Quote: Stevie81 @ 28th June 2017, 2:07 PM
Thought I'd give this thread a bump having re-watched them all again. WARNING - LONG POST
I would definitely rate this as the greatest sketch show of all time, not everything works, but what does work is such gold, I don't think there's anything better. Shouts for Monty Python and Big Train, but the former has dated badly, save a few sketches, and the latter only had the one good series. The Fast Show, despite its average opening series, followed it up with two phenomenally brilliant series with funny, fresh-at-the-time-and-still-funny-today characters who had not only a catchphrase, but room for development and in some cases pathos.
If you'll bear with me, I just want to go through the characters in order of bad, good and 'brilliant'
Some ideas just didn't work for me: Chanel 9 I found woefully unfunny, The Padagonians equally so. The always-drunk Mum, Dad and Son in series 2 was awful, the old guy who'd has done every profession '30 years man and boy' should have been a one episode character, the shagging couple...just don't see how that's funny. 'I'll get me Coat' guy was funny to begin with, but I did start to wonder why this complete oaf would be continually invited out to drink with these apparent intellectuals. I also didn't care for a lot of Caroline Aherne's characters ('Our Janine', The Checkout Girl) I only liked one of the Ed Winchester sketches (where loads of other reporters jump out in front of him with equally stupid names ('Hi, I'm Ramon Valentino')),
Then there was the good characters, who would raise a laugh while not making me necessarily wet myself, these would include:
- The Suit You Tailors, which once you get the initial joke, could have worn thin if not for the brilliance of the interplay between very different customers each time, such as the elderly couple, the sexual deviant, the egocentric actor and of course Johnny Depp
- Coughing Bob Fleming, again, this could have also gotten boring quick if not for his colorful array of friends with bad habits of their own, the 'CD' he releases in the Christmas special is just gold and his crowning moment.
- Which Was Nice/Does My Bum Look Big In This/You Ain't Seen Me/Anyone Fancy A Pint - Four standard catchphrase based characters who were just about there, if not a bit repetitive.
- 'Brilliant' Guy and his 'Rubbish' Dad - Fantastic from Whitehouse here, just a lad enjoying life and appreciating things we all take for granted. His dad keeping it real by being the opposite.
- Jesse's Diets/Fashion/Experiments - Williams doing a great job here.
- Unlucky Alf - Another showcase of Whitehouse's ability to play any age group to perfection.
- Monkfish - A showcase of the always underrated Simon Day's talents
- Chip Cobb, Stuntman - This could have gotten old quickly, but Thomson was so funny here.
- 'I've just come' - This was just so out of nowhere (the original sketch in the library) with Day's incredulous reaction, haha.
- Swiss Toni - Lots of mirth from all the original ways he can compare any situation to making love to a beautiful woman
- Indecisive Dave - We all know people like that, whose opinion is swayed by who talks the loudest
- That's Amazing - I didn't really care about the 'inventions' the guests brought on, just how Carl Hooper would eject them from his show, the legendary 'Earthquake' sketch is just that, legendary.
- Roy and Renee, what a shame this was dropped after series 2, Caroline Aherne's greatest contribution to the show in my opinion, the one at xmas dinner when Roy's mum finally blows up at Renee is a corker
- Billy Bleach/'Someone's sitting there mate' - Again, we all know a bloke like this, sits in a boozer all day and knows more about life than anyone else, more routine brilliance from Day here.
- Professor Denzil Dexter - Really great sketch with the toilet tubes, which when repeated in the first live show, neatly segued into him being dismissed by Monkfish ('I got an equation for you - PISS. OFF') which was a true belly laugh moment
- Chris The Crafty Cockney - The catchphrase got tired, but it's because I know someone with the exact same tone of voice that I enjoy him, plus the brilliant sketch in the xmas episode which proved he wouldn't necessarily 'nick anything'
- Colin Hunt - Obviously this guy is a complete wanker (though I sympathise as I try to be somewhat of an office joker myself if only to lighten the sterile atmosphere here) but I think this is a sketch where Arabella Weir excels as the hapless, yet devoted Doreen.
- 'No Offence' - A bit more than just a catchphrase here, and some brilliant cutting work from Weir again, they didn't give her enough to do in my opinion.
- 'Even Better than That' - Ha, every family must have one of these, who just buys crap and NOT the things asked for. Eryl Maynard does a great job as his wife.
- Off-Roaders - Actually funnier for me when not off-roading, and attempting other activities such as rock-climbing and paint-ball.
- Ron Manager - A potentially annoying character saved by the deliciousness of the dialogue, perfectly summing up old footballing attitudes from the 60's and 70's and how its all lost now...even back in the 90's. Sort of sad in a way.
- The Actor who spends in an inordinate of time in Make-up - probably truer to life then we'd imagine
- Bloke who decides to follow football - Great stuff from Thomson here, especially the scene where he corners two blokes in a pub and assumes they want to talk about football (people at work assume the same with me) and when the pair of them humour him, even their basic knowledge of the game is vastly more than anything he knows, plus when he tries to explain the off-side rule at a dinner party to know avail (Colin McFarlane is brilliant in that one 'BETWEEN! How is that a footballing term! BETWEEN!')
- Nosferatu/Eric Hall mash up - Funny
- Dave Angel: Eco Warrior - Hilarious send up of Mike Reid/people who pretend to care about the environment only to be exposed as frauds.
- The 13th Duke of Wimbim - Whitehouse's ability to embody any kind of personality is shown here to perfection and he relishes this sketch as a randy duke without scruples.
There were lots of other small sketches too like one where Colin McFarlane tries to talk 'street' with a friend but then reverting to a bumpkin accent and admitting he has no idea what he's talking about, the 'lock stock' parody in the last fast show ever, the family running about with nowhere to go, Caroline Aherne's fish expert being berated by the narrator, The interrogator who manages to make a suspect admit to things very easily, another couple of Weir characters - One who is assertive with women and an airhead with men, and one who is ignored by men, who then use her ideas, both excellently realized.
And now, finally The Elite characters that for me, make this show the best sketch show of all.
- Ted and Ralph - The iconic faces of the show, and rightfully so too, both Higson and Whitehouse play this long running arc to perfection...could it be, does Ted actually return the love for Ralph in the final episode? Highlights include Ralph fantasizing about Ted wading through a field, Ralph asking Ted if he likes French cinema/Tina Turner, and running up to him and then not knowing what to say when he gets there. The scenes when he has to tell Ted that his wife is dead via a drinking game, and then at the funeral service are genius.
- Rowley Birkin QC - The rambling nonsensical stories of Birkin somehow all make perfect sense, and none more so than in the Christmas episode where talks about someone he cared for, delivering his very very drunk catchphrase with a tinge of sadness, this, more than anything, showcases Whitehouse for the eminent comedy performer he is
- Competitive Dad - Almost Simon Day's crowning moment, these sketches are all gold, the cricket one, the squash one, the wrecking the school play one, the reviewing the Christmas presents one, and brilliantly, the one where his son beats him at Tennis and he accuses him of being a bad winner...ah, truly awesome.
- Johnny The Painter - These sketches I have loved so much for a very long time now, Higson is a sheer joy, as he goes utterly berserk at the mention of the word black, every time he kicks his easel over and lobs his palette in the air it's a laugh out load moment. Weir is sublime as the straight girl yet again 'Johnny!, I think we should go home now'. Such a brilliant inventive, hysterically funny character.
- Jazz Club (+ Indie Club) - I think the arrival of Jazz Club in Series 2 was what took the show from a very good show to a supreme show, these sketches are so deliciously inventive and clever, not only parodying the pretentiousness of Jazz music wonderfully but the ludicrous characters abound in every sketch is truly something else, much kudos to John Thomson as Louis Balfour, the host of Jazz Club who manages to utter with a straight face names such as 'Car Pollution Hypocrisy' 'Inevitable Geometry' 'Jackson Jeffrey Jackson' 'Dave 'The Bulb' Roberson, 'Doodle Bronson''Stepney Green' - The list is endless. The absolutely awful performances complete with either a look of appreciation from Louis or an admission of drivel, both equally and tremendously funny - Nice! Plus, a shout out to the one-off 'Indie Club' which parodied the 'britpop' culture perfectly, featuring Simon Day as the host and an Oasis rip off - L O L!!!
- The Country Ramblers - The hiking rambler played by Whitehouse was featured two or three times after this, getting tangled up with a crazed Mark Williams, but its the original sight of him, with his friends that stood out for me, it was contained all in one episode (Series 3, Episode 2, the strongest episode for me) and showed 6 or 7 ramblers happily singing The Happy Wanderer ('Valdiri, Valderaaah') but every time we rejoin them, they are getting ever more tired and unable to sing, except for Whitehouse at the rear who keep relentlessly and ceaselessly singing the song, despite having walked the same distance as the others, this is finally nipped in the bud by a punch to the face, this remains to this day, one of the funniest things I've ever seen and the skillful way the tired ramblers are shown one by one walking up a hill and then Whitehouse is revealed - oh it's brilliant and you never see this sketch on youtube or anywhere else and I have no idea why.
- Tommy Cockles/Arthur Atkinson - Finally we come to my favourite sketch of all, it's not so much the Arthur Atkisnon sketches, which are fantastically funny (especially when he shows glimpses of his true, nasty persona, such skilled acting by Whitehouse), but more the intros by Tommy Cockles, and this is in my view Simon Day's best character, an awesome throwback of someone who still lives in the 50's and talks as if he's still there, he lives for nostalgia but instead of showing the clips he wants to show, he is saddled with Arthur Atkinson week on week, a man that he evidently loathes and doesn't intend to hide the fact, the dialogue is on point - 'They keep asking me to talk about Arthur Atkinson, I don't know why, he was never any good' 'After a long and successful career in which Arthur made money, but no friends' 'We're now going to see an episode of Arthur Atkinson's unpopular sitcom 'Blame Arthur'' - I just love these sketches such a lot, I doubt many would choose it as there favourite but there we go
Anyway, thanks for reading, those who did, and I hope there's other fans who fancy chatting about this great great show.
Regarding your comments about characters/sketches you dislikes, I agree with you re:channel 9 as a whole, but I did enjoy the 'Chris Waddle' moments - especially at the time.
I cannot disagree with you more re: Drunk mum and dad - that was hilarious stuff. I personally enjoy silly sketches like that. Just well acted and delivered.
Also, "30 years man and boy" - there's a very good reason why this sketch was repeated and used, because him bullshitting his way into conversation about how he's "been there, done that" is the whole point! It wouldn't ever work as a one-off. Wouldn't make any sense.
Have to also disagree with you about Caroline Aherne's characters - SUPERB they were. Checkout girl, making charmless, patronising comments to customers, really does mimmick what the stereotypical checkout chick (can be) like. And the schoolgirl, chewing bubble gum whilst talking about her favourite boy bands and dysfunctional family is delivered so, so well. Can't put my finger on it, but she is an amazingly funny actress who delivers her lines so naturally. Clever woman as well apparently. Rest in peace to her.
I also liked the randomness of the Padagonians and Our Janine made me laugh with some of her comments but that might be because I'm northern (and my sister is called Janine)
The relationship between Ted and Ralph was fascinating and there is one scene by Rowley Birkin QC where instead of the usual punchline it was a very emotional scene where he is close to tears. It makes me do the same thing everytime I watch it and think it's Paul's finest hour in the whole series.
Spoiler Alert!! Nah don't worry, I have completely lost track with The Simpsons now and only watch as and when, and then Troy still makes an appearance.