Rolling UK Comedy Thread - "Ricky Don't Lose Larry David's Number

Andrew Lawrence is enjoying the EU result at least

https://twitter.com/andrewlawrence/status/746224504351776769

Goddamn it, every time I manage to successfully forget Andrew Lawrence exists he pops up again...

I'm sure his Edinburgh show will go down very well this year.

Taskmaster is back and ie entertaining although they should've banned mobile phones on a couple of the tasks.

Funnier than that, though, is Child Genius.

The nursery rhyme video task was amazing, and I don't think I've laughed so much in ages as I did at the very simple comedy sight of Joe Wilkinson looking pissed off at a ball rolling down a hill. But yeah, mobile phones made a couple of them too easy.

other cheating i haven't liked in Taskmaster:

getting the swede to spell out his answers (he wasn't allowed to *talk* english, there was nothing about spelling out the answers in english)

putting the rabbit hats on the floor. (however, osman's similar 'on top of the mat on top of the hill' workaround was quite funny. and props that they got susie dent to adjudicate on that. it plays into my opinion that all these comedians go around each others houses / on holiday together all the time)

conversely, the potato stacking challenge judgement (last night) was too harsh.

much as i like r osman, Child Genius really doesn't need a celebrity questionmaster. the joy of it is in the odd kids and their batshit parents.

I'm hesitant to say it, because I wouldn't want anyone to think it meant I hated him, but I think I might have seen enough Richard Osman now.

He's this year's Romesh Ranganathan. It'll pass when the powers that be latch onto someone else to put on absolutely everything.

i came late to Man Down (i saw series 2, series 3 started yesterday) but i like the farce aspect to it.

It's enjoyably silly but a but hit and miss. Probably averages a couple of belly laughs per episode though, which is a decent rate.

the drama class scenes are great. the shouty kid is the focus of an episode in the second series, iirc.

just catching up on the first series and the casting of rik mayall as his dad is spot on. and his mum is mrs mcklusky from grange hill...

Just watched yesterday's ep, they seem to have upped their game a bit. Stephen Berkoff!

Anyone watched Fleabag with Phoebe Waller-Bridge on BBC3?

Quite liked it: it tries a bit too hard to be shocking, and it borrows a bit from early Peep Show (i think), but I do like her facial expressions and it has a certain energy to it.

I didn't like Crashing very much and particularly hated her in it so the omens aren't good.

by the standards of latter-day BBC comedy Fleabag is excellent (not saying much I realise) and is currently sitting at the No.3 most popular show on iPlayer behind two episodes of Eastenders

don't know if the 4th-wall thing can be sustained as the whole thing feels like an elaboration of a standup routine but she's pretty irresistible imo. Though not nearly as 'filthy' as the broadsheets intimated! Disappointingly!!

Oh, I meant to give that a go - thanks for the reminder.

New series of Friday Night Dinner pretty much the same as every other series of Friday Night Dinner, i.e. all of the lolz at the boys taking the piss out of each other. Also features Jason Watkins hamming it up beyond belief.

first ep of fleabag was pretty good - will definitely watch the next one

dunno what the broadsheets were intimating about the content but on-camera buttsecks within the first 90 seconds of a new show seems like some kind of achievement

Really loving James Acaster. Only discovered him recently.

I saw him a few years ago supporting Josie Long - I'm pleasantly surprised he's made it to the panel show circuit.

His story in the Richard Herring interview about his three car crashes was brilliant (the third crash which Josie Long was in, mentioned above after I watched her Herring interview)

Fleabag is really, really good.

Yeah it seems good. Well written and acted, relationship with her sister very well drawn.

the failed hug was amazing

Actually the bit that made me lol the most was the guy getting out all his devices and chargers.

The failed hug was sort of done a few weeks before in Eastenders, between Roxy and Andy (the "small faced builder guy" ), when Andy attempted a peck on the cheek at the end of a date.

Done better here though.

Not sure about Fleabag but I'll stick with it. Just find it depressing tbh.

not really a comedy and not UK, but enjoying 'the Outlaws' well enough - Belgian 'dark comedy drama' about 4 sisters conspiring to kill the 5th sister's husband.

Seems like Fleabag might have been frontloaded and blown its stack on the first episode. The second episode did nothing for me.

Was worried about that at the start but was pissing myself by the end, the shower scene and the breakup - "I don't want to hate you, loving you is painful enough." "... you should write that down."

i gave Friday Night Dinner another try because a lot of friends rate it. i didn't make it to the adverts.

One of my best friends - and I follow her opinions usually - loves, loves, loves Friday Night Dinner. I don't get it.

I didn't make it more than ten minutes into Fleabag. It was just trying way too hard.

I've seen lots of Friday Night Dinner. There's good stuff in it but I generally find it too repetitive and irritating.

Watched two episodes of Fleabag and there were a handful of funny bits but still too much Miranda-ish stuff.

First couple of seasons of Friday Night Dinner were golden, but it is essentially the same show every week and diminishing returns/dearth of ideas killed it last season. Not wanting to watch the new one tbh.

The last season of Friday Night Dinner was only saved by Mark Heap and Robert Popper, and saw the first ep of the new season was maybe even a step too far for them; not to mention it was a rehash of the piano tuner episode. The writers of Man Down clearly love it though because the new Tony Robinson character is a straight lift of Mr Maurice.

I enjoyed the second episode of Fleabag more than the first, but not feeling it. Shower scene is the only time I've really laughed.

Seems like Fleabag might have been frontloaded and blown its stack on the first episode. The second episode did nothing for me.

― Half-baked profundities. Self-referential smirkiness (Bob Six)

Not as good as the first but still decent imo. I can see her smirks to camera getting old soon, though.

Yes to both those things. It's a question of how she moves beyond the standup material

Gotta admit Man Down has been cracking me up a fair bit recently.

Fleabag's returns continue to diminish, meanwhile.

I think Fleabag's remained strong, but I think it's not a sitcom, as such. It reminds me of that Netflix show Love, which seemed to be a romcom but ended up being a show about depression and substance abuse; the base theme of Fleabag is grief, and I think it handles it really sharply and really subtly.

Brent is baaaaaaaack

Brent is back with 6-minute songs before films I want to see in the cinema! Thanks, 2016.

I'm actually enjoying Fleabag more than the first one - getting rid of the wacky OOH SEXPOT element has really worked and it's clear the whole plot is about her failure to get over the death of the co-owner. It reminds me of Catastrophe probably more than it should, specifically the relationship between Sharon Horgan and Ashley Jensen, and Ashley's relationship with Mark Bonnar.

It'd be pretty easy to argue that the silent yoga retreat was a bit hackneyed but the empowered men seminar in the same building was great and Hugh Dennis was surprisingly good.

Ricky Gervais defends use of n-word in his new film

smdh

don't cut yourself on that edge ricky

Better for the populous

Fleabag 1 was on bbc2 last night. which is easier for me tbh.

not sure the world needs random 'big fat quiz'zes - it feels so much like a christmas / new year thing.

and that was probably the worst 8/10 catsdown so far on friday. the woman was useless, sub Roisin Conaty levels. and suzy shouldn't have to suffer character comedians.

I liked the woman and the character comedian guy! I enjoyed Big Fat Quiz as well, could do with less Jimmy Carr in both though

Fleabag's getting better and more depressing I think

I think Fleabag's remained strong, but I think it's not a sitcom, as such.
It reminds me of that Netflix show Love, which seemed to be a romcom but ended up being a show about depression and substance abuse; the base theme of Fleabag is grief, and I think it handles it really sharply and really subtly.

this this this.
so spot on stevie.
i have loved fleabag.
there are so many tickpoints in it that make me go 'ooooh yeah .. i did that .. '.
it's clearly written by someone who has been through the grieving process.
if not, then a lot of chats/research have been done.

i think it's brilliant.

i've only just discovered 'cats does countdown' wasn't just a comic relief sketch