comedy

[bobtheturkey]

am i only person in the world who finds it impossible to laugh at comedy on tv or on the stage? if comedy is staged i know what the punchline is usually 9 times out of 10 therefore its not funny to me, i have tried to watch various sitcoms and i have never once laughed out loud at any scene ever, i find humour in everyday things where it is spontaneous, like someone being witty at work with a random comment or even god forbid on here :) i dont see how comedy works if someone sits down and prepares it, comedy to me is off the cuff thus comedy on tv is pointless and just not funny am i the only one? :)

[kick3m0n]

interesting point....could the same said about horror, whether it be in films, stage or books etc? If the only true humour is spontaneous, isn't that also true of the only real horror? Everything else is utterly predictable, staged and even rehearsed, so why would it be scary?

In defence of comedy, you are right to a large extent about sitcoms, tho one can find humour in things that are predictable, indeed, the anticipation of a punchline can lend ift even greater humour. For some stand up comedians, large chunks of the act is off the cuff, and depends entirely on what the audience give them to work with (a great exponenent of this is Dara O'Briain). For me, much of this type of humour is the funniest of all as it depends entirely on quick wit and clever use of words, so Iguess I do agree, to an extent with you. But I absolutely love stand up comedy, it's my favourite form of entertainment.

[bobtheturkey]

horror is harder to predict though eg the alien bursting out the mans chest in alien you dont see that coming first time you ever watched it, wheras sitcoms you can see the punchline half an hour before it happens, i used to like have i got news for you because i thought merton and hislop were ab libbing then i realized it was staged they planned the jokes before the show, stand ups are staged as well eg bob monkhouse and his "joke book" all they do is pick on a fat person in the audience and they have 157 jokes about fat people in their memory, again staged,maybe my soh is warped :)

[jenstar]

I wouldn't say that prepared comedy is automatically not funny, but once you've been exposed to a lot of it, it does make it easier to anticipate punchlines, which spoils it somewhat.

[Scarlett]

Maybe you haven't found the sort of comedy that "clicks" with you yet. I rarely laugh out loud, but I did last night, and I was watching "Father Dear Father" !!!!

I know!!!

Or maybe you are just not the laughing out loud type? Perhaps you distance yourself from the TV and never really get involved. Have you ever laughed outloud in the cinema?

[Ethel]

Perhaps you lost your funny bone?

[kick3m0n]

take your point re Alien Bob, but I guarantee if you watch some more challenging comedians, not mainstream sitcom (which is generally poor, with a few exceptions) then you will definitely NOT see the punchline coming (if that's what floats your boat). An awful lot of todays most popular live stand ups are so far removed from the Bob Monkhouse (old)school of joke telling that you can barely see the connection. Some these days seriously push the boundaries and make you think as well as make you laugh.

[bobtheturkey]

i have watched them all kick and it doesnt happen they are as funny as a whack in the bollox with a crowbar , i think its because they try too hard, comedy only works in real life for me it cant be simulated :) but maybe im rare :)

[sunday]

hi mr. bobturkey, i think you need to spend some of your free time away from the computer. now, don't tell you don't find fawlty towers hilariously funny.

you need to have a more open mind and stop thinking you are always right. there you go lassy! have a funny day ☺☺☺

[dot.hawkes]

Hi Roberto

I find myself more drawn to observational humour than contrived sitcom. I used to love the stand up comics who weren't trying to be too clever or too foul mouthed, there are still a few about, peter kay springs to mind, I can laugh at him anytime, Claire goes into fits over Lee Evans though and I just don't find him funny.

[freak_unique]

I am glad someone else gets this aswell! I find comedys totally unfunny they are just almost traditional planned humour and i find it really boring and shameful! I find spontanious things funny like comments, people falling over (bad i know) and just silly things that happen in everyday life can have me on the floor in a fit of giggles! but i am the one who is told i have no sence of humour!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bobtheturkey]

i am always right just as i know you are a tosspot sunday see? im right again :)

[dot.hawkes]

I wonder where I have seen those clever little inserted symbols before? Let me think, errrrmmmmm

[sandrajo]

Anything with peter day or ricky gervais in it has me laughing out loud as their stuff is always funny and you bobtheturkey you should be on tv as I find your one liners hilarious

[Dan Glebitts]

things are made funny because its the mixture of reality with the absurd, which for some reason makes us laugh. Different people laugh at different things due to opinion and general variation in taste, but whether or not something is planned to be funny or not planned at all and completely spontanious it will still appeal to a certain group. I completely agree that a spontanious witty outburst can be much funnier than a overly long word for word joke, and the saying " great things take time, AMAZING things happen all at once" is a great way of summing up this idea.
Im not saying i completely agree with you because i find certain televised programmes extremely funny and sometimes i dont even know why.
.....anyway......."oh look a penny!"

[sunday]

mr. bob, i did not mean to be rude to you. I APOLOGIZE.

[kick3m0n]

really Bob? You've been to see some of the newer stand up comedians on the circuit? Seen Brendan Burns or Doug Standhope? Or Daniel Kitson? These are the kind of guys who I absolutely guarantee, even a man of your intelligence could not possible predict their punchlines (indeed, they don't always use punchline in the traditional sense of the word). These guys will make you laugh (well, maybe) but will also challenge your preconceptions, make you think about what values you hold dear, your morality and your attitudes. Brilliant, in your face comedy that makes you (well, ok, me) laugh out loud, sometimes in spite of yourself.
I love stand up comedy - but dismayed that most on this thread discussed only Sitcoms, which are as far removed from the keenly observed, interactive stand up that I love as is possible. sitcoms are generally kack, and appeal largely as "family viewing" or to the older generations, but to say that all live comedy on stage is predictable and unfunny is inaccurate and does a real disservice to some of the fantastic acts out there today.