Nathan Barley - It's Well Rubbish

[Aikon]

I think there's a bit of Nathan Barley in all of us who's under 30 (I'm 23 by the way).

[slim]

I HAVE A LOT MORE RESPECT FOR PEOPLE WHO AT LEAST *TRY* TO DO SOMETHING CREATIVE

Yes, that's right - none of us here have a life outside the forum, we never do anything creative and we spend all our time obsessing over the minutae of comedy programmes. It's all we do.

Not directly relating to Mr. Anonymous above, but this is getting fucking stupid, so here we are:

1. I am Nathan Barley.
2. I'm too stupid to realise it.
3. The programme is directly mocking me, and it's doing it very well.
4. I am an internet nerd.
5. I create nothing of any worth.
6. I think Chris Morris is an incarnation of a god.
7. I do nothing bar criticise other people's work.

There, I've admitted to all of them. Everyone else admits it too, so perhaps now you can either bring something new to the discussion on NB, voice your opinion on it without resorting to insults, or, and this is just an idea, fuck off and leave us alone to our sad little world.

Really.

[Munday's Chylde]

You know I think there's a strong possibility that if Mister Morris really does read the forums and 'piss himself' then I imagine he'd be much more amused by his overly defensive fans turning to very personal and abusive criticism of complete strangers who dare to question his glory than he would us poor barley types who post on forums.

[Purple Tentacle]

Christ I'm bored today...

[Dr David V]

not sure, Dr DavidV, but I think you just proved his point. Anyone obsessive enough to dissect someone elses post like that seems to me to be obsessive... wouldn't you agree?

Really? I thought he was just railing against something he sees as wrong and stupid.

Pretty much. I could have applied that to any post like that, I just happened upon that one first. I was still bloody bored though.

Incidently, I chose to watch Nathan Barley on video again. I'm still finding the bits I found funny in the first viewing amusing, but the rest really is starting to grate. I might write a list of the bits I liked at some point, at some other time when I'm very bored. Probably Thursday morning then.

[Dr David V]

PT - who's in that then? It's you on the left, isn't it?

[Godzilla Bankrolls]

When will you people realise that comedy isnt about analysis and dissection.. doing these things is never going to make you laugh. If you did some proper analysis, you would realise that this is precisely what Nathan Barley is about - taking the piss out of sad obsessives who just don't have a life of their own - it's not just about the typical Shoreditch twat.

Well, it didn't have anything in it about obsessives. You've just made that up to have an ill-informed pop at the forums. Well done!

Get a life suckaz!!!!!

And you are calling *us* Nathan Barleys?

[alan strang]

I think the problem is that when you get to the point Chris Morris currently is - perceived as a genius who 'can do no wrong'  you attract the sort of mentality which feels safe to be part of it. You get a lot of back-patters and sycophants nodding and fawning. When people end up falling over each to praise 'the latest project' all semblance of sanity goes out of the window, mainly because such a situation removes any need to back up an opinion or provide a justifications or reason for your stance. It's basic safety-in-numbers. A football chant.

Which is why, when such people encounter a site like this (a site which doesn't embrace that kind of fandom - which highlights the great stuff but isn't afraid to wince at the crap, and also take the piss a bit) they tend to get a bit panicky and abusive. "They're not following my little peer consensus! Why not? I thought we were all agreed - Chris Morris is a genius surely? Are they just trying to be clever?"

And this is surely the mentality of the people sneering at the naysayers on this thread. The people who genuinely liked Nathan Barley - and who managed to come up with reasons why - are on the main episode 1 thread. Try reading it, guys. It's quite interesting.

I predicted, a few weeks before broadcast, that the more unstable Chris Morris fans would simply end up using 'Nathan Barley' as an insult to anyone who had opinions which weren't safe and received. Maybe if the angrier people posting to this thread had bothered reading it they wouldn't have everyone laughing at them now.

They're not Nathan Barley. But they are a joke. A five year old joke.

[Purple Tentacle]

PT - who's in that then? It's you on the left, isn't it?

alan strang and ELW10

[uberhuman]

I didnt laugh once but i found it extremlely entertaining because i know the kind of people hes trying to spoof in there.I can actually recall some if the exact phrases that nathan barley said that has been said by the barleys i have known.My reaction to these assholes is the same as charlies, its annoying cos not every1 can see through them .There the fake people who pretend not to be fake cos they are aware that being fake isnt cool grrrrrr unaware that there about as fake is humanely possible.

Nathan barleys attitude is everywhere i knew people like him in school then college then even more in university.

The problem i found with it was that the characters were over exagerrated this really spoilt it, if he just put in the people as they would naturallly act it would be so much better. Dan ashcrofts reactions are extremley unrealistic and nathan barley is made a little 'too' unaware and stupid.When people try and 'create'  jokes in comedies it always spoils them.Better to just make a character based on some1 you knew and just relay exactly how he behaves for example david brent, napolean dynamite ectetc(this is done but is exagerrated too much for effect which ruins it an example is the many people riding the tiny plastic tractors down the street at the same time).Just wish it was more natural really.But i still like it..

[Ben G]

Bums to the lot of ya in backlash corner. I laughed friggin loads in between empathising with Dan who was very well drawn out. It was fucking good! Name a better programme on at the moment!! Oh but that`s "not the point" because you're looking for some'at so more transormentionalemante......fuckpods...... Try and accept a fuckin good sitcom when it comes along instead of bleating that another huge boundary hasn`t been crossed for whatever reason

There's also a lot of rather odd Brooker hating going around that was starting long before the sit-com started. It smacks of a rather personal venom totally unrelated to his very real and huge talent.................

[imitationleather]

A better programme that's on at the moment? Arrested Development.

Next!

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

Even if there weren't any better programmes around at the moment, how would that affect the quality of this show? It would just mean that there's lot's of shit comedy around.

[butnut]

Christ I'm bored today...

Heheheheheheheheheheh. This must find a home on the site somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Quick note- don't you think that Jeremy in 'Peep Show' is rather reminiscent of Barley et al? Especially with his terrible pseudo-anarchic music.

As for NB, I find it fascinating to see what Morris does, but it obviously isn't a patch on his other stuff. A few laughs in the first episode. Apologies for a terrible uninspired opinion.

[Will Self]

Hello?

Will

[slim]

Cordial greetings and heartfelt salutations.

For Will Self, you don't seem very verbose...

[Anonymous]

the show was amazing

youre all nathan barley

it isnt my fault if you dont get morris's satirical genius

[imitationleather]

Did someone just say "Regular poster's joke account"?

[slim]

The second post on this page should help you with your problems, Guest.

[hencole]

Name a better programme on at the moment!!

American Idol during the rehersals rounds is a better programme. More laughs in that and a better insight into peoples shallow side.

[TJ]

Name a better programme on at the moment!!

Arrested Development.

[Anonymous]

A better programme that's on at the moment? Arrested Development.

Next!

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

[JATTERFRAT]

Alot of folks on this forum have taken it as read that The Dan Ashcroft Character is Chris Morris. But Doesn't it make more sense that this character is actually based on Brooker. Brooker has worked on many cult and youth mags in his time and he did create Nathan Barley in the first place. Just a thought that you have all probably already thunk.

[No-one]

The viewing figures are looking disappointing. Friday's show got only ~1 million, dropping from 2 million immediately before and rising back up to 1.5 million during The Friday Night Project (for fuck's sake). The repeat got 1/4 million, again a dip compare to surrounding programming.

Media Guardian Overnights(reg req'd) entirely miss out Friday, for some reason, and ignore the Saturday showing. What an oversight.

[grilly]

well, i liked it.
i laughed heartily a couple of times and found it very uncomfortable other times. the camerawork grated a little bit, but i liked how ashcroft was as pathetic as the rest of them. he reminded me of 'fungus the bogeyman' - frustrated at his pointless work but unable to do anything about it. i'm pleased with the fact that he wasn't likeable either (but why couldn't he think of any articles? the interview was frustrating but a useful plot tool). barley didn't annoy enough overall, he was just dislikable, perhaps risable, but not as detestable as his tvgohome incarnation; but i guess his character was spread over all the other 'idiots'.

in print, barley is just that moneyed fool who you hate, but as soon as he's an actor on screen he can only ever remind you of someone, never actually be them. the show is incestuous; it hasn't yet critcised the 'london-centric' mindset (some of my fellow brighton students thought that birmingham is in scotland), in fact it falls into the same trap (not that these people only exist in london).

the question of 'well it's the best thing on telly at the moment/no, arrested development is' is irrelevant. i don't have a TV and watched it at a friend's. we shouldn't watch it because it's the only thing on, only if we like it. it doesn't make you nathan barley if you don't.

the show seems to have been made so that there can be no confusion - brooker and morris hate these people (brooker said in an interview [i forget the link] how some people probably quite liked barley, seems to be a worry of his) which has obviously means it's going to have to be unsubtle. look at zoolander (which i haven't seen) - alledgedly, male models found it hilarious and that can't have been that subtle. what was my point again? the bits that really made me laugh were the visual gags - silly hats and so forth. not subtle, just silly.

sorry for going on a bit.

[TheFrenchHitman]

I just wanted to say that I loved the first episode of Nathan Barley and I think that when we've seen all the episodes, as a full project it will have as much lastibility and comedic value, as chris morris' other TV projects, (and yes i have seen them, hundreds of times).

To Any critics of the new show, i suggest you look at the program stills on the Trashbat.co.ck website, the show looks like it gets better everyweek,
Give it a chance thats all I'm saying, lets face it; its the most exiciting thing on British TV at the moment.

PS. is anyone else finding it impossible to get the breezeblock sets off the bit torrent doo daa? cos i am. I tried making my own breezeblock tribute sets its a lot of fun.

[Anonymous]

Test.

[Will Self]

Testing again. This is edging toward disappointment.

[NobodyGetsOutAlive]

You God appears to have forsaken you Will.