This is arguably the funniest show on British TV at the moment.
For those who haven't seen it, Romesh Ranganathan talks to celebrity guests plus his own regular focus group about topical matters.
I've seen him do stand-up and he's good: I've seen his pub-based sitcom and it's okay but, for sheer funniness, this show is leagues ahead of anything he's ever done before.
Comedy-wise, he's certainly a decent all-rounder but, in this particular setting, he shines like a priceless diamond.
What exactly does Arguably mean?
Quote: Chappers @ 24th June 2019, 10:08 PMWhat exactly does Arguably mean?
How would I know?
I only write this stuff.
The new episode went very smoothly under the conditions.
I thought the adaptations worked quite well and the show retained much of its charm. I still miss studio audiences, though, and wonder if they could go the whole hog and have a zoom audience laughing along.
I'm tempted to say the lockdown version of "The Ranganation" is even better than the studio version.
I'll certainly go as far as to say it's equally as good.
Romesh and Danny Dyer have a wonderful talent in common: they are both very funny men and their funniness appears (and very probably is) effortless.
Having read the praise in the original post, I thought perhaps I should look it out on iPlayer and give it a try. Having read in the last post that Danny Dyer is in it, I've decided not to bother.
I hope I can persuade Billy to watch the programme by assuring him that Danny Dyer appeared only in one episode. Every week, Romesh has a different couple of celebrity guests.
To my mind, Romesh is one of the most naturally-talented comedians in the UK.
I've seen him do stand-up and he's pretty good but some of his apparently spontaneous remarks on this programme are just wonderful. Clearly he doesn't just have an excellent comedy mind, he's a lightning-fast comedy thinker too.
In the history of comedy, there have been several performers who have been sensationally funny when performing but quite different in real life.
I have a feeling Romesh is one of those rare talents who is very funny when scripted and even funnier when simply being himself.
You're right his comedic improvisation does shine through, he also managed to get an fun atmosphere going despite the restrictions of lock down. But he's not alone. Frank Skinner was one of the best at bouncing off the audience. Also the comedy improvisation lot ; Paul Merton, Tony Slattery, Ryan Stiles etc... Also many of the comedians that regularly perform well on panel shows (i.e. they've run out of set pieces). But apart from all of those people, yes you're right Rood, totally agree. I think these panel shows may struggle to find that skill, with so many drama students trying to present themselves as comedians - the "triple threat, plus".
It's very good, although I wonder how much more mileage there is in lockdown topics.
