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Thread: What's going on with British comedy?

  1. #1
    Join Date: Jun 2014

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    I'm Steve.

    Default What's going on with British comedy?

    We used to have Steptoe & Son, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Rising Damp, Only Fools And Horses, Dad's Army, and I'm sure there were a few others. There doesn't seem to have been anything of comparable quality for some years now.

    Have we forgotten how to be funny, or perhaps it's that good writing and acting is too expensive and it's cheaper to produce crappy reality or 'talent' shows.
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  2. #2
    Join Date: Oct 2015

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    I'm Ian.

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    Strange you mention this as I've been watching The Two Ronnies on Netflix and they are still very funny, such quality in the writing and performance. Maybe part of the problem is these days the use of expletives is commonplace whereas in the shows you mention and many more the use of clever writing and innuendo suggested sauciness rather than just swearing for swearings sake. Don't get me wrong, some comedy shows are very funny and some comedians have made very successful careers pushing the limits. I do agree with you though Steve that something has gone from comedy and I doubt most modern shows will be looked back on so fondly.
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  3. #3
    Join Date: Feb 2013

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    A bit of that and the you can't say that brigade didn't help. Standards are so low now
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  4. #4
    Join Date: Apr 2017

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    I'm Martin.

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    Well you mention only fools and horses which gets a big thumbs down from me Maybe sitcoms have gone lamer but most were always pretty naff. You mention some of the classics which were way above the run of the mill

    You mention some good ones but Ive got to be honest that I find Morcambe and Wise or The Two Ronnies a bit lame to watch now. Allo Allo and Mrs Browns Boys are just painful to me.

    Comedy moves on and I feel closer to the Rik Mayall generation and birth of a so called alternative comedy. I like Black Adder...clever comedy ...Al Murray is another good comedian.

    There are some good shock stand ups like Frankie Boyle but I think you are probably right that TV comedy seems to be on the wane

  5. #5
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    I'm Timothy.

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    It's a shame we cannot bring back the Young Ones! Now that was some funny stuff!
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  6. #6
    Join Date: Mar 2016

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony View Post
    We used to have Steptoe & Son, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Rising Damp, Only Fools And Horses, Dad's Army, and I'm sure there were a few others. There doesn't seem to have been anything of comparable quality for some years now.

    Have we forgotten how to be funny, or perhaps it's that good writing and acting is too expensive and it's cheaper to produce crappy reality or 'talent' shows.
    Man! It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Dads army is just so hard to watch now.
    Have you never experienced Stewart Lee? IMHO He's taken comedy to a different level.
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  7. #7
    Join Date: Feb 2013

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    Dads army is still watchable without too much shock, although its a bit hammed up for modern audiences. I agree iahhm is harder work now but it was very well done , but alas the main issues it faced, like the alf garnet stuff was missed. IE, that we were a bit bigoted in those days...still had the empire attitude etc.
    I prefer clever comedy as a rule, like yes minister, blackadder etc as opposed to the slapstick style although saying that, laurel and hardy still crack me up after how many years? Lol
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
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    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


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  8. #8
    Join Date: May 2009

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    As this is a subjectivist forum, it's worth remembering that humour is about as subjective as you can get. Some 'old stuff' I still find amusing, along with new(er) shows like Black Books, Spaced, Father Ted, Mighty Boosh, Reeves and Mortimer, Peep Show, Peter Kay's Car Share. Some 'old stuff' is painfully unfunny to watch, ditto some new stuff (Mrs Brown's Boys, Citizen Khan).

    But, ultimately, you either find something amusing, or you don't. There's no right or wrong.

  9. #9
    Join Date: Dec 2014

    Location: UK, inactive

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    I'm inactive.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe View Post
    As this is a subjectivist forum, it's worth remembering that humour is about as subjective as you can get. Some 'old stuff' I still find amusing, along with new(er) shows like Black Books, Spaced, Father Ted, Mighty Boosh, Reeves and Mortimer, Peep Show, Peter Kay's Car Share. Some 'old stuff' is painfully unfunny to watch, ditto some new stuff (Mrs Brown's Boys, Citizen Khan).

    But, ultimately, you either find something amusing, or you don't. There's no right or wrong.
    Just adding to your list with some more that came out of the top of my head when I saw the first post - there's been loads of sit-com type comedy on TV currently and very recently:

    The In Betweeners, Not Going Out, Miranda, Friday Night Dinner, The IT Crowd, Murder in Successville, This Country, Psycho Bitches, The Thick of it, , W1A, Hold the Sunset, Mum, Raised by Wolves, Derry Girls ... and many many more.

    We could add to that the plethora of comedy panel shows (QI, Mock the Week, 8 out of 10 Cats, etc...) and the many broadcasts of standup comedy shows on offer.

    To say that comedy on TV is dead is simply not true - not by a long chalk.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Dec 2014

    Location: UK, inactive

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    I'm inactive.

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    Quote Originally Posted by WESTLOWER View Post
    Man! It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Dads army is just so hard to watch now.
    Have you never experienced Stewart Lee? IMHO He's taken comedy to a different level.

    Watched Stewart Lee's 2 hour show the other night - painfully hilarious ... I was in stitches half the time
    Pure comedy genius

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