Quote: Ian Wolf @ November 20 2012, 4:21 PM GMTTony Hawks on this week's ISIHAC - a room full of slightly eccentric and bizarre people, trying desperately to sing Gangnam Style correctly.
That was good. 
The Infinite Monkey Cage is back on, for us science-plebs.
See my review of new radio comedy 'What's The Story' at www.comedycymru.wordpress.com. @comedycymru
If anyone is interested, I've got four tickets for a recording of Clare in the Community which I can no longer attend. If anyone wants them let me know. The recording is for 2nd December at the Radio Theatre.
Oh so glad that Bleak Expectations is back. Harry Biscuit is my favourite character
2000 years of Radio is being repeated at the moment for any of you with a 1066 and all that sense of humour.
Really enjoyed Bleak Expectations, very funny, corny and a nice half hour of stupidity. Never fails to make me laugh 
Quote: Pingl @ November 21 2012, 10:40 AM GMTReally enjoyed Bleak Expectations, very funny, corny and a nice half hour of stupidity. Never fails to make me laugh
Caught it last night and it made me hoot with laughter on a couple of occasions. The only other current programme to do this is ISIHAC.
Will make sure to catch the rest of the series.
Finally listened to the new BE today
Wow
Simply superb
Puts 99% of all other radio sitcoms to shame
Why o why couldn't they replicate this quality with their TV version??
Quote: lofthouse @ November 25 2012, 10:14 PM GMTFinally listened to the new BE today
Wow
Simply superb
Puts 99% of all other radio sitcoms to shame
Why o why couldn't they replicate this quality with their TV version??
I know makes you realise the TV version was bobbins, I prefer it on radio it hightens its surreal quality.
Quote: lofthouse @ November 25 2012, 10:14 PM GMTFinally listened to the new BE today
Wow
Simply superb
Puts 99% of all other radio sitcoms to shame
Why o why couldn't they replicate this quality with their TV version??
Because the TV version wasn't Bleak Expectations, but another series set in the same kind of world. It was a different programme.
Quote: Ian Wolf @ November 26 2012, 6:51 AM GMTBecause the TV version wasn't Bleak Expectations, but another series set in the same kind of world. It was a different programme.
But in identical style and tone to BE, aiming to achieve the same thing in a different medium. And it didn't work nearly as well. Partly, I think, because so much of BE's success is down to the medium - the listener's imagination is a huge contributor to the mixture. With TV, it takes an awful lot of ingenuity to trigger the viewers' imagination in the same way and they didn't. The dire direction didn't help. It was leaden, literal, and entirely lacking in style or tone.
You can also make a completely different type of joke on radio that doesn't work on TV, ie. having us imagine one perfectly normal thing is happening but then pulling out the rug by revealing that the scene is much more bizarre. A lot of radio comedy relies on that type of joke.
Some things just work better on radio The goons and bandwagon relied on the audiences imagination, creating worlds that you could not do on TV. That is what makes radio comedy special, when the medium is used to best effect it is a form that cannot be beaten. Bleak Expectations is such a show. The TV version didn't work because they went for a heightened cartoon reality look for the show, they would have been better playing it straight and subverting it from there, but the radio show remains a modern classic.
Quote: lofthouse @ November 25 2012, 10:14 PM GMTWhy o why couldn't they replicate this quality with their TV version??
Yes, and why didn't Star Trek use their replicater on comedy shows?
Quote: Ian Wolf @ November 26 2012, 6:51 AM GMTBecause the TV version wasn't Bleak Expectations, but another series set in the same kind of world. It was a different programme.
The same team that produced a radio show that is literally hilarious - produced a TV show in a very very similar vein, that was about 2% as funny
Just pointing out the huge gulf in quality between the two
As someone previously states above though - there are certain things you can do on radio that simply aren't possible on TV