People /shows that were funny once... but no longer...

EricTheWeary

RocknRollDave said:

Peter Kay

...was never funny. Ever.

jonnyburgo

Last of the Summer Wine, my Nan literally pissed her knickers once when Compo was going down a hill in a bath or summat, which seemed to happen every episode. fucking garbage.

siremoon

HAL9000 said:

The thing (can't recall the title) with Martin Clunes, Neil Morrisey, etc. First series was funny, but essentially it had only one theme which was Neil Morrisey trying to get off with the Lesley Ash character. Wore a bit thin by series three or whatever it went up to. 

<Anorak>
There were actually six series.  The first two series were on ITV, the subsequent four on BBC.  The first series had Harry Enfield in it, Neil Morrisey appeared from series 2 onwards. 
</Anorak>

Bucket

RocknRollDave said:

not_the_dj said:

That one from Lee and Herring that didn't write the Jerry Springer Opera. We saw him live a few years ago and he was awful, just came across as a nasty and very bitter bloke.

The other one from Lee and Herring (that did write Jerry Springer the Opera) seems to be quite nasty and bitter as well.

However I did used to enjoy TMWRNJ and Fist of Fun.

paging @Bucket for some back up re Stewart Lee..

He's funnier now than he's ever been. Yes, he's nasty and bitter but that's what makes him so funny. He used to come off as quite arrogant and cocky, but now he's a jaded middle-aged man who basically moans a lot. As a prematurely-jaded middle-aged man in a 20-year-old's body, his material is right up my street. His style is almost anti-comedy and he devotes a lot of time to ripping the piss out of populist comedians like McIntyre etc, whom he presumably sees as having less integrity and weaker content (and I suppose he's right). The way he deconstructs his work in front of the audience is fantastic, it's certainly not for everyone but I love it. (eg "That didn't get many laughs did it, why not? Not a very good joke, that's why. Let's go back over it and see what was wrong with it")

Carpet Remnant World is a masterpiece, a contender for the best two hours of stand-up ever recorded IMO.

Bucket

Stewart Lee's also said this:

"The eighteenth-century polymath Thomas Young was the last person to have read all the books published in his lifetime. That means that he would've read all the Shakespeare and all the Greek and Roman classics and all the theology and all the philosophy and all the science.

But the same man today, a man who had read all the books published today, would have to have read all Dan Brown's novels, two volumes of Chris Moyles' autobiography, The World According to Clarkson by Jeremy Clarkson, The World According To Clarkson II by Jeremy Clarkson, The World According to Clarkson III by Jeremy Clarkson... his mind would be awash with bad metaphors, tedious anecdotes and unsustainable, reactionary opinion. In short, the man who had read everything published today would be more stupid than a man who had read nothing."

bingefeller

jonnyburgo said:

Last of the Summer Wine, my Nan literally pissed her knickers once when Compo was going down a hill in a bath or summat, which seemed to happen every episode. fucking garbage.

I lol'd reading this.

mudslide73

Bucket;569779" said:

Stewart Ls also said this:

"The eighteenth-century polymath Thomas Young was the

last person to have read all the books published in his lifetime. That means

that he would've read all the Shakespeare and all the Greek and Roman classics

and all the theology and all the philosophy and all the science.



But the same man today, a man who had read all the books

published today, would have to have read all Dan Brown's novels, two volumes of

Chris Moyles' autobiography, The World According to Clarkson by Jeremy

Clarkson, The World According To Clarkson II by Jeremy Clarkson, The World

According to Clarkson III by Jeremy Clarkson... his mind would be awash with

bad metaphors, tedious anecdotes and unsustainable, reactionary opinion. In

short, the man who had read everything published today would be more stupid

than a man who had read nothing."

I'm a big fan of Richard and Stew. Its weird that in the TMWRNJ days I'd have bet it was Richard who'd go on to make it big. I think Stew's success is what's made him bitter.

I saw Stew live a couple of weeks ago and while he was brilliant again he appears to be deteriorating health-wise. I find it amazing that there's such a big audience for this style of humour with no actual jokes - it's almost mainstream. Maybe there is hope for people after all.

Drew_TNBD

Ever since I discovered this forum, comedy has been ruined for me. You guys are just too hilarious.

holnrew

Vic and Bob don't seem to have stopped being funny. The old stuff still holds up and they're still funny today. I don't know why I find house of rooms so funny, it's just so stupid, but I worry about neighbours complaining about how loud I' laughing when I watch it.

breakstuff

Agree Holn,I still find them hilarious and House of Fools is brilliant.I like the way Vic and Bob don't hog the limelight and let the other characters shine.Morgana Robinson is wonderfully bonkers as is Matt Berry.Eric cracks me up too.

Philly_Q

I think House of Fools is a return to form after a fairly long fallow period for Vic and Bob.  I didn't much like Catterick or anything in the intervening years, and they should never have brought back Shooting Stars, it was totally flogged to death.

lloyd

Stewart Lee is still hilarious.

As long as one person on the planet finds someone funny-that means they're funny.

Heartfeltdawn

impmann said:

DrewFX

I keep getting him confused with Andrew Dice Clay. 

scrumhalf said:

Most comedy is made for the moment, and most comedians have a moment. In the old days of music hall and the early days of alternative comedy many acts would not want to appear on film or telly as it would mean that their act, played nightly for years with little new material but played in the main toaudiences who had never seen it before, would expire all too quickly.

The need to contstantly refresh material can kill a talent.

This is why so many comics fail. Take David Mitchell. He seemingly does every fucking panel show in existence, writes books, newspapers, and everything else. There's only so much you can do before that comic ability is spread far too thinly. 

CabbageCat said:

Even very funny things become a victim of their own successes. Richard Curtiss and Douglas Adams and Bill Hicks and Monty Python and Terry Pratchett etc feel like parodies of themselves nowadays because every teenager since they were new has adopted little chunks and recited them until they stopped being funny.

No different to the evolution of music really. The new generation crib from their heroes, the older generation sits back and scoffs a bit whilst realising the stuff they dug when they first started wanking, be it music, porn, or comedy, might have been a bit lame. 

Drew_TNBD

Heartfeltdawn said:

impmann said:

DrewFX

I keep getting him confused with Andrew Dice Clay. 

Bastardface!

Heartfeltdawn

Drew_fx said:

Bastardface!

I tried picturing you as Ernie Wise but it didn't work. If it helps Lixarto was dropped into the Hattie Jacques role. 

I actually watched the Adventures of Ford Fairlane a couple of weeks ago for the first time in years. Not totally dreadful. 

Sassafras

I've never seen Michael Mcintyre, so I'm guessing I haven't missed much.

I like David Mitchell, where he scores is his very quick wit which I assume is mostly unscripted when he's on panel shows. Another really sharp guy is Jeremy Hardy when he's not banging on with his Marxist ideals.

Monkeybone

I hate to say it, but for me, Bill Bailey. His shows Bewilderness and Part Troll were excellent, sadly recent shows Tinselworm and Qualmpeddler were very disappointing, QP especially, where BB appeared to come across as just an angry man.

Philly_Q

Monkeybone said:

I hate to say it, but for me, Bill Bailey. His shows Bewilderness and Part Troll were excellent, sadly recent shows Tinselworm and Qualmpeddler were very disappointing, QP especially, where BB appeared to come across as just an angry man.

I think I saw the Tinselworm show - I hadn't seen him live before but I was quite underwhelmed.

Incidentally I once met him in "real life", via work, and he seemed quite serious and boring, but to be fair maybe he was just uncomfortable sitting in a business meeting.

chillidoggy

jonnyburgo said:

Last of the Summer Wine, my Nan literally pissed her knickers once when Compo was going down a hill in a bath or summat, which seemed to happen every episode. fucking garbage.

Fucking near caused me to spill my G&T, you bastard!

suspiciousminds

Cant stick peter kay as a standup,
Hale and pace were dreadful,
Emo? that american - utter utter shite!