BBC Radio 4 Extra are repeating Series 7. I heard it yesterday and it's funnier than the TV show. Maybe it's just the sort of show that works better on radio than TV. Or maybe for the TV show they played around with the format and characters too much?
Oh god, it gets more and more disappointing. An am-dram 'emotional' speech last week by a bit player, and now a Dickensian death. The show's all over the place, when it was so sure and disciplined on the radio.
Much better than last week's, although that wouldn't be hard. More sign of the proper CAS, but still not a patch on the radio version. And I agree that the 'serious' ending with the death of Katya was completely wrong.
Graham Linehan has really ballsed this up hasn't he?
The Rory Kinnear character is rubbish.
They shouldn't have moved the location to London, it's ruined the whole feel of the show (probably a BBC idea to make it more multicultural and inclusive).
If I was Steve Delaney I would be annoyed at not being given creative control of the show when so many more unfunny comedians have been granted that.
^^^^^
THIS!!
I hate that it's like a comedy Eastenders, I hate the cafe owner Bulent, his wooden daughter, the Polish woman (glad she's been killed off) and the pointless Eggy who is awful. I've been a fan of CAS for years, I saw him on telly with Tiny Tut long before the radio series, listened and have the whole R4 series on CD, seen him live twice, and went to see the filming of the tv show at Pinewood (I'm one of the laughers in the can). There are some funny bits, but on the whole it is dire. The inclusion of these awful mawkish 'sad' moments like Eggy's sad story and the old woman dying tonight, butt clenchingly bad. It stinks of BBC PC inclusive shite, yet they can't include the north eh? R4 series set in Yorkshire. He doesn't get pissed, he doesn't get cranky. They've softened him far too much and I'm especially despairing that ther is no Malcolm De Tinsel. I'd like to kick Graham Lineham up the arse.
I thought the announcer crashing in over the credits was pure comedy. Did they bother to watch the programme, or just saw it was a 'comedy' show and did a bubbly promo at odds with the silence for the dead character.
There were flashes (and I don't mean Rory Kinnear's arse) of the "real" Count Arthur last night, at last. But they just won't push his escapades far enough and so much of the visual humour still doesn't work - it's a fustrating experience to watch.
Even Katya's death could've worked brilliantly, if there had been some kind of pay-off/punchline at the end, but they just sat there in the taxi and didn't really say anything.
Come on, radio Arthur: have a few drinks or something to come alive!
Much better than last week's, although that wouldn't be hard. More sign of the proper CAS, but still not a patch on the radio version. And I agree that the 'serious' ending with the death of Katya was completely wrong.
Agreed.
The physical comedy in the waiting room would not have been possible on radio (slippery chair, trouser pocket, vending machine), and that was glorious stuff. An example of what Arthur can do on TV that he can't do on radio.
"It's out of my area of expertise I'm afraid" is pure radio Arthur, and a delight to hear. It's great that Arthur walks dogs and ends up with a random extra one!
Mrs Chuff and i spotted Katya's death lumbering over the horizon and hoped we were wrong. Alas not. A definite mis-step in tone.
This series is desperately uneven. This episode vastly better than last week's, but Katya's death brought a real nosedive to it. The best episode so far is the only one lifted from the radio series.
I think the series has been getting better week by week, and I feel that the taxi ride back after katya's death was fairly true to life. Was that the end of the series?
I suppose overall I prefer the radio show, but am glad he took the show to tv.
They're obviously trying to do pathos with Katya's death and Eggy's life story last week but it seems a bit forced to me.
The way the guy playing Eggy was almost staring into the camera last week gave me the giggles and this week I didn't think Delaney's acting was up to the death scene.
The main problem with the programme is that it's so disjointed but there is a chance that this could be sorted out for the second series, the first series of the I.T. Crowd was the same but it was much improved in the second.
I've enjoyed most of the series so far, but the ending of the last episode was awful. You can't expect the viewer to feel emotionally moved when we barely even know the characters involved.
I've enjoyed most of the series so far, but the ending of the last episode was awful. You can't expect the viewer to feel emotionally moved when we barely even know the characters involved.
I think that was a weakness, up until this week Katya has only been seen as an eccentric old woman who sits in the corner of the cafe, it would have been nice to have developed her character a little earlier, and not only to herald her death.
This series did have me in two minds, but I've started to appreciate it for what it is, a very different format to the Radio Show and even his one-man Stand-Up shows. His radio show is very much CAS-centric, with the supporting characters (although interesting) being very two-dimensional, only existing to enable the Count to be able to live out his character, nothing happens without the Count. I , however, love the CAS Radio Shows and, as they say, the pictures are better on Radio.
The TV series is not at all CAS-centric, it has introduced another protagonist, Rory Kinnear, who isn't just a foil for CAS's script, his character is as important as the Count's as a ' straight man', the series would not really be possible without the character of 'Michael' whose character is relatively complex (compared to any of the supports on the Radio Show), showing personal weaknesses, love interest and so on.
Returning to Katya, would it have been nicer to have had her character more fully developed? Yes. Was the Taxi scene 'awful'? As someone has already said, a Marmite issue. This was a death of an eccentric old lady who sits in the corner of the cafe that we use, who you occasionally exchange pleasantries with, how would we respond?
What had me wondering was 'Was she already dead when she appeared at Michael's bedside'?
They're obviously trying to do pathos with Katya's death and Eggy's life story last week but it seems a bit forced to me.
The way the guy playing Eggy was almost staring into the camera last week gave me the giggles and this week I didn't think Delaney's acting was up to the death scene.
The main problem with the programme is that it's so disjointed but there is a chance that this could be sorted out for the second series, the first series of the I.T. Crowd was the same but it was much improved in the second.
I felt the opposite. It was understated for sure but you really could see the shock and pain there. Had me blinking rapidly I have to admit.
Such a frustrating show...this weeks episode had some sublimely funny moments undermined by some equally clunking ones.
I think the writers might have made a slight mistake in presuming an investment by the audience in the character which he hasn't yet earned....for instance, sad or whistful moments with Corporal Jones in Dad's Army were only made possible by years of involvement and growing affection for the character, we've just had 5 weeks of the Count and his surreal absurd activities (radio notwithstanding) and certainly for me that hasn't been enough to give him a reality which the scenes with Katya needed. With such a vividly coloured character I think you have to adjust the tonal shift more sensitively if you want to explore the grey scale.
Still, I'm happier at the thought of the beeb giving him a second series than I was after the first couple of episodes...a slight tweak here and there and this could fly like an eagle, at the moment it's a bit of a Spruce Goose.
Comments
Hope this works.
Here's a couple to start with.
https://soundcloud.com/myoldmate
Thanks it works.Much appreciated
Save the shortcut and check as and when if you want to hear more, I'll add what I have as time allows, I wont be posting links on this board anymore.
Poor Katya.
All I saw was a constipated looking and sounding bloke and Rory Kinnear's bottom.
Not a classic by a long way.
Oh, I don't know. It was a very nice bottom!
^^^^^
THIS!!
I hate that it's like a comedy Eastenders, I hate the cafe owner Bulent, his wooden daughter, the Polish woman (glad she's been killed off) and the pointless Eggy who is awful. I've been a fan of CAS for years, I saw him on telly with Tiny Tut long before the radio series, listened and have the whole R4 series on CD, seen him live twice, and went to see the filming of the tv show at Pinewood (I'm one of the laughers in the can). There are some funny bits, but on the whole it is dire. The inclusion of these awful mawkish 'sad' moments like Eggy's sad story and the old woman dying tonight, butt clenchingly bad. It stinks of BBC PC inclusive shite, yet they can't include the north eh? R4 series set in Yorkshire. He doesn't get pissed, he doesn't get cranky. They've softened him far too much and I'm especially despairing that ther is no Malcolm De Tinsel. I'd like to kick Graham Lineham up the arse.
I don't think it worked tonite, an awkward ending.
I wonder if it was a Delaney or a Linehan idea.
<singing> That's Entertainment!!!! </singing>
Even Katya's death could've worked brilliantly, if there had been some kind of pay-off/punchline at the end, but they just sat there in the taxi and didn't really say anything.
Come on, radio Arthur: have a few drinks or something to come alive!
Agreed.
The physical comedy in the waiting room would not have been possible on radio (slippery chair, trouser pocket, vending machine), and that was glorious stuff. An example of what Arthur can do on TV that he can't do on radio.
"It's out of my area of expertise I'm afraid" is pure radio Arthur, and a delight to hear. It's great that Arthur walks dogs and ends up with a random extra one!
Mrs Chuff and i spotted Katya's death lumbering over the horizon and hoped we were wrong. Alas not. A definite mis-step in tone.
This series is desperately uneven. This episode vastly better than last week's, but Katya's death brought a real nosedive to it. The best episode so far is the only one lifted from the radio series.
I suppose overall I prefer the radio show, but am glad he took the show to tv.
The way the guy playing Eggy was almost staring into the camera last week gave me the giggles and this week I didn't think Delaney's acting was up to the death scene.
The main problem with the programme is that it's so disjointed but there is a chance that this could be sorted out for the second series, the first series of the I.T. Crowd was the same but it was much improved in the second.
I think that was a weakness, up until this week Katya has only been seen as an eccentric old woman who sits in the corner of the cafe, it would have been nice to have developed her character a little earlier, and not only to herald her death.
This series did have me in two minds, but I've started to appreciate it for what it is, a very different format to the Radio Show and even his one-man Stand-Up shows. His radio show is very much CAS-centric, with the supporting characters (although interesting) being very two-dimensional, only existing to enable the Count to be able to live out his character, nothing happens without the Count. I , however, love the CAS Radio Shows and, as they say, the pictures are better on Radio.
The TV series is not at all CAS-centric, it has introduced another protagonist, Rory Kinnear, who isn't just a foil for CAS's script, his character is as important as the Count's as a ' straight man', the series would not really be possible without the character of 'Michael' whose character is relatively complex (compared to any of the supports on the Radio Show), showing personal weaknesses, love interest and so on.
Returning to Katya, would it have been nicer to have had her character more fully developed? Yes. Was the Taxi scene 'awful'? As someone has already said, a Marmite issue. This was a death of an eccentric old lady who sits in the corner of the cafe that we use, who you occasionally exchange pleasantries with, how would we respond?
What had me wondering was 'Was she already dead when she appeared at Michael's bedside'?
I felt the opposite. It was understated for sure but you really could see the shock and pain there. Had me blinking rapidly I have to admit.
I think the writers might have made a slight mistake in presuming an investment by the audience in the character which he hasn't yet earned....for instance, sad or whistful moments with Corporal Jones in Dad's Army were only made possible by years of involvement and growing affection for the character, we've just had 5 weeks of the Count and his surreal absurd activities (radio notwithstanding) and certainly for me that hasn't been enough to give him a reality which the scenes with Katya needed. With such a vividly coloured character I think you have to adjust the tonal shift more sensitively if you want to explore the grey scale.
Still, I'm happier at the thought of the beeb giving him a second series than I was after the first couple of episodes...a slight tweak here and there and this could fly like an eagle, at the moment it's a bit of a Spruce Goose.