Comedians that aren't funny

[Neil Taperell]

Oh yer spike Milligan , now that was one nutter ,genius some might say but definitely not had all his dogs barking that’s for sure .John Cleese ,Monty Python ,brilliant .Fawlty Towers still one of the best series ever made ,because I’m in the hotel business I can see there was so much true in that series that still holds up today ,just genius writing .

What do you all think of Ricky Gervais ?

He is very good at fronting awards ceremonies , as he doesn't care what he says . The Office got a bit cringy towards the end .......but he was top class in ' After Life ' .

As for unfunny ..........Miranda [ TV Show on the BBC ] ......the tall woman .......that series was horrific .

The problem for comics today is that everybody is so PC .........offended at the slightest little joke . So must be hard to write stuff .


Of the Modern era .......The Fast Show was exceptional . The writing / acting was superb .

Peter Kay is brilliant as well , very versatile whether it be Stand up or a Sit Com .

[vmax]

I'm considering leaving the forum, i can't believe you guys don't like James Acaster, he has me in stitches
Just to be slightly sexist, female comedians are garbage especially Sarah Millican.

He must have been armed with a stanley knife

Spike Milligan was the foremost surrealist comedian of the 20th century, a short step between genius and madness, he pre empted Python with The Goons. Those who stand up and tell you the truth about yourself and make you squirm with embarrassment get my vote, Bill Hicks, Richard Prior, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Frankie Boyle, and you should all check out Doug Stanhope, especially his treatise on american football, very dark can't link to it as I'll get banned. Stuart Lee does some good stuff but seems to think he's a lot cleverer than he is, I get it Stuart OK! no need to repeat it over again.
Love a bit of satire as well, Pete & Dud and their alter ego's Derek & Clive, filthy stuff, Cheech & Chong's stoner humour as a teenager in the 70's.

No one mentioned the greatest comedy duo of all time, Laurel & Hardy, had me in pieces as a kid with their silliness and still do as an adult now I understand adult human relationships and friendships. Their comedy short 'Busy Bodies' set in a sawmill is the funniest thing I've ever seen as I used to work in one myself
I still love the slapstick silent stars like Harold Lloyd, Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and Norman Wisdom, loved him when I was a child, ballsed up everything he tried. They all take me back to saturday morning pictures back in the 60's.

I can accept both right and left wing humour equally as long as no offence is meant, everyone needs to look inside themselves sometimes and comedy is the best way to do so.

[mikee]

He is very good at fronting awards ceremonies , as he doesn't care what he says . The Office got a bit cringy towards the end .......but he was top class in ' After Life ' .

As for unfunny ..........Miranda [ TV Show on the BBC ] ......the tall woman .......that series was horrific .

The problem for comics today is that everybody is so PC .........offended at the slightest little joke . So must be hard to write stuff .


Of the Modern era .......The Fast Show was exceptional . The writing / acting was superb .

Peter Kay is brilliant as well , very versatile whether it be Stand up or a Sit Com .

Have to agree with all that spot on ,I remember watching Dave Allen as a kid sometimes when I was allowed too ,loved his dry humour ,the whisky and the smoking props .

[mikee]

He must have been armed with a stanley knife

Spike Milligan was the foremost surrealist comedian of the 20th century, a short step between genius and madness, he pre empted Python with The Goons. Those who stand up and tell you the truth about yourself and make you squirm with embarrassment get my vote, Bill Hicks, Richard Prior, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Frankie Boyle, and you should all check out Doug Stanhope, especially his treatise on american football, very dark can't link to it as I'll get banned. Stuart Lee does some good stuff but seems to think he's a lot cleverer than he is, I get it Stuart OK! no need to repeat it over again.
Love a bit of satire as well, Pete & Dud and their alter ego's Derek & Clive, filthy stuff, Cheech & Chong's stoner humour as a teenager in the 70's.

No one mentioned the greatest comedy duo of all time, Laurel & Hardy, had me in pieces as a kid with their silliness and still do as an adult now I understand adult human relationships and friendships. Their comedy short 'Busy Bodies' set in a sawmill is the funniest thing I've ever seen as I used to work in one myself
I still love the slapstick silent stars like Harold Lloyd, Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and Norman Wisdom, loved him when I was a child, ballsed up everything he tried. They all take me back to saturday morning pictures back in the 60's.

I can accept both right and left wing humour equally as long as no offence is meant, everyone needs to look inside themselves sometimes and comedy is the best way to do so.

Out of interest Vmax ,did you ever see Laurel and Hardy live ,or Chaplin

[itsnoteasy]

He must have been armed with a stanley knife

Spike Milligan was the foremost surrealist comedian of the 20th century, a short step between genius and madness, he pre empted Python with The Goons. Those who stand up and tell you the truth about yourself and make you squirm with embarrassment get my vote, Bill Hicks, Richard Prior, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Frankie Boyle, and you should all check out Doug Stanhope, especially his treatise on american football, very dark can't link to it as I'll get banned. Stuart Lee does some good stuff but seems to think he's a lot cleverer than he is, I get it Stuart OK! no need to repeat it over again.
Love a bit of satire as well, Pete & Dud and their alter ego's Derek & Clive, filthy stuff, Cheech & Chong's stoner humour as a teenager in the 70's.

No one mentioned the greatest comedy duo of all time, Laurel & Hardy, had me in pieces as a kid with their silliness and still do as an adult now I understand adult human relationships and friendships. Their comedy short 'Busy Bodies' set in a sawmill is the funniest thing I've ever seen as I used to work in one myself
I still love the slapstick silent stars like Harold Lloyd, Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and Norman Wisdom, loved him when I was a child, ballsed up everything he tried. They all take me back to saturday morning pictures back in the 60's.

I can accept both right and left wing humour equally as long as no offence is meant, everyone needs to look inside themselves sometimes and comedy is the best way to do so.

Love Laurel and Hardy, never keen on Chaplin or Keeting or Abbott and Costello, they were ok but L&H were and are by far my favourites.

[Neil Taperell]

Have to agree with all that spot on ,I remember watching Dave Allen as a kid sometimes when I was allowed too ,loved his dry humour ,the whisky and the smoking props .

A little story about Dave Allen .......my Uncle used to clean his windows at his house . My Uncle would then get invited in , for a Tea and a Bacon Sarnie . Then it was something like the Postman , the Milkman who would also get invited in .
They would all sit around the table and chat , with Dave Allen taking notes . He would then pay them for their time as well .
Suppose it’s a way of getting material .

[vmax]

Dave Allen had a house near lfracombe in north devon, just up the road from me in Barnstaple. I saw him once parked in Barnstaple high Street in a white Jensen Interceptor, his hand with the missing finger dangling out of the window holding a fag, we made eye contact but I didn't have the nerve to speak to him, great comedian, bashed the catholic church on prime time BBC, bit of a hero for that. His 'sardines' sketch still makes me chuckle.

No mikee, although they were alive in my childhood they were all very, very retired and rather old by then, still funnier than James Acaster though

[Cue crafty]

Russell Howard never once made me laugh, just switch channel fast.

[MrRottweiler]

Russell Howard never once made me laugh, just switch channel fast.

I agree about Russell because he's never made me laugh but he seems a decent bloke and had some good moments on his Good News show.

[vmax]

I used to share a house with my brother back in the late 80's, we started to watch French & Saunders one evening and after ten minutes and not even a smile between us I turned to him and said, "is it female humour and we just don't get it". "No" he said, "it just isn't funny"

It was during this time that we both watched Bill Hicks for the first time on channel 4, the comedy special from the Montreal comedy festival in '91, we both laughed ourselves helpless, especially the satanic messages while playing lp's backwards piece and the court case involving Judas Priest. For the first time on terrestrial tv a comedian who saw the world like I do and told the truth about about it rather than hide the message in surreal sketches for fear of censorship, instant hero.

And Romash Ranganathan won a BAFTA last night it has to be a 'conspiracy of dunces', good book that btw.

[trains]

Was looking for the extras keith chegwin episode on youtube where andy millman sees a picture of lenny henry and can’t describe him as funny , have to agree.
Also david baddiel isn’t funny but i remember a friend of mine laughing at his ‘ bills of mortality ‘ piece and it rubbed off on me too , once in a career isn’t bad i suppose.

From the female perspective the catherine tate sketches are pretty good.

[Neil Taperell]

Good shout with Catherine Tate , her and Victoria Wood are the only female comedians that are/were funny .

[Danger Steve]

Anything Monty Pyton or the Carry On movies ... not funny, might be a generational thing? Lol

Jack Dee? Never got it.

There was a Canadian comic on Live at the Apollo years ago, funniest one I’d heard in ages, some gag about visiting an English market and buying faggotts from a meat van.. had me in stitches.

[mikee]

I used to share a house with my brother back in the late 80's, we started to watch French & Saunders one evening and after ten minutes and not even a smile between us I turned to him and said, "is it female humour and we just don't get it". "No" he said, "it just isn't funny"

It was during this time that we both watched Bill Hicks for the first time on channel 4, the comedy special from the Montreal comedy festival in '91, we both laughed ourselves helpless, especially the satanic messages while playing lp's backwards piece and the court case involving Judas Priest. For the first time on terrestrial tv a comedian who saw the world like I do and told the truth about about it rather than hide the message in surreal sketches for fear of censorship, instant hero.

And Romash Ranganathan won a BAFTA last night it has to be a 'conspiracy of dunces', good book that btw.

Bill Hicks was a genius and very funny ,as for that clown Ranganathan winning a BAFTA it’s just woke box ticking .Now Chris Rock is funny ,some of his sketches are hilarious ,the police brutality ass kicking one he sent up was just so funny .

[Mark187187]

Bill Hicks was a genius and very funny ,as for that clown Ranganathan winning a BAFTA it’s just woke box ticking .Now Chris Rock is funny ,some of his sketches are hilarious ,the police brutality ass kicking one he sent up was just so funny .

I don't find Romesh Ranganathan particularly funny, but I did watch 1 episode of the Ranganation during the lockdown last year, and it was one of the few shows of this type which did not just talk about covid19 for the whole programme. There was so much dross last year I wasn't overly surprised he won. Also better than all these Netflix documentaries that people rave about.