I'm Hooked As Well

[lampard10]

Y'all are real behind the times with all those old shows.  The latest rage in America is "Desperate Housewives"  .  I don't believe it's advertized as a comedy but it's hilarious.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes...sounds like a fly-on-the-wall show which we are getting so much of lately. Probably about how the average housewife in the States in driven to suicide,murder,anger,frustration. Probably have the Sceptic Tanks rolling around in the aisles with laughter.

[Rags]

If we are talking about the British being able to laugh at themselves, have any of you guys seen the new sketch series "Little Britain"...?

It unfortunately hasn't made it to BBC Prime yet, but I was given a DVD of the first series a while ago and it is abosultely hilarious. It has Tom Baker (of Doctor Who fame) providing a commentary between sketches, every one of which completely takes the piss out of the British people - and that definitely includes the Welsh and the Scots

The series has also created a host of new catch phrases - another hallmark of classic British comedy.

Rags.

[taxexile]

i find most british sit-coms childishly unfunny or childishly crude , (apart from classics such as dads army , blackadder , fawlty towers , red dwarf , rab c nesbitt , britass empire , the office )

british sketch based comedy is , however inspirational and devastatingly funny.

vic reeves , the fast show , little britain , spike milligan , peter cooke and dudley moore.

american stuff , although slickly produced , lacks the cruel edge that british humour has and apart from bilko and frasier and mash , and i think has little to offer to the brit , brought up on a diet of satire , sarcasm and stand-up .

the american shows always seem to feature beautiful and handsome winners whereas the brits tend to feature underdogs and losers and saddos.

the bbc news channel is deathly dull and patronising. although their coverage of the uk election was superb as it was taken from the bbc in london.

fox is tabloid trash but addictive.

[Thomas_Merton]

i find most british sit-coms childishly unfunny or childishly crude , (apart from classics such as dads army , blackadder , fawlty towers , red dwarf , rab c nesbitt , britass empire , the office )

british sketch based comedy is , however inspirational and devastatingly funny.

vic reeves , the fast show , little britain , spike milligan , peter cooke and dudley moore.

american stuff , although slickly produced , lacks the cruel edge that british humour has and apart from bilko and frasier and mash , and i think has little to offer to the brit , brought up on a diet of satire , sarcasm and  stand-up .

the american shows always seem to feature beautiful and handsome winners whereas the brits tend to feature underdogs and losers and saddos.

the bbc news channel is deathly dull and patronising. although their coverage of the uk election was superb as it was taken from the bbc in london.

fox is tabloid trash but addictive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whilst agreeing with almost everything you have written here, I feel, with respect to the UK election coverage by the BBC, we cannot have been watching the same show.

I was appalled at this programme’s lack of professionalism. David Dimbleby, and the production team, kept making the most elementary errors: arriving late at election announcements; too many incorrect sound balances; and in the case of DD, often forgetting to close his studio mike, talking over many times during important events, constantly distracting our attention.

Jeremy Paxton was a catastrophe. He had the job of stimulating the studio guests. This is usually a light hearted affair given that any electioneering is by this time useless. Paxton was so confrontational, that at one time he had all his guests shouting each other down at the same time. So much so, the only contribution made by the editor of Private Eye, raising his voice above the melee, was a serious one.

At least Paxton got his comeuppance. He asked the newly elected Conservative MP for Windsor to comment on the Conservative strategy throughout the campaign, to receive the answer, “Jeremy, I am a participant in this election. It is up to you, a journalist, to comment on events.”

The only plus was Peter Snow and his visual aides. This is primarily because we know from his body language, it is all a joke: mathematics for the numerically impaired. Still one sat in expectation of some new graphic that would demonstrate the effect of loosing a ballot box in Essex on the distribution of Lib. Dem. Scottish MPs. It almost appeared. Nevertheless, we were more than satisfied with his game like sequences of the main characters running up Downing Street to number 10 – how far they got depending on the number of seats their parties had in Parliament.

The continued instance of referring to the “exit poll” (which ironically was correct, this time) instead of concentrating on the only poll that mattered – the election – was also an irritant. Especially as the academic experts were pointing out, this election was demonstrating a nuance of tactical and regional variations in voting patterns, not seen before in a UK election.

There was little if no journalistic reaction to these observations.

All in all, a very disappointing affair, BBC.

[lampard10]

i find most british sit-coms childishly unfunny or childishly crude , (apart from classics such as dads army , blackadder , fawlty towers , red dwarf , rab c nesbitt , britass empire , the office )

british sketch based comedy is , however inspirational and devastatingly funny.

vic reeves , the fast show , little britain , spike milligan , peter cooke and dudley moore.

american stuff , although slickly produced , lacks the cruel edge that british humour has and apart from bilko and frasier and mash , and i think has little to offer to the brit , brought up on a diet of satire , sarcasm and  stand-up .

the american shows always seem to feature beautiful and handsome winners whereas the brits tend to feature underdogs and losers and saddos.

the bbc news channel is deathly dull and patronising. although their coverage of the uk election was superb as it was taken from the bbc in london.

fox is tabloid trash but addictive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whilst agreeing with almost everything you have written here, I feel, with respect to the UK election coverage by the BBC, we cannot have been watching the same show.

I was appalled at this programme’s lack of professionalism. David Dimbleby, and the production team, kept making the most elementary errors: arriving late at election announcements; too many incorrect sound balances; and in the case of DD, often forgetting to close his studio mike, talking over many times during important events, constantly distracting our attention.

Jeremy Paxton was a catastrophe. He had the job of stimulating the studio guests. This is usually a light hearted affair given that any electioneering is by this time useless. Paxton was so confrontational, that at one time he had all his guests shouting each other down at the same time. So much so, the only contribution made by the editor of Private Eye, raising his voice above the melee, was a serious one.

At least Paxton got his comeuppance. He asked the newly elected Conservative MP for Windsor to comment on the Conservative strategy throughout the campaign, to receive the answer, “Jeremy, I am a participant in this election. It is up to you, a journalist, to comment on events.”

The only plus was Peter Snow and his visual aides. This is primarily because we know from his body language, it is all a joke: mathematics for the numerically impaired. Still one sat in expectation of some new graphic that would demonstrate the effect of loosing a ballot box in Essex on the distribution of Lib. Dem. Scottish MPs. It almost appeared. Nevertheless, we were more than satisfied with his game like sequences of the main characters running up Downing Street to number 10 – how far they got depending on the number of seats their parties had in Parliament.

The continued instance of referring to the “exit poll” (which ironically was correct, this time) instead of concentrating on the only poll that mattered – the election – was also an irritant. Especially as the academic experts were pointing out, this election was demonstrating a nuance of tactical and regional variations in voting patterns, not seen before in a UK election.

There was little if no journalistic reaction to these observations.

All in all, a very disappointing affair, BBC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was switching between channels(for a little while anyway) and believe it or not BBC were about half an hour behind CNN with the results

[taxexile]

I was appalled at this programme’s lack of professionalism. David Dimbleby, and the production team, kept making the most elementary errors: arriving late at election announcements; too many incorrect sound balances; and in the case of DD, often forgetting to close his studio mike, talking over many times during important events, constantly distracting our attention.

Jeremy Paxton was a catastrophe. He had the job of stimulating the studio guests. This is usually a light hearted affair given that any electioneering is by this time useless. Paxton was so confrontational, that at one time he had all his guests shouting each other down at the same time. So much so, the only contribution made by the editor of Private Eye, raising his voice above the melee, was a serious one.

At least Paxton got his comeuppance. He asked the newly elected Conservative MP for Windsor to comment on the Conservative strategy throughout the campaign, to receive the answer, “Jeremy, I am a participant in this election. It is up to you, a journalist, to comment on events.”

The only plus was Peter Snow and his visual aides. This is primarily because we know from his body language, it is all a joke: mathematics for the numerically impaired. Still one sat in expectation of some new graphic that would demonstrate the effect of loosing a ballot box in Essex on the distribution of Lib. Dem. Scottish MPs. It almost appeared. Nevertheless, we were more than satisfied with his game like sequences of the main characters running up Downing Street to number 10 – how far they got depending on the number of seats their parties had in Parliament.

The continued instance of referring to the “exit poll” (which ironically was correct, this time) instead of concentrating on the only poll that mattered – the election – was also an irritant. Especially as the academic experts were pointing out, this election was demonstrating a nuance of tactical and regional variations in voting patterns, not seen before in a UK election.

There was little if no journalistic reaction to these observations.

All in all, a very disappointing affair, BBC.

right then !

i was just glad to see and hear journalists actually asking searching questions of politicians and not giving up until a relevant answer was obtained , instead of the boot licking that goes on here whenever a journalist and a politician or other elected official appear on tv here.

i certainly didnt scrutinize the programme to the degree that you seem to have , so maybe your observations are a truer reflection of it all , but considering that the programme was live from 10pm to 6am uk time and most of the participants probably had not slept much for a couple of days i think they performed ok , at least ok enough to keep a non-licence payer living on the other side of the world happy.

[Thomas_Merton]

right then !

i was just glad to see and hear journalists actually asking searching questions of politicians and not giving up until a relevant answer was obtained  , instead of the boot licking that goes on here whenever a journalist and a politician or other elected official appear on tv here.

I agree with your general opinion here. But there is a time and a place for all things; election night being the only night when confrontationalism can be forgotton for once. The voters have spoken.

i certainly didnt scrutinize the programme to the degree that you seem to have , so maybe your observations are a truer reflection of it all , but considering that the programme was live from 10pm to 6am uk time and most of the participants probably had not slept much for a couple of days i think they performed ok , at least ok enough to keep a non-licence payer living on the other side of the world happy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is true for all election night broadcasts.

I have seen everyone since the early 60's (plus a few from other countries), IMHO this was one was far from being one of the best.

[Tornado]

Y'all are real behind the times with all those old shows.  The latest rage in America is "Desperate Housewives"  .  I don't believe it's advertized as a comedy but it's hilarious.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I heard all the ladies love it

[kat]

Americans: next time you get on a bus to Mukdahan. Don't piss people off by waking them up just after they've got off to sleep and asking them if the bus is going all the way to Mukdahan.

&lt;deleted&gt;

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And what a wonderful representation of unquestionable superiority you are

There tends to be a distinct difference between Brit and American sitcoms.

The Brits use offbeat characters and develop the quirks of their behaviour.

The Americans tend to use clean good looking people and develop situations that they get themselves into.

I think BBC Prime is a good channel and would recommend it to anyone who likes Brit sitcoms - it makes a refreshing change from all the American stuff. The do repeat the progs. a bit too quickly tho, sometimes within a couple of hrs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What I find about American humour is that suddenly in the middle of a sit-com half the actors get wiped out by the plague,or the leading actors child gets run over by a juggernaut,or the darling child star thast makes everyone laugh dies of food poisoning. Why do they always bring sadness into their comedy programmes.

Or is it because M.A.S.H. was one of the greatest comedy shows made and death and humour walked hand in hand. Every American sit-com I have seen tries to emulate that. Saying that though M.A.S.H. was the closest America have been to our humour;in fact in a way it was British humour.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I give up. There is absolutely no hope for English superiority-trips and egocentric generalizations.

Are'nt "The Big Strong Boys" a pair of W**kers?

The Americans should watc British comedies so they can learn how to make funny sitcoms.

Father Ted has to be the funniest show for decades.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Americans have recently tried to copy The Office it was appalling - no real sense of humour the Yanks -. The great gift of British Comedy is laughing at ourselves - the Yanks are far to self important to do this.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree that most imitations are bad, and I like the English "Office" just the way it is. But there are plenty of examples of good American humor. However, I would never wait for an English person to notice or give any credit. By the way, did you ever see the movie American Beauty?

i find most british sit-coms childishly unfunny or childishly crude , (apart from classics such as dads army , blackadder , fawlty towers , red dwarf , rab c nesbitt , britass empire , the office )

british sketch based comedy is , however inspirational and devastatingly funny.

vic reeves , the fast show , little britain , spike milligan , peter cooke and dudley moore.

american stuff , although slickly produced , lacks the cruel edge that british humour has and apart from bilko and frasier and mash , and i think has little to offer to the brit , brought up on a diet of satire , sarcasm and  stand-up .

the american shows always seem to feature beautiful and handsome winners whereas the brits tend to feature underdogs and losers and saddos.

the bbc news channel is deathly dull and patronising. although their coverage of the uk election was superb as it was taken from the bbc in london.

fox is tabloid trash but addictive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whilst agreeing with almost everything you have written here, I feel, with respect to the UK election coverage by the BBC, we cannot have been watching the same show.

I was appalled at this programme’s lack of professionalism. David Dimbleby, and the production team, kept making the most elementary errors: arriving late at election announcements; too many incorrect sound balances; and in the case of DD, often forgetting to close his studio mike, talking over many times during important events, constantly distracting our attention.

Jeremy Paxton was a catastrophe. He had the job of stimulating the studio guests. This is usually a light hearted affair given that any electioneering is by this time useless. Paxton was so confrontational, that at one time he had all his guests shouting each other down at the same time. So much so, the only contribution made by the editor of Private Eye, raising his voice above the melee, was a serious one.

...

There was little if no journalistic reaction to these observations.

All in all, a very disappointing affair, BBC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Taxexile and Thomas Merton for honest discussion and not the usual hatred that passes for "humour". And they call us Septic .......

Although as a word-play on Sceptic, it is hilarious

Edited May 7, 2005 by kat

[taxexile]

the Yanks are far to self important to do this.

actually they are not , but to experience yanks laughing at themselves you will actually have to turn off your televisions , (hard to do for most people , i know) make a trip to a bookshop and buy some books by e.g. p. j. o' rourke , hunter s. thompson , elmore leonard or tom wolfe.

cynical brits will be surprised and delighted to find that these americans at least are more than able to laugh at their fellow countrymen , make you laugh , and produce razor sharp satire .

it may even inspire some brits to stop generalizing so negatively about americans and look at our transatlantic cousins through different eyes.

not all americans adhere to the cliched stereotypes of gun toting macho men in big pick up trucks , overweight women with attitude , moustachioed homosexualists and rap singing rapists .... and the stereotypical brit is certainly nothing to be too proud of either.

after all , it was us brits who invented america and we shouldnt be so harsh on them.

[roscoe]

/quote]

Gimme a break...the Babes on Fox News are better looking and they don't have that thick accent!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Fox and News just doesn't seem to gel properly together .Now Fox and Biased Political Agenda News just rolls of the tongue

[chuchok]

the Yanks are far to self important to do this.

actually they are not , but to experience yanks laughing at themselves you will actually have to turn off your televisions , (hard to do for most people , i know) make a trip to a bookshop and buy some books by e.g. p. j. o' rourke , hunter s. thompson , elmore leonard or tom wolfe.

cynical brits will be surprised and delighted to find that these americans at least are more than able to laugh at their fellow countrymen , make you laugh , and produce razor sharp satire .

it may even inspire some brits to stop generalizing so negatively about americans and look at our transatlantic cousins through different eyes.

not all americans adhere to the cliched stereotypes of gun toting macho men in big pick up trucks , overweight women with attitude , moustachioed homosexualists and rap singing rapists .... and the stereotypical brit is certainly nothing to be too proud of either.

after all , it was us brits who invented america and we shouldnt be so harsh on them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Joseph Wambaugh is another seppo writer known for his fictional and non-fictional accounts of police work in the states.While not as good as the other blokes you have mentioned, his black humour woud be amongst the funniest I have ever read.

[taxexile]

Joseph Wambaugh

i'd forgotten about him , he should definately be on the list !!

[lampard10]

Joseph Wambaugh

i'd forgotten about him , he should definately be on the list !!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I still prefer Joseph Hellers 'Catch 22'

[Boon Mee]

the "List" should also include:

[Thomas_Merton]

Joseph Wambaugh

i'd forgotten about him , he should definately be on the list !!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I still prefer Joseph Hellers 'Catch 22'

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If we are going to make list of authors who from within have satirised the USA we must include from this century: Sinclair Lewis, James Thurber, W. H. Auden, Philip Roth, and Joseph Heller (already mentioned).

Not forgetting those from the 19th century: Washington Irving, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the greatest of them all, Mark Twain.

Also IMHO there is no greater writer analysing, and criticising the creation of the modern USA, than James Ellroy. Perhaps not with the same humour as a Joseph Wambaugh or an Elmore Leonard but despite this, he creates an explanation for many of the characteristics often unjustly criticised in our American cousins. You can simply read him as a crime novelist, but he is much, much more.

He will be remembered as one of the truly great American Novelists.

Edited May 7, 2005 by Thomas_Merton

[Boon Mee]

Elmore Lenord makes for some passable airport reading I guess.

I've always equated him as the "Jerry Springer" of novelists as the subject material is invariably real low-brow stuff.

[taxexile]

He will be remembered as one of the truly great American Novelists.

i thought he was still alive ????

[JSixpack]

the "List" should also include: 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ha! I love it!

[Thomas_Merton]

He will be remembered as one of the truly great American Novelists.

i thought he was still alive ????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course he is - it's just my curious use of tense.

What I am trying to say is:

(perhaps not fully appreciated now, but when that time comes) He will be remembered as one of the truly great American Novelists.

Sloppy writing, TM

[Boon Mee]

the "List" should also include: 

Ha! I love it!

Hey Joe...this one's good too!

[JSixpack]

Hey Joe...this one's good too!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just headed over to:

http://www.anncoulter.com/

and read "The Devil Is Out Of Details"

[SandDragon]

Elmore Lenord makes for some passable airport reading I guess.

I've always equated him as the "Jerry Springer" of novelists as the subject material is invariably real low-brow stuff.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A tad harsh. Elmore Leonard certainly uses low-brow settings but he is hardly scraping the bottom of the barrell like Jerry! Jerry!

[lampard10]

Elmore Lenord makes for some passable airport reading I guess.

I've always equated him as the "Jerry Springer" of novelists as the subject material is invariably real low-brow stuff.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A tad harsh. Elmore Leonard certainly uses low-brow settings but he is hardly scraping the bottom of the barrell like Jerry! Jerry!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Come on lads if I had wanted to know about the styles and distinctions of American writers, I would have entitled the topic 'The styles and distinctions of American writers' I titled it 'I'm hooked on BBC prime' Sorry people; wrong country,wrong art.

[Tornado]

Elmore Lenord makes for some passable airport reading I guess.

I've always equated him as the "Jerry Springer" of novelists as the subject material is invariably real low-brow stuff.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A tad harsh. Elmore Leonard certainly uses low-brow settings but he is hardly scraping the bottom of the barrell like Jerry! Jerry!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Come on lads if I had wanted to know about the styles and distinctions of American writers, I would have entitled the topic 'The styles and distinctions of American writers' I titled it 'I'm hooked on BBC prime' Sorry people; wrong country,wrong art.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Bloody septics, it has always got to be about them....

[Thomas_Merton]

Elmore Lenord makes for some passable airport reading I guess.

I've always equated him as the "Jerry Springer" of novelists as the subject material is invariably real low-brow stuff.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A tad harsh. Elmore Leonard certainly uses low-brow settings but he is hardly scraping the bottom of the barrell like Jerry! Jerry!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Come on lads if I had wanted to know about the styles and distinctions of American writers, I would have entitled the topic 'The styles and distinctions of American writers' I titled it 'I'm hooked on BBC prime' Sorry people; wrong country,wrong art.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are of course quite right, Frankie Boy, but perhaps the development of this thread is proving one very special point: BBC Prime may be the best English language TV channel, showing as it its name implies, the prime of BBC light entertainment, however, just discussing this fact alone is as interesting as conversations between those unfortunates who believe Coronation Street is real life.

There is, thank God, as is admirably demonstrated throughout Thai Visa (and you yourself are well aware), much more to life than the illusions projected through that small glass window, despite the fact they are garnished with the imprimatur of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

[tutsiwarrior]

couldn't get enough of Ready, Steady, Cook last night...whatta show!

[Tornado]

couldn't get enough of Ready, Steady, Cook last night...whatta show!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

he is actually straight as well..

[lampard10]

couldn't get enough of Ready, Steady, Cook last night...whatta show!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

he is actually straight as well..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Raining agian Torn?