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Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:31 am
by Rick Deckard
Good one.

Mr. Show's quickly become one of my favourite ever comedies - finally saw the 'Can I use this chair?' sketch that a David Cross fan talks about plagiarising to win a talent competition in Let America Laugh, and I think the episode it's in is the one that closes on the Bob vomiting outtake from the beginning, which was just an incredible bit of writing really. I think it's probably the best American sketch show I've seen - very Flying Circus, and just generally brilliantly written, particularly in the last two seasons. Bob and David are endearingly likeable - they have a great scene together in an episode in the first season of Arrested Development, incidentally, where Bob's playing a marriage counselor and they do a roleplaying session and almost become intimate, and Bob is of course jolly good as Porno Gil in CYE (best ep of season one, I reckon). Anyone know what else they've been in? Is it just the Ben Stiller Show?

Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:51 am
by OtakupunkX
ratperson665 wrote:
OtakupunkX wrote:The War At Home is an exteremely generic family sitcom. Bleh.

The war at home is a very adult oriented show. It's not a family friendly comedy. And in answer to your question Rick: yes. Will & Grace was a joke entry.
Not really. It's one of those "OMG let's be edgy for the sake of being edgy" kind of things, like those Jr. High kids that talk about smoking cigarettes all the time and wear Misfits shirts even though they don't know who Glenn Danzig is and they've yet to hear any of their music.

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:20 am
by ratperson665
OtakupunkX wrote:
ratperson665 wrote:
OtakupunkX wrote:The War At Home is an exteremely generic family sitcom. Bleh.

The war at home is a very adult oriented show. It's not a family friendly comedy. And in answer to your question Rick: yes. Will & Grace was a joke entry.
Not really. It's one of those "OMG let's be edgy for the sake of being edgy" kind of things, like those Jr. High kids that talk about smoking cigarettes all the time and wear Misfits shirts even though they don't know who Glenn Danzig is and they've yet to hear any of their music.
Than what about the line "If my daughter sees your penis I’ll cut it off!"

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:15 am
by Rick Deckard
Yes I think that's an example of what he was talking about. I could probably prove with science that that isn't funny.

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 5:32 pm
by ratperson665
Rick Deckard wrote:Yes I think that's an example of what he was talking about. I could probably prove with science that that isn't funny.
It is if you like low-brow humor.

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 7:07 pm
by Rick Deckard
Well, exactly. If you choose to like low brow comedy above all else your opinions mean nothing.

Hah, I'm pissed and I make more sense than you!

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 7:17 pm
by ratperson665
Rick Deckard wrote:Well, exactly. If you choose to like low brow comedy above all else your opinions mean nothing.

Hah, I'm pissed and I make more sense than you!
opinions are not facts.

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 8:15 pm
by 8bitsonic
Rick Deckard wrote:Hah, I'm pissed and I make more sense than you!
"Pissed" as in angry or "pissed" as in drunk?

Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 4:15 am
by Rick Deckard
Drunk. I'm not now, though. I question the importance of subjectivity in comedy criticism - I think all it is an easy defence for mediocrity ('well, I liked it!').

Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 12:30 am
by Gaff
They need to bring back comedies like Big Train and The Fast Show.

Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:30 am
by Rick Deckard
Well, they can't bring those two back exactly. The Fast Show's had loads of spin-offs since, and, with both, everybody involved is off doing something else. There's also the fact that both shows, in their last series, weren't particularly good. The second series of Big Train suffered from the loss of Linehan, I think, and even then the show always had a lot of filler, albeit with some brilliant sketches scattered throughout.

But 'That Mitchell and Webb Look' is definitely something to look forward to. From the looks of it so far they've recycled about half of the radio material, but as long as they're putting a televisual twist on it I'm not complaining. The radio series really is excellent, despite having MP3s of it somewhere I think I'll probably have to invest in the commercially released second series (they seem to have skipped series one, curiously), just for that sensual 'owny' feeling. Both the Armando Iannucci Shows and the third series of A Bit of Fry and Laurie came out yesterday, so I've got some spending aplenty to do.

Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:51 am
by Gaff
Yeah, I rather like Mitchell and Webb. They definitely need more exposure to the public. The Smoking Room was an enjoyable programme, though again it didn't really get the recognition and appreciation that it rightfully deserved.

And speaking of Armando Iannucci - Time Trumpet is one of the most original and entertaining comedies I have ever watched.

"And next week, we'll be discussing the war between Denmark and Tesco's."

Genius.

Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:36 pm
by Rick Deckard
Well I get through a great deal of comedy and I've been an Armando Iannucci fan for a long time so I suppose it's likely I'll be more critical, but Time Trumpet has come as a massive disappointment. His '98 one-off Clinton: His Struggle With Dirt explores incredibly similar ground and is a lot punchier, really, with much less filler. I think the main reason is because he wrote that himself, and with Time Trumpet he's got a plethora of writers attempting to ape his style. The cut-ups and the like aren't particularly impressive, unfortunately, about the same quality (and sometimes not quite that quality) of those Internet videos that you watch just to waste time. It's a whole programme of those. It all feels a bit empty. I'd say the pinnacle of Mr Iannucci's achievements is The Day Today, which despite being made in 1994 looks so much better produced and packs a much meatier comedic punch. Probably something to do with that Chris Morris bloke - their collaboration is a partnership made in Heaven.