Who's the most influential comedian of the last decade?

[King Biscuit Time]

Having just re-watched the Armando Iannucci shows on DVD (£7 from Fopp, comeday fans) and bearing in mind the HUGE number of influential shows that have got his stamp all over it. I'm saying Armando too.

Plus I love the fact that he did a PhD on Paradise Lost and he got stuck for ages where the only thing he could think of was that the first line* sounded like the Flintstones theme.

*Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree,

 

[perplexis]

Probably Armando Iannucci or Chris Morris, but I think Iannucci's scope is wider.

 

[Balbi]

http://imdb.com/name/nm0406334/

 

[purves grundy]

Plus I love the fact that he did a PhD on Paradise Lost and he got stuck for ages where the only thing he could think of was that the first line* sounded like the Flintstones theme.

*Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree,

 

[Larry O'Hara]

detective-boy, and his straight-men lap-top & invisible planet. Plus the rubber mascot, revol68.

 

[half_eaten_arm]

rory mcgrath

 

[Structaural]

Ant and Dec

 

[Yetman]

Des Lennis

 

[ska invita]

I was thinking about this and I nominate Armando Iannucci.

I think because of him we have the squirmy comedy that went on to be The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Borat (as much as any one person can be influential). He certainly did it first with Alan Partridge ("Knowing Me, Knowing You" was '94) - but of course Steve Coogan was chiefly responsible for this - Iannucci directed/co-wrote.

Also the Iannucci shows (The Armando Iannucci Shows ,Day Today, TIme Trumpet) paved the way for stuff like DOnt watch that watch this.

The question was "most influential comedian of the last decade" so Hicks doesnt count - if only there were lots of comedians influenced enough by him to be half as good as him - Id be happy to have a bunch of Hick clones doing the rounds but no-one is really any good at political comedy these days are they? Mark Thomas has got too serious - ROry Bremner is great at his stand up bits though. Cant think of anyone else... part from Iannucci!

Time Trumpet was a bit crap though...

 

[Dirty Martini]

I think because of him we have the squirmy comedy that went on to be The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Borat (as much as any one person can be influential). He certainly did it first with Alan Partridge ("Knowing Me, Knowing You" was '94) - but of course Steve Coogan was chiefly responsible for this - Iannucci directed/co-wrote.

Also the Iannucci shows (The Armando Iannucci Shows ,Day Today, TIme Trumpet) paved the way for stuff like DOnt watch that watch this.

The question was "most influential comedian of the last decade" so Hicks doesnt count - if only there were lots of comedians influenced enough by him to be half as good as him - Id be happy to have a bunch of Hick clones doing the rounds but no-one is really any good at political comedy these days are they? Mark Thomas has got too serious - ROry Bremner is great at his stand up bits though. Cant think of anyone else... part from Iannucci!

Time Trumpet was a bit crap though...

I agree with most of this. I chose AI because he seemed to be behind a lot of the defining stuff of the last 10 years or so, that squirmy comedy as you say, and taking other TV forms like the news item or fly-on-wall documentary and twisting them till they squeak. I think in certain types of comedy, the producer can have a role as important as the performer.

I've never really got Bill Hicks, never thought he was a comic genius. It just seems to me to be fairly unremarkable political/observational standup.

 

[kyser_soze]

YOU DISSING GOATBOY?!?!?

Stuart Lee or Ianucci in the UK, dunno about the US...

 

[Motown_ben]

chris morris for me, brass eye's cutting edge and even today is worth watchin. Also bought Nathan Barley the other week and thought it was ace.

 

[stavros]

Morris is more sensationalist but I really don't feel he has the dimensions of Iannucci of stand-up, director, producer, script-writer, book writer, columnist, sit-coms, topical satire, sketches, and spanning the radio and television. The only things missing are films and plays really. He's really the chief Don of The Day Today allumni, and when you consider what they've all gone on to do he must take his seat at the head of the table.

If we cast back further for earlier influences, can we go for the early absurdism of the Goons and Python, with Spike Milligan and John Cleese being the obvious nominees.

Oh and it's Stewart Lee, not Stuart.