Wernham Hogg Forum

BILLY V2.0 · Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 6:17 pm Post subject:

This is my new favourite episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm at the moment. It's got Steve Coogan in as well!

When I said golden age I meant the stuff we grew up with. Most of my memories of the ages of 12-19 or so are me sat in bed watching comedy DVDs. I feel like I've fallen out of love with comedy recently but I don't know if that's the media's fault or mine. I'm sure there's still good stuff out there, but I just don't have the time anymore. I used to get hooked to other genres in the same way I did comedy, just because I spent so much time watching it. Nowadays I hardly bother to turn my telly on and my internet is too slow to download, the only comedy I really get access to is stuff on my mp3 player which I've heard a hundred times before. I look back at things like 2.4 Children and Birds of a Feather with fondness despite knowing they're fairly dire, whereas I can't stand Tate/Little Britain because they are constantly in your face nowadays because of things like the internet. It's easy to look back with rosy tinted glasses, but I wouldn't say the past few years have been a complete washout. 'The Thick of It' is as good as anything I've seen before, and there's been some decent audio stuff too.

I love the internet. Where else can I be watching a video of Jim Carrey performing Snow's 'Informer' ? Buuuuuuut it's also just diluted with absolute tripe, and it puts me off exploring new stuff. How many people actually open youtube links anymore? It's usually not worth the effort. It used to be that you had to be a bit different to make it in comedy, whereas now literally anybody can get a series, based off of practically nothing. Anybody that wants 5 minutes of fame can get it with a silly video (be fat and wave a lightsaber about, cry about Britney) and then manage to exist on the outskirts of fame for the rest of their lives. There's too many channels, too many 'funny clip' websites and it's too easy to get your voice heard. There's no filter, because the BBC need something to show at 9pm on a weekday on bbc3 so they'll just give Katy Brand or Karen Taylor or someone a sketch show and then repeat it forever and ever. They get ratings too. C4 actually gave the latest series of Peep Show a bit of a marketing push and it still did poorly on the ratings. Occasionally somebody breaks through with a comedy (Gervais) but more often than not they end up on a panel show where the money is better the work is less and they get a wider audience (David Mitchell, Sean Lock, etc)

I'm sure we've all tried to get our parents onto our sort of comedy. My mother is an avid Dibley fan and I once forced her to sit through an episode of Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam, which she just hated. Jam is clearly better, but why then does my mum like Dibley?! She's obviously a fuckwit, but she enjoys it even if I think it's shit and vice versa. I think Red Dwarf is one of the shittest things ever but it has a massive fanbase, whereas I love Hercules & Xena because they were a staple of my teenage years and most people ridicule them.

Comedy was a more personal thing even as little as 5 or so years ago. It was great to watch stuff late at night and think you're probably only one of a handful of people watching and enjoying this (slight exxageration but you know what I mean!) but there isn't really that feeling anymore of loving a programme your parents just don't get and feeling slightly smug that you've got everything Chris Morris has done on DVD and can quote it in a conversation and maybe one other person will get the reference. It's all about people like Brand talking about coke or Fielding being seen at a trendy nightclub with some other big idiot. It's hard to feel you're a part of something anymore. I remember when I found out that Iannucci directed those recent post office adverts and it just made me sort of annoyed but Joe Public didn't give a shit about the Iannucci Shows and stuff like The Thick of It probably isn't going to appeal to most of the public whereas a slightly racist sketch on Catherine Tate will make people laugh and then quote it for days afterwards. I've actually heard people walking past my window doing Tate quotes and they seem happy enough, so I blame the public and the media.

I forgot the point of this rant but look at this youtube video! http://au.youtube.com/watch!v=R1tnrkgt2Qk
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Carlton Palmer doing his impression of a man with brain damage

nospam · Sexmonster Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 697

Billy, just blame Sebastian Coe.
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RChappo · Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:13 pm Post subject:

I agree with a lot of what you say there Billy.

It is cool to think you were one of only a few people that "got" a comedy programme but I think that it was also good to think you were part of something quite big too. There is very little collective viewing of anything these days because everyone can watch stuff when they like "on demand". So you don't ever get the feeling that the "whole country" is sat watching something at the same time. So in the 70's I bet tens of millions of people were all sitting watching "Morcambe & Wise" or "The Two Ronnies" at exactly the same time on Xmas Day or whatever. In the 80's it would have been the same with something like "Only Fools & Horses" and you did get the feeling that it was something special. It's much more of a solitary experience these days.

I don't mind stuff like Catherine Tate (not that I've seen much of it), My Family or The Vicar Of Dibley because they "are what they are" and are aiming at the mainstream. I can sit and watch episodes of My Family and Dibley and get a few laughs and enjoy them, they are well written and acted mainly. I also know that it's something that my parents will have watched so I'll have something to relate to them about. But I don't love them in the same way as I do The Office or The Day Today etc...

I used to love getting the Xmas radio and TV Times and seeing which shows got a Xmas special. It's the same with movies at Xmas now, you don't really need to sit and watch them anymore because you can get them on Netflix or download or on demand.

Anyway most of the comedy I like lately is stuff from the radio. "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" is probably my favourite comedy of any genre, I've just realised that I've been listening to it for 20 years!
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Pah. · Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 9:34 pm Post subject:

please explain the rules of mornington crescent to me!

nospam · Sexmonster Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 697

Simple. Don't use the stairs, get the lift.
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RChappo · Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:51 am Post subject:

My dad taught me how to play.

It depends on what set of rules you're playing of course. If you're playing a straight game with no special rules it's just a matter of keeping the diagonal open whilst progressing to Mornington Crescent (just make sure you don't get caught out by a lateral shift south of the river!).

However, if, for instance, Morton's' Convention is invoked and therefore mainline stations become wild it is obviously harder to avoid getting yourself in nip.

My personal favourite version is The Watling Street Variation when players can only take the direct route between any two given points, so looped moves are disallowed and the Circle Line is out of bounds. Players are also allowed to huff as much as they like.
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"For all his horses, knighthoods and championships, he hasn't got two of what I've got. And I don't mean balls!"

Daniel · Sexmonster Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 88

I understood none of that.

Daniel · Sexmonster Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 88

oh wait that's the point isn't it

LDIF Strikes Back · Sexmonster Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 49

RChappo · Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:37 pm Post subject:

I've watched the Extras special again and I did like it more the second time. I still didn't enjoy it as much as the actual series though. Then I went on a few other forums to see what the general feeling about it was and on one of the Digital Spy forums they're overwhelmingly going mental for it saying it's the best thing G&M have ever done. Hmm...fair enough but I don't think it measured up to the way The Office ended personally.
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"For all his horses, knighthoods and championships, he hasn't got two of what I've got. And I don't mean balls!"

nospam · Sexmonster Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 697

that forum is full of idiots though, look at the big brother forum.
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Pah. · Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 12:15 am Post subject:

remember the big brother wernham hogg forum days?

nospam · Sexmonster Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 697

they were the best days
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