January 28 2012, 1:28 AM GMTWell we are probably in agreement then.
People do tend to forget, I think, that the USA has almost 5 times the population of the UK and this is quite important when it comes to demographics and economics and the like.
They can afford to have Colbert Reports and Daily Shows and Delocateds because these shows tend to get 0.3% of the US population watching, which is enough to make money. It's still one million people.
Shows in the UK with a comparable audience (200,000) are economically dead in the water.
It's much harder to be edgy and economically viable in the UK because there just isn't enough of us.
(And we don't have a public broadcasting system)
Yes and yes.
Totally agree with the above.
Quote: Jinky @ January 28 2012, 1:28 AM GMTIt's much harder to be edgy and economically viable in the UK because there just isn't enough of us.
(And we don't have a public broadcasting system)
Our public broadcasting system doesn't show any comedy that I'm aware of. Actually, nobody watches it as far as I know.
I do miss Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
Sky seem to be trying to buy everything up these days and homogenising it.
Quote: DaButt @ January 29 2012, 1:54 AM GMTOur public broadcasting system doesn't show any comedy that I'm aware of. Actually, nobody watches it as far as I know.
Didn't Frasier and Niles watch it? I seem to remember an episode about it.
There is an episode of The Simpsons where Homer stages a revenue- raising PBS telethon so he can continue watching his favourite Brit show, The Hooligans.
Actually it's PBS running the telethon, the joke in the end is Bart presenting a telethon to raise money for Fox. Where he smirks and says it isn't the first time he's had to save Fox
Quote: DaButt @ January 29 2012, 1:54 AM GMTOur public broadcasting system doesn't show any comedy that I'm aware of. Actually, nobody watches it as far as I know.
When I spent a lot of time in the Bay Area I left the car radio permanently tuned to KQED, the local NPR affiliate. The claims that it's a sort of USian Radio 4 are a stretch.
"Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" is "The News Quiz" for heavily medicated (one might argue that these days The News Quiz is The News Quiz for the heavily medicated, but that's a different issue) and is about the only comedy (intentionally, anyway) available. Hour upon hour is made over to Fresh Air with Terry Gross, which is an amiable book-plugging and log-rolling show that makes Midweek with Libby Purves look like a particular aggressive 8.10 on Today. There was an unending car phone-in (Car Talk, with Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers) which made you long for late-night local radio phone ins about missing cats and how you can't get Spangles any more. And if you were particularly unlucky, it was time for Lake Woebegone. Honestly, it's _never_ time for Lake Woebegone, and if you think there's a reason to listen to it, you probably buy polyester trousers from adverts in the Daily Telegraph.
I did, briefly, try to watch PBS television. It was, if anything, worse. A sort of nightmare vision of BBC2 with all the energy taken out.
Quote: Tokyo Nambu @ January 30 2012, 12:01 AM GMTWhen I spent a lot of time in the Bay Area I left the car radio permanently tuned to KQED, the local NPR affiliate. The claims that it's a sort of USian Radio 4 are a stretch.
"Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" is "The News Quiz" for heavily medicated (one might argue that these days The News Quiz is The News Quiz for the heavily medicated, but that's a different issue) and is about the only comedy (intentionally, anyway) available. Hour upon hour is made over to Fresh Air with Terry Gross, which is an amiable book-plugging and log-rolling show that makes Midweek with Libby Purves look like a particular aggressive 8.10 on Today. There was an unending car phone-in (Car Talk, with Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers) which made you long for late-night local radio phone ins about missing cats and how you can't get Spangles any more. And if you were particularly unlucky, it was time for Lake Woebegone. Honestly, it's _never_ time for Lake Woebegone, and if you think there's a reason to listen to it, you probably buy polyester trousers from adverts in the Daily Telegraph.
I did, briefly, try to watch PBS television. It was, if anything, worse. A sort of nightmare vision of BBC2 with all the energy taken out.
I like your style, Mr Tokyo Nambu (if that is your real name). A few more posts like this and we'll ensure you get fast-tracked into the BCG clique...
Oh bugger. 