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Little Britain Brexit special

Started by idunnosomename, October 30, 2019, 09:51:10 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

idunnosomename

Tomorrow, radio 4

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/oct/27/little-britain-little-brexit-bbc-radio-4-special

Really just intrigued, rather than excited, how on Earth they are going to do it, especially since Lucas has admitted regret at many aspects.

Still Tom Baker's "and every man woman and child voted to leave" in the trail made me laugh.

Petey Pate

Now Andy are you sure you want to vote Leave?

Yeah.

But you've always said that the European Union was an important development in post-world war 2 geopolitics in keeping peace in the continent and that it funds so many important things like Regional Development in Cornwall?

Yeah I know.

So which one is it, are you going to vote Leave or are you going vote Remain?

Leave.

Are you sure? Cause once you've voted, you can't change it.

Leave.

Okay, right let's just wheel you over and get your ballot paper...

[...]

I wanna Remain in the EU.

ajsmith2

Quote from: Petey Pate on October 30, 2019, 03:41:38 PM
Now Andy are you sure you want to vote Leave?

Yeah.

But you've always said that the European Union was an important development in post-world war 2 geopolitics in keeping peace in the continent and that it funds so many important things like Regional Development in Cornwall?

Yeah I know.

So which one is it, are you going to vote Leave or are you going vote Remain?

Leave.

Are you sure? Cause once you've voted, you can't change it.

Leave.

Okay, right let's just wheel you over and get your ballot paper...

[...]

I wanna Remain in the EU.

It's almost impossible that something very close to this isn't in the real show surely?

Petey Pate

Quote from: ajsmith2 on October 30, 2019, 03:43:12 PM
It's almost impossible that something very close to this isn't in the real show surely?

Well, I did just remember that Lou and Andy weren't characters in the original radio series.

The radio version was in fact better and less repetitive than the TV show (though many, if not all the sketches, were filmed almost verbatim), so I'm also intrigued as to whether this will still be the case fifteen years later.

Petey Pate

In retrospect, Little Britain seems emblematic of the New Labour, pre-financial crisis era where there was this assumption that society at large wasn't prejudiced and that everyone regardless of social strata was fair game to laugh at. Now that inequality has worsened and unironic racism has been normalised (to some extent), our current period is an awkward climate to revive it.

The League of Gentlemen at least addressed this slightly with their recent special (which was also somewhat Brexit themed) by making Barbara the trans taxi driver 'woke'. Maybe Lucas and Wailliams will copy this idea for the 'I'm a lady' character.

My friend suggested an alternative version of the above Lou and Andy sketch. In this Lou warns Andy that a no deal Brexit will lead to the NHS being sold to America and there'll be no more social care and benefits for him. The sketch ends with Andy being found dead alone in his flat.

idunnosomename

the reason why i'm so interested by it is exactly that very time-specific reason that practically every character was based in some sort of post-ironic caricature:

Lou and Andy - disabled people are actually just lazy
Viki Pollard - young poor people are ignorant and have loads of babies
I'm a Lady - transwomen are just men (it was never really clear whether they were transexual or simply a performative transvestite. i suspect they didnt care)
Computer Says No - people in service jobs are lazy and rude
Only Gay in the Village - there's no such thing as homophobia, stop banging on about it

i don't think their intentions were bad, they just wanted to poke fun at everyone. but some of these more vulnerable groups are in retrospective massively dodgy to turn into playground-friendly catchphrases for abuse. of course Matt Lucas is gay, and at the time I thought Only Gay was one of the funnier sketches. But it really does encourage the "why do we even need pride anymore" sneering. things like the minstrels listening to the radio - very much based in "haha racism doesn't really exist anymore" in the hug-a-hoodie big society Cameron-Clegg Britain.

The radio show was always a bit sillier, and to be honest the BRITAIN BRITAIN BRITAIN nonsense was the heart of the show before it devolved into fat suits and pea-soup sick hosings. Still some of the Dennis Waterman meta-gags were funnier on the TV.

Twed

The thing that interests me most is seeing how they do it after society has had a massive cultural shift (that Lucas has already spoken about)

Spiny Norman

Quote from: idunnosomename on October 30, 2019, 04:49:27 PM
the reason why i'm so interested by it is exactly that very time-specific reason that practically every character was based in some sort of post-ironic caricature:

Lou and Andy - disabled people are actually just lazy
Viki Pollard - young poor people are ignorant and have loads of babies
I'm a Lady - transwomen are just men (it was never really clear whether they were transexual or simply a performative transvestite. i suspect they didnt care)
Computer Says No - people in service jobs are lazy and rude
Only Gay in the Village - there's no such thing as homophobia, stop banging on about it

i don't think their intentions were bad, they just wanted to poke fun at everyone. but some of these more vulnerable groups are in retrospective massively dodgy to turn into playground-friendly catchphrases for abuse. of course Matt Lucas is gay, and at the time I thought Only Gay was one of the funnier sketches. But it really does encourage the "why do we even need pride anymore" sneering. things like the minstrels listening to the radio - very much based in "haha racism doesn't really exist anymore" in the hug-a-hoodie big society Cameron-Clegg Britain.

The radio show was always a bit sillier, and to be honest the BRITAIN BRITAIN BRITAIN nonsense was the heart of the show before it devolved into fat suits and pea-soup sick hosings. Still some of the Dennis Waterman meta-gags were funnier on the TV.
Somehow, in some ways, it is still quite similar to 'Allo 'allo. The jokes and catchphrases are repeated with slight variations; the Frenchies are randy cowards and the Germans are either kinky or inept, but in the end it's all just for fun.

idunnosomename

Oh god the coalition started 2010 but yes this aired all in the end of New Labour. As noughties as it gets. Happyslap from the crazy frog.

alan nagsworth

I'M A LAYDEE

*progressively votes remain to rapturous applause*

purlieu

I could take some of the earlier characters at face value in that they were meant to represent intentionally over-the-top stereotypes (although in hindsight it does seem like they were punching down far more than up), but as it went on it just became very uncomfortable. I remember them announcing a mail-order Thai bride for series three called Ting Tong and the immediate reaction from everyone being either 'what the fuck' or 'The Sun is going to be using that as a racial slur within six weeks'.

The sillier stuff was always the best. The original pilot* was by far the best episode, especially as it was the source of the original Pirate Memory Game sketch, a proper bit of Big Train-esque surrealism. Plenty of those one-off sketches were the best, like Mr. T and the driving instructor.

Probably no surprise that this is airing on Radio 4, I have a feeling a lot of the TV version's fans probably voted leave.


*Directed by Graham Linehan, hurray!

idunnosomename

When did it ever punch up? Even Bubbles the obese wannabe-debutante wasnt actually wealthy. And you can hardly punch up at Dennis Waterman (he is small lol)

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: idunnosomename on October 30, 2019, 09:35:15 PM
When did it ever punch up? Even Bubbles the obese wannabe-debutante wasnt actually wealthy. And you can hardly punch up at Dennis Waterman (he is small lol)

Sir Norman Fry
Maggie & Judy
Sebastian & Michael
Peter Andre - Royal Correspondent
Mr Cleeves
Latymer Crown
Marjorie Dawes
Michael Dinner
Edward Grant
Mark & Tom
Dame Sally Markham
Gerald & Harvey Pincher

idunnosomename

I dont remember most of those (arent at least a few from the US version?) and not sure if the Fat Fighters sketches were unproblematic either in retrospect

BlodwynPig


idunnosomename

i wish matt lucas did more good shows because he can be extremely funny

Cuellar

Him in Catterick is one of the greatest comedy performances of all time

jobotic

I quite liked the Kelsey Grammar School bits. Mind you, that crisp exam hasn't aged well.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: idunnosomename on October 30, 2019, 10:26:06 PM
I dont remember most of those (arent at least a few from the US version?) and not sure if the Fat Fighters sketches were unproblematic either in retrospect

Maybe, but Marjorie Dawes was the monster.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: idunnosomename on October 30, 2019, 10:26:06 PM
I dont remember most of those (arent at least a few from the US version?) and not sure if the Fat Fighters sketches were unproblematic either in retrospect

Mark and Tom, the bodybuilders.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

He was hilarious in Shooting Stars too. Little Britain was, by and large, a waste of his talents. He's obviously partly to blame for that, as he co-wrote the bloody thing, but I wonder if his palpably sincere regrets about its dodgy content are also tinged with an awareness that he spent years working on something that was mostly shit.

It made him rich and famous, and for that he must be grateful, but Lucas is basically a comedy nerd who idolises the sainted likes of Vic and Bob. He's an absurdist at heart, an alternative comedian. I suspect he'd love to do something really odd and silly again, something that allows him to show off his considerable comic talent.

I don't think this Brexit special will be that something, but I'm always happy to be proved wrong.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on October 30, 2019, 10:58:12 PM
He was hilarious in Shooting Stars too. Little Britain was, by and large, a waste of his talents. He's obviously partly to blame for that, as he co-wrote the bloody thing, but I wonder if his palpably sincere regrets about its dodgy content are also tinged with an awareness that he spent years working on something that was mostly shit.

It made him rich and famous, and for that he must be grateful, but Lucas is basically a comedy nerd who idolises the sainted likes of Vic and Bob. He's an absurdist at heart, an alternative comedian. I suspect he'd love to do something really odd and silly again, something that allows him to show off his considerable comic talent.

I don't think this Brexit special will be that something, but I'm always happy to be proved wrong.

You might think Little Britain was shit, fair enough, but it completely demonstrated his comic talent and versatility. For all his recent misgivings, I don't believe for a moment that Lucas felt he'd wasted all these years on that show. 

madhair60

Little Britain strikes me as a series of relatively weak ideas elevated by undeniably funny performances, largely from Matt Lucas. It isn't very good, but it isn't completely wretched either. Mostly.

Edit: I don't know if this just makes me a fucking cretin but I just looked up a random Lou and Andy sketch and this exchange tickled me.

Andy: Someone should give them a smack.
Lou: I thought you didn't like violence. You said violence was the last bastion of moral cowardice.
Andy: Yeah, I know.

Come on. That's quite funny. The Lou and Andy sketches in general are quite funny.

idunnosomename

the verbose recollections of things andy said are often well written but Walliams isnt really anything more than a decent straight man.

also no one's mentioned "eh-eh-ehhhh" anne. fucking hell.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: madhair60 on October 30, 2019, 11:17:04 PM
Little Britain strikes me as a series of relatively weak ideas elevated by undeniably funny performances, largely from Matt Lucas. It isn't very good, but it isn't completely wretched either. Mostly.

Edit: I don't know if this just makes me a fucking cretin but I just looked up a random Lou and Andy sketch and this exchange tickled me.

Andy: Someone should give them a smack.
Lou: I thought you didn't like violence. You said violence was the last bastion of moral cowardice.
Andy: Yeah, I know.

Come on. That's quite funny. The Lou and Andy sketches in general are quite funny.

Don't worry italicising always maintains coolness. If you laughed, you laughed.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on October 30, 2019, 11:16:52 PM
You might think Little Britain was shit, fair enough, but it completely demonstrated his comic talent and versatility. For all his recent misgivings, I don't believe for a moment that Lucas felt he'd wasted all these years on that show.

Well it did, yes, and I'm aware that I was projecting my own feelings about LB onto Lucas there. Which isn't fair. However, I stand by my hunch that he'd love to do something with Vic and Bob again. Not because he needs to, but because he was just so perfectly at home in their world.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: madhair60 on October 30, 2019, 11:17:04 PM
Andy: Someone should give them a smack.
Lou: I thought you didn't like violence. You said violence was the last bastion of moral cowardice.
Andy: Yeah, I know.

Come on. That's quite funny. The Lou and Andy sketches in general are quite funny.

It's more than quite funny, there's no shame in admitting that.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on October 30, 2019, 11:36:40 PM
Well it did, yes, and I'm aware that I was projecting my own feelings about LB onto Lucas there. Which isn't fair. However, I stand by my hunch that he'd love to do something with Vic and Bob again. Not because he needs to, but because he was just so perfectly at home in their world.

You are the very paragon of reasonableness, BoBB.

He did the recent Big Night Out revival with V&B again, no? 


Sebastian Cobb

I'd rather shit in my hands then clap than entertain this.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on October 31, 2019, 12:01:17 AM
I'd rather shit in my hands then clap than entertain this.

Series 4 catchphrase