All of this year's comedy shorts are on iPlayer now, except Brain In Gear for some reason.
Of the ones there I really enjoyed Sorry and Lazy Susan. Is anyone else watching these?
Comedy Shorts 2019
I quite like Freya Parker in the other things she has been in, like Josh Series 2 in the curry house episode, and The Mash Report news sketches she has done. The Lazy Susan pilot was just too weak to remotely get in to, let alone be worth a full series. Smack The Pony did it so much better 20 years ago.
The first one had its moments but I thought the second one was pathetic.
I liked Brain in Gear: as comedy shorts go, it was highly original, well-written, well-performed and funny! Accordingly, it was well worth 15 minutes of licence payers' money. Gbemisola Ikumelo is a significant comedy talent - as both a writer and a performer.
Mandy was amusing in parts but I felt the script didn't come close to making the most of Diane Morgan's comedic talents. Charlie Brooker brings out the best in her. As a writer/performer combination, they're a match made in heaven.
Lazy Susan, it seemed to me, was essentially just two young girls let loose with a video camera and the services of the BBC make-up department. Their performances were confident enough but I thought the script mediocre (at best) and lacking in originality. It's clear these two girls have watched plenty of French and Saunders.
Sorry had, in my view, no comedic merit whatever.
Agreed on the first three. Brain In Gear was my favourite, Lazy Susan was probably second, not entirely consistent but good in parts.
And yes, unfortunately Mandy isn't the first project to have wasted Diane Morgan, even though in this case she wrote and directed it.
I think Gbemisola Ikumelo is among the top comedy writer/performers in Britain today.
It's some time since I saw comedy sketches as original as hers or as funny as hers: her writing is excellent and her performances are truly remarkable.
I have a feeling that a great many people who watch Brain in Gear will be talking about it and saying "Those three girls were hilarious!"
Gbemi is going places - the snag is those places are probably in America.
I don't think Britain is big enough for her.
Brain in Gear was the pick of the crop for me too. Well written and performed. A very current and ingenious premise. I genuinely cared about the character and want to know what happens next.
I love Diane Morgan, so Mandy was worth a watch. Sorry was aptly titled and Lazy Susan was bland and somehow annoying. There seems to be broad agreement so far, with the exception of Lazy Susan.
Quote: Rood Eye @ 19th August 2019, 2:01 PMI think Gbemisola Ikumelo is among the top comedy writer/performers in Britain today.
It's some time since I saw comedy sketches as original as hers or as funny as hers: her writing is excellent and her performances are truly remarkable.
I have a feeling that a great many people who watch Brain in Gear will be talking about it and saying "Those three girls were hilarious!"
Gbemi is going places - the snag is those places are probably in America.
I don't think Britain is big enough for her.
Strange. Are you trying to make up for your dislike of Lolly because I really thought it was terrible.
Quote: Chappers @ 19th August 2019, 9:56 PMStrange. Are you trying to make up for your dislike of Lolly because I really thought it was terrible.
I don't dislike Lolly: that implies hostility on a personal level I certainly don't feel that.
I can quite understand your thinking Brain in Gear was terrible just as I can quite understand somebody else thinking it was absolutely brilliant and somebody else thinking it was simply okay.
I'm not suggesting Brain in Gear is a brilliant piece of comedic art but I am certainly suggesting it's a very good piece of comedic art. As a short comedy film, I think it blows the other three right out of the water.
I believe Gbemi is a seriously talented comedy writer/performer who can hold her head high alongside any other comedy writer/performer we've got in Britain - and, in saying that, I'm not comparing her only with other members of any "group" to which she may belong: I'm comparing her to all comedy writers/performers currently on the scene in Britain.
She might not be everybody's cup of tea but then no performer in the history of entertainment ever has been.
For me, however, she's a little star who deserves to become a big star.
Here's a short (4-minute) showreel.
Gbemi is brilliant in Famalam. Well worth watching if you like ... well, laughing.
I am well chuffed that Mandy is being made/filming a series right now. I do have a soft spot for Diane Morgan's sarky tones and Doncaster accent.