surreal comedy

i was recently told by a bbc TV producer that there is no point pitching ideas for surreal comedy to BBC as they have already "ticked this box" with The Mighty Boosh.
this makes me cross on so many different levels, the main one being that my writing style tends towards the surreal or strange...and yet all the broadcasters seem to want to make are things with mainstream appeal, like Gavin and Stacey.
to cap it all i was also told that even channel 4 are reluctant to make something like Peep Show because, whilst it is widely regarded as good, it is not commercially successful.

i appreciate that everyone has different tastes but it seems to me that most sitcoms that are produced these days are "of a type". and that type seems to be quite safe.

what do you nice people think?

Well there's definitely space for a good 'surreal' comedy show because The Mighty Boosh is rubbish.

I would happily welcome a new decent surreal sitcom or comedy show, if not that then at least the return of Vic & Bob.

‘Safe’, as in ‘popular’?

OK, so it's impossible to define comedy to such a degree that there is a formula for laughs... otherwise every single show on TV would be a riot of fun... and, consequently, all shows would be alike.

TV is a mass medium though… and broadcasters have to use a (safe) system that works for them in gauging popularity and therefore what, ultimately, decides allocation of budget and time and so on. I hate that this system is based on audience viewing figures… but how else would you do it?

I would love to see more chances being taken… and not just with comedy but I don’t think the current attitude is likely to change. Yes, shows such as ‘The Mighty Boosh’ break the mould (and thank the stars for that!) but they do so at the expense of other, more popular, programmes. Just like with Hollywood studios where smaller ‘artier’ movies only get made on the back of blockbusters.

I’ve never understood whether it’s the broadcasters who decide what we watch… or if we do. I guess it's a bit of both… but it points to the majority getting what they want either way. Even though it appears as if people like you and I represent a large proportion of the viewing public… sadly, we don’t.

Ultimately, you have to write/create/produce what you feel you must. Whether that is niche & surreal… or popular Gavin & Stacey style comedy. You may never get a show made of your work… but you’ll be happier knowing you created something you believed in.

In what way is the Mighty Boosh rubbish?

Mighty Boosh is genius but you have to want to 'get it'.

i do like mighty boosh a lot. its nice and weird. my only criticsm is that it can be a bit indulgent in the dialogue between howard and vince, but i guess that stems from its origins as a stage/stand-up/live comedy thing.
i actually prefer the audio cd to the dvd.

Quote: Darren Goldsmith @ July 10, 2007, 10:52 AM

‘Safe’, as in ‘popular’?

OK, so it's impossible to define comedy to such a degree that there is a formula for laughs... otherwise every single show on TV would be a riot of fun... and, consequently, all shows would be alike.

TV is a mass medium though… and broadcasters have to use a (safe) system that works for them in gauging popularity and therefore what, ultimately, decides allocation of budget and time and so on. I hate that this system is based on audience viewing figures… but how else would you do it?

I would love to see more chances being taken… and not just with comedy but I don’t think the current attitude is likely to change. Yes, shows such as ‘The Mighty Boosh’ break the mould (and thank the stars for that!) but they do so at the expense of other, more popular, programmes. Just like with Hollywood studios where smaller ‘artier’ movies only get made on the back of blockbusters.

I’ve never understood whether it’s the broadcasters who decide what we watch… or if we do. I guess it's a bit of both… but it points to the majority getting what they want either way. Even though it appears as if people like you and I represent a large proportion of the viewing public… sadly, we don’t.

Ultimately, you have to write/create/produce what you feel you must. Whether that is niche & surreal… or popular Gavin & Stacey style comedy. You may never get a show made of your work… but you’ll be happier knowing you created something you believed in.

View original

Quote: Retinend @ July 10, 2007, 10:53 AM

In what way is the Mighty Boosh rubbish?

View original

In most ways.

Interesting discussion this. As someone who generally tends to prefer what's being called "safe" and "mainstream", I see most shows being made today as the complete opposite.

Anyway. I think the BBC kind of shot themselves in the foot with The Mighty Boosh. They'd not had anything really properly surreal in a long, long time, and then went with something that was really about as surreal as one could get. For audiences, as a whole, that was a bit too far of a jump, so it's deemed to have not worked. There's a large cult following to The Mighty Boosh, but it's by no means mainstream, and not something that they can really market overseas.
Auntie can see that there is that large following to Boosh of course, which is why they've given it another series (probably more on the back of the tour than the previous TV or radio programmes), but they won't take the risk of trying anything new. Of course, the constant criticisms that they're wasting the licence fee on crap doesn't encourage experimental commissioning, so perhaps some of the wannabe writers only have themselves to blame.

Yeah Mighty Boosh tries far too hard to be surreal with all its animal whimsy and whatever, really not my kind of thing, I know its got a big cult following but that tends to be teenage girls swooning over Noel Feilding, I don't think it has a huge 'comedy' follow.

Quote: johnny roulette @ July 10, 2007, 11:43 AM

i actually prefer the audio cd to the dvd.

View original

Ditto. The nature of their banter means that radio doesn't hold them back in the way that a TV set would.
Never really got into their TV output but I did enjoy their radio series

Quote: Martin Holmes @ July 10, 2007, 12:10 PM

Yeah Mighty Boosh tries far too hard to be surreal with all its animal whimsy and whatever, really not my kind of thing, I know its got a big cult following but that tends to be teenage girls swooning over Noel Feilding, I don't think it has a huge 'comedy' follow.

View original

Hey! I agree that you have to be prepared to laugh at it, or you won't find it funny; and us teenage girls arent all about hte swooning-we understand funny when we see it! >_<

I love the boosh, not all fans are girls; I think its fantastically good and very, very funny. Not to everyones taste though, I agree.

I agree, The Mighty Boosh is not funny. Reminds me of two other very unfunny dudes who make videos and seem to think they are terribly funny but are actually quite dull and...stupid. No other word for it.

Nevermind what the trends are or what the current set of Suits proclaim. Your job is to impress & please yourself first. This dedication and focus will shine through your work and give it the momentum needed to get it sold.

Don't give up.

Keep writing what comes natural to you. Christ, you act as though the BBC is the only entity who buys scripts/ideas. There's a big world out there. There's satellite radio---not big at the moment, but it will be. There's internet tv---again, not big at the moment, but tomgreen.com and others (such as our own Stuart Laws & Co.) are paving the way.

I think one of the things that holds many of you back is that you limit yourselves to regional writing---you limit yourselves to the UK market. Lose your regional blinders and write what amuses you---and open yourselves up to the American/Australian/Canadian/New Zealand and South African markets. Yea, you may have to tweak a few words to fit the material to the market---but funny is funny no matter what language it's in.

And yes, there are exceptions---some material is laden with word-play infused with regionalisms and you really couldn't make it work outside of said region---Ronnie Barker's stuff comes to mind: works great in the UK; wouldn't work in the USA (I'm thinking of those songs & sketches on The Two Ronnies, but Porridge is also pretty damn regional).

But most comedy is situational; it is human; someone is in trouble or over reacting or scheming to cause trouble or shows themself up to be an unaware buffoon---it has a universal quality. Scripts that rely on regional word-play or regional name dropping as the bulk of their humour do not. And that's alright. If that's all you can write, god bless you. No lack of honour in that at all.

The point is, there are other English speaking countries and markets to write for. There ain't just the Beeb.

Keep writing and adding to your catalog of completed scripts. Keep the fire burning and get better and better at what you do. You'll eventually land an agent and he or she will be able to sell your stuff abroad.

Some of you guys seem half hearted. I'm betting you are being fooled by those voices of doom & doubt who shout such things as "If you were gonna make it, you would've made it by now" and "You're too old" or "You're too young" or "You're not clever enough" and on & on & on. But those are just the gatekeepers---phantoms, they are---there to discourage those who would rather be doing something other than writing; there to discourage those who are almost convinced they are unworthy of success.

I won't name names but some of you still have a visible spark...and yet your work seems half hearted. And when you're not posting work, your posted comments bely someone who thinks and feels their dream of success is dying or will never be achieved.

Forget 'mind over matter', it's a case of Will over Doubts. You must simply and persistently train yourself to disbelieve the doubts. Starting now. They will continue to exist for as long as you are productive, but they are only phantoms; just part of the package; just part of the price; just the flies and the wasps at the picnic---and it's completely safe to disbelieve them.

I am, of course, preaching to myself here---as is my wont to do from time to time (no doubt owing to the inherent loneliness of being a writer and needing to be one's own cheerleader)---and it may have something to do with having just been on a 3 day & night binge of 1970s P-Funk. Dig: I am feeling funk-tastic, mutherfunkers!

Yea, baby! The Mothership Connection.

Un-cut funk.

The bomb.

We'll have to agree to disagree there, then!

I think it's brilliantly imaginative, not the funniest, but when it is funny, it's great.

I agree that the mighty boosh isn't that funny and an acquired taste. Never really got the funny side of it. But cos it won something in edinburgh it got picked up and made into a show, like when they give someone from stand up a series. But each man/woman/other to their own. Good luck to them.