Sitcoms written by stand-ups Page 5

Quote: enigmatic @ April 19 2013, 10:07 PM BST

You can't really blame the Beeb production companies for picking the guy with a track record of being funny, industry knowledge and (often) performing ability

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Yes you can, and I do blame them. They are all at it now, they do their stint in the clubs, get a spot on a panel show and now believe they have an automatic right to a sitcom! For all the greats like IAP and TYO there are 50 pretty ropey, very samey looking false sitcoms which are basically just a vehicle for their own personal self or standup routine. They increasingly borrow the CYE trick of using the reality study format of a similar type, wink wink, guy or the real person behind the celebrity.

It's incredibly self indulgent, very self assuming, in that some of them now we've hardly heard of. For the broadcaster it's a cheap easy source of filling sitcom slots but the practice is imo, damaging the reputation of sitcoms. It's changing what a sitcom really should be, once was, and is at its best. And I do believe it's one reason why millions of viewers are not turning them on as much now. They/we generally don't blinkin' like them! When a good trad sitcom comes on with broad appeal like Miranda, AbFab or MBB, they are swamped by viewers who are desperate for good funny genuine sitcoms that aren't just sticking a camera up some deluded ego's jacksy.

I absolutley hate that, 'why wouldn't we use proven funny people?' excuse. A BBC bod said just that to me and I told him 'because they can't f**king get away from themselves. They do not give good sitcom and don't know how to write them'.(the overwhelming majority of them) It's infuriating, the broadcasters' own closed off view of it all.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ April 20 2013, 7:35 PM BST

Yes you can, and I do blame them. They are all at it now, they do their stint in the clubs, get a spot on a panel show and now believe they have an automatic right to a sitcom!

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This argument does not stand up as there are plenty of sitcoms featuring stand-ups that have never made it past the pilot stage.

If it works as a sitcom it doesn't matter if it's written by a stand-up, eg Jack Dee in Lead Balloon, or written with an actor in mind. If allowing a stand-up to write his own sitcom means we get stuff like Black Books then it's always worth giving it a go. It is irrelevant who writes any show as long as that show is any good.

Quote: Pingl @ April 20 2013, 9:54 PM BST

If it works as a sitcom it doesn't matter if it's written by a stand-up, eg Jack Dee in Lead Balloon, or written with an actor in mind. If allowing a stand-up to write his own sitcom means we get stuff like Black Books then it's always worth giving it a go. It is irrelevant who writes any show as long as that show is any good.

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Alfred would agree with that, as far as the end result goes.

His argument is that people are getting sitcom commissions purely because they are already famous, despite their writing (and thus the resulting series) being no good.

He basically doesn't think the commissioners have enough of a quality control, sense of humour, or the bollocks to say 'no' to a star name.

Quote: Aaron @ April 20 2013, 10:00 PM BST

Alfred would agree with that, as far as the end result goes.

His argument is that people are getting sitcom commissions purely because they are already famous, despite their writing (and thus the resulting series) being no good.

He basically doesn't think the commissioners have enough of a quality control, sense of humour, or the bollocks to say 'no' to a star name.

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Commissioning editors take risks, but will always try and hedge their bets by using someone who comes with a built in fan base. However commissioning a pilot and commissioning a series is very different. Being a famous standup might get you a pilot but it won't assure you a series. I always remember seeing a Felix Dexter doing a pilot that I thought was great but never got picked up. The ways of the commissioning editor remains a mystery to me.

Quote: zooo @ April 19 2013, 7:24 PM BST

(Sue Perkins isn't a stand-up.)

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Pretty sure she stood up for the show I saw her do in 2006 or 2007. Damn funny it was too.

And it was stand-up - including a fun look at that week's local newspaper stories.

Quote: Aaron @ April 16 2013, 8:21 PM BST

Sean's Show.

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I'd have loved this if it wasn't a British remake of It's Gary Shandling's Show.

Quote: Judgement Dave @ April 23 2013, 2:48 PM BST

Pretty sure she stood up for the show I saw her do in 2006 or 2007. Damn funny it was too.

And it was stand-up - including a fun look at that week's local newspaper stories.

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Read on, Macduff! We settled it later in the thread.

Quote: zooo @ April 23 2013, 2:55 PM BST

Read on, Macduff! We settled it later in the thread.

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I saw that it was settled that she'd done stand-up, but it seemed to give the idea that she hadn't done stand-up in a decade or more. I knew I'd seen her more recently and once I'd found out it was 2006/7 I thought it worth mentioning.

I was probably wrong

No, no. You're right.

Quote: Aaron @ April 20 2013, 9:40 PM BST

This argument does not stand up as there are plenty of sitcoms featuring stand-ups that have never made it past the pilot stage.

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I know but it still has the same dire effect on what sitcoms get aired. Makes me even more cross because you know the idiot commissioners must know this too. The odds are high their sitcom pilot won't make a series, but it still stops a better sitcom script from an unknown getting a pilot (because the yearly pilots budget won't be unlimited). You times by that by how many stand-ups get given a pilot each year and that's how many genuine writers with good sitcom scripts are missing out. Charlie Baker now gets one. Charlie Baker!

And yes, TV bods don't have the courage to say 'No, your sitcom idea and script is lacking, we can't waste good money on a no hoper pilot, sorry, but we have a dozen infinitely better scripts on our table written by unknowns.' That's what should happen! Instead the maggots fawningly award the pilot to the stand-up while knowing it has little chance of a series. So, comedian's ego unruffled because they joined the pilots list; cosy relationship with broadcaster still rosy. That's the BBC all over! Result - the production of good quality sitcoms slows to a trickle and they increasingly look badly written and less and less like proper sitcoms. In industry this would not happen. But we let it happen in TV! Or don't have a say in it.

Quote: Aaron @ April 20 2013, 10:00 PM BST

He basically doesn't think the commissioners have enough of a quality control, sense of humour, or the bollocks to say 'no' to a star name.

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Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ April 24 2013, 4:30 PM BST

I know but it still has the same dire effect on what sitcoms get aired. Makes me even more cross because you know the idiot commissioners must know this too. The odds are high their sitcom pilot won't make a series, but it still stops a better sitcom script from an unknown getting a pilot (because the yearly pilots budget won't be unlimited). You times by that by how many stand-ups get given a pilot each year and that's how many genuine writers with good sitcom scripts are missing out. Charlie Baker now gets one. Charlie Baker!

And yes, TV bods don't have the courage to say 'No, your sitcom idea and script is lacking, we can't waste good money on a no hoper pilot, sorry, but we have a dozen infinitely better scripts on our table written by unknowns.' That's what should happen! Instead the maggots fawningly award the pilot to the stand-up while knowing it has little chance of a series. So, comedian's ego unruffled because they joined the pilots list; cosy relationship with broadcaster still rosy. That's the BBC all over! Result - the production of good quality sitcoms slows to a trickle and they increasingly look badly written and less and less like proper sitcoms. In industry this would not happen. But we let it happen in TV! Or don't have a say in it.

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How do you know comissioners and producers have desks full of better scripts by unknown writers? Maybe they have desks full of shit by unknown writers.

Well I don't slag off comics I otherwise like, like Sue Perkins, willy nilly. That script was technically wobbly and clearly not BBC2 worthy, as I saw it. Just the latest example of this happening. So it's mainly common sense assumption that the amateurs' scripts they have put through successful rewrite stages and have placed in their 'interested tray' may be of equal quality or more.

Plus there are other sources of rumblings from prod. cos who claim they have great stuff that can't get a look in. Plus very riled established sitcom writers have thrown public wobblies at the BBC for blocking new work of theirs, which is the most telling, possibly. But I've more than said my bit so I'll end it there on this thread.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ April 24 2013, 6:35 PM BST

Plus very riled established sitcom writers have thrown public wobblies at the BBC for blocking new work of theirs, which is the most telling, possibly.

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I hear of a number who have in fact quit comedy due to this.