The TV Thread

[Jeff Stein]

Loved Wallace and Gromit too. Great way to end Christmas Day

Edited December 25, 2024 by Jeff Stein

[Bedford Roughyed]

Cracking show Gromit,

[sam4731]

Gavin and Stacey. Perfection.

[graveyard johnny]

On 25/12/2024 at 23:48, sam4731 said:

Gavin and Stacey. Perfection.

utter garbage - predictable and not a single laugh in 90mins - a typical example of comedy trying to be funny instead of actually been funny 

[sam4731]

24 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

utter garbage - predictable and not a single laugh in 90mins - a typical example of comedy trying to be funny instead of actually been funny 

Predictable? Maybe the ending i suppose but everyone that I've spoken to about it was shocked at least one of the many twists and surprises that their was.

It didn't need to be laugh out loud. The episode was a clear love letter from Corden and Jones to the fans of the shows. Some amusing elements but lots of callbacks to running gags in a way which felt like a reward for being part of something for 17 years.

Gavin and Stacey has never been about belly laughs, it has always been about character development and telling a story in a lighthearted way with some laughs throw in.

A lot of the best sitcoms follow the same format which is why they attract such big and loyal fanbases.

If I want constant belly laughs, I'll watch a stand up show, not a well written, story being told.

[Futtocks]

43 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

Predictable? Maybe the ending i suppose but everyone that I've spoken to about it was shocked at least one of the many twists and surprises that their was.

It didn't need to be laugh out loud. The episode was a clear love letter from Corden and Jones to the fans of the shows. Some amusing elements but lots of callbacks to running gags in a way which felt like a reward for being part of something for 17 years.

Gavin and Stacey has never been about belly laughs, it has always been about character development and telling a story in a lighthearted way with some laughs throw in.

A lot of the best sitcoms follow the same format which is why they attract such big and loyal fanbases.

If I want constant belly laughs, I'll watch a stand up show, not a well written, story being told.

At this stage in the show (i.e. well after the series finished), they aren't trying to attract new fans as much as please existing ones. I watched a bit and it wasn't for me, but people I know who liked the show mostly seem to have enjoyed the special. 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

55 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

A lot of the best sitcoms follow the same format which is why they attract such big and loyal fanbases.

If I want constant belly laughs, I'll watch a stand up show, not a well written, story being told.

Absolutely right. My favourite things to watch are modern sitcoms and I very rarely laugh out loud but they put a big smile on my face and make me very happy and that seems to be the formula for modern comedy, to lift your spirits and to make you happy, rather than to make you laugh.

As you say as well, modern comedies, filmed on location with multiple cameras (as opposed to the old fashioned one camera in a studio with an audience) are very well written and go much deeper into the actual story being told as opposed to just try to deliver jokes. Modern comedies are so much better written and acted than the old fashioned style and that can only be a good thing.

[Stirlin]

19 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Absolutely right. My favourite things to watch are modern sitcoms and I very rarely laugh out loud but they put a big smile on my face and make me very happy and that seems to be the formula for modern comedy, to lift your spirits and to make you happy, rather than to make you laugh.

As you say as well, modern comedies, filmed on location with multiple cameras (as opposed to the old fashioned one camera in a studio with an audience) are very well written and go much deeper into the actual story being told as opposed to just try to deliver jokes. Modern comedies are so much better written and acted than the old fashioned style and that can only be a good thing.

Try Sprung on Amazon Prime and freeview , it follows a bunch of ex cons / con artists as they navigate the pandemic in small town America. Tried a few yank sit coms recently and most were dull affairs but this one really hits the spot , laughed my tats off.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

1 hour ago, Stirlin said:

Try Sprung on Amazon Prime and freeview , it follows a bunch of ex cons / con artists as they navigate the pandemic in small town America. Tried a few yank sit coms recently and most were dull affairs but this one really hits the spot , laughed my tats off.

I must say I do tend to avoid American sitcoms these days. I used to watch them quite a bit but then I fell down the rabbit hole of British sitcoms during lockdown when I didn't have anything better to do than watch tv and I fell in love. 

[graveyard johnny]

2 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

 Modern comedies are so much better written and acted than the old fashioned style and that can only be a good thing.

galton and simpson  and wilfred bramble and harry h corbett will be turning in their graves at that comment - corden is an insult to their genius 

[sam4731]

1 hour ago, graveyard johnny said:

galton and simpson  and wilfred bramble and harry h corbett will be turning in their graves at that comment - corden is an insult to their genius 

There is such a trend to badmouth the current crop of anything creative against the good old classics. Mark my words, there will be people fawning over the comedic genius of Jones and Corden in the decades to come in the very same way that you are with the legends of times gone by.

[graveyard johnny]

13 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

There is such a trend to badmouth the current crop of anything creative against the good old classics. Mark my words, there will be people fawning over the comedic genius of Jones and Corden in the decades to come in the very same way that you are with the legends of times gone by.

when  Corden went to America - Stuart  Lee said "Britains loss is now Americas loss"

[The Hallucinating Goose]

25 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

There is such a trend to badmouth the current crop of anything creative against the good old classics. Mark my words, there will be people fawning over the comedic genius of Jones and Corden in the decades to come in the very same way that you are with the legends of times gone by.

I'm currently rewatching Peep Show and similarly in the decades to come people will be fawning over just how brilliantly well written that show is and the comedic genius of Mitchell and Webb.

The scripts for Peep Show are brilliant, especially the thoughts we hear which are so accurate to how people do think, how silly and awkward and self-deprecating we can be about ourselves when others can't hear, and then how these thoughts contrast so much with what is said out loud and how it can jump between these two contrasting styles so easily.

Edited December 27, 2024 by The Hallucinating Goose

[gingerjon]

4 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I'm currently rewatching Peep Show and similarly in the decades to come

Peep Show is already over 20 years old. It's older than my kids. The decades to come have already arrived.

Not to say that people won't say it is comedic genius but it, like Gavin & Stacey, is already a very old programme.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

Peep Show is already over 20 years old. It's older than my kids. The decades to come have already arrived.

Not to say that people won't say it is comedic genius but it, like Gavin & Stacey, is already a very old programme.

I hardly think a show that finished less than 10 years ago is old when I'm comparing it to comedies from the 50s and 60s. 

[gingerjon]

9 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I hardly think a show that finished less than 10 years ago is old when I'm comparing it to comedies from the 50s and 60s. 

I tend to go with when they start as that's more the period they are 'of'.

I also think far too much current British comedy is essentially a sentimental melodrama with wry smiles attached. Out and out comedy, which is much harder, seems to come from elsewhere.

Peep Show, though, very funny. One of the greats.

[Adelaide Tiger]

17 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

galton and simpson  and wilfred bramble and harry h corbett will be turning in their graves at that comment - corden is an insult to their genius 

Never watched Gavin and Stacey so no idea about it or the program that they have just done.

BUT ….. totally understand your comment about Steptoe and Son.  It is on Foxtel at the moment and today I watched a couple of episodes and by God even though they are over 50 years old they knock the socks off any comedy series I have seen over the last 20 years.  

[The Hallucinating Goose]

5 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Peep Show, though, very funny. One of the greats.

"He'll be sorry when I bring a machine gun and 200 rounds of ammunition into the office... I'm exactly the kind of person that would do that..."

[The Hallucinating Goose]

So, that's Vengeance Most Fowl watched again...

[Jeff Stein]

Not sure about the recently ended Return to Paradise. It is quite stilted in comparison to Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise. The main characters are either too weird or too bland. Still it looks like it is being given a second series 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

"Peter Kay made his TV return this Christmas in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, but one of his improvised lines caused some confusion with the bosses of Netflix..

During a scene where Feathers McGraw escapes, Kay’s character, Chief Inspector Mackintosh, shouts “flippin’ Nora”. While it’s a common Northern phrase expressing disbelief, Netflix executives were reportedly unsure if it was a swear word.

The Aardman team had to reassure them that the phrase is harmless and simply a British idiom.

The film aired on BBC One on Christmas Day and attracted 9 million UK viewers."

[gingerjon]

51 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

"Peter Kay made his TV return this Christmas in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, but one of his improvised lines caused some confusion with the bosses of Netflix..

During a scene where Feathers McGraw escapes, Kay’s character, Chief Inspector Mackintosh, shouts “flippin’ Nora”. While it’s a common Northern phrase expressing disbelief, Netflix executives were reportedly unsure if it was a swear word.

The Aardman team had to reassure them that the phrase is harmless and simply a British idiom.

The film aired on BBC One on Christmas Day and attracted 9 million UK viewers."

How do you improvise in plasticine?

[Stirlin]

9 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

How do you improvise in plasticine?

Don't eat it.

[John Drake]

On 25/12/2024 at 23:48, sam4731 said:

Gavin and Stacey. Perfection.

I agree. Loved it.

[John Drake]

On 27/12/2024 at 15:44, graveyard johnny said:

utter garbage - predictable and not a single laugh in 90mins - a typical example of comedy trying to be funny instead of actually been funny 

I knew you'd say that!