British comedy is no longer funny Page 7

I can see where Walker's coming from, to give a very small, petty example.

The Newsjack factor.

Particularly on the one liners. Read the BCG thread and of course there's a lot of drivel, old jokes or stuff to offensive or arcane to fit in. But maybe a quarter, maybe a half is substantially superior to that which makes the shows. Clever, funny damned noticable gags.

Why aren't these making the grade?

Well at the Newsjack meet one meets up with some of the people who write it professionally. And they're harried and exhausted from having to write such a hefty percentage of the show at short notice.

Quote: Tim Walker @ January 26 2012, 12:44 AM GMT

All the networks want new, funny, original comedies - but they tend to go to the same writers to get these, i.e. those with a record of produced work. Even if some of these writers haven't made many people laugh with their recent work, they're still an industry-recognised name. The other thing that seems to be increasingly common is to let well-known comedians/comic actors have a crack at writing their own sitcom. It doesn't matter if they can't write very well and have never had to learn their trade, they're still a name to attach to the project.

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Forgot to add my thanks to Tim for such a well written and thought out post on the current state of British comedy.

Thanks Tim!

Tim your post was excellent and informative

There seems to be two types of comedy viewer. Those that like to comfort eat the "classic" recipes, which is ideally non-offensive and family friendly.....AND then the Comedy Nazi who will only contemplate digesting something cooked up by a comedy Heston Blumenthal: "We want funny but it has to taste new and different".

Personally I like to binge from both tables. I know many wanna-be comedy writers and comedians whose brains shut down after forming a premature evaluation. They say something is rubbish without really giving it a chance. Many "great classic" comedies took a season or three to really get going. The viewer seems to have a shorter attention span than in years gone by and appears to demand instant classics. This is as much to blame for the so called "lack of good comedies" as is the TV commisioners in my opinion.

Why does something need to be dressed up as "fresh and daring" in order to be given a chance? I have tried to recommend stuff to friends who have been VERY dismissive and refused point blank to watch it saying somthing like "Nah, it looks rubbish. Not my cup of tea.", etc, etc. Then six to twelve months later they are raving about the very same show as if it was their very own discovery...WTF?

I remember watching Red Dwarf when it first aired. I had taped it from day one. I could not pay people to borrow my tapes and give it a shot! Then suddenly everyone seems to love it - ironically when I personally thought the show had gone downhill.

My point being is that just as much as the TV channels/companies want something new but appear to play it safe - I think the same can be said of many a comedy viewer. Both need to take risks in order to find that new comedy goldmine. Forming an opinion about a certain style of sitcom or comedian closes your window of opportunity in actually finding something funny in the first place.

At the risk of being heckled: I can find both McIntyre and Boyle very funny. I can also find them not funny some of the time....

Funny is well funny.

Be it new or not or what ever.

Completely agree, Bob!

(And Tim.
What's with all the sensible posters all of a sudden, is there something in the water?)

Quote: zooo @ January 26 2012, 1:37 PM GMT

What's with all the sensible posters all of a sudden, is there something in the water?

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Cocks! Fanny! Gary Bushell!

Quote: sootyj @ January 26 2012, 1:36 PM GMT

Funny is well funny.

Be it new or not or what ever.

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Exactly!

I have not posted much in these forums but I have read an awful lot of the threads. Now you can get a half glass full or a half glass empty type of person. Many here seem to think that either option in irrelevant because when it comes down to it the glass contains piss!

There is way more negative comments than there is positive. I know from experience that comedians can be very savage critics, often very cruel about someone else who is trying to be funny. The irony is there for all to see. "so and so is not funny", "He/She didn't pay their dues", "They got too famous, too quickly", etc, etc.

On the flipside, comedians can be the most warm and generous people you could care to meet

Quote: Bob Hicks @ January 26 2012, 1:30 PM GMT

Personally I like to binge from both tables. I know many wanna-be comedy writers and comedians whose brains shut down after forming a premature evaluation. They say something is rubbish without really giving it a chance. Many "great classic" comedies took a season or three to really get going. The viewer seems to have a shorter attention span than in years gone by and appears to demand instant classics. This is as much to blame for the so called "lack of good comedies" as is the TV commisioners in my opinion.

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Thanks for shifting the blame from the programme makers to us dumb peons who can't make our own informed decisions on what we do and don't find funny.

Funny is funny - Horrible Histories - a children's television programme - is indeed, fresh and daring and funny. That is why it has been so highly lauded on the BCG. Why is it so good? Because it took a massive risk and subverted the children's television genre, not shying away from 'unfriendly' subjects, but instead concentrating on the more gruesome aspects of history. And quite rightly, it was a massive hit.

I want to see more risking taking and daring comedy on television - not Steve Manghan in a comedy drama about a fish out of water doctor-vicar in a small village with an on again, off again relationship with a female lobster boat captain...or whatever useless crap the programme makers will think up next.

I am not trying to shift the blame. You only have to look at the ratings of the most watched TV programs around the world to see that the majority of people seem to have no taste. I too like to see daring and original programming but it seems we are in a minority which would explain to an extent why the comedies that we want to see are rarely made.

I do have an issue with the amount of energy that is wasted complaining about stuff though. If you don't like the way things are or the way things are done then try to do it yourself - this is usually when people realise that doing anything well is actually hard and requires a lot of work. Bitching and moaning is not what I call constructive, in fact it's destructive - people seem to know what they don't want but rarely have a strong idea of what they do want.

Don't take any of this personally - it's not aimed at you so much as it's aimed at people who play the blame game but refuse to try and be part of a solution.

There is actually nothing wrong per se with a fish out of water comedy drama or any other set-up; it is all about what you do with the set-up - which starts with the writing.

Quote: Bob Hicks @ January 26 2012, 2:51 PM GMT

I do have an issue with the amount of energy that is wasted complaining about stuff though. If you don't like the way things are or the way things are done then try to do it yourself - this is usually when people realise that doing anything well is actually hard and requires a lot of work. Bitching and moaning is not what I call constructive, in fact it's destructive - people seem to know what they don't want but rarely have a strong idea of what they do want.

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As Tim pointed out earlier in this thread, there are hundreds of really good comedy writers out there, but only a tiny handful are given a chance and even then, they have to fit into some sort of demographic and do what they're told.

BBC Writersroom might as well be a graveyard for unread scripts and all of the BBC comedy writing competitions are aimed at the regionally challenged. And even when they do choose someone with actual talent, they are normally told what to write and not how to write.

Because I obviously have to re-iterate constantly, in the past there were enough gems to eclipse the cack, that is no longer the case. Hence the entire opening gambit of this discussion - British Comedy Is No Longer Funny.

Quote: Bob Hicks @ January 26 2012, 2:51 PM GMT

I am not trying to shift the blame. You only have to look at the ratings of the most watched TV programs around the world to see that the majority of people seem to have no taste.

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The BBC used to have a mission statement about making the good popular and the popular good; and it used to succeed in pulling in huge audiences for quality comedy and drama. It is more difficult in a multi-media environment, but you do get the impression that channel controllers have lost faith in their audience.

Quote: Timbo @ January 26 2012, 2:56 PM GMT

There is actually nothing wrong per se with a fish out of water comedy drama or any other set-up; it is all about what you do with the set-up - which starts with the writing.

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That is true to a certain extent, but more often then not, it's usually the same subjects, with the same set of faces, broadcast at the same time on different channels until it becomes a bland mess of nothingess.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ January 26 2012, 12:26 PM GMT

Personally, I just want a television comedy that I can look forward too, that hasn't been tampered with by a million dull executives afraid of offending sponsors, Ofcom, the audience, my intelligence, etc.

But based on the number of idiots out there, hovering by their phones and keyboards, actively waiting to be offended by a guest on The One Show and then complaining about it en masse, I will never get to see the comedy I deserve.

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But aren't you looking in the wrong place if you expect the BBC to be supplying you with what you want?

I get an organic vegbox every week because I'm fussy about food. No point me going on some cooking forum and moaning that Tesco doesn't meet my standards. It's Tesco. It's for the masses. I have to make a bit more effort to get what I want.

And of course, sticking to this daft comedy-food metaphor, I ought to be growing my own.

Anyway, the BBC has to reflect society in general. There can't be more than one million intelligent people in this country and we get Stewart Lee six times a year. That's probably about right as an average.....

Quote: Jinky @ January 26 2012, 3:27 PM GMT

But aren't you looking in the wrong place if you expect the BBC to be supplying you with what you want?

I get an organic vegbox every week because I'm fussy about food. No point me going on some cooking forum and moaning that Tesco doesn't meet my standards. It's Tesco. It's for the masses. I have to make a bit more effort to get what I want.

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To be fair, American comedy shows have been mentioned more than once on this thread. Plus I think I'm a little more proud of the BBC then I am of Tescos - then again, I don't have to give Tesco a massive yearly license fee enforceable by law.

Now you've opened a can of worms - I'm paying £150 a year for Michael McIntyre and Russell Howard! My point not only still stands, it is cemented in concrete and steel.