Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Byron by Way of East Cheam



Ah, Hancock! Not to mention Sid James and John Le Mesurier -- and of course, script by Galton and Simpson.

Busy busy busy -- so much to get done this week before I run away. Somehow it will all get done, right? Wait -- wasn't the end of the semester supposed to be the end of stress? Well, I have a paper to write and a lot of tasks to finish; yet I'm thinking about a book trailer for Pelzmantel and what it should include...

8 comments:

Todd Mason said...

Interesting, but by itself doesn't seem too distinct from Typical Whacky Capers sitcoms...shall look into it further.

Good luck with the Necessaries...they do rather check their wristwatches disapprovingly, don't they?

C. Margery Kempe said...

It may just be a matter of taste. I don't find that many American shows funny -- at least not recent ones. I was talking with a bunch of people the other night about the old Saturday nights that used to be MTM, Newhart and Carol Burnett. Funny stuff. Recent funny American shows? Arrested Development, Strangers with Candy...

There are a lot of crap shows (in both countries).

Todd Mason said...

Don't have to tell me. I loved Saturdays when CBS ran ALL IN THE FAMILY, M*A*S*H, MT MOORE, BOB NEWHART and CAROL BURNETT, and while CBS moved the first two away, in 1975 the Saturday lineup became MTM, NEWHART, BURNETT, over to the PBS affiliate for PYTHON and then to NBC for SNL (or the hip newsmagazine WEEKEND every fourth week).

Meanwhile, ARE YOU BEING SERVED? is one of the few things that rivals THREE'S COMPANY in my pantheon of tooth-grinding awfulness.

I suspect HANCOCK might grow on me. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT was good, but overrated (and lost its bearings when Michael Bluth became just another clown among the clowns); STRANGERS WITH CANDY was clever but so invested in being ugly...

C. Margery Kempe said...

I think AYBS got in under the glow of a Python-starved viewership of PBS. I'd take Benny Hill over it (which, um, sounds close to the kind of joke either show might make).

Jack C. Young said...

I really enjoyed this. Here in the U. S. we currently have nothing to touch it. I must return to the days of The Dick Van Dyke Show or The Honeymooners to find anything nearly as hysterical. But that's just me.
Good luck with the post semester stress factors. Enjoy the down time when you can. LOL.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I just got an email from my kid warning me not to mention on my blog that I was going away so I am passing it along. I hope these nefarious types didn't follow me here!
I always liked ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE when we lived in England. Now that I am gaining on his age, it might not seem as funny.

C. Margery Kempe said...

I don't believe it! Fun show and a good cast and I'm not just saying that because Peter Cook was in one of the specials. I must admit the most fun was when Victor Meldrew,er rather, Richard Wilson showed up on Father Ted. Love that show -- surreal Irish humour. Wonderful!

C. Margery Kempe said...

Oh and re: going away -- well, I have people staying in my house and there's nothing worth stealing except the computer, which I'm taking with me. And I'll be online enough that no one will even realise I'm gone.

Jack, The Honeymooners! Jackie Gleason was my dad's role model :-) He's a funny guy, too.