The interaction between them has never seemed funny to me.  I prefer Vic and Bob and certainly Vic and Bob have taken far more risks than Morecambe and Wise ever did. 

 

As for Ben Elton, satire never ages well.  To many at the time, it seemed like that Thatcher gov't was the scum of the earth.  The fact that Ben Elton became the dictionary definition of a cliquey champagne socialist and Blair ended up being much the same, dulls the edge in hindsight.

 

The 'I feel your pain, eh girls!' routines about tampons and thrush seem very cringe-worthy and eager to ingratiate himself with his female audience.  However, Ben Elton was among the first to bring those subjects into comedy at a time when advertisers couldn't even advertise sanitary towels or condoms.  Seemed quite outrageous at the time, seems a bit embarrassing now.

Dunno on the risk thing! I think back in the day a dancing newsreader was an eybrow raiser ! I like Vic and Bob too, partly for the same reasons - the interaction and the unsaid bits  

 

I know what you mean on Ben Elton. 

Sorry to chop your post, Carnelian; just a couple of things I wanted to add 

I would say there's been thousands of moments of comedy that are more funnier than the "Breakfast Sketch" or "Fork Handles".

But for their time both sketches were outstanding.  

 

Vic and Bob have taken far more risks than Morecambe and Wise ever did.

M&W are from a different era, Vic and Bob are of a generation that followed.

It impossible to compare, especially as M&W were family orientated - Vic and Bob less so in their early days.

 

However, Ben Elton was among the first to bring those subjects into comedy at a time when advertisers couldn't even advertise sanitary towels or condoms.

 

But he nicked it off of Jimmy Jones who'd been doing that kind of schtick back in the mid 70's.  Jones was considered way too risque for tv (he did make a couple of guest spots).  Mary Whitehouse had a lot more sway in Jones's day than she ever did when Elton was at his height. 

 

Every comedian cites someone from way back as their inspiration:

Connolly rates Chick Murray, Vic claims Morecambe.

 

I liked Bill Hicks 

 

 

I wish I could have put it like that Cosi... the end  

  

 

I think Carn hit the zinger when he said satire never ages well.  I believe that's true across the whole comedy genre.  Same with SitComs - most lose their comedy value eventually, although there are still some gems 

True Cosi - get's lost in it's time.

 

Memories of laughter though.

 

Interesting debate.

 

I decided to do a love hate on some of the comedians mentioned.

.... and a couple of new comedians thrown in for good measure.

 

 

Love/Like

Morecambe & Wise

Two Ronnies

Vic & Bob

Steve Coogan

Lee Mack

Rik Mayall

Ricky Gervais (sometimes)

Marcus Brigstocke

 

Hate/Dislike

 

Billy Connolly

Ben Elton

Lenny Henry

Michael McIntyre (really,really hate)

Lee Evans (I want to kill him)

Jason Manford (Grrrrr Bad)

 

 

Just a few off the top of my head.

I think you're confusing conventional 70s blue and racist humour with Elton's left wing satire and feminist-slanted humour.

 

There's small amounts of some cross over in the smutty sense, as Elton frequently acknowledged when he mentions his "Fart and knob gags", but subject matter and routine styles couldn't be more different.

 

Jimmy Jones' racist schtick would have gone down like a lead balloon among Ben Elton's Oxbridge PC lot.  I'd say that Jim Davidson nicked most of Jimmy Jones' act with Roy Chubby Brown making it even cruder but Ben Elton's style and routines, totally different!

Love/Like

 

Vic & Bob

Lee Mack

Marcus Brigstocke

Peter Cook

Ben Elton (back in the day)

Jason Manford

Michael McIntyre

Frankie Boyle

David Mitchell

Rowan Atkinson (back in the day)

Ronnie Barker

 

The middle

Billy Connolly

Steve Coogan

Lee Evans

Ronnie Corbet

Jimmy Carr

Russell Howard

 

Dislike

Dawn French

Lenny Henry

Jim Davidson

Peter Kay

Morcambe and Wise

Jennifer Saunders

Al Murray (the pub landlord)

Barry Humphries (Dame Edna and Sir Les Paterson) dislike intensely

The Mrs Brown's Boys bloke

 

 

Hiya 

 

Nope, I'm not confusing it - fully aware of who did the racist stuff and who did the satire 'thing'.  I'm just telling you what I saw and heard myself at first hand because I come from pre dinosaur days 

 

I agree their styles were poles apart, but I beg to differ that Elton was one of the firsts to do the tampon joke.  He just happened to be the one on the tv to do it.

The fact that the joke had been doing the rounds for X amount of years prior to that was the point I was trying to make.  As a guesstimate, I'd say I saw Jones tell the joke in 1975-76, and as you say, that was before we had adverts for sanitary products in the media.

 

You're bang on with mentioning Davidson; he even admitted that he nicked practically the whole routine.  It's funny, but when I saw Jones (on many occasions) it was prior to his routines being full of racist 'gags'.  He relied much more heavily on a sexist based routine - the old mother in law joke taken to the next level. Battle of the sexes sort of thing.  Then, shortly prior to Davidson getting his tv break (at the end of the 70's I think???), Jones changed tack and started to rely heavily on a more racist theme.

 

I'm not saying I agree with his subject matter, just that I was around and noticed the swingshift 

Carn, out of interest..... Monty Python?  What say you?

I LOVED them. Now that really was ground breaking comedy back in the day - as they said 'And Now for Something Completely Different'.

 

Has it aged well? I dunno - I've seen the stuff that many times I really couldn't say.

 

Python can be very good - I'm sure Vic & Bob and many others would cite them as influences.

 

Saw AbFab on TV last night and thought it was a dreadful show. they really have wrung the last drop of comedy out of that idea, it is not even funny - did not laugh once. 

I thought the python stuff was great.  People who quote it, less so. 

 

Coming to think of it, it's a long time since Python has been on TV.  Lots of it didn't really work but when it worked it was among the best.  Has it aged well?  I think the sketches on the media of the day stick out like a sore thumb for looking dated, as they would, but still in a pleasant way.

 

I think they flogged it to absolute death a very long time ago and Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley just can't resist trying to reanimate its grim, rotten corpse.  It's a dreadful laugh free zone.

 

To be honest, that is the first Abfab I have seen since the early series. Saw part of another (think a one off) a year or so ago. 

I'm amazed that they keep getting away with it!  The BBC axed "Shooting Stars" a while back and tried to axe the consistently funny IMO, "Not going out".  It might have been Vic and Bob doing the same thing they did fifteen years ago, but it was still funny - in my opinion of course!  Yet they've brought back a dire show like AbFab!  Abfab has been humourless for years.  I honestly get more laughs out of the camper moments in EastEnders than Abfab.

Oh, I sooo agree. I was pleasantly surprised at how pretty Stella McCartney is though - she always seems really miserable, a la Posh.

 

That's all I remember about the show!

Had to resurrect this because of other meanderings in a thread of mine that went a bit OT.  Don't know if these guys have been covered in this thread but this is just for you donks.  

 

Beautifully crafted Xochi   

 

And still translates - as they always will   

 

Screen pioneers they were.

 

 

We also thought that AbFab had been done to death but there was nothing else on. Mrs Jer laughed all the way through. I remember seeing M&W live in one of those end of pier variety extravaganzas, they were ok.

 

I love Not Going Out and have always enjoyed Shooting Stars. But I was always a big fan of Vic Reeves Big Night Out. Especially the Graham Lister character.

 

One finds humour in the most unlikely places. We watched a prog about the artistic use of gold last night. Absolutely full of Coronation Street type innuendo! Yes! Even funnier than Mary dropping her piccalilli on Norris' bishop.

Vic and Bob have been so funny over the years.  I forgot all about the Graham Lister character and all their early catch phrases "The workshy fop"

Haven't read all the replies but for me Morecambe and Wise were genius and their comedy will stand the test of time...unlike many modern so called comedians, they'll be dust in the wind. We recently watched their sketch with Andre Previn, Andre was brill!!! and so was the writing.

I thought it was funny, but I find Joanna's physical comedy really funny anyways.

 

Some of the snipes at people's pomposity make me laugh too.

 

I'm with you Cosi, Bill Hicks all the way, and George Carlin, both brilliant ., and of course Eddie.

 

I don't know about comparisons, can't say I  laugh much at the re runs of M +W, but as you say all comedy gives a nod to a predecessor.

You just wouldn't let it lie would you?

 

 

 

(a very favourite saying at our house)

Oh, Mr Painter, do us a picture with your brush, make it easy on the eye, so the children of the world can live in peace.

 

not forgetting.......

Oh, Mr Cat Burglar, theive me some muesli from Van Morrisson, lay it random on the veranda, so the parsley club of Uganda can conceive.

 

My Rose has left me, I’m in a mood,

she’s gone to Kenya with the bloke from Allied Carpets.

She wasn’t immunised,

that’s a legal requirement,

she’s increasingly slapdash, since we bought that new hearth rug.

 

 

Light entertainment's golden days.

 

 

Oh yes, still watch the videos..

 

 

• What do we cry when we see the man with the stick?

• Oh Vic, I've fallen.

• Very poor! Very poor indeed!

• I know doctors and dentists...Reeves, I have two stamps in my pocket that are slightly damp!

 

...and Judge Nutmeg with his hairy wheel of justice

The Stotts

Wavey Davey

 

 

...

 

Used to be a favourite of me and my work colleagues, who all loved R+M. I think we used it so much we wore it out. We also used to dramatically fall to the floor in a Mortimer style uttering his "Oh Vic, I've fallen" quote. We were frowned upon by people who had no idea why we did it.

 

Love all their catchphrases, have been a fan since Big Night Out on Ch4. I loved the bit where Lister and Mr Dennis the Newsagent took over the show: "I don't stock Curly Wurlys, they're far too elaborate".

 

The Stotts were absolute genius.

 

The Youtube series of short clips that Vic & Bob did for Fosters were hit and miss, but when they hit they were very funny. This was my fave: