Looking back on Chris Morris' career

[Jumble Cashback]

I really think Nathan Barley is over-criticised.  I can see why people reacted so negatively to it but, despite the fact that, when it was made, Barley types were mostly London-based, there was (and still is) a real danger of large portions of the popular media simply deferring to their gospel.  The "is something brilliant happening?" guy from the last episode demonstrates the kind of hideous fear that broadcasting companies now have of missing the next big thing.  No-one wants to be seen as part of the old order so they try to cover every base and insist that the emperor is indeed wearing the finest, most edgy clothes imaginable.

Although Barley may have inititially fallen on deaf ears, it was worth it, both as a portent to those who were in danger of falling for the bullshit such cretins peddle, and as a slow-burn satire.  It was only a matter of time before Barley ideology was going to spread across the UK and further and I think Morris and Brooker were well aware of this.  It takes a lot of balls to criticise that which is in vogue and seemingly untouchable and the targets in NB hadn't really been adroitly criticised before or much since.  It was a great reminder that, just because something may be cutting edge, doesn't mean it isn't fucking rubbish. 

What's more, it used all the tricks off the bull-shitters against them: the chiaroscuro, bile-tinted filters, the controversial style-magazine culture, the half-baked philosophy.  I honestly believe there's a lot of insight in there that might not be fully appreciated until current trends have subsided and people have the benefit of hinesight. 

I don't think it tops Brasseye or The Day Today, but I'd put it up there with anything else of his.  Prescient and precise in its parody, faultless in its execution.

I'd say the same for Jam, in a way.  If Jam hadn't existed, I'd be thinking 'is the League of Gentlemen really as far as we can go?'.  I'm glad someone's gone a little bit further with black comedy than I'd have gone, because it means there's a fuller spectrum.

Admittedly, I wasn't a HUGE fan of My Wrongs, but it does contain some smashing Morris dialogue ("smash his fucking neck off", for example) and it's certainly interesting.  I remember when Morris won the Bafta for it and didn't turn up to the ceremony.  The guy who accepted the award for him said he [Morris] was pacing the floor deciding whether or not to attend.  I like that he put that much thought into it.  Actually making a concious judgement instead of rushing towards self-gratification.  That's why this long break in Morris's output doesn't discourage me.  I'm glad he sticks with something like this through funding problems, broadcasting issues and moral concerns.  It means he's making those considered decisions that set him apart from comedy hacks.  I don't think this one's even make-or-break.  If it fails, it doesn't matter, because he likely wouldn't tread the same ground again even if it succeeds.  He'll go in another direction as usual.  Which is brilliant.

[Neil]

Admittedly, I wasn't a HUGE fan of My Wrongs, but it does contain some smashing Morris dialogue ("smash his fucking neck off", for example) and it's certainly interesting.  I remember when Morris won the Bafta for it and didn't turn up to the ceremony.  The guy who accepted the award for him said he [Morris] was pacing the floor deciding whether or not to attend.  I like that he put that much thought into it.

I think he actually said 'Chris was going to come, but decided to stay home and watch 24 instead.'  I encoded it at the time, I'll see if I can find that clip tomorrow.

(I hated My Wrongs at first, but grew to love it.  I keep meaning to do a sort of audio presentation about it, but trying to get all the mic probs sorted over the last couple of years has been a bloody nightmare.)

[An tSaoi]

Lovely post, Jumble.

[Lfbarfe]

Ooh you've made me shudder. 'Listen to Les' was frequently awful (and I love Dawson).

The highs and the lows of Listen to Les were further apart than a lot of his stuff, I'll admit, but my point was that even at the height of his TV fame, he didn't look down on radio.

[An tSaoi]

It's the suggestion that radio is somehow a lesser artform, something from which one either progresses (and never looks back) or is a loser, that depresses me.

That's why it's always nice to see people remain true to their radio roots even when they've made it big (Mitchell and Webb for instance).

[thehungerartist]

Having spent twenty quid on a Nathan Barley DVD in early '06 (looooong before I discovered this Godforsaken place) I was determined to LOL THE FUCK OUT LOUD at The Comedy God Responsible For Brass Eye's latest project. I had also somehow haphazardly contrived to miss Barley due to it clashing with me having more important shit to do on a Friday night...

Fuck you Chris Morris you passé cunt!

So I spent nineteen pounds and ninety nine bastarding hard-earned pence on a DVD about which I knew nothing about. Man, did I wish the lols would twat me in the face so much. They never did twat me in the face so much, man. Those lols.

This shit: WTF is it Morris?

AD 2006: I enjoyed a comedy on DVD which wasn't all that funny.

A slow-burn satire.

*slaps forehead*

Of course it was... LOL

[Jumble Cashback]

I won't pretend to have entirely comprehended the myriad subtleties of that last post.  Am I to assume that my hastily chosen words have provoked exasperation of some sort?  If so then that is probably more to do with my inability to correctly articulate my meaning.  I use the term 'slow-burn satire' purely as a slightly contrived way of condensing a larger argument to the effect that, since Nathan Barley a character-based study of social mores and purposely ambiguous media cool, it therefore relies on more ponderous and interperative humour than the immediacy of something like Brasseye, whose targets employ such high-impact tactics as to render a similar satrical approach appropriate.  Basically, the differences between mainstream journalism and subculture demand that they be treated differently when satirised as each must be attacked with their own weapons.  In this respect, I believe Nathan Barley does an excellent job.  Also, the words I chose were designed to indicate that Barley was perhaps not designed to be an overnight success, but more a show that rewarded retrospection and repeat viewing.  I enjoyed it far more after I'd had a chance to notice some of its observations coinciding with trends in T.V., magazines and the behaviour of people I knew who were starting to fancy themselves media types.  However, my experience is not universal, so I can only speak subjectively.

By the way, thanks, An Tsaoi; it's always nice to hear some words of encouragement on a subject that can, at times, engender one-upmanship.

[Revelator]

I'd say my feeling at the moment is that I never appreciated how much of his talent lay in front of the camera until he got behind it.

I've long thought that the magic ingredient missing from Jam was Morris's onscreen presence. As a performer he's been under-discussed--on camera he has an almost frightening charisma and authority.

However, The IT Crowd showed he's not the actor he was.

But it's not in the same mode of acting he had used--he's not employing naturalistic mimicry or being conspiratorial with the camera. It's an outrageous, wholly unsubtle performance of a character who has nothing but massive, deranged energy, a character who is always "on". I think it's a vulgar performance of enormous vitality and can't help loving it.

With regard to the recent works, I think the BES bettered science and animals and is top-drawer work. Nathan Barley simply suffered from a dearth of good gags, the only great bit being the staging of the cat in the barber shop scene. As satire it didn't really go anywhere--it wasn't savage enough. I also wonder how Morris's comedy will change as he ages. And I'm sure it will change--he isn't the sort of man who repeats himself.

[An tSaoi]

But it's not in the same mode of acting he had used--he's not employing naturalistic mimicry or being conspiratorial with the camera. It's an outrageous, wholly unsubtle performance of a character who has nothing but massive, deranged energy, a character who is always "on". I think it's a vulgar performance of enormous vitality and can't help loving it.

I have to disagree. Of course his performance is going to be a little different because it's in a different arena. He has to consider the live audience, the muti-camera set-up and all that. But as a character, being always on and having massive deranged energy is a perfect description of "Christopher Morris" the newsreader. The Jam Festival interview is a great example of this, so are the Peter O'Hanrah-hanrahan bits.

When I first saw him in The IT Crowd (with his slicked-back hair and sharp suit), I was pleasantly surprised because (he looked good, having seemed a bit haggard in Jam and because) he seemed to be back in the mode of the character he does best. The moustache made me think that maybe there'd be a little bit of Ted Maul thrown in. Set that hybrid in an office and you should have one of the most madcap bosses in sitcom history.

Instead, he had some elements of traditional Morris madness, and a bit of different stuff that he didn't seem comfortable with (didn't the people who went to the recording say he was visibly nervous and flubbed his lines?). You could see flickers of his past screen glory, but there was something a little off about it. Maybe he was just shaky, or rusty. Either way, it just wasn't right. It was neither "Christopher Morris (newsreader) as The Boss" nor was it "Completely Uncharted Character". I appreciate that he didn't want to do the exact same character as he did in TDT, but he didn't seem like he was comfortable doing a totally different one either, opting for a sort of half-measure. The result was a very unusual mix of good bits and off bits. It was quite distracting that he was even a little bit off.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Assonance.

As for Morris, it's really just the high points that stick in my mind. Specifically The Day Today and Brass Eye. Whatever else he does, those will always be great.

It's not just assonance though, it's both assonance and consonance and alliteration in tandem.

[An tSaoi]

Ooh get you Mr Wordy.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Says Mr. 2707 posts in 6 months.

[An tSaoi]

I get about.

[Revelator]

I will have to disagree in turn...

But as a character, being always on and having massive deranged energy is a perfect description of "Christopher Morris" the newsreader.

His newsreader character however is usually calm and icily controlled, whereas Denholm is practically bouncing off the wall--he's a parody of the know-nothing boss who feels being proactive equals being competent. Morris's newsreader is cool, whereas Denholm is hot.

Instead, he had some elements of traditional Morris madness, and a bit of different stuff that he didn't seem comfortable with (didn't the people who went to the recording say he was visibly nervous and flubbed his lines?)...Maybe he was just shaky, or rusty.

I didn't get that impression. His very first line is said with booming, palpable assurance, and that doesn't lessen. I didn't notice any shakiness or uncertainty to the performance, which would have had trouble going over-the-top otherwise. Both good and bad performances can be preceded by nervousness and occasional lapses of memory, and hearing that Morris had both actually comes as a surprise to me.

[eluc55]

I'm another one who thinks Morris was disappointingly variable in the IT Crowd.

The IT Crowd | Team Players | Channel 4

^^ Here's a good example; a number of his lines are delivered flatly (in particular the call to his receptionist at 47 seconds, which is completly fluffed), and the whole thing feels fairly mechanical (not helped by the dreadful editing and pretty weak script). He doesn't inhabit the character in the way he so completely inhabited all his characters in previous shows.

Not sure if its down to the material, a lack of recent experience performing, the fact he stepped in at the last minute, nervousness in front of an audience (though he's much better in I'm alan Partridge, and was nervous then, too) or simply because its not his own dialogue... but although his performance was often the show's high point (scenes like the "War on Stress", for example), at other times, it was saddening to see such a superb performer so uncomfortable in front of a camera.

And he really was suberb. Probably one of the of the most confident comic performers ever to appear on TV and radio. I honestly believe that he's a rare example of someone whose early career actually deserves the absurd amounts of hype, and almost unconditional devotion.       

[eluc55]

In fact, I always think its such a shame that I now think of Morris as a lame duck... not because it's undeserved; but because it's such a fall from grace.

During the first half of his career (until the end of Blue Jam series 1, let's say), he barely put a foot wrong. Certainly not once he had gained some experience on GLR.

His combination of ambition, writing and performance, quick wittedness, passion and influence place him comfortably on the very top shelf with the comedy greats of this country. He doesn't look at all out of place beside The Pythons or Peter Cook, in my eyes. The standard of his first 10 or so years can't be overstated. 

[An tSaoi]

His newsreader character however is usually calm and icily controlled

Now that i think about it you're right. Maybe the mad parts just spring to mind more for me.

I didn't notice any shakiness or uncertainty to the performance

Well I certainly picked up on it. There's a strong lack of self-assurance in his voice. I can't exactly pinpoint it though. However compare "... WILL BE FIRED!!!" to "THIS IS THE NEWS!!!" and you can hear that quiver or fear in his voice that you never got in his early work. Also, some of the material just didn't fit him, like that "Are you sure? Aareyousureareyousureareyousure?" scene. Old Morris would have delivered every one of those "Are you sure?"s like a bullet, leaving a devastating impact.  New Morris just sped through them nervously.

[The Boston Crab]

During the first half of his career (until the end of Blue Jam series 1, let's say), he barely put a foot wrong. Certainly not once he had gained some experience on GLR.

His combination of ambition, writing and performance, quick wittedness, passion and influence place him comfortably on the very top shelf with the comedy greats of this country. He doesn't look at all out of place beside The Pythons or Peter Cook, in my eyes. The standard of his first 10 or so years can't be overstated. 

I absolutely agree with all of this.