Paul Merton

Good ad libber?

I'm not saying he is not funny, as I have enjoyed many of his progs. But I maintain that he is not as clever as some people think in world of improvisation.

If you look back at the early Whose Line? you can see he is struggling to be as smart as say John Sessions, Josie Lawrence, Tony Slattery, Mike McShane, Greg Proops, Ryan Stiles, Sandi Toksvig or Jim Sweeney.
You can see him regularly repeating what other cleverer improv. artists are doing/saying. Watch him closely (ignoring the other artists) and you will see what I'm on about.

With HIGNFY, he has this annoying habit of repeating 'jokes' or doing a physical explanation because they didn't get the laugh he expected and even admonishes the audience sometimes for not getting what was a mediocre wise-crack.

Wooden in his presentation would be unfair as he has his moments, but there is certainly a thin veneer of balsa(?) there.

At the end of the day he is certainly no match for Ian Hislop, who I admire for his gracious acceptance of a usual 'defeat'.

So to recap, I am certainly not agin him, I just don't think he is a smart as he is perceived.

I prefer his travel/silent film documentaries to his comedy.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ March 29 2012, 5:18 PM BST

I just don't think he is a smart as he is perceived.

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But he's got a O level in woodwork!?

I've seen him with the Comedy Store Players 6 or 7 times and he has been very entertaining every time. I have always found John Sessions unbearably tedious and smug - more interested in looking clever than being funny or entertaining.

Merton puts on a mild disdain for the formats he's perfoming within which allows him to play the outsider and make digs at the show itself despite being a regular guest. The difference between his HIGNFY persona and his Room 101 persona is quite telling, but if he didn't enjoy HIGNFY he wouldn't still do it.

When he repeats jokes or does a mime I think he does generally get a laugh - like most comedians he'll turn a joke that didn't work that well into something humourous. I've never seen the HIGNFY audience sit in silence as he repeats bad jokes at them.

I very much enjoyed the Python-esque stylings of his own show several years back and he was great on the early series of HIGNFY.

Unfortunately, I find his more recent performances on HIGNFY to be lacklustre at best. Like Noel Fielding, he hopes that throwing out a nonsensical turn of phrase will be enough to get the laughs and when it fails, as it often does these days, he resorts to bullying the audience by repeating the tired phrase ad infinitum until he gets a laugh - 'I'll keep saying it until you laugh, all right with me, I've got all night. etc.'

Maybe it's an age / establishment thing that often happens with rock stars, they lose the hunger and the anger and fall back on their laurels (Stan Laurels in Merton's case) by re-issuing their back catalogue.

Shame as in his prime he was very funny, acerbic and satirical. Haven't seen his more recent stand-up, so he might only be phoning it in for HIGNFY.

I don't know what it is but the more I watch him, the more arrogant he appears, I really don't know why though.

He is now like a pair of old slippers,

Comfortable

Paul Merton used to have frequent moments of genius. Now they're few and far between. But they do happen (last night's yo-ditto on Just A Minute was inspired), but he does seem to look so bored on HIGNFY now.

And I noticed in a previous series of HIGNFY someone would make a joke, and he'd repeat it and get the laugh. And if someone else gets the laugh, he doesn't like that one bit.

It was inspired but totally un-necessary. The term is 'yoyo' or 'yo-yo' - one word!

Bang on re HIGNFY. It's pretty sad to watch these days.

Quote: Aaron @ March 30 2012, 4:55 PM BST

It was inspired but totally un-necessary. The term is 'yoyo' or 'yo-yo' - one word

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I think the rules of Just A Minute don't allow repeated sounds like that. You're not allowed 'BBC' for example.

Anyway, I'm glad he said it. Good laugh.

BBC's an acronym rather than a word. If the rules disallow whole words that include a repeated sound, then the rules are moronic.

Quote: Aaron @ March 31 2012, 2:46 PM BST

BBC's an acronym rather than a word. If the rules disallow whole words that include a repeated sound, then the rules are moronic.

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It's more of a case of the rules being played for laughs - so BBC has been successfully challenged for repetition of 'B', but 'Fifi' as repetition of 'fi' wasn't accepted.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ March 29 2012, 5:18 PM BST

Good ad libber?

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More Comic Thespian

Quote: Brian Brane @ April 1 2012, 9:22 AM BST

More Comic Thespian

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Actually, the one thing he can't do is act.
Otherwise he'd make a better job of covering up his annoyance when anyone else gets a laugh.
When there's another comic on it's almost too excrutiating to watch.

I find it particularly amusing/cringe-making when Lee Mack hosts HIGNFY. I don't know if I notice it more because of my fangirlness, but Merton really seems to not like it when he's on.