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

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

Not sure I've ever watched a whole ep.
Is it all Sandi or have you got Stephen Fry too?

there's some Fry clips but no full eps that i've seen

strangest introduction in the bunch was one Gyles Brandreth, one of those "ah he's charming, you should have killed more of these people 300 years ago" kind of things

phil jupitus is not funny. alan davis is crushingly unfunny.

The Special Relationship is back on.

Now the fact that British comedians are the worst in the Western World is out there, I feel this is a good thing.

No Such Thing as a Fish > QI

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

― Maresn3st, Monday, 9 November 2020 18:58 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Seriously

I can't manage more than 10 minutes of No Such Thing as a Fish - it has the same smug bones as QI.
'

How do we feel about 'Only Connect'?

It's a good game show, it's not a comedy at all.

this is all very otm

I'd still rather watch qi than not watch it.

The two they recently filmed without an audience were fascinating - there was no audience to pander to or try and impress and the little bits of chat got deeper and more personal. Had a different feel to it.

Fewer knob gags now Sandy's doing it. More women. One week was 60% female and 80% gay.

Would I Lie to You is my panel show guilty pleasure, particularly when Bob Mortimer's on it.

The two they recently filmed without an audience were fascinating - there was no audience to pander to or try and impress and the little bits of chat got deeper and more personal. Had a different feel to it.

this is true, these had more of a homey feel, and it seemed like they were trying to make each other laugh and cheer each other up. the best ones i've seen.

Scroobius Pip turned up on Sara Pascoe's show tonight

Tears during the cocktail task on taskmaster last night, first time in a while.

(it also revealed that DaisyMae's shouting out 'I LOVE THIS' in the trailer wasn't her enjoying herself but was part of what seemed like a trauma-inducing task)