Chris Morris (I)

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehice, series 4 review

With every new series of Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, I find myself not wanting to watch for fear of those who may judge but then almost immediately concluding that I do not care. Yes, Lee is a spiteful comic, but he is also incredibly astute. One can't help but admire his craft, even if you don't agree with his viewpoints, which are of course satirically exaggerated anyway, suggesting that those who feel alienated by his comedy may actually be misinterpreting his message. And with his frequent cuts to camera, a television audience cannot help but be drawn in, without suffering the inevitable heart palpitations that would surely follow with such a predicament.

How comedy became a language of democratic politics

Like all forms of resistance, comedy can both shore up and legitimate existing political structures, yet it can also, in certain moments, work to encourage revision. Here, James Brassett looks specifically at the critical nature of radical British comedy by the likes of Russell Brand, Charlie Brooker, and Stewart Lee and writes that it raises questions about the nature of resistance and reveals the deeply political nature of the British public.

Stewart Lee winds up the fourth series of his Comedy Vehicle. Recent weeks have taken in thorny subjects such as patriotism, wealth, Islamophobia and death with - and it's acknowledged with a heavy heart - varying degrees of success, when stood up against his previous, near-perfect series. Bringing things to a close this week in front of his audience of Guardian readers at the Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington, he delves into his own childhood for quarry, with Chris Morris berating him throughout.

TV: Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, BBC2 - Childhood

There was a point during Stewart Lee's final Comedy Vehicle when I thought I could see the cogs moving. I thought I'd cracked it and knew what he was doing. And then he went and pulled the rug and dismantled the comedy process further, going out in excellent style. I'm not sure if we should be analysing this show though. As he persists in saying to speccy interrogator Chris Morris, De-Niro-in-Deer-Hunter style, "this is this".

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, TV review

Lee is the only comedian who thoroughly critiques his act as he is doing it, and then critiques the critique.

What are the cast of 'The IT Crowd' doing now?

A whole decade after Jen first ventured down to the basement of Reynholm Industries, let's take a look at what the talented cast of The IT Crowd are doing now...

What happened to British political comedy?

British political comedy is an endangered species. An impending series of Black Mirror in early 2016 cannot hide the worrying dearth of social commentary in today's offerings. Armando Iannucci lies dormant, Chris Morris is hibernating and Citizen Smith has been resuscitated purely to mock Jeremy Corbyn. Stand-up, safe sitcoms and panel shows numerically engulf political comedies and dominate television schedules. In our politically turbulent era, there should be a glut of programmes savaging political idiocy with humour, yet we have almost none to namecheck. Why?

It's a good time to revisit Four Lions

To cope with the tragic international events of the last few weeks, let's all revisit Chris Morris' masterwork of dark, weirdly healing comedy.

Don't let terrorists win TV: we need to make Dad's Isis

Chris Morris's Four Lions stands alone in its bonkers brilliance. Those who care about culture should end this silent surrender and make some risky TV.

Tom Hardy is the big draw as the hooting jabberfest returns. He's hawking his split-screen, award-baiting new dual role as both Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Legend - although once you've seen his Kray twins compared on social media to Chris Morris and Peter O'Hanraha-hanrahan, you can't unsee it. Also bouncing on to the sofa is Demi Lovato, who hit the ground running on her previous appearance by swigging Dr Pepper straight from a two-litre bottle and cracking jokes about Simon Cowell's chest hair.