most overrated comedy shows of all time...

[grain of sand]

hello i am new to this board so please excuse me if what i am saying has already been said 10 thousand times before, but what do people think are the most overrated, overhyped and overpraised comedy programmes of all time?

obviously i'll start the ball rolling by saying that i'm principally using this as an excuse to slag off Little Britain, which i think fulfills all of the above criteria perhaps more than any other single comedy programme ever made, not to mention the fact that i can't even walk down the street anymore without seeing some kind of sign suggesting that LB is the greatest comic creation since Monty python. and is it me or is David Walliams similarly the most overrated and overpraised comedy actor and writer since, harry enfield, perhaps?
(which LB seems to be little more than a modern updating of).

[Chers penis]

Litle britain does at times Reek of Dick emery, (which I hate) and it's been made more annoying by the fact that every cunt under the sun (and moon) thinks it's clever and funny to repeat every single catchphrase on the show.

p.s I bet the next post says "yeah, i know"

I don't know about anyone else but I would rather have aids then sit through My Family.

[The Mumbler]

Clearly you wouldn't prefer that.

[The Man With Brass Eyes]

Rewatching the Fast Show makes you reevaluate how unimpressive it really was.

[Banana Woofwoof]

If I said The Office, would I be set upon by the dogs of war for mentioning Gervais?

No?  The Office.  Little Britain is a contender though.  People who say it's the best thing since Monty Python brighten my day as I have the pleasure of giving them a sharp kick in the knackers.

[slim]

Harry = Not. Hill = Funny.

Although I don't think he's overhyped or overpraised as such, I just don't understand the appeal. He did have a teatime ITV Saturday slot didn't he? I suppose that's quite prominent.

[Mister Cairo]

Everybody Loves Raymond, at least in America. Any grain of praise means its over-rated.

Friends would be my runner-up choice. I can`t belive the took the most nauesating character off that show and gave him a spin-off.

[Ciarán2]

"The Paul Merton Show" (C4, 1992)

I think it's popular round these parts. Fuck knows why.

[Adina Loki]

Bo Selecta and Friends fer'sure

[Flook]

Jackass and Nighty Night - although I'm not sure the latter was ever overrated.

And another vote for the Office. Apart from a couple of appearances on The 11 o'clock show and Flanimals, Gervais is rubbish.

[The Mumbler]

I don't hate Little Britain but it is terribly overrated.  The winner is The Office though.  I'm sure certain columnists are claiming it's a cancer cure these days.

[phes]

"The Paul Merton Show" (C4, 1992)

I think it's popular round these parts. Fuck knows why.

Bullseye

He makes me itch, just like that David Badiel chap.

[butnut]

"The Paul Merton Show" (C4, 1992)

I think it's popular round these parts. Fuck knows why.

Bullseye

He makes me itch, just like that David Badiel chap.

Wrong wrong wrong. A great little show and massively underrated these days I would suggest.

[phes]

Sorry, think I've probably let my hatred of Merton muddy judgement.

[Ciarán2]

I like Paul Merton, but I didn't laugh at that show at all.

[Peking O]

I'm working my way through the Comic Strip Presents box-set and find myself sitting in a laugh-free environment most of the time. I actually fell asleep during the last episode I watched - Consuella. I sense an E-Bay sale coming on rather swiftly.

[Godzilla Bankrolls]

Even if I was an The Office fan, I'd have to say it was the most massively overrated programme ever ever ever.

[Ciarán2]

I'm working my way through the Comic Strip Presents box-set and find myself sitting in a laugh-free environment most of the time. I actually fell asleep during the last episode I watched - Consuella. I sense an E-Bay sale coming on rather swiftly.

You don't even like "Strike!"? But that's ace!

[Peking O]

Strike is one of the few that I do like, along with Mr Jolly, the two Bad News's, Dirty Movie, and Didn't You Kill My Brother. I'm struggling to think of any others I've liked so far.

[23 Daves]

Erm... back in the day I used to think "Whose Line Is It Anyway" was pointlessly over-hyped.  There used to be tons of newspaper articles all going on about this "revolutionary new type of improvised comedy!!!!" and how fantastic (rather than downright irritating) Josie Lawrence was.  It got to the stage where I developed a deep-seated loathing for it.  You knew the drill in the end - Tony Slattery would attach a large spring to his trouser crotch and pull a face, then everyone would laugh and Clive Anderson would say "A ha!  Umm... yes!".  Then in the improvised music round, Josie Lawrence would inevitably put on a hysterically funny Spanish accent and sing a flamenco number about public swimming baths, all the while smugly grinning at each and every terrible pun she managed to crowbar in, checking the audience's reaction for complete approval.

So - it might not be highly regarded these days, but back in the day it just seemed like overkill.  It's put me off almost all the comedians concerned for life, with the possible exception of Paul Merton.

For all Gervais' alleged smugness (and there is something to be said for that) I find him infinitely more tolerable than most of the performers on that programme.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

If I said The Office, would I be set upon by the dogs of war for mentioning Gervais?

I think you'd get that reaction if you said it wasn't The Office, especially if this thread was in Comedy Chat.

The original poster said comedy programmes, so I can't go for my number 1 "comedy" choice, Eddie Izzard.

So, I'll go for Absolutely Fabulous, although I suspect it's not really made for male heterosexuals.  As I'm not involved in the worlds of fashion, media or publishing, I can find nothing of interest in it and a generally mirth-free experience.

[Flook]

Some stuff I wish I'd never been reminded of.

Thanks Daves.

[Banana Woofwoof]

Daves, get the radio series of WLIIA, it's infinitely superior (in my rather Stephen Fry-biased opinion).

[23 Daves]

Daves, get the radio series of WLIIA, it's infinitely superior (in my rather Stephen Fry-biased opinion).

I'll take your word for that, and I'll check it out one day - one day when I'm in a good mood and don't have my cynical blinkers down.

Were Josie Lawrence, Greg Proops and Tony Slattery on the radio version?  If the answer's yes, I don't know if I'll be able to bear it.

[Banana Woofwoof]

Nope, it was chaired by Clive Anderson with Stephen Fry and John Sessions as the regulars, with guests such as Griff Rhys Jones, Lenny Henry, Dawn French, Rory Bremner and the like.  And it was fantastic.  If you want it, let me know and I'll send you the series.

[greencalx]

The Royle Family.  Not because it's particularly shit in its own right (although I never really 'got' it myself) but because it's the first programme with which I've come to associate the "It's good because it doesn't have a laugh track" received opinion.

[sproggy]

Josie Lawrence

Spotty Muldoon :-((

Richard Stilgoe in drag.


Terrible mess.

[dan dirty ape]

I've never had much of a liking for Eddie Izzard, especially after his speech patterns were slavishly aped by countless twatty drama students at Brunel University, coming up with their own weak anthropomorphic based skits about whatever caught their eyes in his voice, saying them loudly in the refectory for all others to endure. That's not Izzard's fault of course, but ever since I've sat stony faced through his live videos while my mates have pissed themselves. And there's a direct link from Izzard to what ELW10 et al term 'monkey whimsy'. To be honest I don't think he did it any less annoyingly/more amusingly than their hitlist of monkey whimsy practitioners. I can dig Bill Bailey doing animal whimsy because I like his onstage persona whilst Izzard's has always grated.

[Gavin]

I really do not like Father Ted at all. I suspect this is illegal.

[The Mumbler]

Michael Grade didn't care much for it either, and he was in charge of the channel that transmitted it.