Quote: sootyj @ December 7 2010, 5:29 PM GMT

Well to answer this question, what so damned good about the 21st century comedy?

How about the anarchic radio comedy that grew out of armed forces shows during the 1950s?
Shows like Round The Horne and The Goon Show were genuinely funny anarchic and original. Then leading into the massive comedy beasts of That Was The Week That Was and then Monty Python.

An era of comedy originals unfettered by focus groups and a 1000 digital competitors. An era where if you were a Ronnie Barker or a Galton and Simpson you went off and wrote your damned comedy.

Or how about the Elizabethan age of comedy. When the theatre allowed social satire and bawdy humour as a mass media for the first time?

How about the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s? The Comic Strip Presents, Spitting Image and Not The 9 O'clock News. Punchy, relevant and impassioned.

Or the glory days of 60/70s sitcoms. When Porridge or Rising Damp or even Love Thy Neighbour could be funny, nuanced and acerbic social commentaries. In a way that modern dramatists only can wish after.

The current crop of comedy seems to be deeply mediocre. Good stand-ups tied to half-arsed sketch shows, toothless topical satire and endless sitcoms about wankers in flatshares or cheery middle class families.

The Office was some years ago.

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How come you only go back to the 1950s. What about radio comedies of the 1940s such as the catchphrase loaded ITMA. Also, what about comedians on screen. For example, Will Hay, who was popular in the 1930s and 40s.

Those were just a few examples off the top of sootyj's head I think, Ian.

But nevertheless to answer your point: researching as recently as the 1970s can be damned tricky at times. I don't want to think about the hassle of going back to the 1930s or even before, at least not with the time limit of the OP's academic project.

Thanks Aaron.

But then one should be clearer in the title of the project

e.g.

"Is television comedy the best it's ever been?"

Hello! My absense has been long and time is running away from me. I apologise, I have literally only just received a response as to which question would be better to use. The answer was that 'Is there such thing as a timeless comedy?' question would be easier to research. My teacher told me that, although the other question would be interesting, it would be almost as complex as the original question I gave to you guys.
So my new question that I would like your opinions on is:

Is there such thing as a timeless comedy?

I would like you to consider the originality of comedies and who was the first to become popular in doing so. EG: Stand up, sitcoms, comedy films etc Please take note that I am may be going as far back as 1910 (as I have to consider the last hundred years, but I might not necessarily use that in my answer)

Thank you once again. xxx