British Comedy Guide

Why is Michael McIntyre so popular? Page 8

Fair enough! I think Sean Lock's hilarious.
Don't particularly like Rhod, but don't hate him.

Quote: chipolata @ June 22 2012, 1:09 PM BST

Yes, but you're talking as if there's some golden age when edgy stand up comedians ruled the television world. There never was such an age.

Yes there was, I remember it well - harp music plays and the screen goes all wobbly - Mary Whitehouse Experience, Fist of Fun, Adam and Joe - for a good decade from the mid 80s to the mid 90s, there was always something for me to watch and enjoy. Subversive, funny and imaginative.

Come back Golden Age, I miss you.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ June 22 2012, 1:13 PM BST

Yes there was, I remember it well - harp music plays and the screen goes all wobbly - Mary Whitehouse Experience, Fist of Fun, Adam and Joe - for a good decade from the mid 80s to the mid 90s, there was always something for me to watch and enjoy. Subversive, funny and imaginative.

Come back Golden Age, I miss you.

That's not a golden age, it's a dribble amongst everything else that was going on. We still have that dribble now, in the form of shows like Stewart Lee's, and Eldon's one that's forthcoming, for example.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ June 22 2012, 1:21 PM BST

That's not a golden age, it's a dribble amongst everything else that was going on. We still have that dribble now, in the form of shows like Stewart Lee's, and Eldon's one that's forthcoming, for example.

I agree with your main thrust, but let's wait to see Eldon's before crowning it.

I would of course like more of them.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ June 22 2012, 1:21 PM BST

in the form of shows like Stewart Lee's, and Eldon's one that's forthcoming, for example.

Well this argument has gone full circle. Are there any other comedians you want to bring back from the Golden Age to prove that there wasn't a Golden Age?

I hope fiwilding has been taking notes.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ June 22 2012, 1:57 PM BST

Well this argument has gone full circle. Are there any other comedians you want to bring back from the Golden Age to prove that there wasn't a Golden Age?

Naming comedians who have been around a long time doesn't mean there was some golden age back then; just that they were working then, and still are now.

Noel Fielding; like it or loathe it, that was a very alternative show. Probably the kind of show Bill Hicks would have made.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ June 22 2012, 2:02 PM BST

Probably the kind of show Bill Hicks would have made.

Honestly, if Bill Hicks was still around, he'd be making those Rich Hall style American commentaries on BBC 4.

But my point is that you are having to bring back comedians from the old days to find your yuk-yuks because the modern crop have been homogeniated into a faceless mass of observational comedy drones thanks to television pandering to the undemanding audiences.

Why do you assume people want to be challenged with comedy? 'dangerous' 'edgy' 'subversive' 'controversial'...is that what you think most people want when they sit in front of their TV to watch comedy?

I suspect it's rather they want to laugh for half an hour and not have to think.
Maybe they want to be entertained for half an hour so they can forget that they might not be able to pay their bills at the end of the month.

;) Very true Rwayne, most people are conservative in their taste, watch the soaps then brew up in time for Mrs. Brown's Boys.

The last comedy I enjoyed (and laughed out loud) was Peep Show. The sketch feturing 'Kenneth' kept me laughing for days!

Quote: rwayne @ June 22 2012, 4:48 PM BST

Why do you assume people want to be challenged with comedy? 'dangerous' 'edgy' 'subversive' 'controversial'...is that what you think most people want when they sit in front of their TV to watch comedy?

I suspect it's rather they want to laugh for half an hour and not have to think.
Maybe they want to be entertained for half an hour so they can forget that they might not be able to pay their bills at the end of the month.

When did thinking become such an awful chore?

Why do you want the population to be docile, stupid blobs consuming all the shit being performed on their TV rather than intelligent, free-thinking human beings?

Jesus, the world looks more like Brave New world every day.

Quote: Monster Scum Bag @ June 22 2012, 5:11 PM BST

When did thinking become such an awful chore?

Why do you want the population to be docile, stupid blobs consuming all the shit being performed on their TV rather than intelligent, free-thinking human beings?

Jesus, the world looks more like Brave New world every day.

Why do I want?...

Not everyone wants to 'think' all the joy out of everything. Not everyone wants to know how 'clever' the writers are, and why should they? Comedy is just that, and it's just a diversion to most people. That's not a criticism of anyone just the way it is.

Do most people marvel at the craftsmanship of the table they sit at to eat their dinner?... or the wonders of the engine in the car they drive?

Quote: rwayne @ June 22 2012, 4:48 PM BST

Why do you assume people want to be challenged with comedy?

I don't assume people want that, quite the opposite. I am however free to criticise the tastes of the population at large.

It is those criticising me for criticising the prevailing taste consensus that I find perplexing. Their argument is summed up with the classic 'everybody likes it, so you should like it too'.

I am more than capable of making my own decisions, particularly when it comes to comedy and have listed numerous examples in this thread that describe my own tastes and choices.

Do people want to turn their brains off? I'd be more surprised if they wanted to turn their brains on. Let them enjoy their instantly disposbable and forgettable nonsense, it just guarantees my survival in the upcoming zombie apocalypse.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ June 22 2012, 5:49 PM BST

I don't assume people want that, quite the opposite. I am however free to criticise the tastes of the population at large.

It is those criticising me for criticising the prevailing taste consensus that I find perplexing. Their argument is summed up with the classic 'everybody likes it, so you should like it too'.

I am more than capable of making my own decisions, particularly when it comes to comedy and have listed numerous examples in this thread that describe my own tastes and choices.

Do people want to turn their brains off? I'd be more surprised if they wanted to turn their brains on. Let them enjoy their instantly disposbable and forgettable nonsense, it just guarantees my survival in the upcoming zombie apocalypse.

Is anyone telling you what you should like? I didn't see that.

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