Theo Weedon bemoans bland formats – and bland comedians

Comedy in the UK has become a monster. A living, breathing, Television producer-friendly monster…in fact, scratch that, it has become monsters, an entire battalion of them, attacking Saturday nights in their saturated hundreds, all vomiting money into the bags of television executives specifically labeled ‘swag’… in fact, scratch that ,too, I’m no good with analogies. What I am trying to say is that I’m a little sick of the comedy British TV is offering, and that quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality.

Comedy has become huge. From the early Noughties, you can chart an astronomic rise in the popularity of comedy, and stand-up in particular. We saw shows like Mock The Week burst onto our screens in a blaze of topical glory. It was funny, very funny and launched the careers of some genuinely talented comedians, in particular the immensely enjoyable Russell Howard and the brilliant Hugh Dennis.

But watching the new series, with its tired regulars and increasingly obscure, underprepared and unfunny guests, I have become acutely aware, that despite it being a weekly, topical event it seems very old fashioned. 

We see the same fatigue with a lot of stand-up based TV. It feels worn out. We were blessed with Live At The Apollo, when Jack Dee was on the throne, even the first series of Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow presented a plethora of decent, talented, well rehearsed and, more to the point, funny comedians. It even took the chance to showcase new talent like Kevin Bridges and it is all the more commendable for it.

But it seems that commissioners caught on to it all very abruptly and now you can’t move for stand-up based television:  Stand Up For The Week, Dave’s One Night Stand, Argumental etc. It may sound clichéd, but you can have too much of a good thing and it looks like we’ve had our cake and eaten it too, then we’ve ordered éclairs and a cappuccino. Things have become saturated, it feels like producers are clutching at straws with the increasingly ill-equipped, monotonous and nameless acts they are giving airtime to. Do not get me wrong, I am all for giving a chance to new talent, but only when it’s ready, and a lot of these new comedians are slightly too half-baked for my palate. You may disagree, but to me they have become faceless and forgettable.

I suppose the issue is that the older, established comedians are running out of steam, and tiring out their sets without necessarily having new material to fall back on, as that takes time, and that the new comedians just haven’t had the time to gather a decent set in the first place.

A lot of people are more than happy to blame Mr McIntyre, but that’s not fair, it’s not his fault that a lot of people find him very funny (myself included), and I am very happy for his success. But I’m just not laughing as much any more.

A similar thing has happened with the sitcom and the sketch show, what happened to the days of Alan Partridge, or Spaced or The Mighty Boosh? Why isn’t Harry Enfield funny any more? And where has Chris Morris gone? One biting and near-perfect satirical movie is not enough for us to live off of; we need more!

Granted, some brilliant sitcoms and sketch shows have surfaced over the last few years, The IT Crowd is wonderful, The Thick Of It is masterful and Not Going Out makes me want to stay in. So I am aware that a statement shaming TV comedy may need a little support, so here goes: I watched Phoneshop last night…

I am aware of my hypocrisy and I know that there has always been bad comedy, but it seems, these days that people are just playing it too safe, no one is taking chances anymore. And I don’t mean faux-shocking chances, lest we forget Tramadol Nights (although maybe it is better to forget). I mean genuine, innovative and interesting comedy. It’s out there, so please let’s stop pandering to the masses and give them something they might like more – as no one wants lukewarm when they could have sizzling.

It would seem that the internet is giving people what they crave again, whether it’s Fosters reviving the misadventures of Alan Partridge or the return of Vic and Bob, or even the self-produced, well thought-out voices of hundreds of undiscovered talents (I urge you all to watch the Chin Review). The web is a treasure chest of brilliant humour, and I just wish television would hurry up and find the spot marked X.

Published: 6 Jul 2011