Quote: Billy Bunter @ 5th July 2022, 10:08 AMI want ... ... characters to be going in and out of constantly opening and shutting doors with no trousers on.
Of course, when I expressed that desire, I didn't necessarily mean members of the British Government.
Quote: Billy Bunter @ 6th July 2022, 1:46 PMOf course, when I expressed that desire, I didn't necessarily mean members of the British Government.
Very good.
All interesting comments.
Thank you.
Quote: Lazzard @ 5th July 2022, 9:35 PMIts probably to do with the diminishing influence of the 'mainstream' channels.
Might be part of it! Broadcast TV has quite low ratings across the board nowadays, bar some bigger event shows that still have that 'office watercooler chat' appeal among them, like Line of Duty.
Bill Hicks.
No list of popular comedians or stand up comedians list would be complete without the likes of George Carlin, Larry David, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., or Chris Rock. Recent male comedians, like Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, and Aziz Ansari also made the list.
Quote: Arif Patel DubaiPrestonUK @ 1st September 2022, 2:07 PMNo list of popular comedians or stand up comedians list would be complete without the likes of George Carlin, Larry David, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., or Chris Rock. Recent male comedians, like Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, and Aziz Ansari also made the list.
They're all Americans aren't they? I don't know anything about any of them.
Are we talking about comedies that don't have a political angle or a personal story to tell? Because I don't necessarily see this as a negative personally. House of Fools and A Touch of Cloth come to mind but they are about 7 or 8 years old now. Does Taskmaster count? It's not a sitcom, but it is a comedy show. Most recent one I can think of if Cabin Pressure (radio comedy), just a classic sitcom setup and I didn't personally get any political agendas from it, or deep character studies.
Or are we talking about genres of comedy? Because any situation in any genre can have an opinion, it just depends on how it's done. Slapstick? That can be political. What if the mime artist tramp slips on the bank notes tumbling out of a bankers pocket stuffed with wads of cash? Is that political? Or is that just a setup to a joke? I guess context of current culture comes into play.
I comedies have to go out of their way to be opinion-less. The comedy comes from the character, or the situation they are in, making us look and form an opinion of some kind.
I think the undertone to the question was "what can I watch without having some social or political viewpoint rammed down my throat with all the subtlety of a rhinoceros?".
I can understand that with stand-up and news based panel shows. - I don't watch a lot of those so am in no position to comment.
But narrative comedy?
What would you cite as recent examples?
Some people get wound up if they see black actors or actresses in shows and believe they are just their pushing a progressive woke agenda. See the recent ridiculous controversy over the Lord of the Rings TV series or the live action version of The Little Mermaid because it has a black woman in.
That was very funny.
Grown men saying mermaids are white, and there are no black elves!
If that's your first thought when watching a fantasy TV show, you have serious problems.
Quote: Lazzard @ 23rd September 2022, 9:58 AMI can understand that with stand-up and news based panel shows. - I don't watch a lot of those so am in no position to comment.
But narrative comedy?
What would you cite as recent examples?
Alma's Not Normal is probably the most recent.
For stand up, I'd say Tim Vine is a good example of comedy without any political or social commentary. It's escapism - just daft, funny gags that can appeal to anyone.
Tim Vine is superb! Very, very funny man, and not always puns.