Sketch of the Week!

The sketches of the week are from Ruby Wax's hilarious talk show, The Full Wax, and a more current clip from Tracy Ullman's State of the Union. I'm actually spoiling you with full episodes today so you....Enjoy!

Guest Blogger!

I have a guest blogger here to talk to you about that classic Brit show, Steptoe and Son. So I present to some and introduce to most the talented, the beautiful, the well groomed and linen fresh, Ms. Torva McClure!!! Enjoy!

American versions of British hits is not a recent phenomenon, although fans of "The Office" or "Shameless" may think otherwise. Thirty odd years ago, American television viewers enjoyed a slew of remixed Britcoms including one of my faves "Sanford and son". This Cult classic ran from 1972-1977 starring Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford, a disgruntled old junk dealer who spewed snappy one liners and insults to a live studio audience for half an hour. And as much as I'd like to give producer Norman Lear credit for an original concept, the truth is this classic tv show is a remake of "Steptoe and Son", a British sitcom that aired a decade before its American brother from another mother. "Steptoe and Son" had its beginnings as a sketch for "Comedy Playhouse" an anthology series that ran on BBC from 1967-1975. Unique in its time for presenting somewhat of a comedy/drama hybrid, the series used grim humor verses the slapstick style of comedy prevalent in British comedy that was the norm. Check out some of Steptoe's gritty humor here:

Absolutely Fabulous!

"You can't buy happiness, but you can bloody well charge it." Famous words from that iconic show, yes, it had to be-the one, the only....ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!! Please darlings hold your much appreciated applause until the end of the lecture, thank you. This is my favorite 90's show. Some misguided souls have Friends, others have Roseanne, some more fortunate people have Will&Grace, I have AbFab. I love this show because nobody doesn't like Sara Lee! But seriously everybody loves watching girls behaving badly, but we love watching English society women behaving badly more than that (yes, I'm talking about you too Fergie). Americans will love this show because, even though it's British, it's really universal as far as comedy and content goes. They tackle regular problems, i.e. getting fat, how to stay relevant as you age, motherhood, but in a heart stopping, hilarious way. I love watching Joanna Lumely, possibly the classiest person on the face of the earth, act so completely uncouth (she's the U.K. AOL "you've got mail" voice by the way, pretty cool huh), and to watch Jennifer Saunders who is so often very quiet and put together be so loud and neurotic is priceless. If you don't love this show you are one of the many mentally stable human beings that the world, quite frankly, could do without. If you do love it, then welcome home brothers and sisters, it's been a long winter without you here! So watch the show, down below. And as always...Enjoy! (that's actually an order this time...you had better watch and love this show...seriously...stop reading this empty threat right now and go watch it)

Let Them Eat Cake!

 

Bonjour, as we say here in eighteenth century France! Let them eat cake is one of my all time favorite shows. It is sick, offensive, degrading, unsettling-basically everything I look for in a good comedy! I laugh at this show every time I watch it, and I watch it a lot.  Americans will love this show for the same reasons the British do-it makes fun of the French....haha but seriously it is really funny and it makes fun of pre-revolutionary France. I like this show because it shows off Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as actresses. They did not write this show they were just cast to play a role and they did so fantastically. This was sadly only meant to be one series, so there are only a few episodes, but they are all pure comedy gold and you will laugh until cake is coming out of every orifice. Below is my favorite episode, and I feel the need to say "Don't judge me!" before you watch this. Enjoy!

Sketch of the Week!

This week's sketch is a Tracy Ullman classic-Mrs. Noh Nah Ning! Enjoy! 

Girls On Top!

I wanted to Girls on Top because this is the show where a lot of great British comediennes got their start. Ruby Wax is an American, but she is most famous in the U.K.Tracy Ullman has become a cult classic in America and  England. And of course my favorites, Dawn French, and Jennifer Saunders! This is a really crazy show a bout four roommates sharing a flat and the MANY misadventures they have together. I love this show because I have had a roommate before and it makes me think of all the crazy stuff we did together. The American audiences will appreciate it because it is crazy girls doing crazy things. Americans always love cray girls being crazy (cough, cough Two Broke Girls). This is a loveable show and I hope you...Enjoy!

Sketch of the Week!

These are two of my favorite sketches from then and now. Hope you like them. Enjoy!

French and Saunders Today

Today, French and Saunders is set more around the people that Dawn and Jen actually are, with Dawn being silly and Jen being quietly hilarious. It provides for a more interesting and realistic dynamic and, to me, makes it easier to transition into sketches. I love the white room sketches that they do and the crazy recurring characters. I think Americans will like this more up to date version because it transcends the continental barriers. They talk about everything happening in the world and any person up on world pop culture will appreciate them making fun of it. I love the fact that if you've seen all of the stages of French and Saunders you can really see the growth of these ladies as comediennes, actresses, and writers. So check out a newer episode of the show, why don't you! Down below...Enjoy!

Early Fench and Saunders

When French and Saunders first started they presented their show as a struggling variety show with hardly any audience and even fewer at home viewers, and they are always surprised when their show gets renewed for another series. Jennifer Saunders is presented as the self absorbed star who hates that her bumbling partner, Dawn French, has to share her spotlight. She also dislikes Dawn because she is nicer and people like her more. Their show was more like a vaudeville variety show than a sketch show with sketches in between their variety acts. Jennifer is in charge and Dawn is the unappreciated side kick who's willing to do anything to get in the show. They also worked with a comedy music group called Raw Sex. I love the dynamic between them back then and seeing how much it has changed. I think Americans liked this show in the early stages or would like it because it was a lot like "In Living Color". It's funny for me watching it now because seeing how much they make fun of the 80's while in the 80's is so hilarious because it's so spot on. They made fun of everything from the fashion, the way people spoke, and the crazy shows they had on TV. I love this surprisingly relevant, now retro early comedy of what is now a British classic. And you can watch the very first episode, EVER. Right now! Down below...Enjoy!

Theme of the Week - Then and Now

THEN:

This week I'm going to do a "Then and Now" look at one of my favorite sketch shows, French and Saunders. I love sketch shows because as easy as they look to do, they are actually hard to pull off. French and Sunders went for over 20 years and left at the height of their career only to pursue other separate interests. What I really like about this show is that you can feel the very real friendship between Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in whatever it is they do. I think Americans will love this show because they make fun of everything and everyone, they know no boundaries, and they are not afraid to shock with their crazy characters! Enjoy!


                                                                                     NOW:

Sketch Of the Week!

Hello Campers! The sketches of the week involve the leading ladies of the shows I've featured this week. The first one is Dawn French's famous impression of Catherine Zeta Jones, the Queen of Wales. The second is an excerpt of the six part short, Up in Town, that Joanna Lumely starred in, which was also written by Hugo Blick. Enjoy!

Roger and Val...have just got in

Roger and Val Have Just Got In is a very poignant black comedy in that it profiles a married couple, Roger and Val, years after they have suffered a personal tragedy. I like this show because it's shot in real time; when Val makes the tea, we see her make the tea. This might not matter to a lot of people, but it really plays a part in drawing me into not only the show, but their lives as well. I also like this show because it shows the serious side of Dawn French. She created this show and you can see that it was partially inspired by her personal life.I think Americans will like this show if they want to see something really different. There are only two cast members in this, Alfred Melina, and Dawn French, as Roger and Val, which really helps the audience feel the isolation that the characters feel. I also love how unexpectedly hilarious it is. You think it's going to be very depressing but then there's a joke about pubic hair to brighten your day. And then of course it's witty and insightful again. Anyone who watches this show will feel more sensitive and much smarter for having done so. And you can watch right now! Down below...Enjoy!

Sensitive Skin

I love this show! This show made me want to write scripts. It  is about life situations that should not be funny at all, but it makes them so hilarious! Joanna Lumley stars in it as Davina who is going through a late mid-life crisis at sixty. I love this show because it's about waking up one day and saying to yourself "This can't be all that there was in my life- this can't be how I go out." I think Americans will like this show because it is about people in their sixties-and they're proud of it! America has become so ageist on TV and now people are rebelling with the popularity of shows like Hot in Cleveland, and Happily Divorced rising. This show was fearless to me. Davina asks the questions most people ask when they reach their mid life wonder lust periods, and usually finds out the answers in very humorous and out of the box ways. I actually found myself relating directly to her because her questions were mine at the time I started watching this show-Where do I go from here? This show is written by one of my favorite screenwriters, Hugo Blick, so I encourage you all to watch this funny, yet dark and poignant show. Below is a funny snippet of the show. Enjoy!

Theme of the Week - Black Comedy

This week my focus will be on black comedies. A lot of people think that a black comedy is a comedy show about black people....these people take things too literally and you probably shouldn't use a lot of idioms around them. A black comedy, or gallows humor,  is actually, and I quote via thefreedictionary.com (feel free to visit and extend your vocabulary, lest you become one of those people that uses 'like' before every other word.)

"a comedy that treats of morbid, tragic, gloomy, or grotesque situations as a major element of the plot."

In my own words black comedies are just darkly humored shows that find the funny in all the places it shouldn't be. I'm a very darkly humored person so I'm always excited to find a show that makes me feel like I'm not alone in my sick and twisted sense of humor. Above is picture that sums up my view of the black comedy movement and some of the backlash some shows in the genre have gotten for being inappropriate. We'll be looking at two gloomy but really funny shows this week that I hope all will......Enjoy!

Sketch of the Week!

This is a great parody of the movie Mamma Mia done by French&Saunders (Dawn French, and Jennifer Saunders) with Joanna Lumley for Comic Relief/Red Nose Day. I love this sketch because I saw the movie and really liked it but there is no doubt that they left plenty of room for a lot of people to make fun of it. I also like this because a lot of people don't know that Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous, Clatterford) can actually sing. She played the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2 sang "Holding Out For a Hero". But basically this is a sketch about a slut that sleeps with three men, gets pregnant, and doesn't know who the father. It also answers that age old question, Can Pierce Brosnan sing? Above is the first part, watch the rest on YouTube, and, as always- Enjoy!