Lead Balloon Page 5

'heppy' and 'unheppy' made me laugh.

*chuckles just at the thought of it*

So simple, but brilliantly executed. :)

Not huge on laughs, but I passed an enjoyable half hour watching it. How many sitcoms can you say that about?

Likeable, well put together, well cast, well acted, well made.

Well done.

Quote: niteowl @ November 16, 2007, 9:08 PM

At the risk of being shouted at,I really didnt like last nights episode.The ending wasnt funny,it was just nasty.And the household falling apart without Magda just didnt make sense.Dees character works from home,why couldnt he go shopping/wash up/get grocerys over the net?He managed to buy a car.It may be nitpicking but even in sitcoms theres supposed to be some 'truth' and this felt false,given the characters.
I did laugh at some of the last series but this episode fell flat.Hope it picks up next week

I think that's the trouble with family's who have foreign au-pairs or slaves as they're known - they don't know how to do anything for themselves.

I had a dream I was Ricky Gervais's au pair last night. Weird. Especially since he doesn't have any kids.
I lived in his attic! Was quite fun actually...

I do think it's the best new sitcom at the moment.

Jack Dee just has the face for all those cringing embarrasments.

Quote: zooo @ November 17, 2007, 12:12 AM

I had a dream I was Ricky Gervais's au pair last night. Weird. Especially since he doesn't have any kids.
I lived in his attic! Was quite fun actually...

Wishful thinking.

Absoflaminglutely.

Somehow, I missed all of the last series. I really did want to like it, but at best I found it "grin-worthy". It didn't make me laugh out loud once, so in that sense I found it failed. There were a few nice moments, and it was an intelligent piece - but just because it's so vastly superior to tripe like, say, "Grownups" which has somehow aborted its way onto our screens, it doesn't mean it's all that good.

I was curious because I'm such a huge fan of CYE. Certainly, that episode I saw the other night was nowhere near the divine Beloved Aunt episode of Curb (misquoted): "Will it be tasteful - it won't be funny, will it?" "Sure, of course not" ... "Devoted sister, beloved CUNT?!" ... "Maybe you should ask for a retraction" "What are they supposed to say? We're sorry we called her a c**t?!" Or the Pants Tent episode. But then, Curb has had some pretty dire episodes IMO. In fact, most of my favourites are in the first 2 series.

But my point is that Dee's episode failed to be anywhere near as funny as the best of Curb. OK, people are sick of the comparisons being drawn, but even if it wasn't heavily influenced by Curb (which it apparently is) comedy should be compared to the best, not the worst. Judging on that episode, it just wasn't good enough, for me. Hopefully either it'll grow on me or the quality will peak sometime.

Incidentally, I've no problem with the characters doing evil things, so long as it's in character and funny. The flowers thing could have been taken a few stages further, I reckon; he could have stolen the flowers, had a visitor who had bought the flowers in the first place, and recognised them, for instance... whatever. The ending was unsatisfactory for me not because it was cruel, but because it was really quite lazy. It was like farce action without the build-up - compare it with One Foot In The Grave, for instance (many episodes of which are more satisfying).

That'd all be great, if 'Curb' was actually funny or actually any good.

I enjoyed it. I reckon the car salesman (Ralph Ineson/finchy) is being set-up to return in a later episode and get his revenge. I'm hoping so, otherwise it was just a really mean ending that wasn't needed! Magda and Jack Dee's scenes together were hilarious.

Quote: Rick Skelton @ November 17, 2007, 8:51 AM

That'd all be great, if 'Curb' was actually funny or actually any good.

Ooooohhh, now there's a rare breed - a Curb hater!

I've always liked the sound of CYE, but never laughed at it when I've caught it. The beloved aunt/c**t thing is funny though!

Curb haters?! :O
Surely not!
I'll freely admit that some of the episodes are pretty rubbish, but a couple are out-and-out comedy gems!

I watched Curb once and wondered what all the fuss was about.