This is the point where I fully confess to being a geek; yes I am and I'm out and proud. Growing up in a London suburb, my dislike of going out and 'hanging out' with the 'in crowd' were quite defined and it meant that I spent a lot of time at home. Comedy was always my anchor and continues to be; especially with the rise of VHS video rentals in the 1980s. There was a video shop located at the top of our road and we used to go and have a gander there on a regular basis, they also printed a list of their stock which included the amusing titled Billy Connolly Bites Yer Bum which was particularly amusing to my pre-adolescent state. However, it was a certificate 18 and we didn't rent it and to be honest, to this day I'm not a huge fan of Mr C's comedy as I can barely understand him, but I still read his second wife's book about sex, that was an interesting wander, but let's not meander of the topic in question. Actually, if pressed, I've never been a huge fan of the surname 'Connelly' in all of it's forms as there was a horrible girl called Joanne Connelly at my school that was a complete bitch and gave me a hard time; so Joanne, if you're reading, it's been a long time now, but you're still clearly a twisted indivdual and I hope you've thought long and hard about what you did in the mid 1980s to early 1990s. Oh you haven't? Quelle suprise?
Oooh, I've completely wandered off topic now, but let's revert to comedy films, namely The Naked Gun starring the peerless and now deceased Leslie Neilsen. God I used to love those and the series version of Police Squad used to crack me up; I rented it recently and it didn't have the same effect, but you can see why it was such a trailblazer in it's time and spun off from the success of films such as Airplane.
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Friday, 21 June 2013
Friday I'm In Love
So, why am I starting my comedy journey on a Friday night? Well, I guess when I was growing up I always considered Friday night TV to be the pinnacle of the week's entertainment. Picture the scene: a suburban semi crowded with a mixture of clutter, bad soft furnishings and dust and then there's myself and my Mother sitting there with a glass of Store brand cola, a chocolate bar of our choice and finally a can of Safeway Dutch Lager (that was Mother's choice, I didn't start drinking until a bit later - probably after I got drunk on the magnum of champagne we'd won at the Church Christmas Fayre aged 14, hey ho.)
People, well, my husband and brother pretty much, seem to think that Mother doesn't possess much of a sense of humour these days and I guess this is true to a certain extent. However, she did introduce me to a myriad of comedies back in the 1980s when I was growing up and I certainly recall watching shows such as Blackadder, Alas Smith and Jones, Cheers and Last of The Summer Wine; sorry about the last one - I blame my Stepfather for that one and I can recall a combination of Sunday night tea (crackers, Shipham's fish paste and assorted cakes) accompanying Foggy, Clegg and Compo's Yorkshire-based antics.) I can't say that I really understood the whole humour thing much when I was a youngster, although my late Father (who'd died of a heart attack when I was five years old) had been a Policeman famed for his wicked sense of humour. Looking back it's clear that both myself, my two brothers and now my son have inherited it. Hurrah.
The Friday night comedy zone on Channel 4 was probably my favourite because it broadcast such classics as Cheers (which later was the sitcom used as an example of how to write one when I attended a Sitcom Writing Course at City Lit many years later.) and later on Roseanne. Many years on this would morph into such cult classics such as Spaced, Harry Hill and Friends - although I didn't watch the latter until many years later, catching up on all 236 episodes of the sitcom via cable channels or on DVD - in order - I am still a stickler for watching comedy series in order and that's what's currently vexing me about Arrested Development - series 1 isn't currently available on Lovefilm.
Anyway, I digress. Friday night was certainly one of my first memories of being a complete comedy geek and it will always remain rose tinged as a result. They're not so much now, but that's progress and of course, being able to work your own schedules via a PVR.
People, well, my husband and brother pretty much, seem to think that Mother doesn't possess much of a sense of humour these days and I guess this is true to a certain extent. However, she did introduce me to a myriad of comedies back in the 1980s when I was growing up and I certainly recall watching shows such as Blackadder, Alas Smith and Jones, Cheers and Last of The Summer Wine; sorry about the last one - I blame my Stepfather for that one and I can recall a combination of Sunday night tea (crackers, Shipham's fish paste and assorted cakes) accompanying Foggy, Clegg and Compo's Yorkshire-based antics.) I can't say that I really understood the whole humour thing much when I was a youngster, although my late Father (who'd died of a heart attack when I was five years old) had been a Policeman famed for his wicked sense of humour. Looking back it's clear that both myself, my two brothers and now my son have inherited it. Hurrah.
The Friday night comedy zone on Channel 4 was probably my favourite because it broadcast such classics as Cheers (which later was the sitcom used as an example of how to write one when I attended a Sitcom Writing Course at City Lit many years later.) and later on Roseanne. Many years on this would morph into such cult classics such as Spaced, Harry Hill and Friends - although I didn't watch the latter until many years later, catching up on all 236 episodes of the sitcom via cable channels or on DVD - in order - I am still a stickler for watching comedy series in order and that's what's currently vexing me about Arrested Development - series 1 isn't currently available on Lovefilm.
Anyway, I digress. Friday night was certainly one of my first memories of being a complete comedy geek and it will always remain rose tinged as a result. They're not so much now, but that's progress and of course, being able to work your own schedules via a PVR.
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