New Chris Morris Series! But What Will It Be...?

[TJ]

Chris Morris is definitely working on a new series, but there's conflicting reports as to what it will be. Some fairly reliable sources are indicating that it will be some sort of hilarious satire on 'suicide bombers'. Other equally reliable sources are adamant that a second series of Nathan Barley is in pre-production. And someone on Wikipedia - and therefore obviously not a reliable source in any way, shape or form - claims that he's working on 'a film about the current state of Britain today', adding a cheerful keep-on-taking-it-to-the-facking-edge-Chwis 'happy now?' for the benefit of the gallery.

Not that any of these sound that they're likely to be any good, nor indeed likely to arouse much excitement even amongst the Daily Mail journos that they're no doubt being carefully crafted to offend. Can any of you even be bothered any more? Or has too much goodwill been steadily eroded over the last couple of years by predictable satires of five-years-out-of-date targets, viral marketeers, fawning ultra-defensive fans who repeat a handful of standard phrases like that robot parrot from Rentaghost, the stupid pointless Stalinesque secrecy that surrounds each new project and the combination of "u will only ever know what morris chooses u to know" insider morons and glory-hunting spoiler-merchants that this engenders, and general boredness with the Reclusive Dark Genius Who Says The Things That Nobody Else Dares To And Is All That Stands Between Us And World War III tedium?

Feel free to discuss this (and any info about the new series) here, if you can be bothered.

[Bert Thung]

If these rumours are correct, "shit" would be the answer.

[Still Not George]

I don't know. I'm praying he'll pull it out of the hat this time, but...

Thing is. I keep thinking that we need the Morris of the TDT/BE era more than ever right now, considering how incredibly lazy the media have become across every department, but Nathan Barley managed to convince me that that Morris is dead and buried.

Looking at the options, short of a new series of Nathan Barley (which I'd probably watch anyway, even knowing I'd hate it) the other options could add up to something wonderful. If you think about it, the first and last rumours (suicide bombers, "the state of Britain today") could add up to an absolutely blinding show, ripping the arse out of the kind of fucking reactionary right-wing wankers that fill places like Have Your Say. For once he'd not be baiting the Daily Mail and the Express, he'd be targeting them directly. Someone has to do this sooner or later, they've been getting away with non-literal murder for years now.

So this could be wonderful. Or then again it could be a pile of festering wank, a la Nathan Barley. I'll be pessimistic, I think - that way I'll be overjoyed if it's great and vinidicated if it's not.

Oh, and you are Nathan Barely, and Morriss is LOL NO satrie GOD!!1, and all that shit.

[thewomb]

This is going to be fun, especially if it's NB.

[Purple Tentacle]

I'll have an opinion when I know more about it. That's perfectly reasonable, isn't it?

Unless it's another series of Nathan bloody Barley, of course.



Why is it, and I'm directing this more at the SOTCAA bunch I suppose, that when Ben Elton was writing something new the consensus was 'let's not write it off, he wrote Blackadder/Young Ones/Happy Families etc., everybody says Elton's past it now but he's still got it', but when Morris is writing something new, there's such a feeling of gloom?

Blessed was worse than Nathan Barley (in my opinion, obviously), which is pretty damning. Ardal O'Hanlan never hilariously dropped scissors in a cat's head, for a start.

[Bert Thung]

I'll have an opinion when I know more about it. That's perfectly reasonable, isn't it?

Is their examples of comedians getting really shit, then becoming good again. I'm sure there is, I just can't think of any.

[Morgan]

I honestly can't be bothered any more, TJ.  I had my music library on shuffle the other day and the one of those Michael Alexander St John skits you encoded came up (the one with 'lobbing crayfish into split people'.)  I was just amazed about how imaginative each line was - and how there's nothing comparable in any of his recent work.  After I'd done laughing, I actually felt a bit down that I don't really look forward to what Morris is doing next.

[Jemble Fred]

As I mumbled elsewhere, the suicide bombers thing shows great promise. I stopped expecting really funny work from CM when bloody Blue Jam came around anyway.

[Tom Tortoise]

I think the vast majority of people here are bothered about what he does next. However, what I am bored of is the 'stupid pointless Stalinesque secrecy that surrounds each new project' and the 'Reclusive Dark Genius Who Says The Things That Nobody Else Dares To' stuff as TJ says. Just make some decent programmes, Chris. I'd be a bit skeptical of a BES II about terrorists and suicide bombers, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't look forward to it.

I'd be really happy if he made a return to radio.

EDIT: I'd be really disappointed if he made Nathan Barley S2.

[gazzyk1ns]

In my mind I think the best thing he could do is another TDT/BE. I've never got this "Been there, done that, time to move on." argument - moving on hasn't worked, and it's made him look a bit rubbish to anyone with a brain. If this new stuff is crap then it's crap and that's that, it's surely impossible to sully the originals* now, there's been enough of a gap. There was even enough of a gap between the BES and original BE series for them to be completely separate things in my head. SNG said it really -

I keep thinking that we need the Morris of the TDT/BE era more than ever right now, considering how incredibly lazy the media have become across every department

I just think another stab at TDT/BE is the most likely to make me laugh, which is all I care about. It really will be tedious if he tries to make NB Series 2, TJ I hope you've made lots of room on the CaB server for another 200 page thread full of berks and circular/nonsensical arguments!

*Yeah, I know, there's the argument that individual pieces of work can never be affected by anything subsequent. But hopefully people read that the right way; imagine if Morris had kept TDT going for 10 series for example, the whole thing would eventually mash together into something far more mediocre in the eyes of many.

[Bert Thung]

In my mind I think the best thing he could do is another TDT/BE. I've never got this "Been there, done that, time to move on." argument - moving on hasn't worked, and it's made him look a bit rubbish to anyone with a brain. I

True, everything he's done that isn't a news parody pales by comparison. The problem I have with him returning to them is the sullying.

A joke free, Channel 4, filmic, wonky camera, cooler than thou sitcom done in 'that voice' starring Richard Ayoede and The Mighty Boosh and of interest only to people living in central London is what he should be parodying, not producing. When you're propogating what's wrong with the media, you lose the right (or at least authority) to satirise it.

Shouldn't he just retire?

[defmem]

For me it'd take something on the radio to really excite me.

I'm skeptical about a return to BE or TDT. Although if a TDT style project was made with Iannucci on board, i'd be happy to drop any worries for sheer ignorant optimism

[Bert Thung]

Na, Smokehammer pissed on my optimism about  a Iannucci collaboration.

[The Mumbler]

Shouldn't he just retire?

Unless he's doing lots of things under other names, he's been at least in semi-retirement for years.  Plus the years 2002-04 (or the Old Stuff On DVD Years, as historians will call them) were notable for bugger-all in the way of Morris output.

[Purple Tentacle]

Does Jo Unwin still do loads of voice-overs?

Where does he get his money from?

[Morrisfan82]

I'd still like to see The Chris Morris Show. A straightforward 'show' set-up, kinda like MTV's Most Wanted or The Word or shows of that ilk, with a small studio audience. Chris as the mad VJ/presenter type, Baynham or someone on right-hand man duties, chatting, rants, little set-pieces, filmed inserts, parodies, wind-ups, maybe play the odd music video...

[InfiniteFury]

Does Jo Unwin still do loads of voice-overs?

Where does he get his money from?

I'm assuming, and I'm sorry for sounding like an arrogant cunt here, that it's what I would call the 'Withnail' effect whereby (these days at least) someone reach a certain age, discovers what a jeeenyus he is, buys the DVDs, shows their friends who buy the DVD etc.

That's my guess anyway - I'm sure he makes a fair mint from it.

As far as a new project is concerned, I choose to be optimistic although I think he'd be a fool not to go back into radio and - I'd argue - do so under a pseudonym or disguise himself somehow.

What I suspect he really needs is pressure rather than all this fannying about shooting script ideas around over a mocca-latte-frappa-fuckface with the Brookers of this world.

Here's a microphone, make funny happen - enjoying the process would be a bonus.

[Jemble Fred]

I think he'd be a fool not to go back into radio and - I'd argue - do so under a pseudonym or disguise himself somehow.

Oh fuck no, that'd be pandering to the worst kind of 'Meeja Terrorist' dickblabber. Radio, yes, but no fucking around with any pretence of doing anything other than being funny.

[InfiniteFury]

Hmmm yes you may be right on reflection - I was just thinking that to both take the pressure off (and in a way also to put pressure on him) a self-imposed fresh start could really get him kick-started again.

The more I think about the next project, the more my optimism wanes sadly.

[TJ]

I'd still like to see The Chris Morris Show. A straightforward 'show' set-up, kinda like MTV's Most Wanted or The Word or shows of that ilk, with a small studio audience. Chris as the mad VJ/presenter type, Baynham or someone on right-hand man duties, chatting, rants, little set-pieces, filmed inserts, parodies, wind-ups, maybe play the odd music video...

I did say a couple of years back - and I was deadly serious - that he should go on Celebrity Big Brother or something of that ilk. Just being himself, rather than going in to 'shake it up' or add monged visuals or whatever. It'd be great to see the reactions of the right-wing press and Heat magazine, and conversely to see those of the 'godlike genius taking it to tha mongggggggg' brigade.

Alan Strang went one further and claimed, again in all seriousness, that he'd like to see an album of pop pastiches with Morris' big grinning face on the cover. Anything that eradicates this tedious 'meeeeeedja terrorist in jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam' image can only be a good thing. For a start I'd get less people emailing me with twatty hoaxes about having seen "Chris Morris and the Doon woman monging themselves into the programmes on Channel 5 at about 3am this morning - if I hadn't seen it myself I wouldn't have believed it!!" (and yes, that was real).

EDIT: Lordy, I'd forgotten about http://chilled.cream.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=87974

[Artemis]

Hooray! I'm glad something's stirring.... if it's great, then great - if it's not, well, based on current performance at least I won't be dissapointed.

The BES could have been terrific if he'd done it as a straight documentary instead of sticking (kind of) to the old BE format.

I live in hope.

[slim]

I didn't think it was appropriate for the US to launch a pre-emptive strike and so I'll be upholding that ethos by not criticising in advance whatever this possible series might possibly be.

I'd welcome a second series of Barley, incidentally, because I'd like to see if what I saw as the shortcomings of the first series have been rectified.

[Purple Tentacle]

The thing is, the only way Morris would 'go back to basics' would be to accept that Nathan Barley was cack. And he doesn't, he thinks it was good (from all available interviews/encounters anyway).

So we can pretty much forget the new humble Mr Morris idea I think.

[humanleech]

The BES could have been terrific if he'd done it as a straight documentary instead of sticking (kind of) to the old BE format.

That's what I think too, but he doesn't seem to have the self-discipline to do that.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

predictable satires of five-years-out-of-date targets

This might be a five-years-out-of-date comment but perhaps the internet provides up-to-the-minute satire that TV just can't deliver in a fresh and original way- current attempts like the equally out-of-date HIGNFY and the tickbox checking of Dead Ringers leave a lot to be desired.

Can a satirical program actually be commissioned, written and then executed before some columnist or blogger has already pinned the target to the board? And if it's not absolutely fresh it'd need to be bloody funny. Newspapers have always existed and served as a satirical medium, so I'm unsure the level to which The Internet is responsible- perhaps it actually encourages laziness in comedy writing because the audiences attention span is shorter? I mean this post isn't intending to praise internet satire, a lot of which aimless and one-dimensional.

I'm hoping Morris can come up with a TDT/Look Around You style factual information program. Just say stupid things in a posh voice- 'tworked before for you. Or do another BES. Just get your mug on telly and do some jokes.

[Morgan]

'meeeeeedja terrorist in jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam'

Tsk, that's not like you TJ, getting the number of As wrong.

[Entropy Balsmalch]

For fucks sake - I'll only say this once because it's pointless to repeat it much around here but....

The whole series is already being condemned on the basis of a few rumours, many of which it's stated are probably unreliable anyway.

Can we just have a sense of perspective please?

[Partridge's Love Child]

I'd like to see him present Top Gear.  I really don't know why, though.

[TJ]

Can we just have a sense of perspective please?

People have been left feeling short-changed too many times now; I'd say that was perspective enough to be honest.

[Entropy Balsmalch]

Can we just have a sense of perspective please?

People have been left feeling short-changed too many times now; I'd say that was perspective enough to be honest.

I know - I was far from ecstatic about Nathan Barley - but the post at the top of the thread does read a bit like.

"Well, we know nothing about it and it could be anything, but let's not expect anything other than shit! And here's the reasons why it will be shit whatever it is."