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

(i even used KR's initials in the same post as c'n'p-ing KP's name)

I am very surprised Richard Herring hasn't been on before now.

New series of Ghosts starts on bbc1 tonight (opposite university challenge). It's 8:30 on bbc1 so it's never going to be challenging but it's the horrible histories people iirc so is quite fun.

Oh yeah Ghosts is very enjoyable. I ended up canvassing a little with the lead actress on election day, funnily enough.

Atlanta is on bbc2 all this week. I think they are showing all 20 episodes of both series, 3 a night. It's not UK and not comedy, really, but I enjoyed it.

Watch it alongside community on 4 music for extra lols.

I think it's a comedy. The barber episode is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

It's funny but it also has something to say.

Last week's Frankie Boyle was good like this too. (Although sometimes on that I don't understand why they have 3 permanent guests and one they switch out halfway through. Mostly it's an expert but sometimes it's just romesh)

I found the BLM episode of Frankie Boyle's show a bit weird. Like, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be getting from it. It wasn't funny, and the people on it weren't any better informed than I was. So... what was the point of it? I haven't even watched this week's yet.

Atlanta is so great. We used to watch it as a double bill with the also sublime Better Things.

watched the BLM episode again and, dunno. was comedians talking politics but they were intelligent and probably had first hand experience of the stuff under discussion (ok, maybe Sara Pascoe not so much) and it was worth hearing. i hope it reached an audience that wouldn't see that stuff normally because they watch comedy and not, say, Newsnight.

it also reminded me of Larry Wilmore's Nightly Show thing that span off the Daily Show briefly and which was also interesting (but slightly weird in a similar way).

can't half-watch* Atlanta so i'm saving it up to binge some other time.

(* most tv watched during the day is listened to rather than watched because i'm 'at work'. a lot of shows don't really suffer when doing this, but some things are more complex or more involving or simply require me to look in order to follow it)

lovely bit on Ghosts on monday when robin's recounting his memory of thomas' death and they are all talking using his cadence.

tory mp on hignfy, why do they bother?

Ghosts is my favourite thing on telly right now.

New Taskmaster starts tonight.

is series 10 too late to start a taskmaster thread?

nothing wrong with last night's apart from the covid-inspired seating arrangements. oh, wait, he was too harsh on the 'no drop spilled' rule. there's a lot of rule bending i wish he'd come down harder on, but that wasn't one of them.

(they are all on All4 as well now, apparently (and still on Dave))

Daisy May Cooper laughing is already my new favourite thing on telly. The big reveal of the egg task was a bit Joe Wilkinson potato-gate, but the rest of the show was great fun, and Mawaan is going to be excellent value.

just want to congratulate Lee Mack for making me laugh for the first time in his career

Ghosts love thirded or fourthed.

Stath definitely getting S3 per Jamie Demetriou's Twitter.

That post from NV had me googling whether Lee Mack had died.

In a way

i'm trying ghosts based on you guys so let's see.

I lasted 2 eps then quit. Maybe it gets better.

If you don't like it from the start, you probably just don't like it.

yeah, it doesn't change much, all the one-joke characters continue with their jokes so it all depends on if you like said jokes.

that said, the rashomon-esque episode from a couple of weeks ago did something different and i've enjoyed the odd glimpse of their origin stories. and robin, generally.

the rashomon-esque episode from a couple of weeks ago did something different

Yes this was hilarious, and quite clever.

How does it hold up compared to, say, what we do in the shadows

it's 8:30 bbc 1 rather than 11:00 on bbc 2, which pretty much tells you everything.

i'm fond of it but don't expect dark or sophisticated (there is a plaque pit in the cellar...). it's all the horrible histories writers.

I'm a murrican, so I don't understand any of that!

It's much cosier and more family friendly basically - for me it's good natured-ness is part of the appeal. It's not completely without bite, though.

An innuendo about being sucked off is about as risque as it gets.

horrible histories is a book and tv series aimed at kids. educational sketches. there's a bunch on youtube (in the uk anyway).

okay. i'll test drive ghosts and see; which one is the rashomon episode?

also what is a "plaque pit"

a mass grave for victims of the Black Death

'Plague', not 'plaque'. A plauqe pit is where dentist toss removed rotten teeth.

Rashomon ep is 204, but probably more enjoyable if you know the characters a bit. I'd just start at the beginning.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p08vxrgx

I worked on this, so be gentle

Artwork by the guy who does Scarfolk

okay, watched the first two episodes of Ghosts. It's okay! Worth sticking with, I think.

I was halfway through the second when i had the very clear thought this was gonna be bought by a premium cable channel to screen and then remade by another premium cable channel for a US audience. Found out this morning it's new to HBO stateside, so halfway there.

And I listened to the Sink and enjoyed it. Reminded me of Blue Jam, but gentler, which is good given these times. Also, Alice Lowe.

nobody watching sara pascoe's thing on tuesday's? i'm not sure i blame you, i'm not sure what she's trying to do is working. (it's half like her books and half traditional sitcom, but it's curdling rather then mixing smoothly, i think)

favourite other thing recently, and not strictly comedy but is comedian, is susan calman's Secret Scotland thing on channel 5 on fridays. it's the same every week (Susan stands next to some oversize thing, Susan does something slightly John Noakes, Susan feeds some kind of animal / gets close to huge raptor, someone tells Susan that the public aren't normally allowed to sit on this chair / bed but as it's her...) but she does a good job of being impressed / enjoying said thing and it's infective.

(frankie boyle did something similar for bbc which was a bit grittier and i enjoyed that too. this goes out at 8 and is perfect family fodder)

I'm completely indifferent to Sara Pascoe.

it feels like she’s been coasting for a long time.

i mean, i would too, tbf

can ukers help me please. youtube algo has given me a tranche of QI, and i'm completely addicted, and it's terrible. worse than the jokey quiz shows on NPR.

the women are generally funnier than the men, i guess, sara pascoe et al. phil jupitus is not funny. alan davis is crushingly unfunny. the sex jokes are skin crawling. they think foreign accents are just the height. what is the draw of this show? is there something better i can watch? must stop. tia

i'm a uker and everything you've said is true and i don't get it either

i mean it's watchable because of interesting facts (don't google the facts, they're not all as true as the show makes them out to be) but it's not comedy in the sense of you wouldn't watch it if you just wanted a laugh

Idgi either and it has the worst fucking theme tune of any tv program, ever.

idk i sort of like chintzy airport reggae

the relief you feel when sandi toksvig just steps on whatever bit they're beating to death to say yes actually there was a doctor in 1804 who experimented on etc etc, exquisite

Nobody should have to be discovering how insufferable qi is in 2020 I’m sorry