does anybody else think that morcambe & wise are overated? everybody goes on about them being the greatest double act ever,but i think they are nowhere near as funny as the two ronnies.saw a top ten of their sketches recently and the winner was the breakfast sketch set to the stripper music.didnt laugh once.
Who would of thought that 32 years after the 1980s someone on a internet message board would bash M&W.
To be fair their xmas shows have been some of the highest ever ratings in television history.
Who would of thought that 32 years after the 1980s someone on a internet message board would bash M&W.
To be fair their xmas shows have been some of the highest ever ratings in television history.
28 million in 1977, over hald the population then, however, their next two Christmas specials for ITV were poor and this damaged them for the last five years.
I never really thought Morecambe and Wise were very funny. What they did have was a chemistry together and a there was a sort of (as someone else said) warmth that emanated from them. For outright (double-act) humour - I much preferred The Two Ronnies - and even then I preferred Dave Allen than either of the aforementioned acts.
I only really tuned into M&W when they had guests on that I liked - particularly the guests who you wouldn't normally associate with humour - Andre Previn and Glenda Jackson were particularly entertaining.
I never really thought Morecambe and Wise were very funny. What they did have was a chemistry together and a there was a sort of (as someone else said) warmth that emanated from them. For outright (double-act) humour - I much preferred The Two Ronnies - and even then I preferred Dave Allen than either of the aforementioned acts.
I only really tuned into M&W when they had guests on that I liked - particularly the guests who you wouldn't normally associate with humour - Andre Previn and Glenda Jackson were particularly entertaining.
Sheila, they were good at their peak, but the real comedy genius in the seventies was Ronnie Barker, who could do anything from dressing up in drag to playing a Welshman.
28 million in 1977, over hald the population then, however, their next two Christmas specials for ITV were poor and this damaged them for the last five years.
And they were beaten in the ratings by Mike Yarwood which immediately followed it that year.
I'm definitely in the 'M&W were overrated' camp on this.
Yes, they did some good stuff, but for a duo with over 20 years of TV appearances, it's the same handful of clips that are always shown.
More BBC wiping? No, there's plenty of other footage.
It just isn't very good.
Each to their own, though.
Plenty of others like watching the same thing over and over, hence the popularity of Peter Kay.
The Andre Preview sketch in their BBC programme, which has rightly been called a classic, was actually a re-working of a sketch in one of their ATV shows with Ernie as the conductor and Eric on piano.
I always felt they were overrated. Eric seemed a nice man and his delivery of one liners was excellent but they were far from comedy geniuses. I'm not quite sure how they ended up being touted as kings of British comedy or how they were getting 25m viewers + for their Christmas specials.
.............Plenty of others like watching the same thing over and over, hence the popularity of Peter Kay.
I'm actually watching a peter kay show at the moment, recorded from last night. I'm trying to work out why people find him funny ... and failing completely. He's just totally unfunny. I'm sure the shots of audience members rolling with laughter are simply pre-recorded and edited in.
I never really thought Morecambe and Wise were very funny. What they did have was a chemistry together and a there was a sort of (as someone else said) warmth that emanated from them. For outright (double-act) humour - I much preferred The Two Ronnies - and even then I preferred Dave Allen than either of the aforementioned acts.
I only really tuned into M&W when they had guests on that I liked - particularly the guests who you wouldn't normally associate with humour - Andre Previn and Glenda Jackson were particularly entertaining.
Andre Previn is actually part of what makes that sketch so good; he plays his reactions spot on.
You mention Dave Allen; I'd actually rate him the best comedian ever, without exception. Not for his sketches; they were good, but no better than many others have done. No, it's when it's just Dave, sitting in his chair with his glass and holding forth on life's absurdities. No-one has done it better.
Andre Previn is actually part of what makes that sketch so good; he plays his reactions spot on.
You mention Dave Allen; I'd actually rate him the best comedian ever, without exception. Not for his sketches; they were good, but no better than many others have done. No, it's when it's just Dave, sitting in his chair with his glass and holding forth on life's absurdities. No-one has done it better.
Dave Allen truly is one of the greats. One of the first to do the angry observational humour and was fantastic at it too.
Are you being serious op? Morecombe and Wise are the best and the most influential comedy double acts ever.
I doubt you'll see any of todays so called comedians being as fondly remembered as Morecombe and Wise.
An idea nicked by Eddie Braben from Benny Hill. Hill performed the original idea on TV over 10 years beore M&W did it.
Yes I think there was a documentary a few yearsd ago about Benny Hill and this was mentioned.
I think if anybody is underrated as opposed to being overrated it would probably be Benny Hill.
I think the problem is that in hindsight we rightly celebrate some of the past greats, but at the expense of others who are equally deserving of recognition. In some cases perhaps more so.
As a kid I was more excited when a new Benny Hill special was about to be shown on TV than I was at either M&W or TTR.
People like Benny Hill need to be shown more on television and people reminded of him.
As should others such as Marty Feldman.
People like this are in danger of being forgotten. To the point where the next generation will probably think that 70s comedy mainly consisted of just M&W and Monty Python, and a few little racist things.
I'm actually watching a peter kay show at the moment, recorded from last night. I'm trying to work out why people find him funny ... and failing completely. He's just totally unfunny. I'm sure the shots of audience members rolling with laughter are simply pre-recorded and edited in.
It's interesting that you recorded a show of a guy you find so unfunny...;)
I did enjoy The Two Ronnies but always found them a whisker behind Morecambe and Wise.
I found Dick Emery and Bennie Hill absymal.
but I cannot claim that any of the above statements are ontologically correct, merely how I reacted to them.
In M&W, it was the (apparently) unscripted asides that made me feel as though I were watching real people just being.
In TTR, it was the musical numbers that I loved, the complexity of the language in them was amazing.
On that note, I have had one of their songs running my head for 30 years, and have never seen it on a "best of" show. Can anyone identify:
"Three pee for a rotten cup of tea!
Two, two for women's lib, now they've burned their bras-oh.
They'll go brown when the sun comes down if you hang them out the window"
It's not the same song as the "Pour cowslip's juice into my cup" but in that kind of folk song tradition.
My ideal Christmas present would be a compilation DVD of TTR musical numbers - but Eric and Ern remain my favourites. Just.
You have to remember that M&W were products of their time, that is to say that their humour at the time was new and original and quite ground breaking.
It's very easy to criticise with hindsight, and it's true that 'you had to be there' to get some of their gags, but on the whole it's stood the test of time.
I agree with this. The fact that millions of people tuned in to watch their shows and their Christmas specials topped the ratings shows this. They didn't do stand-up comedy but they were good together and were as you say, products of their time. There have been very few since, who have been as popular and funny. Also, their humour was clean, so it appealed to all ages.
Never particularly liked M&W but then again I'm an 80s child and they were past their peak by this stage. The Two Ronnies however were at their peak in the 80s and certainly seemed more in tune with shifts in comedy tastes that occurred in the decade, they were a staple in our house, things like the Phantom Raspberry Blower still form a point of reference for my Dad and me...
Comments
If you can, check out their Christmas specials from the seventies. They are a mixture of excellent comedy, song and dance and running gags.
Who would of thought that 32 years after the 1980s someone on a internet message board would bash M&W.
To be fair their xmas shows have been some of the highest ever ratings in television history.
28 million in 1977, over hald the population then, however, their next two Christmas specials for ITV were poor and this damaged them for the last five years.
I only really tuned into M&W when they had guests on that I liked - particularly the guests who you wouldn't normally associate with humour - Andre Previn and Glenda Jackson were particularly entertaining.
Sheila, they were good at their peak, but the real comedy genius in the seventies was Ronnie Barker, who could do anything from dressing up in drag to playing a Welshman.
And they were beaten in the ratings by Mike Yarwood which immediately followed it that year.
I'm definitely in the 'M&W were overrated' camp on this.
Yes, they did some good stuff, but for a duo with over 20 years of TV appearances, it's the same handful of clips that are always shown.
More BBC wiping? No, there's plenty of other footage.
It just isn't very good.
Each to their own, though.
Plenty of others like watching the same thing over and over, hence the popularity of Peter Kay.
Written by Sid and Dick, not Eddie Braben.
Because there was **** all else on?
I'm actually watching a peter kay show at the moment, recorded from last night. I'm trying to work out why people find him funny ... and failing completely. He's just totally unfunny. I'm sure the shots of audience members rolling with laughter are simply pre-recorded and edited in.
Andre Previn is actually part of what makes that sketch so good; he plays his reactions spot on.
You mention Dave Allen; I'd actually rate him the best comedian ever, without exception. Not for his sketches; they were good, but no better than many others have done. No, it's when it's just Dave, sitting in his chair with his glass and holding forth on life's absurdities. No-one has done it better.
Dave Allen truly is one of the greats. One of the first to do the angry observational humour and was fantastic at it too.
Puts an awful lot of modern comedians to shame.
I really miss the guy.
Seeing them do the sketch with Dad's Army was one of the most beautiful moments of comedy I've ever seen.
I doubt you'll see any of todays so called comedians being as fondly remembered as Morecombe and Wise.
Yes I think there was a documentary a few yearsd ago about Benny Hill and this was mentioned.
I think if anybody is underrated as opposed to being overrated it would probably be Benny Hill.
I think the problem is that in hindsight we rightly celebrate some of the past greats, but at the expense of others who are equally deserving of recognition. In some cases perhaps more so.
As a kid I was more excited when a new Benny Hill special was about to be shown on TV than I was at either M&W or TTR.
People like Benny Hill need to be shown more on television and people reminded of him.
As should others such as Marty Feldman.
People like this are in danger of being forgotten. To the point where the next generation will probably think that 70s comedy mainly consisted of just M&W and Monty Python, and a few little racist things.
It's interesting that you recorded a show of a guy you find so unfunny...;)
All comedians have the marmite factor.
I found Dick Emery and Bennie Hill absymal.
but I cannot claim that any of the above statements are ontologically correct, merely how I reacted to them.
In M&W, it was the (apparently) unscripted asides that made me feel as though I were watching real people just being.
In TTR, it was the musical numbers that I loved, the complexity of the language in them was amazing.
On that note, I have had one of their songs running my head for 30 years, and have never seen it on a "best of" show. Can anyone identify:
"Three pee for a rotten cup of tea!
Two, two for women's lib, now they've burned their bras-oh.
They'll go brown when the sun comes down if you hang them out the window"
It's not the same song as the "Pour cowslip's juice into my cup" but in that kind of folk song tradition.
My ideal Christmas present would be a compilation DVD of TTR musical numbers - but Eric and Ern remain my favourites. Just.
I agree with this. The fact that millions of people tuned in to watch their shows and their Christmas specials topped the ratings shows this. They didn't do stand-up comedy but they were good together and were as you say, products of their time. There have been very few since, who have been as popular and funny. Also, their humour was clean, so it appealed to all ages.
I agree with this as well. There were so many comedians at the time, but there isn't much to choose between them . They were all entertaining.
A: No.
Conclusion. Thirty years of waste. As we can see to this current day.
Love, Mr.Humphries2. x.
Whatever you say.:rolleyes: