Lame comedians

The only thing I can recommend for a lot of the people in this thread is to actually go and see some live comedy, and don't judge the whole medium on the first time you go, if it's pap go again and see different acts. Live comedy is a much warmer environment and laughter spreads. Even if you go and see a panel show filmed live it will be a wildly different experience, all TV gets cut down and edited, all to frequently the hilarious line that saved a mediocre joke will be cut, leading to it looking like the audience are laughing at something rubbish.

TS7 said:
The popularity of comedy panel shows is a big contributing factor for the recent influx of these medicore comedians.

I was watching Stand Up For The Week on Channel four last night and it was absolutely dire.

Another problem is that due to these comedians getting so much airtime on different shows they repeat there jokes all the time. I don't think Jo Brand has ever changed her comedy routine and she seems to be getting away with. John Bishop was throwing in some of his old line on his NEW comedy tour. It's just pure lazyness and they get away with it.

On the charity Stand Up Gala every comedian used there old routines, even the headline act Lee Evans. Micheal McIntyre is one the rare comedians who always make an effort to have new material.
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Jeez, you're a bit of a slave driver aren't you?? John Bishop has done a new show at Edinburgh every year for the past 5 I think. Comedians will reuse good jokes, why wouldnt they? :confused: It's not like he's trotting out the same old stuff time and time again, it's a couple of lines here or there, usually fitted into his new show in a better way.

As for stuff like the charity gala, they got what 5 mins each? of course they're going to do stuff that they know is "comedy gold", they can't afford to take risks with new material or have big build ups.

I do agree it can be tiresome with the same acts on again and again, but take the chance to watch someone else if they're doing the same material again. It's like saying that you went to the same comedians gig two nights in a row and being outraged that he did the same material.
 
Ooh, I got a mention, cheers Rroff :p

*looks at topic*

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As I always tend to bleat on here, comedy is indeed a subjective art form, not everyone will like everything, no different to music. Much like music you also have pop stars of comedy whos who are sometimes appear over exposed. When you see someone release the same material year in year out on DVD it is a little bit of a disappointment. However you can't complain too much about comics that use their show material on panel shows or in interviews etc. Sometimes if a 'bit' is solid and has a good strong reaction normally, they'll use it a lot. I also think people underestimate how difficult it is not only perform say an hour of stand up, but to also generate solid material that flows and allows for interaction at any point. Yes ad-libs have their place but you need the material to work as a foundation.

It's not good form for me to badmouth other acts, even if I am a relative n00b but I rarely find women comics funny, and, dare i say it, acts that talk entirely about their ethnic heritage *cough* Gina Yashere *cough* but I appreciate others do like this. Imran Yusuf is well worth a watch to break the mold in this department

Don't get me started on Jack Whitehall though.... :p

Actually, there's a friend of mine, Carly Smallman, who is rising through the ranks at the moment and she actually makes me lol.
 
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Gina Yashere



Absolutely cannot stand her. She puts on a terrible jamaican accent and talks about her parents - and all jamaicans - parenting style and some how, gets laughs. Every single show it's different material involving the same subject and none of it is funny. I saw her before she was well known on an amateur comedian stand-up program and thought, 'you're never going to get anywhere with this material, give up now' - but some idiot must like the garbage she spews because apart from that I have no idea how she has become so well known.

- And if you look on mock the week when she appears on it, she is completely outclassed and rarely says anything because she has nothing from her material to input nor is she quickwitted enough to come up with anything.

Hate.

Her.
 
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Was watching live at the Apollo and Sean Lock was on, I think he is absolutely excelent, as for Russell Howard do not find him funny at all
 
Abraham said:
Jeez, you're a bit of a slave driver aren't you?? John Bishop has done a new show at Edinburgh every year for the past 5 I think. Comedians will reuse good jokes, why wouldnt they? :confused: It's not like he's trotting out the same old stuff time and time again, it's a couple of lines here or there, usually fitted into his new show in a better way.

As for stuff like the charity gala, they got what 5 mins each? of course they're going to do stuff that they know is "comedy gold", they can't afford to take risks with new material or have big build ups.

I do agree it can be tiresome with the same acts on again and again, but take the chance to watch someone else if they're doing the same material again. It's like saying that you went to the same comedians gig two nights in a row and being outraged that he did the same material.
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I know what you mean - I'm also talking about panel shows. I love stand up comedy and watch a great deal of it and go to shows, and it's just becoming too common. It's like if you watch a comedian on one panel show you can almost predict exactly what he's going to say at the next one. Comedy should be natural, everyone can engineer a select few jokes and then repeat them all the time. Sometimes they don't even fit in with what is being discussed on the show. Jokes aren't like good songs where you could listen to them over and over again many times. They get tiresome after a while. If you're so insecure as a comedian that you need to repeat what you think is your best jokes everytime you do a show just incase someone who hasn't heard it before is watching, you're not very good.

I've never heard Ricky Gervais, Micheal McIntyre (he managed to do new 5 minute material for the charity gala) or Jack Dee repeat jokes. They're some of the best going. Jimmy Carr manages to nock 250 new jokes for his tour every year and has been doing so for the last nine years, not forgetting the material he uses on 8 out of 10 cats.

Comedians like Russell Howard while sometimes very good, most of time just think they can be funny by making odd noises, pulling faces and just saying bizzare things.

My issue with John Bishop is that he's very good and he doesn't need to do that. His line of ''I'm a scouser doing a show on the BBC, someone somewhere must be getting a graant'' I've heard three times now. It wasn't even that funny the first time, it certainly doesn't warrant repeating three times.
 
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TS7 said:
I've never heard Ricky Gervais, Micheal McIntyre (he managed to do new 5 minute material for the charity gala) or Jack Dee repeat jokes. They're some of the best going. Jimmy Carr manages to nock 250 new jokes for his tour every year and has been doing so for the last nine years, not forgetting the material he uses on 8 out of 10 cats.
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I've heard all 4 repeat jokes on many occaisions, and yes Jimmy Carr has a barrage of new jokes, but such is the way of the one liner comedian, it's a completely different game. Repeating a one liner is very different from dropping a previously used line in the flow of a different thing.
My issue with John Bishop is that he's very good and he doesn't need to do that. His line of ''I'm a scouser doing a show on the BBC, someone somewhere must be getting a graant'' I've heard three times now. It wasn't even that funny the first time, it certainly doesn't warrant repeating three times.
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firstly: comedy, subjective... etc, I think that's fairly obviously an easy raise a smile opener, no it's nothing like his strongest material, but I'm sure with most crowds it will begin the warm up process; secondly: everything is targetted at the viewer not having seen it before, it's not his fault you've watched 3 things in which he said the same line, like I said it's like going to his edinburgh show 3 times in one year and complaining he told the same jokes.

edit: incidentally I'm off to see his new TV show tonight, I shall report back whether he uses the line
 
Tim said:
The asian lady on Mock the Week, she has honestly never said anything funny.
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Deific said:
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Gina Yashere



Absolutely cannot stand her. She puts on a terrible jamaican accent and talks about her parents - and all jamaicans - parenting style and some how, gets laughs. Every single show it's different material involving the same subject and none of it is funny. I saw her before she was well known on an amateur comedian stand-up program and thought, 'you're never going to get anywhere with this material, give up now' - but some idiot must like the garbage she spews because apart from that I have no idea how she has become so well known.

- And if you look on mock the week when she appears on it, she is completely outclassed and rarely says anything because she has nothing from her material to input nor is she quickwitted enough to come up with anything.

Hate.

Her.
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Yeah her!
 
There's a very select few comedians I find funny, like Frankie Boyle, Sean Lock, and a couple of others but I can't remember their names. :(

Also as for the Mock the week cast, I do not find Andy Parsons funny at all, in any way. He is so unfunny that whenever he tells a joke I have to cover my ears and speak rubbish until he shuts up.
 
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