Chortle vs. Peter Kay

[butnut]

Part one - some 600 or so Chortle readers vote Kay the most over-rated comedian here:

Over-rated comics  

1. Peter Kay
            2. Jim Davidson
            3. Eddie Izzard
            4. Harry Hill
            5. Graham Norton
            6. Roy Chubby Brown
            7. Ricky Gervais
            8. Billy Connolly
            9. Lee Evans
            10. Ben Elton        

Over-rated TV shows

1. Only Fools And Horses
            2. The Office
            3. Friends
            4. Coupling
            5. My Family
            6. The Vicar of Dibley
            7. Bo Selecta
            8. Little Britain
            9. Dad's Army
            10. League of Gentlemen

Then Kay's people hit back here

Here are some of the quite funny comments Chortle got:

Yeah you graduate over privileged southern never had               a fight in their lives tosspots are real judges of comedy arent               you." SexxyJamie@aol.com              
"how can people say peter kay is overrated as for steve               bennett he is overrated to comment who is he idont know him ps               how many copies did he sell enough said from mark"              
"Your Poll stink Peter Kay Rocks" dean ramsey               <cool_dude_205@hotmail.com>              
"Which kind of morons vote for this, do they not watch               TV at all? he is by far the funniest man of our time, Phoenix               nights was a great hit, all his stand ups where great, even Jerry               Sinclair (Dave Spikey) stand up was absolute class! i suggest               unless you want thousands of complaint e-mails you have to to               put up a notice telling people that your website thinks peter               is quality..... n e way i have had me winge,  PETER KAY RULES!!!!!"               Boyo21uk@aol.com              
"you cheeky cockny bastards your site is a the biggest               joke of all how you can say peter kay is over rated is a disgrace               who did you pay to research that they need sacking!!!! (PRICKS)"               TKAS Preston              
"i cant understand how peter kay can be overrated.people               pay to watch him his  advert in vegas is ace and he is a local               comic.the fact that he doesnt do  anything exciting is part of               who he is.he talks about things people can  relate to.i have               had the oppotunity to watch peter kay at wigan pier and  chubby               brown(over rated) at blackpool and i enjoyed peter kay alot more               than  chubby brown.Critics make a act overrated fans make them               popular." martin roche              
"Your site is over-rated. Your voters must be from the               South, well known for their sense of humor,not."  Geoffrey               Redfearn              
"you are a big load of bollocks. you wouldnt even know               comedy if it hit you in the face. Peter Kay is extremely funny               and little britain is one of the funniest shows around, and how               can you call only fools and horses the number one over rated               show its classic comedy. Every one of those t.v shows and comedians               you have got down there are top notch but i suppose you load               of scrotums could name some comedians you think are brilliant.               i bet one of the ones you lot like is paul daniels or bruce forsyth.               your site is a big bag of bollocks." PIROADMARK1@aol.com              
"i have to express my disgust at your some of ur recent               desicions regarding overated comedy. peter kay is by far one               of the best comedians to come out of britian recently.....obviously               to someone coming from abroad or further down south he may not               hold his appeal as well, however, new age comdey is not to everyones               taste...well not to most peoples taste....mainly comedy buffs               who belong in a room together on their own. i agree shows like               friends are totaly overrated blatent comedy crap along with others.               the office??? im sorry but this also is a great british modern               comedy and has run its corse well, its subtle humor was brilliant.               im sure your website hold yourselves in high esteem and appreciate               inventive comedy more than others *yawn* however im sure ur in               the 3 or 4 % of comedy supposed elitists. it wud be interesting               to see a comic appear on tv whom you rate highly.....the weekly               ratings wud be enthralling"   king_kennythe1st@hotmail.com              
"Peter kay voted the most over rated comedian ­               Joke ­ Who the hell is on Drugs at your place, Must be a               southern softy website!" Chris Berry              
"The MAIN stream public think Pete rKay is funny and               Fools And Horse,s is an  instition.Get a grip you comedy snobs.Get               in touch with the REAL world !!!! Fools"  BRIAN STATHAM            

Good to see the former England fast bowler getting involved there.

Anyway, I've never seen Kay, so I don't know how good he is. Is it just a northern thing?

[Bilko]

Good to see the former England fast bowler getting involved there.

Anyway, I've never seen Kay, so I don't know how good he is. Is it just a northern thing?

Brain Statham speaking from beyond the grave as well.

I do definately think it is a north/south thing. I live in north and think Phoenix nights is funny as anything I've seen.
They also said Peter Kay is doing nothing new. Yeah that old cripple in a wheelchair routine has been done to death in a comedy shows.

[Munday's Chylde]

The thing with a list like that is that if you drew up two lists, one for 'most over rated' and one for 'most fantastic' then they'd end up almost identical.

Kind of like Chris evans winning 'best radio entertainment personality' and 'most irritating entertainment personality' at the same smash hits show.

[Bobby Onion]

That pole is fixed!!  - I live in the south and anything (including his, reasonably disappointing, live showd)  is a real treat. I very rarely buy DVD's of comedy unless it is something that I know I will re-watch, and I collect them like mad. Kay is very subtle but with a surprisiingly dark uindertone. Wonderfull!!

[Sexton Brackets Drugbust]

Personally, I think Peter Kay is wearing a bit thin, and overexposure is probably to blame.  As much as I like Phoenix Nights, I've grown tired of the fact that people still seem to think the world should piss it's sides stupid when someone shouts "'ave it" or "Garlic Bread".  

Hello, I'm new here.

[butnut]

Hello, I'm new here.

Hello and welcome.

Well, I can hardly say that Kay has been overexposed in my world, as the only time I've ever seen him are in those bloody beer ads. People keep telling me he's really good. One day I might give it a try.

[Sexton Brackets Drugbust]

Cheers for the greetings.  One day I'll say something to receive all the bile and hatred of hell, then I'll really feel like part of the gang!
I particularly like "Your poll stink" from self proclaimed cool dude, Dean Ramsey

Yeah, round my neck of the woods, all life had to grind to a halt in pubs when 'that' advert came on.  Some funny bastard would declare its arrival, shout 'ave it' and cheer with his pals, 100% guaranteed.

[Hoogstraten'sSmilingUlcer]

Even though I'm an Oxfordy southerner and I feel rather patronising in defending a northern comedy, I love 'Phoenix Nights' to bits. I can't judge Kay's stand-up work, as I've only seen mere flashes. Mind you, to call his comedy 'new age' is a bit far-fetched I think. He mights have overexposed himself, especially since appearing on Terry & Gaby...

I'm glad to see Ricky Gervais on the poll. As much as I liked 'The Office,' his show 'Animals' was fucking terrible, as were his appearences on 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross,' which seemed to be an excuse to get his arse cleaned for free and by a celebrity.

It's a shame to see 'Dad's Army' on this list, as that's a show that lives up to its reputation and many-a celebrity gushing. I'd say the same for 'LoG,' which was a nice little fuck you to average BBC sitcoms (as in, the only BBC sitcom to contain buggery, multiple on-screen acts of animal cruelty, a guy wearing prosthetic tits and a bush, lots of kidnapping and genocide, implied bestiality, an entire episode built around and showing wanking, bizarre sexual liasions, torture, and a surprising amount of pathos) and almost in the same league - excuse the pun - as Morris himself, though not just for its dark humour.

[Hairy Chin]

Nice to see a bit of North/South discrimination going on! If someone doesn't like Peter Kay - yep, must be a Southern Poof! (Sorry - 'Puff', as it would be a Northerner saying it), or because someone hasn't got pissed up and glassed someone in the face they can't have an opinion on what they find funny or not?

Did the no doubt highly intelligent folk as their posts clearly convey, actually read the bit that a survey was conducted to come to the conclusion of who is the most over-rated? They're giving the chortle site a bashing, and telling them how "bollocks" they are - okay, fair enough if it was a survey of everyone who works for the chortle website, then have a go at them - but I'm sure the 600 people surveyed were members of the public who believe Peter kay to be over-rated. That's not to say they didn't find him funny, merely over-rated.

Anyway, I like him and think he's a terribly funny man; but I do see the 'garlic bread', 'cheesecake', 'put big light on', 'ave it' and so on wearing thin and becoming more of an annoyance than anything. I did think some of his merchandise was a bit egotistical - the umbrellas, beach towels and the like...the only bit of merchandising I reckon that's good is the Chorley FM sticker. And maybe I'll let him off with the coffee mug.

[Neil]

Over-rated comics

2. Jim Davidson

By who, exactly?

[Sexton Brackets Drugbust]

Despite being a Northerner through and through, I do try and remain unbiased about the North South divide where Comedy is concerned,  (note the capital C)each side has its own worthy contenders, so I speak with an untainted view when I state that I was pissed off when Peter Kay waddled onto Coronation Sreet sporting a comedy wig and buck teeth...

[boki]

That pole is fixed!!

Poles should be fixed - think of all the terrible injuries that would be sustained outside barber shops and in strip clubs otherwise.  Won't somebody think of the strippers?


Go away now, I'm thinking of the strippers.

[alan strang]

Over-rated comics

2. Jim Davidson

By who, exactly?

By people pretending they have an opinion either way.

There does seem to be a really odd 'Let's all bash Jim Davidson' mentality amongst comedy fans which has really only sprung up over the past couple of months. I suspect it's a safety in numbers thing - an 'opinion' which you can use publicly without worrying that people might disagree with you - mainly because most people wouldn't bother wasting the energy defending him in the first place.

As such you can play to a handy gallery which consists of that curious group of people known as 'Anyone' - which exists only to bolster a non-existant opinion. As in the phrase "Darkplace is fab! There's much worse comedy about. I mean, c'mon, Jim Davidson, Anyone?" See also 'Mad About Alice' and 'All ITV comedy'.

Jim Davidson is rubbish, certainly, but he's always been rubbish. He isn't over-rated by anyone. If Chortle didn't keep putting up news reports about him drinking too much, most people would have forgotten he even existed. He's just a convenient scapegoat for the ills of comedy for people who can't be bothered to think.

That Chortle site is just so much vapour.

[Neil]

Well you must have something there, because I really can't think of anyone who over-rates Jim Davidson, or even rates him at all.  Does he really deserve to be so far above someone like Graham Norton in the list?  Amazing.

[Sexton Brackets Drugbust]

Maybe the people who think he's just crap are over-rating him?

[ApexJazz]

Lists are overrated.