John McTernan Retweeted Martin Headon @Martin_SE5 · 3h I'm genuinely getting worried about the talent drain caused by every single London Labour councillor in their 30s going off to be PPC in the town they couldn't wait to leave at 18.
It is now looking like a mirror image of the 1997 by election when Labour had an even bigger poll lead and expected to win the seat off the Tories in the July 1997 Uxbridge by election easily.
Yet they rather complacently picked the Leader of Hammersmith council (now Hammersmith MP) Andrew Slaughter as they have now picked a Camden councillor to fight next month's by election. The Conservatives however picked a local furniture store owner who knew the area well and was Chairman of the Conservative Association, John Randall and Randall held the seat against the odds.
Last night the Tories picked a local Hillingdon councillor who was born and raised in the area and still lives in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip area and who will push opposition to the ULEZ expansion hard. Rishi will also appeal to the large Uxbridge Hindu vote.
Selby I think will be a narrow Tory hold but with a swing to Labour about the national average. Mid Beds seems to be postponed as Dorries has not resigned her seat yet
🇯🇵 Japan has raised the national age of consent from 13, one of the world’s lowest, to 16 years old, as part of a package of sex crime legislation reforms.
It is the first time the of consent has been changed since 1907
It is now looking like a mirror image of the 1997 by election when Labour had an even bigger poll lead and expected to win the seat off the Tories in the July 1997 Uxbridge by election easily.
Yet they rather complacently picked the Leader of Hammersmith council (now Hammersmith MP) Andrew Slaughter as they have now picked a Camden councillor to fight next month's by election. The Conservatives however picked a local furniture store owner who knew the area well and was Chairman of the Conservative Association, John Randall and Randall held the seat against the odds.
Last night the Tories picked a local Hillingdon councillor who was born and raised in the area and still lives in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip area and who will push opposition to the ULEZ expansion hard. Rishi will also appeal to the large Uxbridge Hindu vote.
Selby I think will be a narrow Tory hold but with a swing to Labour about the national average. Mid Beds seems to be postponed as Dorries has not resigned her seat yet
You do realise there's a difference between a by-election when you're in government and when you're in opposition?
"Do you have 'How to resign with grace and dignity' by Nadine Dorries?"
The cultural longevity of that ad is astonishing. Maybe the most memorable UK TV advertisement of all time?
I think the Hovis ad is the one that regularly tops the polls. Interesting in what it says about the nation's cultural psyche, harking back to a bygone era, romanticised nostalgia for a simpler past... villages, thatched roof cottages etc.
I would add Ronseal and Marmite (what an utter triumph for those particular copywriters to see their straplines pass into generally used language); Shake n Vac (not a great piece of artistry, but a triumph of getting your message across - can you name another brand of carpet cleaner, even now 40 years after the advert? I have no idea if it still exists mind you), the Carling Black Label campaign, and the Greenall Whitley campaign (the memory of which still brings a slight lump to the throat - again, I can't have been more than 10 and pubs were a foreign land to me).
"Do you have 'How to resign with grace and dignity' by Nadine Dorries?"
The cultural longevity of that ad is astonishing. Maybe the most memorable UK TV advertisement of all time?
I think the Hovis ad is the one that regularly tops the polls. Interesting in what it says about the nation's cultural psyche, harking back to a bygone era, romanticised nostalgia for a simpler past... villages, thatched roof cottages etc.
I would add Ronseal and Marmite (what an utter triumph for those particular copywriters to see their straplines pass into generally used language); Shake n Vac (not a great piece of artistry, but a triumph of getting your message across - can you name another brand of carpet cleaner, even now 40 years after the advert? I have no idea if it still exists mind you), the Carling Black Label campaign, and the Greenall Whitley campaign (the memory of which still brings a slight lump to the throat - again, I can't have been more than 10 and pubs were a foreign land to me).
I wonder if there's a big age-based distinction, but the memorable ads for me are primarily those aimed at children, mainly because as an adult watching commercials has been much less common (as could either fast forward through ads, or later on streaming doesn't even have them).
My most memorable ad has to be the Milky Way ad. The red car and the blue car had a race ...
It is now looking like a mirror image of the 1997 by election when Labour had an even bigger poll lead and expected to win the seat off the Tories in the July 1997 Uxbridge by election easily.
Yet they rather complacently picked the Leader of Hammersmith council (now Hammersmith MP) Andrew Slaughter as they have now picked a Camden councillor to fight next month's by election. The Conservatives however picked a local furniture store owner who knew the area well and was Chairman of the Conservative Association, John Randall and Randall held the seat against the odds.
Last night the Tories picked a local Hillingdon councillor who was born and raised in the area and still lives in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip area and who will push opposition to the ULEZ expansion hard. Rishi will also appeal to the large Uxbridge Hindu vote.
Selby I think will be a narrow Tory hold but with a swing to Labour about the national average. Mid Beds seems to be postponed as Dorries has not resigned her seat yet
You do realise there's a difference between a by-election when you're in government and when you're in opposition?
Not when the opposition trails in the polls by even more than the government does now, as the 1997 Tory opposition did.
Plus the Labour by election machine is hopeless in comparison to the LDs and they have picked a non local Camden councillor as Labour candidate while the Tory Uxbridge and South Ruislip candidate is Hillingdon born and raised and still lives and works there and is a well known South Ruislip councillor
It is now looking like a mirror image of the 1997 by election when Labour had an even bigger poll lead and expected to win the seat off the Tories in the July 1997 Uxbridge by election easily.
Yet they rather complacently picked the Leader of Hammersmith council (now Hammersmith MP) Andrew Slaughter as they have now picked a Camden councillor to fight next month's by election. The Conservatives however picked a local furniture store owner who knew the area well and was Chairman of the Conservative Association, John Randall and Randall held the seat against the odds.
Last night the Tories picked a local Hillingdon councillor who was born and raised in the area and still lives in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip area and who will push opposition to the ULEZ expansion hard. Rishi will also appeal to the large Uxbridge Hindu vote.
Selby I think will be a narrow Tory hold but with a swing to Labour about the national average. Mid Beds seems to be postponed as Dorries has not resigned her seat yet
How do you think the Hindu vote will come into play in Uxbridge, HYUFD?
In a week when Boris Johnson has never been far from the headlines, confidence in the government’s ability is down again.
It now stands at net -14:
Confident 42% Not Confident 56%
1,625 questioned on 14-15 June.
The hard-Brexiters, Mail, and Borisites have got a real problem with this now, because every time the concept of Tory division is raised again by Boris criticising some Sunakite policy or other, this will happen again.
The cost of reviving their hero could be to make the Tories two separate partties, which won't help them at the moment,
@tomorrowsmps 🔴 SELBY & AINSTY: How strange! I could have sworn that a few days ago Labour candidate Keir Mather had the Oxford Union as one of his 'likes' on Facebook. Now it seems to have gone.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
It is now looking like a mirror image of the 1997 by election when Labour had an even bigger poll lead and expected to win the seat off the Tories in the July 1997 Uxbridge by election easily.
Yet they rather complacently picked the Leader of Hammersmith council (now Hammersmith MP) Andrew Slaughter as they have now picked a Camden councillor to fight next month's by election. The Conservatives however picked a local furniture store owner who knew the area well and was Chairman of the Conservative Association, John Randall and Randall held the seat against the odds.
Last night the Tories picked a local Hillingdon councillor who was born and raised in the area and still lives in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip area and who will push opposition to the ULEZ expansion hard. Rishi will also appeal to the large Uxbridge Hindu vote.
Selby I think will be a narrow Tory hold but with a swing to Labour about the national average. Mid Beds seems to be postponed as Dorries has not resigned her seat yet
How do you think the Hindu vote will come into play in Uxbridge, HYUFD?
As Uxbridge is almost 10% Hindu, while the UK is only 1.6% Hindu
@tomorrowsmps 🔴 SELBY & AINSTY: How strange! I could have sworn that a few days ago Labour candidate Keir Mather had the Oxford Union as one of his 'likes' on Facebook. Now it seems to have gone.
This is surely the biggest scandal since Watergategate
Not a bad morning’s work from the batsmen, although the Crawley/Root partnership slowed down the run rate somewhat. Would have been England’s morning, until Crawley went last ball before lunch.
"Do you have 'How to resign with grace and dignity' by Nadine Dorries?"
The cultural longevity of that ad is astonishing. Maybe the most memorable UK TV advertisement of all time?
I think the Hovis ad is the one that regularly tops the polls. Interesting in what it says about the nation's cultural psyche, harking back to a bygone era, romanticised nostalgia for a simpler past... villages, thatched roof cottages etc.
I would add Ronseal and Marmite (what an utter triumph for those particular copywriters to see their straplines pass into generally used language); Shake n Vac (not a great piece of artistry, but a triumph of getting your message across - can you name another brand of carpet cleaner, even now 40 years after the advert? I have no idea if it still exists mind you), the Carling Black Label campaign, and the Greenall Whitley campaign (the memory of which still brings a slight lump to the throat - again, I can't have been more than 10 and pubs were a foreign land to me).
I wonder if there's a big age-based distinction, but the memorable ads for me are primarily those aimed at children, mainly because as an adult watching commercials has been much less common (as could either fast forward through ads, or later on streaming doesn't even have them).
My most memorable ad has to be the Milky Way ad. The red car and the blue car had a race ...
I nearly mentioned that one! Awful advert from a 'how would I like to spend 30 seconds' point of view - but one of the most memorable ditties ever penned. It doesn't even make sense. 1) If they were having a race, what has eating got to do with it? Of course someone who stops to eat every object he sees is going to lose. 2) Not much of a recommendation, is it? Eat a Milky Way - nicer than a truck or a prickly tree. (Not even nicer, actually - the niceness of a Milky Way isn't mentioned. It will just slow you down less.)
I don't think it's necessarily a childhood thing, it's just that adverts in the 80s were more memorable. Because, as you say, you couldn't whizz through them. Also (as a result of that) because they had much bigger budgets and could therefore be rather better.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
I think that they both have the same flaws. Some truly brilliant sketches and a lot of very forgettable dross. Pretty much all humour is like this. The better series just have a better ratio. I thought Not the Nine o’clock news was better than most.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
@tomorrowsmps 🔴 SELBY & AINSTY: How strange! I could have sworn that a few days ago Labour candidate Keir Mather had the Oxford Union as one of his 'likes' on Facebook. Now it seems to have gone.
This is surely the biggest scandal since Watergategate
That might be the one the media don't want to cover at the moment for fear of looking like loons.
@tomorrowsmps 🔴 SELBY & AINSTY: How strange! I could have sworn that a few days ago Labour candidate Keir Mather had the Oxford Union as one of his 'likes' on Facebook. Now it seems to have gone.
This is surely the biggest scandal since Watergategate
To be fair totally understandable why he doesn’t want any association with that dump.
@tomorrowsmps 🔴 SELBY & AINSTY: How strange! I could have sworn that a few days ago Labour candidate Keir Mather had the Oxford Union as one of his 'likes' on Facebook. Now it seems to have gone.
This is surely the biggest scandal since Watergategate
Is Britain unique in sending elites from London to “represent” provincial seats?
@tomorrowsmps 🔴 SELBY & AINSTY: How strange! I could have sworn that a few days ago Labour candidate Keir Mather had the Oxford Union as one of his 'likes' on Facebook. Now it seems to have gone.
This is surely the biggest scandal since Watergategate
Is Britain unique in sending elites from London to “represent” provincial seats?
Pretty much.
In Ireland they're far more likely to get elites from Dublin than from London to represent their provincial seats.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It's just as well since they don't seem to be making them any more.
"Do you have 'How to resign with grace and dignity' by Nadine Dorries?"
The cultural longevity of that ad is astonishing. Maybe the most memorable UK TV advertisement of all time?
I think the Hovis ad is the one that regularly tops the polls. Interesting in what it says about the nation's cultural psyche, harking back to a bygone era, romanticised nostalgia for a simpler past... villages, thatched roof cottages etc.
Of course, Dorset was noted (though hardly unique) for the miserable poverty of the poor for much of the C19 and early C20, and thatch was definitely a sign of low income. Shaftesbury's very much part of Thomas Hardy miserable nihilism land.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It's just as well since they don't seem to be making them any more.
One of the best ever, Curb Your Enthusiasm, still gets made. So does The Simpsons.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
I generally agree with your argument, but the problem with Monty Python is that there were loads of sketches that missed the target. YouTube generally shows the clips that work, and are still funny - but if you watch full episodes, there are often large areas of dross.
I've watched a few Young Ones recently; I was too young for them the first time around, and aside from some very 80s cultural references (and bands...) it's still funny, perhaps because of the gross characters and the slapstick.
Series 2-4 of Blackadder have aged well, for the same reasons. I wonder if the same can be said for the Fast Show - I'll have to see if full episodes are on YT.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
Thinking about it, you're right - some sitcoms date rather better. I can confirm that Dad's Army is still good (indeed, weirdly, I'd say it's better now than it was 30 years ago. Perhaps the humour has passed through being slightly dated, if it ever was, and come through as antique.) I would also add Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads (though it's predecessor, from the 60s 'The Likely Lads' has aged terribly - it feels like the writers were terrified of letting 20 seconds go by without a joke, with the result that none of them are any good; there is no space whatsoever in the script). Also Porridge. Also Allo Allo, I think. There are a lot which have aged terribly mind (or perhaps weren't very good in the first place).
Even when sitcoms aren't uproariously funny any more, they provide a fascinating bit of social history. I got quite absorbed a year or two back by 'I Didn't Know You Cared' - a fascinating picture of 1970s Sheffield; not for the bits you were necessarily expected to laugh at, but at the background situations you were expected to take as read. Similarly, 'Chance in a Million' from the 80s (which is also genuinely still funny).
Total howler from Murray Erasmus not spotting that one hit the glove.
Two poor decisions. Slightly Australia’s morning.
Which is the second poor decision - Lyons' lbw out is precisely the situation DRS was made for I think, I don't think it was a poor decision to give that not out even though it was. The Boland catch wasn't appealed for so the umpire can't raise his finger there even if he saw/heard the nick - given he missed the Crawley wicket it's doubtful he did mind..
Total howler from Murray Erasmus not spotting that one hit the glove.
Two poor decisions. Slightly Australia’s morning.
Which is the second poor decision - Lyons' lbw out is precisely the situation DRS was made for I think, I don't think it was a poor decision to give that not out even though it was. The Boland catch wasn't appealed for so the umpire can't raise his finger there even if he saw/heard the nick - given he missed the Crawley wicket it's doubtful he did mind..
Lyon’s ball was dead straight, no turn, clearly out. Really odd for such a fine umpire.
Total howler from Murray Erasmus not spotting that one hit the glove.
Two poor decisions. Slightly Australia’s morning.
Which is the second poor decision - Lyons' lbw out is precisely the situation DRS was made for I think, I don't think it was a poor decision to give that not out even though it was. The Boland catch wasn't appealed for so the umpire can't raise his finger there even if he saw/heard the nick - given he missed the Crawley wicket it's doubtful he did mind..
Lyon’s ball was dead straight, no turn, clearly out. Really odd for such a fine umpire.
I thought it had pitched outside leg. Just a fraction to the right and it would have been.
The final one though, the click when it hit the glove was really loud and very audible on the TV. How the umpire missed that one is beyond me.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
Thinking about it, you're right - some sitcoms date rather better. I can confirm that Dad's Army is still good (indeed, weirdly, I'd say it's better now than it was 30 years ago. Perhaps the humour has passed through being slightly dated, if it ever was, and come through as antique.) I would also add Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads (though it's predecessor, from the 60s 'The Likely Lads' has aged terribly - it feels like the writers were terrified of letting 20 seconds go by without a joke, with the result that none of them are any good; there is no space whatsoever in the script). Also Porridge. Also Allo Allo, I think. There are a lot which have aged terribly mind (or perhaps weren't very good in the first place).
Even when sitcoms aren't uproariously funny any more, they provide a fascinating bit of social history. I got quite absorbed a year or two back by 'I Didn't Know You Cared' - a fascinating picture of 1970s Sheffield; not for the bits you were necessarily expected to laugh at, but at the background situations you were expected to take as read. Similarly, 'Chance in a Million' from the 80s (which is also genuinely still funny).
Butterflies with Wendy Craig. There was more to that than first met the eye.
I look forward to Boris Johnson doing for the Daily Mail what he did for the Conservative Party
You will likely be disappointed. As a newspaper opinion columnist is where he excels. Not too fussed about the facts, or details, or repercussions of what he does (it will no doubt all be checked by lawyers and even if they are sued for something he writes it's great publicity) and he can certainly write and write entertainingly.
A bit like Jeremy Clarkson who people adore in print (and now in real life, thanks to Clarkson's Farm).
Boris really does have the world at his feet right now.
In time he will become, in his own eyes and perhaps the history books too, the PM who got Britain out of the EU in the face of fierce opposition, and guided the country through the pandemic. Albeit hugely flawed but then which great man isn't flawed?
Is Boris a good columnist? He’s readable, but there’s no substance. Kind of junk food.
Anyway, his berth in the Daily Mail is bad news for Rishi, and indeed any Tory hoping to keep their seat at the next election. I’ve no idea why the Conservative Party at large continue to enable this spoilt man-baby.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Series 2-4 of Blackadder have aged well, for the same reasons. I wonder if the same can be said for the Fast Show - I'll have to see if full episodes are on YT.
the fast show works in it's entirety, I think it's still very funny, but only because I watched it in the 90s.
You have to 'get' the characters and the catchphrases, and the comedy of repetition and variance and timing. That only comes with familiarity, not in isolation.
I always remember that Boris story about how he thought it was very funny to direct one of his new, young colleagues at the Telegraph to the wrong airport , for her first assignment on a story, and thought that was all very amusing sufficiently for not offering an apology later.
A performance and funny wheeze at other people's expense, sometimes in a more vulnerable position than him, and with no particular awareness of anything moral.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
Thinking about it, you're right - some sitcoms date rather better. I can confirm that Dad's Army is still good (indeed, weirdly, I'd say it's better now than it was 30 years ago. Perhaps the humour has passed through being slightly dated, if it ever was, and come through as antique.) I would also add Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads (though it's predecessor, from the 60s 'The Likely Lads' has aged terribly - it feels like the writers were terrified of letting 20 seconds go by without a joke, with the result that none of them are any good; there is no space whatsoever in the script). Also Porridge. Also Allo Allo, I think. There are a lot which have aged terribly mind (or perhaps weren't very good in the first place).
Even when sitcoms aren't uproariously funny any more, they provide a fascinating bit of social history. I got quite absorbed a year or two back by 'I Didn't Know You Cared' - a fascinating picture of 1970s Sheffield; not for the bits you were necessarily expected to laugh at, but at the background situations you were expected to take as read. Similarly, 'Chance in a Million' from the 80s (which is also genuinely still funny).
Butterflies with Wendy Craig. There was more to that than first met the eye.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Is Boris a good columnist? He’s readable, but there’s no substance. Kind of junk food.
Anyway, his berth in the Daily Mail is bad news for Rishi, and indeed any Tory hoping to keep their seat at the next election. I’ve no idea why the Conservative Party at large continue to enable this spoilt man-baby.
They aren't enabling him. The people who buy or consume the Daily Mail are enabling him and I would guess there are millions upon millions of those.
Why wouldn't the DM give a showbiz ex-PM a slot. Very clever marketing.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It Ain't Half Hot Mum isn't as bad as Curry & Chips. My god that was...something else
I always remember that Boris story about how he thought it was very funny to direct one of his new, young colleagues at the Telegraph to the wrong airport , for her first assignment on a story, and thought that was all very amusing up to not offering an apology later.
A performance and funny wheeze at other people's expense, with no particular awareness of anything moral.
Oh get over yourself he isn't the first person to play a practical joke on someone or initiate someone in such a way.
I believe there was some workplace where one of the workers put a colleague's stapler in some jelly for heaven's sake.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Is Boris a good columnist? He’s readable, but there’s no substance. Kind of junk food.
Anyway, his berth in the Daily Mail is bad news for Rishi, and indeed any Tory hoping to keep their seat at the next election. I’ve no idea why the Conservative Party at large continue to enable this spoilt man-baby.
They aren't enabling him.
Yeah, I mean he's (effectively) been thrown our of a Tory dominated Parliament in disgrace. It's hard to see about much more the Conservatives could do to NOT enable him.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
Thinking about it, you're right - some sitcoms date rather better. I can confirm that Dad's Army is still good (indeed, weirdly, I'd say it's better now than it was 30 years ago. Perhaps the humour has passed through being slightly dated, if it ever was, and come through as antique.) I would also add Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads (though it's predecessor, from the 60s 'The Likely Lads' has aged terribly - it feels like the writers were terrified of letting 20 seconds go by without a joke, with the result that none of them are any good; there is no space whatsoever in the script). Also Porridge. Also Allo Allo, I think. There are a lot which have aged terribly mind (or perhaps weren't very good in the first place).
Even when sitcoms aren't uproariously funny any more, they provide a fascinating bit of social history. I got quite absorbed a year or two back by 'I Didn't Know You Cared' - a fascinating picture of 1970s Sheffield; not for the bits you were necessarily expected to laugh at, but at the background situations you were expected to take as read. Similarly, 'Chance in a Million' from the 80s (which is also genuinely still funny).
Butterflies with Wendy Craig. There was more to that than first met the eye.
Bloody good theme tune.
Yes. You do get some good theme tunes with sitcoms.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It's just as well since they don't seem to be making them any more.
One of the best ever, Curb Your Enthusiasm, still gets made. So does The Simpsons.
The first ten seasons or so of The Simpsons are great. Afterwards it's becomes terrible.
On topic I did say on Saturday that Selby feels like a Con hold but have now found out the Tory candidate is pro fracking in the area…,
I'm not aware of any areas identified for fracking in the constituency at any point (I may be wrong). Would be much more of an issue if local fracking was a live issue I think.
Says here a fifth of the local authority is covered by licences.
The only licences I can see [1] that look to be in the constituency are PEDL279 and EXL250, the plannning application for the former is linked below.[2] This appears to be relating to exploratory extraction of methane gas from the former coalfield and doesn't seem to involve fracking. The company holding the EXL250 licence also appears to be a coalfield methane gas extractor. But I am by no means an expert on this.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
Thinking about it, you're right - some sitcoms date rather better. I can confirm that Dad's Army is still good (indeed, weirdly, I'd say it's better now than it was 30 years ago. Perhaps the humour has passed through being slightly dated, if it ever was, and come through as antique.) I would also add Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads (though it's predecessor, from the 60s 'The Likely Lads' has aged terribly - it feels like the writers were terrified of letting 20 seconds go by without a joke, with the result that none of them are any good; there is no space whatsoever in the script). Also Porridge. Also Allo Allo, I think. There are a lot which have aged terribly mind (or perhaps weren't very good in the first place).
Even when sitcoms aren't uproariously funny any more, they provide a fascinating bit of social history. I got quite absorbed a year or two back by 'I Didn't Know You Cared' - a fascinating picture of 1970s Sheffield; not for the bits you were necessarily expected to laugh at, but at the background situations you were expected to take as read. Similarly, 'Chance in a Million' from the 80s (which is also genuinely still funny).
Butterflies with Wendy Craig. There was more to that than first met the eye.
I find it almost too bitter sweet to bear. But then I often left the room when Basil was in full flow because I was just embarrassed for him. Geoffrey Palmer was immense.
I look forward to Boris Johnson doing for the Daily Mail what he did for the Conservative Party
You will likely be disappointed. A newspaper columnist is where he excels. Not too fussed about the facts, or details, or repercussions of what he does (it will no doubt all be checked by lawyers and even if they are sued for something he writes it's great publicity) and he can certainly write and write entertainingly.
A bit like Jeremy Clarkson who people adore in print (and now in real life, thanks to Clarkson's Farm).
Boris really does have the world at his feet right now.
In time he will become, in his own eyes and perhaps the history books too, the PM who got Britain out of the EU in the face of fierce opposition, and guided the country through the pandemic. Albeit hugely flawed but then which great man isn't flawed?
Yes yes, he's a great man. Now take your chlorpromazine.
He is certainly a great man. One manifestly unfit to run the country but great nevertheless. I'm not unhappy with that description.
"Chlorpromazine is an antipsychotic medication that can be used to treat anxiety, mania, psychosis and schizophrenia." - I have none of those conditions, although I suppose I would say that if I had any or all of them.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It Ain't Half Hot Mum isn't as bad as Curry & Chips. My god that was...something else
Sitcoms set in history hold up very well. Dad's Army is gentle humour, with affection for all of the cast. In real life you should hate the spiv, but here he's likeable. Mainwaring is a figure of fun, pompous, just assumes he should be in charge, but utterly brave and wants to do his duty. I have no doubt he would have given his life if required.
In recent times Upstart Crow has mined the same period as Blackadder 2, but in a very different way. Blackadder could be a lot more cruel, whereas Upstart Crow rarely is. And Upstart Crow has had pathos too, with the death of the son.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It's just as well since they don't seem to be making them any more.
One of the best ever, Curb Your Enthusiasm, still gets made. So does The Simpsons.
The first ten seasons or so of The Simpsons are great. Afterwards it's becomes terrible.
Although it took a good three series to get going.
That still leaves seven series when it was possibly funnier than anything else on telly. That's pretty remarkable, even if there was subsequently quite a long tail.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It Ain't Half Hot Mum isn't as bad as Curry & Chips. My god that was...something else
Sitcoms set in history hold up very well. Dad's Army is gentle humour, with affection for all of the cast. In real life you should hate the spiv, but here he's likeable. Mainwaring is a figure of fun, pompous, just assumes he should be in charge, but utterly brave and wants to do his duty. I have no doubt he would have given his life if required.
In recent times Upstart Crow has mined the same period as Blackadder 2, but in a very different way. Blackadder could be a lot more cruel, whereas Upstart Crow rarely is. And Upstart Crow has had pathos too, with the death of the son.
Oh thanks - introduce a new TV series that we should watch then kill it dead by giving us spoilers.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It Ain't Half Hot Mum isn't as bad as Curry & Chips. My god that was...something else
Sitcoms set in history hold up very well. Dad's Army is gentle humour, with affection for all of the cast. In real life you should hate the spiv, but here he's likeable. Mainwaring is a figure of fun, pompous, just assumes he should be in charge, but utterly brave and wants to do his duty. I have no doubt he would have given his life if required.
In recent times Upstart Crow has mined the same period as Blackadder 2, but in a very different way. Blackadder could be a lot more cruel, whereas Upstart Crow rarely is. And Upstart Crow has had pathos too, with the death of the son.
Oh thanks - introduce a new TV series that we should watch then kill it dead by giving us spoilers.
In my defence the series started in 2016 and the son died oi 2020, so there is a point at which spoilers are fair game...
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
Thinking about it, you're right - some sitcoms date rather better. I can confirm that Dad's Army is still good (indeed, weirdly, I'd say it's better now than it was 30 years ago. Perhaps the humour has passed through being slightly dated, if it ever was, and come through as antique.) I would also add Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads (though it's predecessor, from the 60s 'The Likely Lads' has aged terribly - it feels like the writers were terrified of letting 20 seconds go by without a joke, with the result that none of them are any good; there is no space whatsoever in the script). Also Porridge. Also Allo Allo, I think. There are a lot which have aged terribly mind (or perhaps weren't very good in the first place).
Even when sitcoms aren't uproariously funny any more, they provide a fascinating bit of social history. I got quite absorbed a year or two back by 'I Didn't Know You Cared' - a fascinating picture of 1970s Sheffield; not for the bits you were necessarily expected to laugh at, but at the background situations you were expected to take as read. Similarly, 'Chance in a Million' from the 80s (which is also genuinely still funny).
The first couple of seasons of HI-de-Hi with Simon Cadell are also massively underrated (the later seasons are total trash). I think Allo Allo follows the same pattern.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Fair enough. What do you find funny?
Harry and Paul, The Inbetweeners etc
Friday night dinner? Plebs?
Friday Night Dinner I loved until the last two series where it went downhill, haven't seen Plebs
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It's just as well since they don't seem to be making them any more.
One of the best ever, Curb Your Enthusiasm, still gets made. So does The Simpsons.
The first ten seasons or so of The Simpsons are great. Afterwards it's becomes terrible.
Although it took a good three series to get going.
That still leaves seven series when it was possibly funnier than anything else on telly. That's pretty remarkable, even if there was subsequently quite a long tail.
I know it is now seen as unwoke for many legitimate reasons but I think Friends was consistently funny for its entire 10 season run. Fantastic writing and not a few poignant narrative arcs. I happen to disagree with @BartholomewRoberts about the lesbian element as yes it was a gag at times but they were shown throughout as the smart, sensible ones in the face of Ross' mania.
I always remember that Boris story about how he thought it was very funny to direct one of his new, young colleagues at the Telegraph to the wrong airport , for her first assignment on a story, and thought that was all very amusing up to not offering an apology later.
A performance and funny wheeze at other people's expense, with no particular awareness of anything moral.
Oh get over yourself he isn't the first person to play a practical joke on someone or initiate someone in such a way.
I believe there was some workplace where one of the workers put a colleague's stapler in some jelly for heaven's sake.
It's not an initiation, more a kind of sly mockery unawares that he thought was hilarious.
I'm not sure why one should feel particularly motivated to defend his character in this.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Fair enough. What do you find funny?
Harry and Paul, The Inbetweeners etc
Friday night dinner? Plebs?
Friday Night Dinner I loved until the last two series where it went downhill, haven't seen Plebs
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Fair enough. What do you find funny?
Mrs Brown's Boys.
I once watched that for about thirty seconds, rather in the way one might a slowly evolving traffic accident. Then I walked away.
Its awfulness still returns to haunt me though, like a recurring bad dream.
I always remember that Boris story about how he thought it was very funny to direct one of his new, young colleagues at the Telegraph to the wrong airport , for her first assignment on a story, and thought that was all very amusing up to not offering an apology later.
A performance and funny wheeze at other people's expense, with no particular awareness of anything moral.
Oh get over yourself he isn't the first person to play a practical joke on someone or initiate someone in such a way.
I believe there was some workplace where one of the workers put a colleague's stapler in some jelly for heaven's sake.
It's not an initiation, more a kind of mockery unawares.
I'm not sure what you find in his character that is particularly worth defending.
As a PM? Precisely nothing. But he is entertaining as a columnist and I bet his columns will be fun to read and engaging. And yes he is a liar and a cheat and lazy and whatnot but that is priced in.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
Thinking about it, you're right - some sitcoms date rather better. I can confirm that Dad's Army is still good (indeed, weirdly, I'd say it's better now than it was 30 years ago. Perhaps the humour has passed through being slightly dated, if it ever was, and come through as antique.) I would also add Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads (though it's predecessor, from the 60s 'The Likely Lads' has aged terribly - it feels like the writers were terrified of letting 20 seconds go by without a joke, with the result that none of them are any good; there is no space whatsoever in the script). Also Porridge. Also Allo Allo, I think. There are a lot which have aged terribly mind (or perhaps weren't very good in the first place).
Even when sitcoms aren't uproariously funny any more, they provide a fascinating bit of social history. I got quite absorbed a year or two back by 'I Didn't Know You Cared' - a fascinating picture of 1970s Sheffield; not for the bits you were necessarily expected to laugh at, but at the background situations you were expected to take as read. Similarly, 'Chance in a Million' from the 80s (which is also genuinely still funny).
The first couple of seasons of HI-de-Hi with Simon Cadell are also massively underrated (the later seasons are total trash). I think Allo Allo follows the same pattern.
Allo Allo just went on too long. Interesting comment in the Blackadder programme last night about why there was no fifth series - it was too avoid just going through the motions. I think its clear that Allo Allo traded on that after the first few series. Its good to have catchphrases, but just catchphrases ain't enough...
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It Ain't Half Hot Mum isn't as bad as Curry & Chips. My god that was...something else
Sitcoms set in history hold up very well. Dad's Army is gentle humour, with affection for all of the cast. In real life you should hate the spiv, but here he's likeable. Mainwaring is a figure of fun, pompous, just assumes he should be in charge, but utterly brave and wants to do his duty. I have no doubt he would have given his life if required.
In recent times Upstart Crow has mined the same period as Blackadder 2, but in a very different way. Blackadder could be a lot more cruel, whereas Upstart Crow rarely is. And Upstart Crow has had pathos too, with the death of the son.
Oh thanks - introduce a new TV series that we should watch then kill it dead by giving us spoilers.
In my defence the series started in 2016 and the son died oi 2020, so there is a point at which spoilers are fair game...
No they aren't if you are putting forward the series as a good one to watch. I'd never heard of it before.
Meanwhile, he walks in, sees her dead so poisons himself. She then wakes up, sees him dead and stabs herself to death.
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
I saw that one too, didn't laugh once, sorry!
Humour can be very subjective. Humour can also age well or badly. I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
I watched both this morning, afraid you won't like my answer.
Fair enough. What do you find funny?
Mrs Brown's Boys.
I once watched that for about thirty seconds, rather in the way one might a slowly evolving traffic accident. Then I walked away.
Its awfulness still returns to haunt me though, like a recurring bad dream.
Didn't Michael Gove once describe it as a work of genius?
I always remember that Boris story about how he thought it was very funny to direct one of his new, young colleagues at the Telegraph to the wrong airport , for her first assignment on a story, and thought that was all very amusing up to not offering an apology later.
A performance and funny wheeze at other people's expense, with no particular awareness of anything moral.
Oh get over yourself he isn't the first person to play a practical joke on someone or initiate someone in such a way.
I believe there was some workplace where one of the workers put a colleague's stapler in some jelly for heaven's sake.
We once zipped the squadron "new boy" into a suitcase and threw it off a second floor balcony into a swimming pool. Character forming. He reckons he still dreams about it 25 years later.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It Ain't Half Hot Mum isn't as bad as Curry & Chips. My god that was...something else
Sitcoms set in history hold up very well. Dad's Army is gentle humour, with affection for all of the cast. In real life you should hate the spiv, but here he's likeable. Mainwaring is a figure of fun, pompous, just assumes he should be in charge, but utterly brave and wants to do his duty. I have no doubt he would have given his life if required.
In recent times Upstart Crow has mined the same period as Blackadder 2, but in a very different way. Blackadder could be a lot more cruel, whereas Upstart Crow rarely is. And Upstart Crow has had pathos too, with the death of the son.
Sitcom actors don't get the kudos they deserve. To me, being able to act well in a sitcom is the greatest of all acting talents. Take Captain Mainwaring - Arthur Lowe - he has to play a pompous unsmiling buffoon who the audience still sympathise with. And do all this at the same time as being funny. Similarly David Jason as Del Trotter (who wasn't actually supposed to be likeable, but who DJ reinterpreted). I find it very difficult to tell whether one competent 'serious' actor is better than another. But with the best comic actors, you know they're good because they make you laugh. And the best ones make you laugh a lot.
Comedy doesn't always age terribly well. I thought the Two Ronnies was funny in the 80s, but watching reruns it doesn't really work as well. No criticism of them - they are both funny men - but the material we find funny changes. I don't know why that should be so, but it does. It's not even that different generations find different things funny: things which are funny then are often just not funny now. Nothing to do with woke - just our collective tastes change. I guess something to do with humour being a defying of expectations; if you know the sort of thing to expect, maybe that takes away some of the humour. I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then. Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Dad’s Army is still good. (I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
It Ain't Half Hot Mum isn't as bad as Curry & Chips. My god that was...something else
Sitcoms set in history hold up very well. Dad's Army is gentle humour, with affection for all of the cast. In real life you should hate the spiv, but here he's likeable. Mainwaring is a figure of fun, pompous, just assumes he should be in charge, but utterly brave and wants to do his duty. I have no doubt he would have given his life if required.
In recent times Upstart Crow has mined the same period as Blackadder 2, but in a very different way. Blackadder could be a lot more cruel, whereas Upstart Crow rarely is. And Upstart Crow has had pathos too, with the death of the son.
Oh thanks - introduce a new TV series that we should watch then kill it dead by giving us spoilers.
In my defence the series started in 2016 and the son died oi 2020, so there is a point at which spoilers are fair game...
No they aren't if you are putting forward the series as a good one to watch. I'd never heard of it before.
Meanwhile, he walks in, sees her dead so poisons himself. She then wakes up, sees him dead and stabs herself to death.
So now we're even.
Actually, it's a bit different to that in Upstart Crow. I would elaborate, but... spoilers
Comments
Martin Headon
@Martin_SE5
·
3h
I'm genuinely getting worried about the talent drain caused by every single London Labour councillor in their 30s going off to be PPC in the town they couldn't wait to leave at 18.
It is now looking like a mirror image of the 1997 by election when Labour had an even bigger poll lead and expected to win the seat off the Tories in the July 1997 Uxbridge by election easily.
Yet they rather complacently picked the Leader of Hammersmith council (now Hammersmith MP) Andrew Slaughter as they have now picked a Camden councillor to fight next month's by election. The Conservatives however picked a local furniture store owner who knew the area well and was Chairman of the Conservative Association, John Randall and Randall held the seat against the odds.
Last night the Tories picked a local Hillingdon councillor who was born and raised in the area and still lives in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip area and who will push opposition to the ULEZ expansion hard. Rishi will also appeal to the large Uxbridge Hindu vote.
Selby I think will be a narrow Tory hold but with a swing to Labour about the national average. Mid Beds seems to be postponed as Dorries has not resigned her seat yet
It is the first time the of consent has been changed since 1907
Given the election is probably still over a year away Labour's lead is likely to be in the 5-10% region by October 2024...
A small Labour majority is still the most likely outcome of the next election in my view.
It now stands at net -14:
Confident 42%
Not Confident 56%
1,625 questioned on 14-15 June.
Filmed by Ridley Scott
James Heale
@JAHeale
Some ~ personal ~ news
https://twitter.com/JAHeale/status/1669466422399967235
Their Mastermind sketch is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
My most memorable ad has to be the Milky Way ad. The red car and the blue car had a race ...
Plus the Labour by election machine is hopeless in comparison to the LDs and they have picked a non local Camden councillor as Labour candidate while the Tory Uxbridge and South Ruislip candidate is Hillingdon born and raised and still lives and works there and is a well known South Ruislip councillor
The cost of reviving their hero could be to make the Tories two separate partties, which won't help them at the moment,
🔴 SELBY & AINSTY: How strange! I could have sworn that a few days ago Labour candidate Keir Mather had the Oxford Union as one of his 'likes' on Facebook. Now it seems to have gone.
3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st?
We can rule out Halloween for obvious reasons!
17th/24th the weather is more likely to be getting dodgy.
3rd or 10th October are most likely dates for me. Out of the two, I'd go with 10th....
Edit: preempted.
I still find them enjoyably clever sometimes, though (which is almost, but not quite, the same thing), like the Mastermind 'answering the previous question' specialist subject. And I find Ronnie Corbett's monologues funnier now than I did then.
Monty Python, OTOH, I think has aged very well indeed and is almost as good now as it was back then.
Second hour: 58/2 14ovs
Not a bad morning’s work from the batsmen, although the Crawley/Root partnership slowed down the run rate somewhat. Would have been England’s morning, until Crawley went last ball before lunch.
It doesn't even make sense.
1) If they were having a race, what has eating got to do with it? Of course someone who stops to eat every object he sees is going to lose.
2) Not much of a recommendation, is it? Eat a Milky Way - nicer than a truck or a prickly tree. (Not even nicer, actually - the niceness of a Milky Way isn't mentioned. It will just slow you down less.)
I don't think it's necessarily a childhood thing, it's just that adverts in the 80s were more memorable. Because, as you say, you couldn't whizz through them. Also (as a result of that) because they had much bigger budgets and could therefore be rather better.
Pretty much all humour is like this. The better series just have a better ratio. I thought Not the Nine o’clock news was better than most.
(I think, I haven’t seen an episode in about 20 years).
I saw an episode of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum about ten years ago and I thought it was actually pretty good, all things considered.
Sitcoms date OK, the good ones anyway.
We'll know soon enough, I expect.
Total vote loser.
In Ireland they're far more likely to get elites from Dublin than from London to represent their provincial seats.
I've watched a few Young Ones recently; I was too young for them the first time around, and aside from some very 80s cultural references (and bands...) it's still funny, perhaps because of the gross characters and the slapstick.
Series 2-4 of Blackadder have aged well, for the same reasons. I wonder if the same can be said for the Fast Show - I'll have to see if full episodes are on YT.
There are a lot which have aged terribly mind (or perhaps weren't very good in the first place).
Even when sitcoms aren't uproariously funny any more, they provide a fascinating bit of social history. I got quite absorbed a year or two back by 'I Didn't Know You Cared' - a fascinating picture of 1970s Sheffield; not for the bits you were necessarily expected to laugh at, but at the background situations you were expected to take as read. Similarly, 'Chance in a Million' from the 80s (which is also genuinely still funny).
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12202525/Mail-unveils-Boris-Johnson-new-columnist.html
The final one though, the click when it hit the glove was really loud and very audible on the TV. How the umpire missed that one is beyond me.
sacked for telling lies...
A bit like Jeremy Clarkson who people adore in print (and now in real life, thanks to Clarkson's Farm).
Boris really does have the world at his feet right now.
In time he will become, in his own eyes and perhaps the history books too, the PM who got Britain out of the EU in the face of fierce opposition, and guided the country through the pandemic. Albeit hugely flawed but then which great man isn't flawed?
He’s readable, but there’s no substance. Kind of junk food.
Anyway, his berth in the Daily Mail is bad news for Rishi, and indeed any Tory hoping to keep their seat at the next election. I’ve no idea why the Conservative Party at large continue to enable this spoilt man-baby.
You have to 'get' the characters and the catchphrases, and the comedy of repetition and variance and timing. That only comes with familiarity, not in isolation.
A performance and funny wheeze at other people's expense, sometimes in a more vulnerable position than him, and with no particular awareness of anything moral.
I watched the Lost Blackadder Pilot last night, and some of the other episodes recently. The word play, timing etc in series 2,3 and 4 are timeless. Still as funny as on first watch (indeed probably with the joy of repitition, funnier). Undoubtedly some or a lot of the two Ronnies stuff is not going to have aged well, but I challenge anyone not to find the Four Candles sketch funny, or the Mastermind (answering the question before) one.
Why wouldn't the DM give a showbiz ex-PM a slot. Very clever marketing.
It's silly to deny otherwise.
I believe there was some workplace where one of the workers put a colleague's stapler in some jelly for heaven's sake.
Here's a classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRaiiT3ZnJw
Defy anybody to listen to that and not feel better about life at the end of it.
[1] https://nstauthority.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=29c31fa4b00248418e545d222e57ddaa
[2] https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/documents/s4066/210308_NY-2017-0219-FUL Weeland_Rd_Final.pdf
ETA: PEDL279 covers a fair bit of S&A - I've not overlaid maps, but ~1/5th is plausible.
It doesn't seem to have a market reflecting the upcoming second vote.
I assume those things are related but does anyone have the full story?
I should say there is about £10 in it for me. Not a huge problem!
"Chlorpromazine is an antipsychotic medication that can be used to treat anxiety, mania, psychosis and schizophrenia." - I have none of those conditions, although I suppose I would say that if I had any or all of them.
In recent times Upstart Crow has mined the same period as Blackadder 2, but in a very different way. Blackadder could be a lot more cruel, whereas Upstart Crow rarely is. And Upstart Crow has had pathos too, with the death of the son.
That still leaves seven series when it was possibly funnier than anything else on telly. That's pretty remarkable, even if there was subsequently quite a long tail.
Perhaps, like Ken Livingstone, he'll quit his party and win as an Independent.
I'm not sure why one should feel particularly motivated to defend his character in this.
Its awfulness still returns to haunt me though, like a recurring bad dream.
Meanwhile, he walks in, sees her dead so poisons himself. She then wakes up, sees him dead and stabs herself to death.
So now we're even.
I find it very difficult to tell whether one competent 'serious' actor is better than another. But with the best comic actors, you know they're good because they make you laugh. And the best ones make you laugh a lot.