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SNL UK is now a thing
- Thread starter EviLore
- Start date
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
I watched that Mario one yesterday and was confused when I saw it was SNL UK. Seems like it's produced in part by Sky TV I guess? Either way, the sketch was pretty good.
dispensergoinup
Member
These are actually pretty good
Windle Poons
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
I mean I know I'm old but I've never heard of any of the so called 'comedians'
And way to start with a Princess Diana joke eh...
And way to start with a Princess Diana joke eh...
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BigDeadFreak
Member
Jesus fucking Christ, my country has completely lost the ability to make comedy.
Where's the modern day Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Red Dwarf or Morecambe & Wise?
Everything has been so focus grouped to death and santised of anything that could possibly offend anyone that all we're left with is this bland, anodyne shit.
Where's the modern day Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Red Dwarf or Morecambe & Wise?
Everything has been so focus grouped to death and santised of anything that could possibly offend anyone that all we're left with is this bland, anodyne shit.
6502
Member
It's ok. Some funny sketches (Andrew taking a hit to his integrity save the country), but lots of filler and good bits often go on a touch too long / are too slow with the cast acting like they are in on the joke that it is a bit shit (but aren't good enough to pull it off). It really could have done with an A-list cast.
The whole potato bit was just junk. Overall 6/10. To be fair I find the American one has similar issues though I do come across the odd great sketch that this uk version has yet to hit.
Also the listing on sky catch up is frustrating with every segment up individually making it a chore trying to find the full episode. For me it isn't worth the limited drive space to series link.
The whole potato bit was just junk. Overall 6/10. To be fair I find the American one has similar issues though I do come across the odd great sketch that this uk version has yet to hit.
Also the listing on sky catch up is frustrating with every segment up individually making it a chore trying to find the full episode. For me it isn't worth the limited drive space to series link.
6502
Member
New Red Dwarf seasons and Upstart Crow (the Shakespear Black Adder) are excellent, so we can still do great comedy. I found low budget stuff like Mandy and Mamouth pretty funny too. It's just not as regular as it used to be.
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Audiophile
Member
I give it 2 seasons.
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ValiantInstance
Member
Nothing that makes it to tv now is remotely funny.
Even something from 15 years ago like Come Fly With Me or Harry & Paul wouldn't make it past the sales pitch in a BBC office.
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calistan
Member
Sketch shows and laughtracks are kind of dead - The Royle Family was probably the last nail in their coffin.
Don't know how far back you'd class as modern, but since you didn't list anything post-1980s, here are a few more recent British comedy series (from this century anyway) that were very good, and not sanitised / focus grouped.
This Country
The IT Crowd
Gavin and Stacey
Peep Show
The Inbetweeners
Motherland
After Life
Fleabag
The Office
Car Share
Outnumbered
Pulling
Plus Alan Partidge is still going, and still funny. There's hope!
mopspear
Member
At least if you were Welsh, you'd always be funny because you're the joke.
I watched the first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus as an adult recently, and it felt so modern still.
Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
Here We Go (BBC) inhabits the sort of family friendly space most of your list is in.
Overall, I think it's not a question of not being able to make shows, it's one of economics. Scripted comedy is so expensive to make versus other types of comedy. Fawlty Towers and Morecambe and Wise are rooted in a time when British audiences had a choice of 3 channels to watch on TV. Quite a bit different now.
So, we get shows where multiple episodes can be recorded in a single day and are put together in the edit afterwards. Panel shows. Last One Laughing. Ugh.
The only thing you can do is try to support things that you'd like to see more of.
Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
I just imagine the guys behind the camera looking at their watches and sending messages home saying "sorry it's going to be a late one. Again."
A bit of me wonders if Gervais realised that outtakes would be a good bit of marketing material and it was built into the schedule, that they were filming not just the show, but promo material. There are so many of these clips of him being overcome by something he finds hilarious that you wonder how you'd get anything finished in the originally planned time. Those outtake clips are edited, they've been colour graded and sound mixed. So they've been produced for public consumption.
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DKehoe
Member
I know a lot of people love panel shows like Mock The Week. But like you say the shift to focus on that kind of thing and away from sitcoms was very much about cutting costs because they're relatively cheap to make and you can churn them out. I remember hearing from someone working in comedy that around that time it became far more difficult to get a sitcom comissioned.
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Wildebeest
Member
There just isn't the money in it but even to get to that point you are talking about established acts. For sketch comedy a lot of writers and performers developed their trade at Cambridge footlights which made comedy seem like a union shop. But another big thing was the war with more people doing stage comedy to entertain the troops. Also, radio was very important for developing talent. I don't know why this SNL UK is being made. Maybe they are being paid with "exposure" and they hope to get Americans to watch official clips on the internet?
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IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Came here to say just that.
There was a time when the UK produced some of the best comedy on the planet. From the 1970s to I would say the early 00s were the golden years of British comedy. As well as the classics you mentioned, there was also Only Fools and Horses, One Foot in the Grave, Monty Python, Goodnight Sweetheart, Birds of a Feather, Mr Bean etc etc. Just too many to list.
As you said, now UK comedy is just bland.
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
Oh fuck no
I'd rather fillet my ballbag. I get more enjoyment out of receiving death threats from the BBC for my lack of licence inclusion they send me monthly.
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
Do you ever get the feeling you overthink things?
ValiantInstance
Member
It's rather reductionist to say that all of these fantastic shows were the result of a terrestrial tv oligopoly.
Let's not set the bar as a high as Fawlty Towers or Only Fools... where is the next Gervais & Merchant even coming from?
A comedian on tv these days has to pass through a filter that only allows people milquetoast enough to appear on Live at the Apollo or A League of Their Own. All the wit and risk-taking has been drained out of them before they can appear on something regulated by Ofcom.
Also apparently Harry & Paul have a clip for every occasion, so I agree on the panel shows. They are so lazy I stopped watching Mock The Week 15 odd years ago. Only one I found amusing in recent years is Would I Lie To You.
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Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
No, it's an industry I work in so I am not using a lot of imagination.
I'm still hoping for a Chris Morris comeback. The Day Today and Brass Eye are the ultimate of unsanitsed comedy.
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
In this day and age, I don't envy you it has to be said.
I don't think many others are in that industry either
That's not a pop at you, but the creative side of it. It's been downright awful in the UK at least, for years.
Mr Reasonable
Completely Unreasonable
I don't think it is reductionist, audience size dictates budget. Because audiences were much less scattered in the past you could justify the budget. But now, it's much harder to get enough of an audience to show up to justify the expense.
Wildebeest
Member
Russel Brand ruined it for everyone like the pointless nonce he is. But I can't see something like the Brass Eye pedophile special surviving today in the world of right wing social media outrage as it was taking the piss out of moral panic types and everyone is like that these days.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
Are you the boz boz?
Did you check out Jam ?
Jam was great, but was a bit too much even for me sometimes.
ValiantInstance
Member
jufonuk
not tag worthy
League of gentlemen
Hello Dave
StabbyStabStabStabStab
Member
I still have the doovde of Jam - its got its time and place, worth a dust off occsaionlly for sure, along with a couple of recordings of Blue Jam as well knocking about somwhere. Shame he's not about much anymore
now is the time we need more Chris Morris's
demigod
Member
Oh hey, that dad swap was pretty funny at the end. I only watched a few SNL back in the early 2000s and it had Will Farrell and that other dude who always acted gay, both were not funny at all. All i saw was them laughing at their lame jokes. The only thing I enjoyed about SNL was the weekend update which had Tina Fey.
Mad TV >>>>> SNL
Mad TV >>>>> SNL
jufonuk
not tag worthy
You have joovdeeca?I still have the doovde of Jam - its got its time and place, worth a dust off occsaionlly for sure, along with a couple of recordings of Blue Jam as well knocking about somwhere. Shame he's not about much anymore
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StabbyStabStabStabStab
Member
I do not know what a joovdeeca is, however if I do have one I can only apologise
BigDeadFreak
Member
Some of those are great, I completely agree.
Have you seen Nighty Night? It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
Oh fuck no
I'd rather fillet my ballbag. I get more enjoyment out of receiving death threats from the BBC for my lack of licence inclusion they send me monthly.
I know, its like they've financially incentivized telling them to fuck off!
jufonuk
not tag worthy
JVCI do not know what a joovdeeca is, however if I do have one I can only apologise
Sorry was a long time since I watched
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