It all depends on your definition of 'diverse'.
Sitcoms: Lead Balloon (decent but hardly brilliant sitcom), Pulling (ditto), Jam and Jerusalem (ditto, from what I've heard).
Sketch shows: C Tate (the same old jokes and catchphrases every week), Tittybangbang (the same old jokes and catchphrases every week), Blunder (I'll reserve judgement on that but it doesn't look good from the trailer).
The true test of great is: will these shows be talked about like Fawlty Towers / L+Hardy / Black Adder / Red Dwarf in 20+ years time. I agree with Wheeler. For nearly every modern show that has been listed here I really doubt they will stand the test of time, they hardly stand the test of the present. Are people seriously sat watching them and thinking "this is up there as a masterpiece"? I know that i felt that with Red Dwarf (certain series) and Black Adder. The last episode of BA 4 - who can top that? Bitter sweet and close to genius. I can't see Lead Balloon or any other of the modern 'greats' having the same final episode impact.
Tate in 2026? Am i bovvered? Is that going to get the pantheon of the greats panicking? Are they bothered? Sketch shows are the modern equivalent of a scratched record, where 30 minutes work translates into 3-4 series of the same moronic bleeding punchlines dangled on the end of unfunny buidups, fed to hand-clapping trained seals. Sketch shows are lazy lazy lazy compared to past examples, such as Python or other classic sketch shows like the 2 Ronnies. (excusing the obvious "and now for something" and the "goodnight from him" bits.)
Topical quiz show, good fun now but won't last the test of time by its very nature: Reliance on current events.
When "I'm a Non-Entity get me a high profile job on GMTV" gets a mention as a reason to be optimistic about the state of current comedy, doesn't that worry us? It gave me a spastic colon.
alan partridge
the office
nathan barley
the thick of it
darkplace
all made within the last 5 years or summit, stop moaning about tv sitcoms and the state of bristish comedy, there is alot of shit but there is also some good stuff just like in the time of the so called golden era....
Yeah, stop moaning SlagA.
I think people will still be talking about lots of our recent sitcoms but in twenty years time, really doubt people will still be talking about red dwarf!!!
Early Doors, Extras, Max and Paddy's road to nowhere, Still Game, The Mighty Boosh, The Office, The Smoking Room.
It's not all bad, I'll still be watching these in twenty years.
Barry
I would say that comedy on TV is a lot better now, than it was ten or fifteen years ago, it's now much more innovative than it was back then, its just that there seems to be a lot more comedy on tv these days so there is bound to be stinkers on as well, in the last five years alone we've had:
Peep show
Green Wing
Black books
The Office
Phoenix nights
Brass eye special
the mighty boosh
darkplace
partridge
saxondale
spaced
nighty night
time gentlemen please
royle family
trigger happy tv - not a sitcom but still bloody funny
Bo selecta(only series 1 when it was still fresh)
Now if you compare that to any other time before it I don't think you could get a more diverse mix of excellent comedy shows
The current state of comedy depends what angle you're coming from. If it was from my parents, they would say it was bad, because they feel there are few prime time sitcoms worth watching, and would refer to Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, etc as proof.
If it was coming from my some of my family and friends, they would say it is okay and would watch stuff like Lead Balloon, Max and Paddy, and Extras. The same people may not watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, Phoenix Nights, and The Office (trust me, I know people like this).
If it was coming from myself and people with more diverse tastes (such as on this board) I would say its very healthy. There has been Peep Show, The Mighty Boosh, Darkplace, Black Books, etc.
So I think its personally very good, but I don't think there is one recent UK sitcom that bonds everyone together. The Royle Family and The Office come close but I know people who don't enjoy these.
The debate rages on...
Quote: gaygs @ November 22, 2006, 5:15 PMI think people will still be talking about lots of our recent sitcoms but in twenty years time, really doubt people will still be talking about red dwarf!!!
Red Dwarf first aired in the late 1980s and people are still talking about it. It also has a cult following so all the signs are that it will still be held in high regard in another 20 years.
Why do I get the feeling that it is me and SlagA vs. a gang of teenagers who have convinced themselves that 'their' comedy is better than what went before?
I am not saying contemporary comedy is better than what has gone before, I just think a lot of the programmes being slated on this thread are funnier than red dwarf. Thats just my opinion. I am also not a teenager, nor am I in a gang!
OK, calm down. If you're going to state that people won't remember Red Dwarf in 20 years time (when it is nearly 20 years since it first aired and the show still has a large following), you should back this up with reasons why you believe this. It appears that you believe it won't be around in 20 years as you don't think it's funny.
"The current state of comedy depends what angle you're coming from. If it was from my parents, they would say it was bad..."
Hey Jay, don't make assumptions about age based on preference of comedy. You ageist, you! I am not a teen but i'm not a parent either.
When an appeal to age is made, that is you have to be 'young' enough and 'cool' enough and 'in' to appreciate new comedy that immediately tells you something about the comedy itself. It's no longer integrally valued for its content but its a badge to be worn (like goth makeup or bling) to indicate something about the person who wears / likes that thing. Comedy has become a branded uniform. An exclusive club. If people don't 'get' it then they don't because of something missing in them, not the material of the show.
I'll always remember being told by someone after the first time i watched Fast Show that i had to watch it several times to find it funny. Hold up! Shouldn't comedy BE funny the first time? What happened with the Fast Show was a Pavlovian training of the audience to respond to the same moronic punchlines each week. It grew from cult to phenomena because people wanted to be 'in' with the cool crowd, not because it was a great show - which it wasn't. It had some good characters but ruined by the same tedious endings. Nearly every sketch show since then has followed the bland retelling of episode one, each week.
Never before has comedy been dominated by the same laboured working up to a handful of repeated phrases. I can state, without fear of contradiction, that mainstream sketch comedy is dead on its arse, killed off by lazy writers and lazy audiences, scared by newness and unable to remember more than a few simple catchprases. So that's one comedy genre down.
Here's a challenge to us writers and broadcasters, why don't we write and air shows that revert to the true sketch show format, new jokes and situations and characters each week.
Quote: SlagA @ November 23, 2006, 9:25 AMI can state, without fear of contradiction, that mainstream sketch comedy is dead on its arse, killed off by lazy writers and lazy audiences, scared by newness and unable to remember more than a few simple catchprases. So that's one comedy genre down.
have you seen monkey dust? or jam?
I think it speaks volumes that the only sketch shows that have been mentioned from are Monty Python and The 2 Ronnies. That's 2 shows from the last 4 decades or so and anybody who watches The 2 Ronnies now would surely have to admit that it is very patchy. Anyway, sketch shows like Goodness Gracious Me, Big Train and The Fast Show didn't end too long ago and just because Little Britain might not float your boat doesn't make it a bad show.
If people want shows that will stand the test of time then I would nominate recent things like The Office, Phoenix Nights, Black Books, Spaced, Brass Eye, Royle Family, Peep Show etc. as shows that may well stand the test of time.
Standing the test of time isn't the be all and end all though. Things like The Frost Report and Spitting Image wouldn't be as entertaining now but it certainly doesn't make them bad shows at all.
Not wanting to step into other peoples arguments, but Monkey Dust, though I found it funny, did you use repetition. Ivan Dobski and Mr Hoppy "I never done it", the divorced dad who always ends up killing himself, or that cottager fella thats always trying to suck people off, but always getting it wrong some how.
I think there is stuff out there, you just have to dig through some shit to find it. The catch phrase sketch show needs to be buried, a monster has been created thats out of control. But how do you kill something that generates so much money? Little Britain and Catherine Tate (and they're production companies) make a few quid from their merchandise that they sell. Each time one of their catch phrases is repeated either on TV, or by Joe public, it's an advert for some tacky mug, or singing birthday card or whatever the've got out for Christmas.
We have had some excellent comedy in recent years, some listed above. I don't agree with them all mind, but thats personal taste. But I fear the quality will continue to slide as production companies search for their next catchphrase driven cash cow.
Lets become comedy guerrillas, and take over something somewhere somehow. I haven't really thought this through properly, but I'm up for wearing a balaclava.