From the New York Times. Pete
________________________
It’s embarrassing to admit now, but there was a time in my life when I preferred the cheesy antics of “The Benny Hill Showâ€
Benny Hill, deported??
Not a bad review of British comedy and a shame it's going west in The States.
I never really appreciated Benny Hill, mainly because I wan't allowed to watch it. However, Monty Python was groundbreaking stuff for me. My father always wanted to watch the Nine O'Clock News on BBC1. My brother and I just waited until he'd had enough of the headline stories and let us change to BBC2 at about 9.15pm to watch the last 15 mins. Great stuff.
And of course it spawned a load of talent.
Can anyone explain to me the difference between British and American comedy? They're both hugely popular in their own ways, but generally I can't understand the American variety. It's not a knock down, but I simply don't find Friends, Cheers, etc very amusing. However, the USA has had some great comedians. This is a genuine question.
On another note - Thais and comedy. Show 'em "Life of Brian" or "The Holy Grail" and they generally don't bat an eyelid. "The Young Ones" or "Bottom" is another matter. Slapstick, I suppose. It's great to see them laughing their heads off -
"see you can be as crazy as us farangs".
I never really appreciated Benny Hill, mainly because I wan't allowed to watch it. However, Monty Python was groundbreaking stuff for me. My father always wanted to watch the Nine O'Clock News on BBC1. My brother and I just waited until he'd had enough of the headline stories and let us change to BBC2 at about 9.15pm to watch the last 15 mins. Great stuff.
And of course it spawned a load of talent.
Can anyone explain to me the difference between British and American comedy? They're both hugely popular in their own ways, but generally I can't understand the American variety. It's not a knock down, but I simply don't find Friends, Cheers, etc very amusing. However, the USA has had some great comedians. This is a genuine question.
On another note - Thais and comedy. Show 'em "Life of Brian" or "The Holy Grail" and they generally don't bat an eyelid. "The Young Ones" or "Bottom" is another matter. Slapstick, I suppose. It's great to see them laughing their heads off -
"see you can be as crazy as us farangs".
-
DawnHRD
- Legend
- Posts: 2627
- Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:39 pm
- Location: Not always where I want to be
Think you're right about the slapstick, Lomu. It explains the universal appeal of Mr Bean (my least favourite Rowan Atkinson embodiment - I much prefer him in Blackadder, esp 2 & 3, or doing stand up.) I think understanding is a big part though. Fluency is sometimes not enough, you have to have a certain mindset to understand certain types of comedy. I first saw Moulin Rouge in a HK cinema. It was subtitled in Cantonese & many HK Chinese speak fairly good English anyway, but I was literally the only one laughing at some of the snide musical references. Even with the subtitles, they just didn't get it. Yet, the obvious in your face humour of "There's Something about Mary" which I also saw there, they were rolling in the aisles at.
"The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But, can they suffer?" - Jeremy Bentham, philosopher, 1748-1832
Make a dog's life better, today!
Make a dog's life better, today!
Wire in the blood
Wire in the blood is based on the novels of Val MacDiarmid. I must say that I find the tv series too graphic for my liking. The books were okay, though and I've read the entire series.
