© HBO Review of the Extras finale
28/12/2007 … ‘That was a bit harsh’, said my wife after Ricky Gervais laid into reality TV culture during the final episode of Extras.
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Fri 28 December 2007
© HBO
What's wrong with TV comedy
28/12/2007 … Watching television has, over the past six or seven years, become an agonisingly difficult experience.
Thu 20 December 2007
Tue 18 December 2007
Beware the backlash
John Phillips on the stand-ups who jumped the shark
18/12/2007 … If there’s one thing that tells me someone is going to annoy me, it’s if I mention a singer or a band, and they say: ‘Oh, I like the early stuff, before they…
Sun 16 December 2007
Laughs through a lens
Emma Lennox on capturing stand-up for the screen
16/12/2007 … There is a forbidden quality to a good night of stand up; it's best suited to small dark rooms where comics dare to whisper their unspeakable thoughts.
Fri 14 December 2007
Why comedy is the best medicine
14/12/2007 … I have a theory that stand-up comedy is a genuine therapy, tha works just as well as acupuncture or baths of mud.
Why don't we think women are funny?
14/12/2007 … Despite being an aspiring (meaning ‘unsuccessful’) comedian, I am also a neuroscientist.
Thu 13 December 2007
Compering? It's war...
13/12/2007 … ‘You are a really good on stage, I loved you as an MC, maybe one day you could even do comedy.