The great British sketch show

A friend of mine is one of the UK's leading experts on the history of light entertainment. The other night we were lamenting the decline in sketch comedy shows. I remember being glued to the TV during the 80s to watch The Two Ronnies and Morecambe & Wise.

Even during the 1990s we had younger lights such as Harry Enfield, The Mary Whitehouse Experience and The Real McCoy.

Where is the great British sketch show now? Is there a gem out there I have simply missed? I watched 'Burnistown' when it was on the other month and it was fairly average. That airport one with David Walliams and Matt Lucas was pretty dire, apart from the creole English woman running the coffee stand, she was quite good.

Anyway, here's one of my favourite sketch characters of the 90s in 3 clips below. I can't watch these without laughing. They are very short clips and the quality isn't great, especially for the first one. Anyone remember Mr Strange from Punt & Dennis?

"Ooh, you've caught me curdling."

largehat wrote:A friend of mine is one of the UK's leading experts on the history of light entertainment.

You mean he's a fat bastard who's spent the majority of his adult life lying on the sofa watching tv.

I've never liked sketch shows. I don't get Morecambe & Wise, I used to cry when my parents forced me to watch it. Ditto the Two Ronnies.

Little Britain is the only one I can watch and laugh.

Good post Largehat, I thought I was the only one who raved about Punt & Dennis. I too miss the good old British sketch show, hasn't been a good one since the first series of Little Britain.

Things like the day today and Brass eye we're great (yes i know not really "sketch shows") and i used to think the Fast Show was really good.

i looked back at it recently and thought how the fcuk did i laugh at that shite?

but honestly the stuff that passes for "comedy" nowadays is beyond belief.

Did not find it funny at all,just another python type rip off .

Natasha Whittam wrote:I've never liked sketch shows. I don't get Morecambe & Wise, I used to cry when my parents forced me to watch it. Ditto the Two Ronnies.

Little Britain is the only one I can watch and laugh.

yeah well i had to watch the fuckin black and white minstrels which had the old man roaring like a lunatic.Dont even to this day know what he found funny about it.

But then he also idolised hitler and his gang for some reason i never asked him about that as i wasn,t allowed to talk to him unless he was in a good mood.Which he never was unless watching the black and white minstrels or the world at war documentary.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

largehat wrote:A friend of mine is one of the UK's leading experts on the history of light entertainment.

You mean he's a fat bastard who's spent the majority of his adult life lying on the sofa watching tv.

No I mean he's an expert, as in, he's published books on the subject in the last couple of years. His biography of Les Dawson was number one in the biography section in Amazon when it was published last month for example.

I like The Fast Show, only started watching Monty Python in the last 5 years or so. but love most of it.

Another i used to like The league of Gentlemen.

Not the 9'o clock news was hilarious, this is one of my favourite scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beCYGm1vMJ0

Morecambe and wise -The Two ronnies was old peoples crap for sure.
You in a care home largetwat if not you should seriously fuck off to one before you embarrass yourself any further. That punt and dennis was purile crap old fella.

aaron_bwfc wrote:Not the 9'o clock news was hilarious, this is one of my favourite scenes.

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beCYGm1vMJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beCYGm1vMJ0[/quote[/url]]

Very enjoyable. It also reminded me how hot Pamela Stephenson used to be before she met Billy Connolly.

Morecambe and Wise is definitely over-rated. My parents used to love it but I never found it particularly funny.

iIloved Morcambe and Wise, and even remember some like the Army Game, and Charlie Drake. They were very funny in their day, but we have all moved on, become more worldly wise, and 'sophisticated. Although not a sketch show, one of the best comedy series I've seen was Auf Wiedersehn pet. The three clips left me cold, and I have to say that the modern sketch show seems not to know how to make anyone have a genuine Belly-laugh, but goes for the shocking or cringeworthy type of humour. Sometimes its amusing, but rarely funny.