Little Britain.....lost it?

[Fledgling]

Stretched out, repetitive and exhausted of wit. That pretty much sums up this show.

I think Little Britian started out with some reasonable sketches. OK it was never going to be a absurd as the Fast Show or have the observation of Harry Enfield, but it worked. But after two series it hasn't moved, the same characters but with increasing signs of desperation entering. The writers clearly ran out of ideas halfway through series 1 and have somehow led us to allow them 2 more series, each getting less original and more and more below-average. "Better than most out there" is not an excuse if you consider the current benchmark is so low it's astounding. Seriously we made funnier sketches up on Friday morning in GCSE drama, I'm serious.

I'll not pretend to follow popular comedy trends, I'd say League of Gentleman is infinitely more original, intelligent and talented than say Friends and I don't say that to appear as an outsider bucking the trend- if you analyse the material it simply shines brighter.

But Little Britain is dumb and deperate. I agree with others, it's a poor relation to Fast Show, Harry Enfield and LoG. And Tom Baker isn't really that funny, his voiceovers could be so much better, they sound like spontaneous office humour (always generated through sheer boredom and frustration) which is funny once becuase it's weird but quickly dies off.

Little Britian is like the sad person who spends their whole time doing funny voices in a very average manner and never ever does more than 3 voices.

It belongs with its equally overrated cousin Chris Moyles, in a skip.

 

[bellator]

Lb

Having read the before long post, I found myself nodding in accordance.
Some great points and totally agree with the Moyles line!

 

[Wookey]

Maybe one in five sketches is funny to me.

 

[stavros]

It's fecking dreadful, made all the worse by it's adoration and omnipresence in the media. You're pictured with the two of them and you're instantly got a sense of humour apparently. It has no hint of originality or surprise, and as any right-thinking person knows, a comedian's chief weapon is fear.... and surprise.

On which note I will say it is the complete antithesis of Monty Python which repeated nothing other than and the "It's...." man so you had no idea of what was coming next. It also workied a lot quicker whereas LB labours on the "joke" (there's only ever one per sketch) for several minutes. As for catchphrases, I think it speaks for Python's genius that sketches shown only once have given birth to catchphrases very much ensconced in the pantheon of comedy legend.

 

[lunatrick]

the old lady pissing is just pushing it, and frankly in bad taste....there's a fine line between humour and totally alienating the audience and for me they've crossed it.......

 

[Griff]

As for catchphrases, I think it speaks for Python's genius that sketches shown only once have given birth to catchphrases very much ensconced in the pantheon of comedy legend.

Yep.

 

[Wookey]

shown only once have given birth to catchphrases very much ensconced in the pantheon of comedy legend.

tbf, they weren't immediate catchphrases - it's taken years of repeats to make them so.

 

[stavros]

But you will agree of the difference with Little Britain, who form catchphrases by just performing the same sketches over and over again and calling them new.

I don't know first hand of the impact Python had at the time, due to the small matter of not being born yet, but from what my Dad has told me it seems as if the likes of the Hell's Grannies, the upper class twits, the lumberjacks, the Pirhana brother and of course the parrot sketch were instant talking points on one showing.

 

[Wookey]

But you will agree of the difference with Little Britain, who form catchphrases by just performing the same sketches over and over again and calling them new.

Yes, I agree there's a difference. I think there's a big difference between the LB catchphrases, which occur because millions of people see them all at the same time (and many times over the course of a series) and the Python catchphrases which I knew LONG before I even watched the show!!

I knew the lumberjack lyrics for years before I realised it was a python sketch. I don't think LB will ever have that depth of effect, or longevity.

 

[stavros]

I think I'd heard the Lumberjack song and "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" before I saw any Python, and I was only about 10 when I did see it.

It's difficult to think of the last British comedy that will be regarded as a fixture in the cannon of greatness. Perhaps Partridge? Brass Eye? The Office was OK but overrated. Internationally I think Curb Your Enthusiasm undoubtedly falls under the "great" banner. Larry David is a comedy god.

 

[aylee]

I think it is disgusting garbage and what is even more disgusting, is that so many parents allow their children to watch the filth.

Both of the 'comediens' are talentless wierdos IMO.

(c) Daily Mail 2005.

 

[aylee]

I knew the lumberjack lyrics for years before I realised it was a python sketch. I don't think LB will ever have that depth of effect, or longevity.

To be fair, Walliams and Lucas have said that the third series is to be the last.

 

[nino_savatte]

"I'm the only gay in the village" ..............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

 

[STFC]

To be fair I thought the Orville sketch was quality, but apart from that it's crap.

 

[blabbernsmoke]

Mean, Misogynistic & Spiteful

 

[i_hate_beckham]

[throws hat into ring]if LB is shit, so is MP's Flying Circus[/throws hat into ring]

Yup they both are, in fact Little Britain used to be watchable unlike Flying Circus which was always shite.