Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
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Post by Spudiator on Dec 5, 2010 20:44:03 GMT
Is it just me, or is original comedy on Channel 4/E4 this year becoming decidedly unfunny? Phone Shop started earlier this year and never raised more than a mild smirk for me, then there was Robert's Web which started last week, and came across to me as a poor cross between Rude Tube and Russell Howard's Good News (Robert Webb seems way too smug for presenting this type of programme). The newest entry is The Morgana Show earlier this week, and I wasn't convinced by the trailers that it was gonna be funny, however I felt I should give it a fair crack of the whip, especially since I'd seen 2 status updates from Facebook friends saying how "hilarious" the show was. I know it's hard to judge based on only one episode so far, but I didn't find a single aspect of the show remotely funny. I know comedy is entirely subjective (the fact Michael McIntyre has any fans at all is testament to that), but I just don't get it. I did find this article from some Guardian feminist who seems to me like she's implying that we should all find Morgana funny just because she's female, like some bizarre equality act or something.
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Post by madhair60 on Dec 5, 2010 21:07:59 GMT
Don't forget the dross that is Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights.
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Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
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Post by Spudiator on Dec 5, 2010 21:23:21 GMT
Don't forget the dross that is Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights. Haven't actually watched that yet, not a vote of confidence then?
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Post by Arch_one_zero_one on Dec 6, 2010 0:24:22 GMT
Trailers are supposed to make you want to watch. The Morgana Show's trailer just cemented in my mind that there was no way in hell I'll ever watch it. So if they can't even get the trailer to work...
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Post by Exu on Dec 6, 2010 2:44:00 GMT
The trailer for Tramadol Nights is better than the actual show.
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Post by L. T. Dangerous on Dec 6, 2010 11:34:31 GMT
As I've said before, I like Frankie Boyle, but Tramadol Nights is pretty dire. The stand-up bits were essentially just Frankie shouting "YER ALL [censored]ING [censored]S" and talking about drugs and [censored]. The sketches were decidedly unfunny and were almost all one joke dragged out over anything up to five minutes. The Knight Rider sketch had one laugh in it and yet I think I grew a beard rivalling Frankie's own in the time it took to finish.
I'm starting to get the impression Frankie Boyle was as funny as he was on Mock The Week because of the fact he couldn't use the c-word as a punchline to every joke, so was forced to come up with actual material. As much as I accept the fact he's an offensive comedian, I think him going out of his way to be offensive (see: Rex Royd) renders him infinitely less funny. If he could stop using drugs, rape, the c-word, homophobia and racism as punchlines for half his material, he'd come off a lot better for it- as it is, he just looks like an increasingly sloppy comedian (and I don't much care for the fact there have been a string of smartarses on MTW trying to be "edgy" now Frankie's gone, the episodes where the guests have just been funny on their own merit have been vastly better).
I digress: the point is Channel 4 is [censored] and has always been [censored]. Having a few hits in a tsunami of misses doesn't make it a good channel for comedy and it's not a good channel for anything else. As for the Morgana Show, I'm assuming that's the one for which I saw a billboard of a woman licking/kissing a donkey. That only told me the programme in question was WACKY!! and not the kind of programme I would remotely enjoy.
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Post by Arch_one_zero_one on Dec 6, 2010 13:09:13 GMT
Frankie Boyle was, in my opinion, only funny on Mock the Week. I watched his stand up, and it was really quite poor - and in most cases, just similar, short jokes like those that he uses on Mock the Week, only without the context that the show gave them. Which makes them much less funny. I would probably have watched Tramadol Nights at some point, so I'm glad that I saw the opinions in this thread so I know not to bother. Because I'm not surprised in the slightest that it's rubbish.
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Post by Beeth on Dec 6, 2010 13:45:13 GMT
I'm inclined to agree with the majority on this one; I saw the trailer for The Morgana Show, which on its own put me right off it. I did watch Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights, however. Stand-up sections were weak and, sketches were very predictable. And that's ignoring the common "offensive for the sake of it" argument.
Robert's Web was cack. Done infinitely better by other programmes. Can't speak for Phone Shop, never bothered with it.
Channel 4 has always been a weak channel when it comes to comedy, really. The only decent programmes in my opinion are some of the ones that rip off other programmes (8 Out Of 10 Cats), and the Big Fat Quiz Of The Year which, as per the title, is only aired once a year. Both examples, incidentally, are presented by Jimmy Carr. So basically, without Jimmy Carr, there'd be no hope whatsoever.
Another prominent example I could cite is their failed sketch/live audience comedy series Blunder. I feel it's something that should've worked, but it was a complete disaster. Most, if not all, of the sketches re-used the same joke but telling it slightly differently. And the better sketches (and I use the term "better" loosely), such as the "Gowlf Clerb" and Franco Franco, ended up being largely forgotten in favour of the typical catchphrase comedy sketches of the time. I found it majorly disappointing as the simple, yet strangely compelling trailer they used in the run up to the series (a snippet from the "Poppadom" sketch) seemed to suggest this could be one of those brilliant, cult comedy series launching the careers of several relatively new comedy stars. It was a shower of turd, and I'm very surprised someone like David Mitchell allowed himself to be associated with it.
Mind you, Balls Of Steel was alright, now that I think on.
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Post by madhair60 on Dec 6, 2010 14:51:44 GMT
Brass Eye! Father Ted! Adam and Joe! Absolutely! Black Books!
More recently, The Inbetweeners and Peep Show. But that's it.
Edit: "Balls of Steel"!? That's a horrible programme! Awful, lary obnoxiousness with none of the showmanship of Jackass.
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Post by Beeth on Dec 6, 2010 15:28:28 GMT
Brass Eye! Father Ted! Adam and Joe! Absolutely! Black Books! Ah. Yes, of course! All of those were indeed brilliant (though I can't speak for Absolutely as I haven't seen it, and couldn't really get into Black Books for whatever reason). I still say they've been a bit lacklusture on the comedy front of late, however, but they can get it right when they pull their fingers out. Edit: "Balls of Steel"!? That's a horrible programme! Awful, lary obnoxiousness with none of the showmanship of Jackass. I won't bother defending it as a) it's your opinion and b) I only said it was alright, nothing spectacular. I assume your comparisons with Jackass are mainly due to the presence of the Welsh divs from El Sancho or whatever. They really are foul. Watching some lanky idiot bare his arse on national television while someone else mutilates it in a variety of ways is not my idea of entertainment.
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Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
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Post by Spudiator on Dec 6, 2010 15:45:29 GMT
I didn't mind Balls of Steel too much, it was far from the greatest of comedy shows, but it was at least watchable. C4/E4 have done some decent comedy stuff over the years like Trigger Happy TV, Spaced, plus the ones Stu mentioned (though I'd be lying if I said I'd ever even heard of Absolutely, let alone seen it), as well as some very good comedy dramas like Shameless (which I watch religiously when it's on) and, more recently, Misfits. It does seem like C4/E4's best shows these days are ones that were established years ago, which is a worrying trend.
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Post by Rory. on Dec 6, 2010 16:27:19 GMT
The adverts I saw for this show before it was on scared the living daylights out of me.
...I assume I wouldn't like...
Though in terms of Channel 4 being bad on comedy, I don't like all of their stuff but they generally receive pretty high opinion from the general public, though their most recent outings, of PhoneShop, Roberts Web and this Morgana Show seem to be pretty ignored from anything I've heard.
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Post by Alex on Dec 6, 2010 16:43:09 GMT
Channel 4 has been a more consistent source of good comedy than any of the other terrestrial channels, really.
Balls of Steel was utter mince, though. Dunno about, well, any other show mentioned 'cos I quite simply haven't watched them.
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Post by ShayMay on Dec 6, 2010 16:56:55 GMT
I freaking love Father Ted. >_> <_<
Edit: And I watched a trailer for the Morgana Show, and it actually made me want to not watch it out of spite. It's the one where the banker's being exceedingly rude and loud on the 'phone, much to the annoyance of people around him. ...Fair enough, except Trigger Happy TV did the EXACT same thing ages ago. And then luggage and a cream pie fall on his head? I... I don't understand.
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Post by L. T. Dangerous on Dec 7, 2010 1:09:53 GMT
I freaking love Father Ted. >_> <_< Why wouldn't you? Edit: And I watched a trailer for the Morgana Show, and it actually made me want to not watch it out of spite. It's the one where the banker's being exceedingly rude and loud on the 'phone, much to the annoyance of people around him. ...Fair enough, except Trigger Happy TV did the EXACT same thing ages ago. And then luggage and a cream pie fall on his head? I... I don't understand. I assume the punchline is "Bankers are all uniformly [censored]s, and not some lame scapegoat that the media use as a hate figure, thus I wish something falling on them could happen, don't you, guys? Guys? GUYS. HEY."
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Post by madhair60 on Dec 7, 2010 10:32:51 GMT
Channel 4 has been a more consistent source of good comedy than any of the other terrestrial channels, really. I was about to vehemently disagree, but thinking about it, you may have a point. Which is a [censored]ing bad state, to be honest. Though, (relatively) recent excellent BBC offerings include Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle (second series in Spring), the incredible Bellamy's People, Coogan and Brydon's wonderful The Trip, Harry and Paul's third series... Channel 4, yeah, there's been a lot of good [censored] in the past, but I wouldn't reliably call them consistent. BBC has always got something good on, Channel 4 can go months with [censored]-all. Edit: You folks should watch some Absolutely! Ten ninety-nine! When I got this for £40 it was a bargain.
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Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
|
Post by Spudiator on Dec 7, 2010 12:07:02 GMT
Just watched the first episode of Absolutely (good old 4OD), not bad, definitely funnier than Morgana at least. Will need to watch more episodes before I pass judgement.
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Post by madhair60 on Dec 7, 2010 12:11:03 GMT
It hits its stride in the second series, so I'd recommend skipping to that. First is great and all, but it's very formative.
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Slender Man
Big Time Boomer
And then I just chundered, everywhere.
Posts: 347
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Post by Slender Man on Dec 7, 2010 16:25:48 GMT
Just watched the first episode of Absolutely (good old 4OD), not bad, definitely funnier than Morgana at least. Will need to watch more episodes before I pass judgement. We get it. Everything ever made is funnier than the Morgana Show.
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Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
|
Post by Spudiator on Dec 7, 2010 17:49:47 GMT
Just watched the first episode of Absolutely (good old 4OD), not bad, definitely funnier than Morgana at least. Will need to watch more episodes before I pass judgement. We get it. Everything ever made is funnier than the Morgana Show. Not quite, I wouldn't extend it as far as Russ Abbott (or anything he's ever done).
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Post by Exu on Dec 10, 2010 23:13:58 GMT
Just turned on Ch4 and they've got Tramadol Nights on... some kids found this... thing that was [censored]ing a rabbit, they they threw stones at it, then they set a dog on it, then a kid kicked it.
Where's the funny bit, exactly?
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Post by Arch_one_zero_one on Dec 11, 2010 0:43:32 GMT
Yeah, I saw that one. I cannot help you in your quest to find the funny.
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Post by Exu on Dec 11, 2010 12:21:04 GMT
I ended up changing the channel and watching Family Guy. Much better.
[censored], Ch4's latest offerings make Coming Of Age look good.
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Post by Super Sonic on Dec 11, 2010 12:35:13 GMT
The kids I teach at a youth group last night were raving about how good Frankie's new show is.
They're all 12/13/14 so that tells you something.
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Post by madhair60 on Dec 11, 2010 23:34:05 GMT
Kill them.
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