Ben Elton's new sitcom airs tonight

1151618202125

Comments

  • RIPYorkshireTVRIPYorkshireTV Posts: 360
    Forum Member
    I've watched every episode of this and I it is scary how unnatural, contrived and poorly acted it is.

    That said, I've found myself quite liking the characters. I'm a bit ashamed.
  • Brass Drag0nBrass Drag0n Posts: 5,046
    Forum Member
    I test how long I can last each week - the first episode's 8 minutes is the record.

    Pretty certain it won't be beaten.
  • doom&gloomdoom&gloom Posts: 9,051
    Forum Member
    It's okay, don't worry, they're not.:D

    But I get your point about somehow some really bad programmes can have this mesmerising effect on people and they can somehow be drawn in out of morbid curiosity.

    They're not adding to the ratings figures either, only people with BARB boxes count for that.
  • mrblankmrblank Posts: 5,687
    Forum Member
    they should make people in prison watch this lol
  • darnall42darnall42 Posts: 4,080
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    i missed last nights episode but i'm gonna watch it on iplayer later just to see how hilariously dreadful the episode is :D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,053
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    kcspurs wrote: »
    how can that be long enough to judge a show.
    only fools and horses was awfull for the first few series

    I haven't checked responses to this before posting but I couldn't let that comment pass.

    You need to check your facts, OFAH had low ratings for the first few series but it hit the ground running in terms of quality. It was of an extremely high standard, it just went by unappreciated.

    It doesn't sound like you've watched the first episode Big Brother or any of series 1.

    The Wright Way on the other hand, is genuinely dire, crass, unfunny crap and will not improve on further viewing.
  • AcerBenAcerBen Posts: 21,276
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I cannot understand why people who don't enjoy it still keep watching it. Why waste your life?

    I continue to find it mildly and pleasantly amusing. Except for that Victoria (is that her name?) and her constant put-on youth speak. I was also confused by the ending "Don't get me started", which sounded really out of place, as if it was a desperate attempt to turn it into a catchphrase. I hadn't noticed him saying it before!
  • DVDfeverDVDfever Posts: 18,535
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    keicar wrote: »
    I defended this after the first episode

    Did the meds kick in after that? ;)
  • clm2071clm2071 Posts: 6,639
    Forum Member
    darnall42 wrote: »
    i missed last nights episode but i'm gonna watch it on iplayer later just to see how hilariously dreadful the episode is :D

    Just watched it on Sky+ and its awful, gobsmackingly bad, the worst episode by far.

    Still a must watch though, I'll quite miss it when its gone - unless we get series 2!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    Forum Member
    bassebuwa wrote: »
    I find it one of those shows where it's so bad, it has appeal. You find yourself laughing at the show rather than with it. And as somebody who's in the process of writing a comedy script, this gives me some hope that the bar isn't set too high...

    Yes it is, it's just that Ben Elton is already successful. I don't think The Wright Way would ever have made it on to our screens if it had been written by a newcomer!
  • carefree_bluecarefree_blue Posts: 8,963
    Forum Member
    Yes it is, it's just that Ben Elton is already successful. I don't think The Wright Way would ever have made it on to our screens if it had been written by a newcomer!

    Considering the BBC commissioned dross such as 'Coming of Age' I'm not so sure!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 46
    Forum Member
    I test how long I can last each week - the first episode's 8 minutes is the record.

    Pretty certain it won't be beaten.

    I can't resist a challenge! Two bottles of wine and a certain amount of sllep depravation and I lasted almost fifteen minutes! (Until the 'hilarious' scene where they all get tangled in the phone line.)

    Now to see if alcohol can get me through an episode of Vicious... What happened to the great sitcom tradition we used to have?
  • AnthonymcQAnthonymcQ Posts: 222
    Forum Member
    Last Episode next week, you will all miss it you know you will.....

    Maybe it's a best of compilation episode ?

    I would like to see this show without the canned laughter (that can't be real can it ?)

    Might take it to another level like when the BBC showed MASH
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 46
    Forum Member
    AnthonymcQ wrote: »
    Last Episode next week, you will all miss it you know you will.....

    Maybe it's a best of compilation episode ?

    Have there been enough best of moments from the 3 and a half episodes I missed for a half-hour show? (I can't belive there's any from what I have seen that would qualify.)
    AnthonymcQ wrote:
    I would like to see this show without the canned laughter (that can't be real can it ?)]/QUOTE]

    I can belive it's real laughter. Even laughter recorded at the show recordings. Just not the actual reaction to the 'jokes'. Possibly from the warm-up man or the outtakes, appropriately spliced in.

    Though, in all fairness - and perhaps the only positive I can give this show - if I'm right then you have to give the cast credit for riding the laughter that, let's face it, almost certainly wasn't there. If there was any comic element to this show, then their comic timing would actually be very good.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    Forum Member
    Considering the BBC commissioned dross such as 'Coming of Age' I'm not so sure!

    What's Coming of Age, and who is it by? I haven't heard of that one.
  • doom&gloomdoom&gloom Posts: 9,051
    Forum Member
    What's Coming of Age, and who is it by? I haven't heard of that one.

    It was on BBC3, written by a young woman, was pretty bad.
  • solaresolare Posts: 11,579
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    AcerBen wrote: »
    I cannot understand why people who don't enjoy it still keep watching it. Why waste your life?
    We're masochists! Also in my case, I'm too lazy to switch over. :o

    I had the last episode on in the background as I was trying to work and it was imposssible. I don't know why the entire cast have to adopt a stupid voice and shout every line. It doesn't make the dire script any better. It's worse than a bad school play.

    Has Ben Elton responded to any of the criticism or is he too ashamed to speak publicly about it? :D
  • degsyhufcdegsyhufc Posts: 59,251
    Forum Member
    I've realised what this show is.

    It's a sketch of a sitcom. Infact I think it's actually a round from Whose Line.

    Actor1: Aussie sef obsessed fitness freak
    Actor2: Chavvy girl
    Actor3: Posh but dumb girl who breaks in to youf gangta speak
    Actor4: Highly strung H&S jobsworth

    And we need a situation for the scene

    Trying to get through to NHS direct to book a prostate exam


    Right, off you go!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,053
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    doom&gloom wrote: »
    It was on BBC3, written by a young woman, was pretty bad.

    Pretty sure it was the same girl that wrote Two Pints. Hence why it got commissioned. Steaming stinking dollops of dog excrement the pair of them.
  • carefree_bluecarefree_blue Posts: 8,963
    Forum Member
    What's Coming of Age, and who is it by? I haven't heard of that one.
    doom&gloom wrote: »
    It was on BBC3, written by a young woman, was pretty bad.

    I thought it was a guy so just looked it up and it was created/written by Tim Dawson, who was a teenager when it started.
    crowby1 wrote: »
    Pretty sure it was the same girl that wrote Two Pints. Hence why it got commissioned. Steaming stinking dollops of dog excrement the pair of them.

    He wrote a few of the later episodes of that, but wasn't the creator or an original writer. In fact it had been going long before he came along so not sure how he got involved. Clearly someone at the Beeb thought he had....er.... talent?! Awful show like you say.
  • Andy BirkenheadAndy Birkenhead Posts: 13,450
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Well, I think I lasted for three episodes.
    Unbelievably bad.
    It's like a bad day at the local AmDram group.
    Didn't the lead actor (can't remember his name, don't care !) play the same type of annoying character in the Thin Blue Line (also written by Ben Elton) ?
    Why is Ben Elton so highly regarded anyway ?
    I think most things he has done have been awful (apart from a few episodes of Blackadder)
  • doom&gloomdoom&gloom Posts: 9,051
    Forum Member
    I thought it was a guy so just looked it up and it was created/written by Tim Dawson, who was a teenager when it started.

    He wrote a few of the later episodes of that, but wasn't the creator or an original writer. In fact it had been going long before he came along so not sure how he got involved. Clearly someone at the Beeb thought he had....er.... talent?! Awful show like you say.

    Yes I was mixing it up with Grown Ups which was created by the same writer as 2 Pints of Lager, it was pretty bad too.
  • carefree_bluecarefree_blue Posts: 8,963
    Forum Member
    doom&gloom wrote: »
    Yes I was mixing it up with Grown Ups which was created by the same writer as 2 Pints of Lager, it was pretty bad too.

    Ah right, yeah i can see the similarity though between her and the guy that created Coming of Age. Both teenagers when their sitcoms got picked up. Both bad shows.

    I never saw any of Grown Ups, sounds like it was just as well! :p
  • Davetherave70Davetherave70 Posts: 553
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    I find this show very funny, I don't care what anyone else says, I look forward to my Tuesdays and will miss it after next week.
  • performingmonkperformingmonk Posts: 20,086
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Ah right, yeah i can see the similarity though between her and the guy that created Coming of Age. Both teenagers when their sitcoms got picked up. Both bad shows.

    I never saw any of Grown Ups, sounds like it was just as well! :p

    Two Pints wasn't all bad. I remember liking it a few series' in. It's a shame it didn't get a decent ending.
Sign In or Register to comment.