By coincidence as I posted on the BBC’s latest dumbing down by harvesting the ‘social media’ for news John Lloyd seems to agree that the BBC is heading for a fall…at least as far as its comedy is concerned as real comedy competes with “any w—– who’s flown in from Middlesbrough who says “I’ve got 3,000 hits on YouTube with my animation.”:
Television comedy is now a “thoroughgoing disaster” which could “sink” the BBC, the creator of some of Britain’s best-loved television programmes has said, as he condemns today’s inexperienced commissioners.
Modern TV comedy is a “disaster”, with even excellent producers with a proven track record being required to beg for new commissions along with “any w—– who’s flown in from Middlesbrough who says “I’ve got 3,000 hits on YouTube with my animation.”
“TV used to be world beating,” he said. “We used to be brilliant at it and we’re not anymore.
“Comedy is a disaster in television, and it is more acute in comedy than anything else because so few people know how to do it.
“Few people know how, consistently, to produce comedy.”
“It’s about time someone says it,” he concluded of his home truths. “I am speaking for tens of thousands of people in the industry who are too frightened to speak out because their jobs depend on it.”
Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed
reading it, you are a great author. I will remember to bookmark your
blog and definitely will come back in the future.
I want to encourage you to ultimately continue your great posts, have
a nice holiday weekend!
My web-site; Heroes Of Dragon Age Hack (Google.Ro)
British TV comedy has been a disaster for years, the Americans do it so much better. More consistently funny for more episodes. Free market and commercial television delivers the goods. The genuinely funny stuff wins, and lame badly written rubbish falls by the wayside. If your comedy doesn’t make people laugh, there is nowhere to hide. It’s obvious it is no good.
Part of the problem is that the BBC is killing the market with endless lame panel games in which a bunch of half-funny people ramble on about politics and trivia for ages. It diverts the talent, and sucks away resources.
Saw a programme on ‘the making of QI’ once. Couldn’t believe how many researchers the program employed. If the BBC can afford to throw that many people for a panel game that is past its sell-by date, why not employ a talented writing team to keep a sitcom fresh and funny for 13 or even 26 episodes a season, rather than six.
comedy is best when its
fast, current
sharp, ( oops steady)
pokes fun at the patently absurd/incorrect
things like … for instance
political correctness, suffocating self censorship,
out of touch establishment, denial of reality,
deliberately inserting “enrichment” in every bloody
drama, show, even historical ones
… all those are the obvious, the everyday for the vast majority of our population.
if its deemed outrageous, even offensive to said establishment … that s even better.
If its astute, barbed, based in fact, and witty
all can relate to it.
BBC …
yes!, but oops! don t say that,
alright, but oops! hmm sorry not that situation
ok … but oops not enough “diversity”
hmm … have to say that may be deemed by some as “offensive”
yep! … but just insert a climate change narrative, or how
mosques are a force for good, or how everyone loves and respects Islam
etc
etc
etc
oh yes … and no “N” word “P” word, no “G” word
no “M” word in a negative light … and absolutely, definitely, positively no …
“F” word ……….. Funny?
Indeed. political correctness is ripe for mockery.
Comedy is best when it mocks sacred cows.
Instead BBC so called comedy is in the past mocking ‘daily mail readers’, ‘racists’ and ‘little Englanders’.
That may have been funny in the seventies and eighties but the ruling elite is PeeCee now, and the BBC is about as unfunny as Soviet TV.
I disagree about QI. It is entertaining. I have long since abandoned the News Quiz etc… but QI, I think, has no political bias.
‘QI, I think, has no political bias.’
I couldn’t disagree more , with QI the liberal inquisition ( in the corpulent shape of its high priestess) has gone past promoting is own opinions and now constructs its own facts.
Mr Lloyd is just another boring old dinosaur bemoaning the fact that things are not like they used to be in TVland.
He doesn’t like the new free-for-all, and like many BBC types he just wants the security of easy access to public money and almost non-existent opposition in the market place.
That’s rubbish. You could take any one of the programmes he produced, stack them up against 10 of the curretnt trash. John Lloyd would win every time. He knows that comedy requires a funny theme, and episode after episode of spinning the theme, with new angles, with tightly crafted writing and actors who fit the part.
He should be Head of Comedy fot the BBC.
I have genuinely enjoyed ‘Outnumbered’ but of course it is a comedy about a white middle class family but with a husband in teaching one knows which way the parents would vote. But you could feel the BBC’s embarrassment in the early series about the programme’ success. At least with the children growing older the series has come to a natural end although it perhaps had run for too long anyway. But Outnumbered has been a rare highlight in a very lean times, comedy wise.
the brain-addled feminist wife character does have some very funny lines although I suspect they’re ones we’re not supposed to laugh at
Not to mention the disaster that is Radio 4 “comedy” which hasn’t changed in 30 years or more. Stuff from my childhood such as Round The Horne pisses on the new stuff from a great height. Indeed, the BBC’s idea of radio comedy seems to be to get Jeremy Hardy on and for him to say “Thatcher” and then run loads of canned laughter.
I’ll grant you anything with Jeremy Hardy in it, but ‘Cabin Pressure’ is a work of genius: pure, character-based situation comedy, delightful script, excellently cast, and not a hint of politics in sight.
I find it, quite literally, laugh-out-loud funny.
I too can honestly say that I laugh out loud at some of the antics on *Cabin Pressure*. But then I was a pilot so I can appreciate the writings. (Still am I guess, phutting around the skies of Devon in an orange box with an engine on the front)
Right you two – reported to the Kidspeak Police.
If you laugh you are ‘out loud’, otherwise you are not laughing.
But yes, the one thing that characterises almost the entire range of British comedy is its complete absence of funny.
Absolutely spot on! I gave this 1 like. I would give it ten more if I could.
Listened yesterday, to something called Hobby Bobbies, at least, i think that was what it was called.
Turnred off after 10 mins because they had met every inclusive quota at the expense of commedy.
two words, Miranda and Hart.
I saw a trailer for an episode of Miranda where she stepped on a water pipe running an inch below the ground (as it doesn’t), pierced it with her high heel (as it wouldn’t), and rather than stepping out of the way of the resultant jet of water, she for some reason stood over it for thirty hilarious seconds screaming and flapping her arms in a ‘slapstick’ manner.
Utter utter cack.
Sorry, did I say ‘utter utter cack’?
I of course meant to say ‘national treasure and shoo-in for The Generation Game’.
My bad.
EastEnders and Casualty are fantastic comedies!
Only if your definition of “comedy” is where the only funny thing is that people have the temerity to say that they are good programmes…