This show is just so bloody hilarious. First Season finished showing in Australia and the DVD is out - has the second season started showing in the UK? Would American's "get" it?
Anyone? No? Dust...
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
My wife, coming from Bristol, does a quite uncanny Vicky Pollard impression.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Like No, like yeah, like no? Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
I look a pillock.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Okay, I've downloaded and watched an episode, and, to answer your question, I'm pretty sure most Americans would not, in fact, get it. I mean, I thought it was funny, but I'm sure there was a lot of stuff underlying the jokes that just went over my head.
And I'm kicking myself for not realizing until the end credits that the narrator was Tom Baker.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
What is there to 'not get'? Apart from a lack of the word 'fuck' and the 'yo mamma is so fat' routine?
Of course, Daffyd ('the only gay in the village') probably means LB can't be shown on any American channel anyway without censoring...
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Well - I'm sure they wouldn't get the 'bad transvestite' Emily Howard. Considering most Americans didn't find "Profit and Lace" [DS9] very funny. (That'll cause some sort of a stir now, won't it.)
"Dust... high fat? low in fat? Dust... anyone? no? Dust... anyone? no? Dust... anyone? no? Dust... anyone? no? Dust..."
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
On a related note, I recently acquired the Father Ted DVDs. Utterly fantastic. DRINK!
Posted by Nim' (Member # 205) on :
Father Ted, The Far Show (swiss Toni mmm), The Office and that funny little wallaby, I like those britshows. Also, others. Eastenders I tried while visiting the UK in 2002, didn't do it for me. I guess it's made for the UK alone.
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
No, Eastenders is just crap. I also just got the Father Ted DVDs; fecking fantastic! I like Little Britain, but I don't think a lot of it would travel that well. I'm also not totally sure about BBC 3. It seems to exist solely to preview shows that are going to be on BBC 2. None of which are as good as Blackadder, of course.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
It'd be a long shot - but did anyone here watch "The Book Group". (No not Black Books). It was a fantastic show that was somewhere between black, subtle comedy and drama.
There have been two seasons so far. Basically starts as the story of a young American woman going to live in Glasgow and starts a book group to 'meet interesting people'. (Basically she hasn't had sex in 7 months) She's a right bitch and doesn't get a lot of British/Scottish idiosynchrocies. It developes into a very brilliant comedy/drama that sucks you right in.
I'm really annoyed - since they haven't made a third season yet and they haven't released the second season on DVD yet. I never got to see the final episode of season 2 - so if anyone knows what I am talking about and can provide - please do!! You can get the season 1 DVD with all 6 episodes - if you don't know what I'm talking about.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I remember The Book Group being on, but never watched it. Channel 4 have a habit of cancelling shows that are actually good and enjoyable and popular. Not 'edgy' enough apparently. Far better to make shows that are controversial-funny like Shameless. They're Mancs! They drink and swaer a lot! And they're called the Gallagher family, like the Oasis boys who are Mancs and drink and swear a lot! Like, edgy to the max!
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Sorry, were you being sarcastic with the edgy bit or did you mean that Channel 4 stuff is usually just 'low brow'?
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Okay, I've watched a few more episodes of "Little Britain", and I've come to a conclusion: the narration is actually the best part. The sketches themselves, however, get really really really repetetive after about one episode. I mean, did they get drunk one night and accidentally buy a fifty-gallon drum of fake vomit, so they decided they had to use it, or what?
Seriously, a lot (most?) of the jokes just don't really work more than once when you don't really change anything about them. And yet, they use them every episode, if not multiple times in each.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Peep Show + Look Around You is the best 45 minutes of my week.
I sure hope there is a region one DVD release in the works for both. (Well, especially the former.)
(And I hear there is interest in an American version of Peep Show, and I am like, oh, great. Only, get this: I am being sarcastic, because: Bleah.)
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
You get Peep Show over there? Cool. Look Around You? Is that that fake science program?
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Well, it's on BBC America, which I think counts as basic cable.
Re Look Around You: yeah.
Posted by Axeman 3D (Member # 1050) on :
If Look Around You is the fake science show then it is one of the funniest damn things I've seen in years. It's uncannily like the science shows for kids that we used to see here in the UK during the late 70's and early 80's, very accurate indeed.
Little Britain sucks I'm afraid, I just cant be bothered with a lot of it now. It does get very repetitive very quickly, and some of the jokes have come to rely on the fact that you know exactly what is about to happen. Father Ted is far better, leaves this floundering in it's wake.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
TSN: I believe most of the appeal of the vomiting lady is ye olde English class-based humor. Nice old ladies and priests and happy charity people being covered in vomit == funny.
So, what is the appeal of BBC Three supposed to be anyway? I live in the Netherlands, and we can recieve BBC One and Two here. A lot of these new comedy shows start on BBC Three, but if they're good, they will end up on BBC Two. One exception I can think of is that Swiss Toni Fast Show-spin off. But was that any good?
Peep Show? Never heard of it. I assume it's not BBC?
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
I think BBC 3 was supposed to be the youth channel; it was part of Greg Dyke's epic attempt to make the BBC 'modern' and 'relevent' (ie. to dumb it down). It's ended up as being essentially used to test show new comedy for BBC 1 and 2.
I didn't watch the Swiss Toni spin off, but it didn't get very good reviews.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by TSN: Okay, I've watched a few more episodes of "Little Britain", and I've come to a conclusion: the narration is actually the best part. The sketches themselves, however, get really really really repetetive after about one episode. I mean, did they get drunk one night and accidentally buy a fifty-gallon drum of fake vomit, so they decided they had to use it, or what?
Seriously, a lot (most?) of the jokes just don't really work more than once when you don't really change anything about them. And yet, they use them every episode, if not multiple times in each.
True jokes are repeated - but the show is still funny and yes Tom Baker is fantastic as the narrator! LOL (Some of the best things he says is in the last episode).
From what you've said, I really think you'd enjoy "The Book Group". Always suprising and engaging and deliciously subtle humour made this series a favourite of mine. Good luck trying to find any to download - if you find the last episode of season 2 for download - please let me know.
Posted by Axeman 3D (Member # 1050) on :
BBC3 is where they test the lightweight stuff and if it's at all popular it gets stuck on BBC 1 or 2 so anyone can see it. BBC4 makes BBC2 look like Bravo, it's heavyweight stuff but does actually have some interesting documentaries now and again. The rest of the time it's waaay up it's own arse with art and book shows that will appeal only to the people on them.
The Swiss Tony show sucked. It's a shame, I loved the fast show, but the spin-off just wasn't strong enough to survive on it's own and the acting was dull.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"Peep Show? Never heard of it. I assume it's not BBC?"
Channel 4, I think.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
So there is a Channel 4 and a BBC4?
How many 'BBC' stations are there?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Too bloody many. You have BBC1 and BBC2, the traditional stations. Then there are the new channels, via Cable/Satellite/Freeview (the latter being the BBC's own digital service, subscription-free, just about �100 for the box I think) - BBC3, as mentioned youth-oriented with a high comedy quotient; BBC4, the arts channel, never really watched it, except for the occasional foreign-language film or documentaries which will come onto BBC1 or 2 anyway; CBBC - children's BBC, I think there might even be more than one kids' channel. . . Plus BBC News 24.
The other day I was commenting sarcastically about how Sky News had flown their various news anchors out to assorted earthquake-struck regions to anchor the news on the spot; only to switch over to News 24 to find they'd done exactly the same thing. . .
Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
Lee forgot to mention the deeply exiting BBC Parliament. Live coverage of all the select committees! Slow motion replays of the best debates! Commentary by Des Lynam.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
Sometimes I wish that American television had any clue who Dennis Potter was.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Conversely, BBC TV never shuts up about the guy. Just this Christmas we had a documentary called, I think, Dennis Potter: Still Dead - A Retrospective. Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
To be fair to Little Britain, it works much better at a rate of one episode a week. Watching more than one in a row does make the jokes repetitive.
And they do say the word "fuck". Tom himelf says it several times. I want him to narrate at my wedding.
"If you didn't like this show, why don't you take down the names of the people in the credits and give them abusive phone calls. Look, there's mine now!"
My favourite sketches are Lou and Andy (if only because I can actually do a good "yeah I know" voice), and the bloke who always wants extremely specific things from the shop. "That pirate memory game is not piratey enough", etc...
Oh, and the policeman outside number 10. I pissed myself when the striped jersey criminal ran past.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
The PM's aide Sebastian - might only be in the second sseason, I'm not sure - is a bit crap, although Anthony Stewart Head as the PM is brilliant. Tom Baker's closing line from this week's show was good - "If you enjoyed tonight's episode, why not travel back in time half an hour and watch it again?"
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Sebastian is in season 1 - VERY funny. Funny when the PM's wife comes in - he's all bitchy to her.
And another time he 'pretends' there's a sniper and he pushes the PM onto the couch and he lies over the top of him... he won't move.
Another Tom Baker voice over before the Sebastian sketch... something like "We visit 10 Downing street to see the Prime Minister, well not the real Prime Minister, it's just that guy from Buffy". Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
I also like the line that was something like:
"Television is extremely popular in Britain. Most popular of all are Doctor Who, Doctors, and that episode of Blackadder I was in."
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
That sound kind of like the one:
"It's nought o'clock, and at this shop in Phlegm, Mr. Mann is looking for a book. I read a book once. It was called Who on Earth is Tom Baker?."
I like when he says what time it is, but uses people's names for the numbers. "It's nearly Harry o'clock", "it's half past Wilhlem", "it's a quarter to Gran and Grandpa Moses".
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
I didn't realise that Little Britain started out as a BBC radio series.
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