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

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Family Guy is rubbish

― Alan, Friday, 23 February 2007 11:39 (seventeen years ago) link

gtfo

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 11:41 (seventeen years ago) link

Alan is right

― RJG, Friday, 23 February 2007 11:58 (seventeen years ago) link

You people are dead to me.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 11:59 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm cutting FG a little more slack lately, but that 'Cartoon Wars' episode of South Park is still OTM.

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:00 (seventeen years ago) link

"Cartoon Wars" is the kind of reactionary regressive bullshit that Parker and Stone trade in these days. When South Park goes back to episodes like "Casa Bonita" or "Woodland Critter Christmas", then we can talk.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:01 (seventeen years ago) link

cartoon wars wasn't LOL (a Bart Simpson cameo OMGZZZzzzz) but the FG crit was bang OTM

― Alan, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:03 (seventeen years ago) link

I LOVED the animated thing in Screen Wipe tho. more of that please:

"they don't care for it do they?"

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:04 (seventeen years ago) link

I mean, explaining why something "is" funny is a lot harder than explaining why something isn't. Family Guy has basically ascended to my favourite TV show currently running now because it's pretty much the perfect TV show for those of us born 1976-1986, raised on TV and easy access to video rental stores. High pop culture saturation and Seth McFarlane is kinda blessed with knowing what _is_ funny and what _isn't_ (qf the Petergeist episode, which is near perfect as 30 minutes of television).

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:05 (seventeen years ago) link

American Dad blows, however.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:05 (seventeen years ago) link

cartoon wars wasn't LOL

i laughed out loud at Cartman's general hatred for the show, the actual FG pisstake bits themselves, Cartman and Kyle's fight ("NO HITTING IN THE BALLS"), the manatees and more.

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:05 (seventeen years ago) link

that Peter Davison thing looked awful.

― Alan, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:05 (seventeen years ago) link

because it's pretty much the perfect TV show for those of us born 1976-1986, raised on TV and easy access to video rental stores. High pop culture saturation and Seth McFarlane is kinda blessed with knowing what _is_ funny and what _isn't

you could argue this about South Park just as easily.

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Needs more Alison Redman.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:08 (seventeen years ago) link

xp, or maybe not.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:08 (seventeen years ago) link

you could argue this about South Park just as easily.

No, you couldn't, because at centre the best episodes of South Park are the ones that have heart, when Parker and Stone obviously have some affection for Stan and Kyle (and, to a lesser extent, Kenny and Butters), and when Cartman is the asshole villain who has his little moment in the sun then gets taken down. The worst episodes of South Park are when the characters are just faceless ciphers for whatever OMG ISSUE THAT WE MUST TACKLE THIS WEEK that Parker and Stone have going on.

Where Family Guy stands alone from pretty much every other animated comedy (maybe every other sitcom) is that none of the characters are particularly good people. Homer hitting Lisa in the face with a baseball bat wouldn't be funny. Hank hitting Bobby with a baseball bat wouldn't be funny. Peter hitting Meg is, tho.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:10 (seventeen years ago) link

american dad is incredible

so terrible that it would taint anything that was good about family guy if there were anything good about family guy which there isn't

I wish we had underline formatting

― RJG, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:23 (seventeen years ago) link

family guy doesn't seem to have characters

however, it definitely does have a talking dog as well as a talking baby

― RJG, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:24 (seventeen years ago) link

It's very weird to claim that Family Guy doesn't have characters, all of its lead have very very strongly defined personalities, moreso than, say, The Simpsons.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:30 (seventeen years ago) link

when Parker and Stone obviously have some affection for Stan and Kyle (and, to a lesser extent, Kenny and Butters), and when Cartman is the asshole villain who has his little moment in the sun then gets taken down. The worst episodes of South Park are when the characters are just faceless ciphers for whatever OMG ISSUE THAT WE MUST TACKLE THIS WEEK that Parker and Stone have going on. [/]i]

except all of that is every episode ever pretty much. i know substance (rather than 'heart') isn't necessarily as important as roffles but the average SP has more of both than an average FG or Simpsons, for me - with KOTH probably one rung higher still altho the humour is obv. far more subtle and complex.

[i]is that none of the characters are particularly good people. Homer hitting Lisa in the face with a baseball bat wouldn't be funny. Hank hitting Bobby with a baseball bat wouldn't be funny. Peter hitting Meg is, tho.

this i ALMOST get. i mean not en episode of FG seems to go by without Lois or Meg getting punched in the face, but i don't find it funny and i don't really get it. it's not even slapstick violence and i find that bad enough now generally (see that terrible Simpsons trailer). i can see that Family Guy may be trying to question and break conventions re violence on women but....why...again? funny that South Park would never have Stan's Mom getting punched in the face - but then they don't have to do that, and I much prefer it that way.

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:32 (seventeen years ago) link

Family Guy as misogynistic is a point that has been raised before many times, and you may be onto something with a point, but... violence against Meg is part of the problem that a lot of comedy writers have which is that they can write adult males (they are one), young males (they used to be one), and adult females (they fuck them). Teenage girls have always been problematic. Early on in FG Meg was kind of a faceless character, she just did bland "thank you daddy" schtick whenever she was called for, indeed, Chris was the lead child. Chris is a backseat character now because Meg has this personality of the character who everyone hates for no reason at all, she's an all purpose fall character. There's a history of characters like this in both literature and television (and, fantastically, I can't think of any at the moment), the characters who are despised despite doing nothing wrong... whether you're meant to feel sympathy for Meg (which I suppose is a mitigating factor) or just laugh at her (which is perhaps not) is up for you to decide. [Removed Illegal Link]

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:40 (seventeen years ago) link

Illegal link?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRXm8vY9mU4

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:41 (seventeen years ago) link

they don't seem, to me, to be "strongly defined personalities"

more like someone has written down:

character #1 - dog. talks. is sensible. smokes. very funny.
character #2 - baby. talks. makes gadgets to try to kill or escape from parents and take over world. very funny.
character #3 - son. stupid. stupid voice. very funny.

and so on

yes, I haven't watched many episodes of family guy but I have, probably, watched too many

― RJG, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:43 (seventeen years ago) link

yeh i do see that with Meg. i find it rather disturbing tho, and indicative of the writers inadequacies. plus, they're still beating up poor Lois just as much. at least Lois has not become as annoying as Marge yet.

i just don't know why they bother centering things around the family unit at all. Brian and Stewie are better just on their own. Chris is pretty much a waste of space unless it's an evil monkey gag. Just write Meg out if you can't do anything good with her.

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:44 (seventeen years ago) link

character #4 - daughter. everyone hates for no reason at all. very funny.

― RJG, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:45 (seventeen years ago) link

here's the thing from Screen Wipe i mentioned:

http://www.fat-pie.com/tv3.htm (or go to fat-pie.com and click 'tv3' link)

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:47 (seventeen years ago) link

plus, they're still beating up poor Lois just as much.

Lois has beaten up Peter as many, if not more times, than vice versa. Including that "laying carpet at three in the morning" gag.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:48 (seventeen years ago) link

well i don't care for that either

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:49 (seventeen years ago) link

Peter deserves it tho, the fucker.

― blueski, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:50 (seventeen years ago) link

i liked that thing on screen wipe too. looking fwd to hearing 90s comedian Stew Lee on 70s teen drama "you were mostly worried about being brainwashed by a thousand-year-old mystical cult or how to cope with being separated from your family while society collapsed back to a pre-industrial era"

― Alan, Friday, 23 February 2007 12:52 (seventeen years ago) link

I keep going back for more Man Stroke Woman even though I really only laugh once or twice per episode (each seem to contain about 50 sketches), because I find all of the leads so appealing. I like Nick Frost, and Nathan Barley Dude, and Blonde Lady, and Woman with Mysterious Possibly American Accent.

― Ben Boyerrr, Friday, 23 February 2007 17:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Man Stroke Woman: poorly written, well performed.

― chap, Friday, 23 February 2007 17:50 (seventeen years ago) link

Man Stroke Women is badly written, badly performed, badly everything. It may have been mildly amuding when I was twlve, but it really is a shockingly bad show.

I LOVED the animated thing in Screen Wipe tho

Check out David Firth's website, www.fat-pie.com All his cartoons are on there. The guys a certified genius - The Pulch is beautiful, and the Salad Fingers cartoons are sometimes cool, although not quite to my taste. And check out the Jerry Jackson cartoons (one of Firth's pseudynms, accessible from the main page) for some of the funniest short cartoons you will ever watch.

― The Wayward Johnny B, Friday, 23 February 2007 20:40 (seventeen years ago) link

I like Firth's cartoons based on his dreams. Also, it's nice to see what they really can't/won't show on telly (i.e. the two Brooker commissions that have been canned so far).

The most striking thing about Dead Ringers is the enormous gulf between the amount of effort that goes into the costumes and make-up and the amount of effort that goes into the writing. It's a real feature of a lot of current BBC comedy - high-production values (Tittytittybang, Little Britain, etc) and dire scripts. The voice talent on DR is OK, I guess, though Cornwell never really sounds like anyone but himself.

― Michael Jones, Saturday, 24 February 2007 09:13 (seventeen years ago) link

But that's true of many impressionists' shows though Mike - Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona were plagued with the same thing - yeah yeah you sound very like Victoria Beckham/Mark Lawrenson/whoever, BUT YOU AREN'T FUNNY. AT ALL. (see also Only An Excuse up here, in fact all of Jonathan Watson's other ventures into doing other people)

― ailsa, Saturday, 24 February 2007 09:41 (seventeen years ago) link

God, I can't stand those animated bits on Screen Wipe. They always seem like padding to me.

I've never warmed to Family Guy either. I don't mind it, it's just a bit too puerile. It's like The Simpsons for Adam Sandler fans.

― DavidM, Saturday, 24 February 2007 10:49 (seventeen years ago) link

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/LeboviciAB84/HarryHilllargenodithering.gif

― acrobat, Saturday, 24 February 2007 22:25 (seventeen years ago) link

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/LeboviciAB84/HarryHillsmallerrordiffusion.gif

― acrobat, Saturday, 24 February 2007 22:28 (seventeen years ago) link

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/LeboviciAB84/HarryHillsmallerrordiffusion.gif

― DavidM, Sunday, 25 February 2007 11:25 (seventeen years ago) link

Incidentally, if you really don't fancy a laugh, at all, then Radio 2 brings you:

PARSONS & NAYLOR'S PULL-OUT SECTIONS
Thursdays, 2200 - 2230
Rpt'd Saturdays at 1330
Five parts (15 Feb-15 Mar)

Andy Parsons and Henry Naylor's comedy sketch show is back for another series - bringing you inspired social and political satire.

Designed on the 43 separate sections that fall out of your newspaper on the way back from the shop, the show takes a topical look at news, culture, sport, finance, in fact, every aspect of life.

With music from Richie Webb, it's crammed with acutely observed sketches, character comedy and punchy stand-up - with attitude.

You know the Upper/Middle/Lower Class sketch from That Was The Week That Was? It's like that but about a decade more dated.

― William Bloody Swygart, Sunday, 25 February 2007 13:58 (seventeen years ago) link

Dom more or less OTM upthread about Family Guy and South Park, although his degree of liking for FG is a lot more elevated than mine. It's the sort of thing I don't (often) go out of my way to watch, but whenever I do I have a riproaringly good time with laughs aplenty. There's an episode on Youtube somewhere (the one involving Disneyland and Chris being employed by a creepy transvestite pensioner) which had me carousing around the floor with mirth.

South Park is, I'd say, at its best when empathy for the characters is combined with a powerful, general statement. Best episode I've seen recently: The one set at that ski resort in Aspen.

― unfished business, Sunday, 25 February 2007 14:08 (seventeen years ago) link

cooked and bombd reporting chris morris / islam project is go! the casting call;

CLOSING DATE:Sunday, 20 May 2007, 23:59
wt; chris morris project (Film)

a tv film about a bunch of pakastani lads living in britain now,its about what they do-for work for play,what they believe,how the relate to their parents,families,the culture around them,their sense of heritage,its being writen and directed by chris morris for channel 4.

Company:

pbj

Producer:

derrin schlesinger

Director:

chris morris

Casting Director:

Des Hamilton

Location:

london and poss north of england

Dates (Shooting, Rehearsal, etc.):

summer 07

Casting Details:

pls send cvs+photographs to des hamilton 104c camden st,nw1 0hy,thanks.

Role:

ahmed (Male)

Description:

british/pakastani,30,bright,intense,knowlegeable,not good with people,attended islamic law school in damascus for a year.

Agreements / Contracts / Fees:

tbc

Role:

omar (Male)

Description:

british pakastani,29,ahmeds brother,more streetwise though not a gangster,persuasive,capable of empathy,smart around people,all overlayed on a low self esteem.

Agreements / Contracts / Fees:

tbc

Role:

waj (Male)

Description:

british/pakastani,20,less bright but not totally dim,loyal follower of omar,big guy,strong works out,fearless.

Agreements / Contracts / Fees:

tbc

Role:

hass (Male)

Description:

british/pakastani,21,bright,more middle class poss public school,moralistic,funny,studying IT after doing good at school.

Agreements / Contracts / Fees:

tbc

Role:

azzam (Male)

Description:

british/pakastani,,22,college mate of hass,bright,articulate,provocative,loves the spotlight loves winding people up,sort of guy who'd protest against cartoons in a bomb belt,mouthy.

Agreements / Contracts / Fees:

tbc

Role:

crow uncle (Male)

Description:

british/pakastani,38,fairly bright,mad brooding,watches a lot of tv between odd jobs (nightwatchman etc),seems more of a hick than the others.

Agreements / Contracts / Fees:

tbc

Role:

crow uncles nephew (Male)

Description:

british/pakastani,17,insanely intense......bright,very very focused,blind to anything he's not focused on,small seething boffin.

Agreements / Contracts / Fees:

tbc

― acrobat, Thursday, 1 March 2007 13:56 (seventeen years ago) link

will they be seen hanging out at Viva Cake?

― blueski, Thursday, 1 March 2007 14:01 (seventeen years ago) link

sort of guy who'd protest against cartoons in a bomb belt

erk.
the whole thing fills me with dread but y know it might work, it might work...unless it's a fucking edgy jam sketch about lol terrorists. doesn't even say if it's a comedy.

― acrobat, Thursday, 1 March 2007 14:08 (seventeen years ago) link

I really enjoyed Never Mind the Buzzcocks last night. I chortled and chortled and chortled.

― PJ Miller, Thursday, 1 March 2007 17:09 (seventeen years ago) link

Chris Morris is exactly the kind of guy who I'd imagine would have his finger on the pulse of what young Muslim males are thinking *roll eyes emoticon*

Charlie Brooker's impression of Ray Winstone on the last Screenwipe ("root de doot, root de doot, apples and pears") is comedy line of the year so far.

― Dom Passantino, Thursday, 1 March 2007 17:28 (seventeen years ago) link

young muslim males was already nailed by monkey dust

― unfished business, Thursday, 1 March 2007 17:29 (seventeen years ago) link

abu gharib

― Frogman Henry, Thursday, 1 March 2007 17:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Robin Hood was really funny on it.

― PJ Miller, Thursday, 1 March 2007 17:59 (seventeen years ago) link

OMG at Chris Morris. He really has gone wrong recently, and I liked Nathan Barley

― The Wayward Johnny B, Thursday, 1 March 2007 18:26 (seventeen years ago) link

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