I'm sick to my back teeth of these so-called 'comedy dramas', which as we all know is just an excuse for wannabee directors to get their teeth into some 'real filming'.

So much better to see comedy actors doing what they do best - working with an audience. having a live audience focuses the writers who panic that it's not funny enough and add extra bits at the last moment and causes the actors to try and out do each other for laughs.

IT crowd, a little bit too slapstick for me at the moment but I'm loving it!

Seconded, it is far far much better in front a live audiance.

I also agree, so far I can't say I've liked any sitcoms without a live audience (at least nowhere as much anyway)

Red Dwarf was in front of a live audiance wasn't it?

quote:

Originally posted by Kev Heritage:
I'm sick to my back teeth of these so-called 'comedy dramas', which as we all know is just an excuse for wannabee directors to get their teeth into some 'real filming'.!

maybe, but teachers (the 1st 3 series anyway) was a good comedy drama

Yes, Red dwarf and Bottom spring to mind. It works much better when the actors can subtly react to the audience.

There is no doubt that 'Help' and a few other filmed comedies have created a new comedy niche - 'Peep Show' for instance has done this, and 'The Office'. But these shows very much lauded by their peers, are just mostly well-observed charcaters in cringe making situtations that I've had enough of. 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' is another example of this cringemaking TV. It's all very post Seinfeld and very intelligent - which is not a bad thing, but it's just one area of the whole comedy spectrum - and I've had enough of it.

Red Dwarf was one of the most consistently funny programmes over the last two decades. Even my dad, who hates Sci-Fi admitted he watched it because it made him laugh. My all time favourite scene - the Cat and Lister chatting about Wilma Flintstone. And that's what I like from my comedy - not having to watch it with my fingers over my eyes, not wanting to have some 'message' shoved down my throat, but just having a good old healthy laugh. How often do we marvel at how well crafted a show such as 'The Thick of It' is, but afterwards have no feeling of warmth for the charcaters, or indeed an increased desire to go back and visit them. Everyone is awful. The writing and improv is brialliant - but in the end...so what?

I don't have my head in the sand, and even have to admit that I was happy when the 'trad comedy' format began to wane. But what has replaced it just does not come up to the mark. It's self-indulgent, over produced and plain smug.

The IT Crowd is not brilliant by any stretch, but it's a first series and I reckon that even with all it's inconsistencies and slightly over-the-topness, it's still ten times better than the debacle that was Nathan Barley.

Comparing Barley to IT crowd is like comparing stilton to cheddar.
They are both comedies, but very different in character.
As it goes I like both stilton & cheddar...

Well yes, you're right - they are very different, but Nathan Barley really summed up what was wrong with the whole comedy drama thing. I was really looking forward to it - written by Chris Morris no less, and crammed with great comedy actors but ulitmately too smug and too up its own arse - it looked fantastic - great shots, lighting, FX etc. They went to town on it, but the result as flat as a pancake. Not a single laugh in it. Woefully indulgent.

That's why I prefer C4 giving this format a go. It's cheaper to produce (you could probably produce a full series of the IT Crowd on the money it took to film one epsiode of Nathan Barley!) and they don't have to have everything riding on a huge success. They can afford to let the series develop over two series.

That's why I mentioned Nathan Barley in relation to it - particularly as it stars Morris who is quite wonderful - more of him, he's TV comedy gold.

I agree about the live audience, although I think some people are finding it jarring because they've got so used to shows without one. I think an audience can give a show atmosphere, without which a show can seem 'cold' at times.

You do notice the audiance less and less after each show... they kindda grow on you

Sorry... Am I missing something... Only, where's this 'live audience' everyone's talking about?

All I can hear is a laughter track... now don't get me wrong, I LOVE THE IT CROWD - i think Moss is possibly my favourite sitcom character of all time... But just *listen* to the laughs... they fade in and out within seconds... you don't get that feeling of a live audience, not for a minute... not that it bothers me, i love the show regardless... But it's not a LIVE audience, it's a pre-recorded audience with someone sliding a volume slider up n down. There's no pauses between gags where the actors are waitin for the laughs to die down.

But yes, it IS bloody awesome.

Hang on a moment. I've read blog posts from people who went to recordings of this show, and there's footage of Ayoade entertaining the audience with an extended jabbing-something-sharp-between-the-finger routine on one of the eps (or somewhere online, I've defintely seen it). I don't see how it wouldn't be a live audience.

BTW, all Red Dwarf bar series 7 had an audience.

I love audiance shows.... sometimes you can catch the actors laughing with the audiance.. and playing to the audiance... its brilliant

I do enjoy when you have the laughing on the comedy shows because it makes you feel warm and happy in a funny way... but I cannot stand canned laughter. The stars of the IT Crowd deserve an applause because they have to work in front of an audience while filming. I guess they would be vvv nervous beforehand.