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A weekend of comedy
Mar. 19th, 2007 04:45 pmSo, as largely predicted, Comic Relief turned out to be more or less a dead duck, comedically speaking.
I still don't see what's particularly funny about Little Britain - although it was vaguely amusing when Dennis Waterman sauntered onto the stage - and the much-vaunted Vicar of Dibley LAST-EVER episode was just embarrassing. I must have been having a nightmare when Mitchell & Webb came on as two singing snooker commentators - and I'm still struggling to find the comedy between two comedy characters in a wheelchair singing I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles). It was trying so desperately hard to be this year's Amarillo but it's not got the novelty factor - or the "dance" which gets funnier with repetition. Plus the song is so over-familiar anyway.
The worst moments were any time Davina McCall was on screen. Alternating between squirmingly-orgasmic thanks to the corporate sponsors ("Let's hear a huge cheer for Cisco Systems! Yeah!!!!") and oh-so-sincere think-of-the-children-please-think-of-the-children appeals for more donations, one is reminded why she's on Celebrity Big Brother and advertising keep-fit videos and not, say, doing a Fearne Cotton and appearing on pretty much anything that has a live broadcast. Hell, in one weekend Fearne did Comic Relief, Eurovision's Making Your Mind Up and I'm sure I heard her doing the Radio 1 breakfast show this morning.
Still, at least the Catherine Tate sketches weren't too bad and the Ricky Gervais indulgent skits broke the norm. But they didn't raise a titter.
Fortunately, Channel 4 rode to the rescue on Sunday with yet another list show - but this time listing the top 100 comedy stand-ups. I'd quibble with quite a few choices:
- Peter Kay above Eddie Izzard ?!
- Harry Hill above Bill Hicks ?!
- Chris Rock above Jerry Seinfeld?
- Billy Connolly as the top stand-up comedian ?!
and it was strange how most of the stand-up comedians I've seen on the circuit were languishing in the 20s, while the likes of Peter Kay and Lee Evans - funny, but a little too slick and ungenuine for my liking - were at the very top - but it was a good three hours of entertainment. Now if only more stand-up comedians came to North Wales!
I still don't see what's particularly funny about Little Britain - although it was vaguely amusing when Dennis Waterman sauntered onto the stage - and the much-vaunted Vicar of Dibley LAST-EVER episode was just embarrassing. I must have been having a nightmare when Mitchell & Webb came on as two singing snooker commentators - and I'm still struggling to find the comedy between two comedy characters in a wheelchair singing I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles). It was trying so desperately hard to be this year's Amarillo but it's not got the novelty factor - or the "dance" which gets funnier with repetition. Plus the song is so over-familiar anyway.
The worst moments were any time Davina McCall was on screen. Alternating between squirmingly-orgasmic thanks to the corporate sponsors ("Let's hear a huge cheer for Cisco Systems! Yeah!!!!") and oh-so-sincere think-of-the-children-please-think-of-the-children appeals for more donations, one is reminded why she's on Celebrity Big Brother and advertising keep-fit videos and not, say, doing a Fearne Cotton and appearing on pretty much anything that has a live broadcast. Hell, in one weekend Fearne did Comic Relief, Eurovision's Making Your Mind Up and I'm sure I heard her doing the Radio 1 breakfast show this morning.
Still, at least the Catherine Tate sketches weren't too bad and the Ricky Gervais indulgent skits broke the norm. But they didn't raise a titter.
Fortunately, Channel 4 rode to the rescue on Sunday with yet another list show - but this time listing the top 100 comedy stand-ups. I'd quibble with quite a few choices:
- Peter Kay above Eddie Izzard ?!
- Harry Hill above Bill Hicks ?!
- Chris Rock above Jerry Seinfeld?
- Billy Connolly as the top stand-up comedian ?!
and it was strange how most of the stand-up comedians I've seen on the circuit were languishing in the 20s, while the likes of Peter Kay and Lee Evans - funny, but a little too slick and ungenuine for my liking - were at the very top - but it was a good three hours of entertainment. Now if only more stand-up comedians came to North Wales!
