The State of British Comedy

Programme schedules for Thursday nights on BBC TV now bring three half-hour comedy programmes back-to-back. There’s a joke somewhere in there about London buses…

 

Last night I sat down to watch all three, curious to see whether I’d last the course, and also curious to see how alike, or different, they would be to each other.

 

First up was Little Britain. I have to say, this was the first time I’d ever watched it all the way through, although obviously I’d seen snippets elsewhere and heard the catchphrases: "Yeah but, no but, yeah but…", "I’m the only gay in this village". At the end of it, I wondered why Little Britain is so wildly popular. Thin (catchphrases do not, by themselves, good comedy make), misogynist and racist were the typical words running through my head. I found it profoundly unfunny. I thought it must be me, but I see I’m not the only one. Little Britain seems to be often compared (favourably) with The League of Gentlemen. There’s no contest, as far as I’m concerned; the LoG was furious, dark, unsettling, and it had great writing to power it along.

 

The next bus to come along was The Worst Week of My Life. I liked this much better. It feels curiously old-fashioned – a comedy of errors with more than a whiff of a Brian Rix farce. The actors are good and the material is not at all bad. I laughed.

 

But the best was the last: Sensitive Skin. A jewel of a bittersweet comedy over on BBC2. It is obviously considered a minority interest, because it doesn’t have its own web site on the BBC web pages. A fine pair of actors (Joanna Lumley, Denis Lawson) and including masterful performances last night from David Warner and Jonathan Miller. Superb.

 

Update: Vindicated. It’s apparently not just me; Nick over at The Sharpener also thinks that Sensitive Skin deserves more recognition than it’s getting.