All time biggest comedy mistakes

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Hancock ditching Galton & Simpson has to be up there.

Absolutely, especially as they would've been perfectly happy to carry on writing for him.

[Shaky]

Heil Honey I'm Home.

I've always been baffled by the sheer hatred this gets. It's clearly meant to be a shonky spoof of classic US sitcoms, lame jokes and all, but lots of reviews list the show's intentional bad points as if the makers were trying to do a proper sitcom and they got it wrong. It's not hard to imagine it airing on Adult Swim or something these days and I can even picture Mel Brooks doing something similar. Had it been a five minute sketch no-one would've batted an eyelid.

[manticore]

Pretty much my memory of it. Years later, I listened to the original radio show and I felt the same way for him there; that "well, if I'd had the same education as him I might find some of these references funny, I suppose".

Yes when I heard the radio 'Whose Line' it wasn't nearly as good as when it moved to TV, on which Sessions was often quite masterful. He sometimes began to take over the skits, and they were all the better for it. Unfortunately that seems to have led someone to think he could do it on his own for a whole show, which was a BIG mistake.

Obviously it's turned out since that he's a very silly man in many ways, which is a pity.

[Dusty Substance]

For Your Consideration.

[RoadMaintenanceTycoon]

People pleasing and fame hunger

[Brundle-Fly]

*Frasier spoiler alert*







The introduction of Daphne Moon's family into Frasier and getting her together with Niles. There were seven seasons of unrequited love and obviously they had to hook up but it killed a dynamic in the show. Much like that whole season where Frasier had left the radio station.

[Utter Shit]

Bringing back OF&H

I still have a certain amount of affection for those last three episodes (assuming you're talking about the watch episode as the proper ending). I wouldn't argue that they're below the standard set by earlier episodes, but they all have their moments and the middle one (with GARY) wouldn't have been particularly out of place in that original final run in the mid-90s IMO.

Massive plus one to the guys that mentioned Better Off Ted, what a quality show that was.

[kidsick5000]

Thirty minutes later: 'Not exactly funny, is it?'

But that was always him, really accurate but not really funny. It's only when he loosened up on Stella Street that he clicked for me.

[Beagle 2]

Didn't Damon Hill do a sketch show? I've never seen it. I'd really like to see it.

I dunno, maybe it's fucking brilliant.

[checkoutgirl]

Michael Richards at the Laugh Factory

I think it's one of the best bits he ever did. If you watch it free from the surrounding controversy it's actually pretty funny and it's a shame that comedians will be afraid to do this in future. I think the owners of the Laugh Factory actually banned certain words after that which is anathema to comedy.

[up_the_hampipe]

I think it's one of the best bits he ever did. If you watch it free from the surrounding controversy it's actually pretty funny and it's a shame that comedians will be afraid to do this in future.

Are you being serious?

[checkoutgirl]

Are you being serious?

100% serious yes.

[checkoutgirl]

Mackenzie Crook and Iain Lee Sing 'The Cock Song'

[up_the_hampipe]

100% serious yes.

I thought it was perhaps the only "comedian goes too far" media controversy that was somewhat justified. I don't think he's a genuine racist, he was just trying to be shocking to shut down the heckler. But it was disastrously awful. Screaming the N word at a black audience member and wishing for him to be lynched. That's surely bad, right? The Laugh Factory response to ban the word was stupid, but Jamie Masada isn't a very bright person generally. I'm not sure what you mean about comedians being afraid to do this in future. They shouldn't be doing that, should they? They can be shocking, offensive but ultimately funny and aware of how to read situations.

[checkoutgirl]

Screaming the N word at a black audience member and wishing for him to be lynched. That's surely bad, right?

I admit at the time I thought uh oh, what's he done. But viewing it years later I actually found it quite amusing. Pointing at a guy and screaming "He's a n**ger" at the top of his voice is just so stripped down and ridiculous that even as I think about it now a smirk plays across my face. I hate edgy, shocking stuff and usually there's nothing worse that people calculatedly trying to shock, but that's not what happened here at all. Richards is just fucking losing it and I can't help but find the material (such as it is) and delivery to be really very funny. I mean who does that?

Maybe the rarity of it adds to the mirth for me. You won't see a millionaire legend comedian doing anything spontaneous like that again for a long time. It has happened in comedy clubs before but it wasn't filmed and didn't go any further, and thank god it didn't. And I think camera phones will be the death of the raw live comedy experience.

There are other examples that are not nearly as amusing, Bill Hicks "Freebird" for example, that just makes me cringe and seems a bit sad.

[Jockice]

David Brent. Finchy. Fuck off.

[up_the_hampipe]

I admit at the time I thought uh oh, what's he done. But viewing it years later I actually found it quite amusing. Pointing at a guy and screaming "He's a n**ger" at the top of his voice is just so stripped down and ridiculous that even as I think about it now a smirk plays across my face. I hate edgy, shocking stuff and usually there's nothing worse that people calculatedly trying to shock, but that's not what happened here at all. Richards is just fucking losing it and I can't help but find the material (such as it is) and delivery to be really very funny. I mean who does that?

Maybe the rarity of it adds to the mirth for me. You won't see a millionaire legend comedian doing anything spontaneous like that again for a long time. It has happened in comedy clubs before but it wasn't filmed and didn't go any further, and thank god it didn't. And I think camera phones will be the death of the raw live comedy experience.

There are other examples that are not nearly as amusing, Bill Hicks "Freebird" for example, that just makes me cringe and seems a bit sad.

I get what you're saying. You're laughing at it really. It amuses me in its absolute insanity as well, but I don't think it should be condoned for other comics to do that sort of thing. There's other examples that would probably be more appropriate to your point, such as the Daniel Tosh or Tracy Morgan controversies.

[Shaky]

I still have a certain amount of affection for those last three episodes (assuming you're talking about the watch episode as the proper ending). I wouldn't argue that they're below the standard set by earlier episodes, but they all have their moments and the middle one (with GARY) wouldn't have been particularly out of place in that original final run in the mid-90s IMO.

Massive plus one to the guys that mentioned Better Off Ted, what a quality show that was.

Those final (final) episodes have that problem were most of the cast seem to be struggling to play their characters again, compounded by the writing and direction being off. The Gary/Trottersville one is actually rather good but the other two never really justify their existence. The Rodney bombshell is particularly poorly handled - in better years they would've pulled that off with pathos without sacrificing the laughs.

[Panbaams]

Didn't Damon Hill do a sketch show? I've never seen it. I'd really like to see it.

I dunno, maybe it's fucking brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuM_iSwMof8

[Utter Shit]

Those final (final) episodes have that problem were most of the cast seem to be struggling to play their characters again, compounded by the writing and direction being off. The Gary/Trottersville one is actually rather good but the other two never really justify their existence. The Rodney bombshell is particularly poorly handled - in better years they would've pulled that off with pathos without sacrificing the laughs.

I think I've mentioned it before but I watched that episode half-awake in bed at Christmas with a mixture of fever and hangover, and it completely fried my brain. I think I drifted off at the picture of the Jolly Boys' Outing from the 60s, missed the explanation of it being Freddy the Frog, before waking back up for the end, and thought it had genuinely gone into a time-travel bit where Rodney had somehow existed as an adult 40 years prior. Very very weird for a few minutes there.

I do agree that none of them quite played the roles right any more, particularly Del, but there were plenty of good moments, albeit more broad than we'd seen previously. The sub-plots with Rodney and Cassandra dressing up and Del going on Goldrush (from If They Could See Us Now) and Marlene going missing/getting a boob job (Sleepless In Peckham) were silly but still good fun.

[Dead Soon]

David Brent. Finchy. Fuck off.

Said it before, will say it again. A real life version of this exchange happened at a work of mine, with the same result. Threat made to bullying head honcho, boss was stunned into silence and slunk away, rarely to be seen again.

[Jockice]

Said it before, will say it again. A real life version of this exchange happened at a work of mine, with the same result. Threat made to bullying head honcho, boss was stunned into silence and slunk away, rarely to be seen again.

Pictures or it didn't happen.

[king_tubby]

Worth it for the Susan Boyle joke though.

Not for me. That is pretty much the point where I thought 'well, they've completely ruined the good Futuramas for me now, so fuck this franchise in the ear FOR EVER.'

[Sebastian Cobb]

You know a piece of entertainment is bereft if ideas when it starts getting called a franchise or 'ip'.

[magval]

Not for me. That is pretty much the point where I thought 'well, they've completely ruined the good Futuramas for me now, so fuck this franchise in the ear FOR EVER.'

Agreed. I felt like I'd been betrayed when I watched that episode. Isn't it horrible when something you love that much turns THAT shit?

[Shaky]

I think I've mentioned it before but I watched that episode half-awake in bed at Christmas with a mixture of fever and hangover, and it completely fried my brain. I think I drifted off at the picture of the Jolly Boys' Outing from the 60s, missed the explanation of it being Freddy the Frog, before waking back up for the end, and thought it had genuinely gone into a time-travel bit where Rodney had somehow existed as an adult 40 years prior. Very very weird for a few minutes there.

Heh, that's a hell of a lot more interesting than the actual explanation and Lyndhurst had previous when it came to time-travelling larks, of course.

[QDRPHNC]

Actually seeing Mark's dad in Peep Show. A character much better left to the imagination.

[dr beat]

I may be in a minority here but I thought Mark's dad was perfectly cast and acted. A perfect depiction of a small man who's also a domineering bully, albeit one who's powers are fading. The delivery of one word - 'mechanism' - captured it all.

[Sgt. Duckie]

Mackenzie Crook and Iain Lee Sing 'The Cock Song'

I've heard about this many times and tried searching for it many times. Is is erased from history?

[Bad Ambassador]

I may be in a minority here but I thought Mark's dad was perfectly cast and acted. A perfect depiction of a small man who's also a domineering bully, albeit one who's powers are fading. The delivery of one word - 'mechanism' - captured it all.

Clive Merrison, who also played Kate Winslet's oppressive dad in Heavenly Creatures.