Unfunny Comedians
Discussion
berlintaxi said:
I saw his royal variety performance, no way could he be called a comedian.
Agreed. Acaster too, they are just rent-a-comedians on the Dave payroll. Dreadful. Mock The Week, Taskmaster, all the same inane predictable tired jokes just told slightly differently each time.There’s one now where the whole premise is trying to guess the autocomplete on google for a given first two words.
I despair.
FerdiZ28 said:
Agreed. Acaster too, they are just rent-a-comedians on the Dave payroll. Dreadful. Mock The Week, Taskmaster, all the same inane predictable tired jokes just told slightly differently each time.
There’s one now where the whole premise is trying to guess the autocomplete on google for a given first two words.
I despair.
Yeah but that's hosted by John Robbins who not only isn't funny but also has an incredibly annoying voice! There’s one now where the whole premise is trying to guess the autocomplete on google for a given first two words.
I despair.
I do get what you mean about the Dave payroll thing though, although Mock the Week isn't a Dave original they do have their usual suspects who get dragged out way too often but then again, maybe there's a reason for that and people find them funny.....
Krikkit said:
Unfortunately I think the general vibe of being sick of it will have caught him out of turn - he generally has quite a long tour cycle with material written beforehand, so it was likely written right at the vote and very funny for the first 4-6 months, but as you noted quite dull after that.
The last time I saw him, which was a few years ago, he was melting current affairs into his usual mad thought process and it was tear-inducingly funny, but some of it had been recycled from when I'd seen him a year before (not just his classic song repertoire). I think he needs to try and keep a little more material writing going while mid-tour to mix it up a little.
I believe it was actually a warm up gig for the last tour, although it was a ticketed gig not a impromptu appearance, and it wasn't just the subject being tired it was that he literally didn't drop it all night, hed start on something else then within a couple of minutes it was boom, brexit again. We wondered if he was having some kind of breakdown frankly.The last time I saw him, which was a few years ago, he was melting current affairs into his usual mad thought process and it was tear-inducingly funny, but some of it had been recycled from when I'd seen him a year before (not just his classic song repertoire). I think he needs to try and keep a little more material writing going while mid-tour to mix it up a little.
Roger Irrelevant said:
TBH for a long time now I've steered clear of comedians who are labelled as 'pushing the boundaries' - by and large the boundaries of comedy are where they are because what's on the other side isn't very funny. It's why I was disappointed when the likes of Jimmy Carr and Ricky Gervais - whose earlier stand-up I really liked - started relying on cracking jokes about disabled kids in their later stuff. Yes it may have been controversial and 'shocking' to some degree - and that can be a positive thing - but it just wasn't funny, which is a problem for a comedian. I'm not saying that there are some subjects that should be off-limits for comedy as there absolutely shouldn't, but a lot of comedians seem to think that just 'going there' and saying stuff that hasn't been said before is enough. Well it's not - controversy and comedy certainly can go hand-in-hand but one isn't a substitute for the other.
It's rare for a comedian to start out at their absolute peak, and get more and more popular whilst very quickly loosing all the stuff that made them good in the first place, but Gervais has nailed it. Punch down comedy at the best of times.JLC25 said:
Roger Irrelevant said:
TBH for a long time now I've steered clear of comedians who are labelled as 'pushing the boundaries' - by and large the boundaries of comedy are where they are because what's on the other side isn't very funny. It's why I was disappointed when the likes of Jimmy Carr and Ricky Gervais - whose earlier stand-up I really liked - started relying on cracking jokes about disabled kids in their later stuff. Yes it may have been controversial and 'shocking' to some degree - and that can be a positive thing - but it just wasn't funny, which is a problem for a comedian. I'm not saying that there are some subjects that should be off-limits for comedy as there absolutely shouldn't, but a lot of comedians seem to think that just 'going there' and saying stuff that hasn't been said before is enough. Well it's not - controversy and comedy certainly can go hand-in-hand but one isn't a substitute for the other.
It's rare for a comedian to start out at their absolute peak, and get more and more popular whilst very quickly loosing all the stuff that made them good in the first place, but Gervais has nailed it. Punch down comedy at the best of times.e46m3Mark said:
Derek was awful though.
Wrong. Derek was incredible television. Up and down with the emotions. Second series suffered without Pilkington to an extent though. He built his character from his experiences of his alien mother working in such a home so it adds a bit of legitimacy GruntyDC5 said:
Sarah Millican is by far the worst comedian I have ever had the misfortune of seeing live. It was basically an hour plus of begging to buy her book.
Absolutely. She keeps on saying pet. Alright pet, Yes pet, no pet 
We know you're f
king northern now pleeease try and say something funny for a change.Oh, and every time I see her it looks like she's wearing a comedy nose and glasses, see...
An acute and accurate observation.
I have grown to really dislike the contamination of my TV viewing whenever she turns up or I see her on the TV guide. My 12 year old son was asking 'who is Sarah Millican' and why do you say she is so unfunny? We proceeded to find one of her routines on YouTube, showed him, and he agreed immediately. Unfortunately, YouTube is now over enthusiastic of suggesting the 'Best of' whenever we venture in. Unbelievably, there are (I think) 4 'Best of' Sarah Millican videos, each of about 45 minutes. That must mean she has shovelled a right load of rubbish out on TV and DVD. I think YouTube should take them down in the interests of humanity. I cannot stand the women, but now its like she is stalking me!
Krikkit said:
Teddy Lop said:
TUS373 said:
Another vote for Bill Bailey here. A genuine comedian/entertainer.
last time we saw him, probably THE last time too, was just before Christmas a year ago, spent 90% of a two hour set regurgitating a tedious diatribe against brexit/brexit voters that way beyond any point of necessity or relevance, I mean even my Mrs (who was massively angry and upset over brexit and should have been his prime candidate for it) found it pathetic, not least cos by this point it'd been two years of bile in the news already and like most sane people are bored,sick and tired of all the pettiness.Real shame, we've seen him several times previous and he'd been on it but never again - while im not someone who deigns to impose on a artist what he should show us, but by God that was a disgrace.
The last time I saw him, which was a few years ago, he was melting current affairs into his usual mad thought process and it was tear-inducingly funny, but some of it had been recycled from when I'd seen him a year before (not just his classic song repertoire). I think he needs to try and keep a little more material writing going while mid-tour to mix it up a little.
To be fair, he was sat in his Volvo XC90 on Kings Street, Hammersmith, as I walked past..
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Re Ricky Gervais, I used to love him, Merchant and Pilkington on XFM over 15 years ago. It came across as off the cuff and genuinely funny. The way Ricky used to be in fits of laughter saying "play a record, play a record" got me every time.
It's been a downward road since then, for me.
JLC25 said:
e46m3Mark said:
Derek was awful though.
I thought the same - Peaked with his original Podcasts and The Office. Edgy 15 year old "Are you offended? well yeah, but I can say it, there is no rules against it, but, why are you angry and offended? did you know I'm an atheist" comedy.V6 Pushfit said:
Michael McIntyre with the looking at someone’s phone and texting people they know then reading out the replies.
Not set up at all oh no.
As unfunny as most of his routines, especially when he has to get over excited and speak like he’s sitting on a spike.
Yes we all know its rigged BUT he is kinda funnyNot set up at all oh no.
As unfunny as most of his routines, especially when he has to get over excited and speak like he’s sitting on a spike.
mikal83 said:
V6 Pushfit said:
Michael McIntyre with the looking at someone’s phone and texting people they know then reading out the replies.
Not set up at all oh no.
As unfunny as most of his routines, especially when he has to get over excited and speak like he’s sitting on a spike.
Yes we all know its rigged BUT he is kinda funnyNot set up at all oh no.
As unfunny as most of his routines, especially when he has to get over excited and speak like he’s sitting on a spike.
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