Does BBC Comedy have any balls ?

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	Topic: Does BBC Comedy have any balls ?
Posted : 23/07/10 / Views : 1540 / Replies : 21 /
GUY5 395 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	"The BBC has issued an apology to Eamonn Holmes after the Sky News presenter complained about the way he was portrayed in a comedy show. Holmes' lawyers asked the BBC to ban sketches featured on 'The Impressions Show' in which comedian Jon Culshaw impersonated the TV host making fun of his weight, with the catchphrase "I was fierce hungry, so I was". Holmes, who initially found his impersonation funny, later felt offended by it because of his constant battle with his weight. The BBC has informed him that the on-screen character would be axed from forthcoming episodes of the comedy programme. A BBC spokesperson told The Telegraph: "We did make an apology but it wasn't intended as malicious in any way. It's come out of the blue really. I guess he didn't like it much. "We have assured Eamonn that he won't be in the next series. He wasn't a central character and we had a raft of new characters to choose from. We fiercely guard the right to make a show that pokes fun at public figures and our aim was for the humour to be affectionate, celebrating the figures chosen." Several points..... 1) Is this really news.....??? 2) Do BBC Comedy really feel they have to defend themselves over this?? 3) who at the BBC wrote this last sentence "We fiercely guard the right to make a show that pokes fun at public figures and our aim was for the humour to be affectionate, celebrating the figures chosen." Great fiercely guard it BBC - It's comedy - It doesn't have to be affectionate and celebrating it just has to be funny!! Eamon Holmes is a celebration of Fat though ;-) Censorship is ruining our comedy and this why Auntie is running scared!

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	Reply #1
Posted : 19/07/10
Jonathan.Goodwin 254 posts last on: 23/01/12 send private reply	Guy - The BBC did have a pair, but Eamonn ate them...

	Reply #2
Posted : 19/07/10
GUY5 395 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	I thought so Jonathan! News just in Paul The Psychic Octopus is now involved in defamation Adjudication..... Holmes, who initially found his impersonation funny, later felt offended by it because of his constant battle with his weight. The BBC has informed him that the on-screen character would be axed from forthcoming episodes of the comedy programme. Mainly because Paul thinks it isn't funny. However the BBC's assertion that Eamon Holmes is a fat talentless Pikey was upheld by Paul the octopus. All hail Paul!! ;-)

Reply #2

Posted : 19/07/10

GUY5
395 posts
last on: 07/02/12
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I thought so Jonathan!

News just in Paul The Psychic Octopus is now involved in defamation Adjudication.....

Holmes, who initially found his impersonation funny, later felt offended by it because of his constant battle with his weight. The BBC has informed him that the on-screen character would be axed from forthcoming episodes of the comedy programme. Mainly because Paul thinks it isn't funny. However the BBC's assertion that Eamon Holmes is a fat talentless Pikey was upheld by Paul the octopus.

All hail Paul!! ;-)

	Reply #3
Posted : 19/07/10
Glenn.Speers 221 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	So then what's fair game to have the piss taken out of it? You either protect everybody from ridicule or you open the floodgates and nothing is taboo. Which is it to be. You see it's still ok in you guys' eyes to take the piss out of a fat Irishman.

	Reply #4
Posted : 19/07/10
pole 320 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	...I'd like to 'chew the fat' ! Fat chance of that ! Top of the fat to yer ! At the end of the big fat day, impersonation is the greatest form of fattery ! 'POLE' fat cat

	Reply #5
Posted : 20/07/10
GUY5 395 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	Yes Glen it is fair game in my humble opinion. It's humour and never intended as malicious. Much as Manuel in Fawlty Towers was perpetually tormented and the excuse given he's from Barcelona. We seem to have lost sight that we laugh just as much at the stupidity of ignorance as the punchine. Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Not the Nne O'clock news are to name but a few, shows that couldn't be commissioned by the BBC now. This type of censorship is a shame and the brit public deserve better.

Reply #5

Posted : 20/07/10

GUY5
395 posts
last on: 07/02/12
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Yes Glen it is fair game in my humble opinion. It's humour and never intended as malicious. Much as Manuel in Fawlty Towers was perpetually tormented and the excuse given he's from Barcelona.

We seem to have lost sight that we laugh just as much at the stupidity of ignorance as the punchine.

Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Not the Nne O'clock news are to name but a few, shows that couldn't be commissioned by the BBC now. This type of censorship is a shame and the brit public deserve better.

	Reply #6
Posted : 20/07/10
markkempner 1113 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	It's a tricky one this....I hate censorship in comedy too. However, it seems that we (comedy writers of today) feel they to be nasty and cruel in order to be hard hitting? I don't think that is right myself. "Till Death us Do Part" was a superb observation of a racist bigot, brilliantly portrayed by Warren Michel....and was aimed at the ever growing racist bigots in society....but the BBC would crap themselves nowadays, if you offered them a similar script or idea. They prefer My Family, 2.4 children..esque dreary sitcom material etc....weak as dishwater…..but nice and safe for the BEEB PR department! Nothing wrong with nice and safe….as long as we have superbly defined characters and great actors to play them. Dads Army, Steptoe and Son, Yes Minister etc etc. The secret to the success apart from very good scripts …was the superbly defined characters and the perfect casting of the actors …lots of depth and so on. These days, I think some comedy writers, as well as the BBC commissioning departments, take us…the viewer… for utter mugs….and give us dreary superficial scripts with singular dimensional characters …..very boring. Good comedy should be ground breaking, and hard edged.....and it can be without being simplistically cruel. I don't think Holmes has the right to say what goes on or not on BBC...but I do see his point….as its aimed at him…maybe he feels he does not set himself up to be lampooned about his weight, neither does he set out to pretend he is slim…if he did, the joke would be acceptable perhaps. Little Britain was allowed to have the Fat Fighters sketch….hilarious because the Joke was aimed at the person running teh class. ie people who claim they are NOT fat and do NOT have a weight problem, when they clearly overeat themselves. It was not cruel towards people who have a genuine weight issue……and that's the clever bit innit? Of course, the BBC wont have scrapped the Holmes sketch character as an apology to Holmes....that's it's PR department working overtime and running scared! Part of my Co's products is Murder Mystery comedy scripted shows. One of the Scripts is a mish mash of Dad's Army, meets Allo Allo. Nothing offensive in it at all of course, but I had a client who was furious at the suggestion of such a script….as her father had fought in the 2nd World War?!!! I told her I was Jewish, and my Father was 5 years in a prisoner of war camp in Poland, and would have found the script hilarious, as do French audiences…German clients etc. She slammed the phone down!! So you cannot please "everyone" all of the time……and in the name of comedy, thank goodness for that huh?!

Reply #6

Posted : 20/07/10

markkempner
1113 posts
last on: 07/02/12
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It's a tricky one this....I hate censorship in comedy too. However, it seems that we (comedy writers of today) feel they to be nasty and cruel in order to be hard hitting? I don't think that is right myself.

"Till Death us Do Part" was a superb observation of a racist bigot, brilliantly portrayed by Warren Michel....and was aimed at the ever growing racist bigots in society....but the BBC would crap themselves nowadays, if you offered them a similar script or idea.

They prefer My Family, 2.4 children..esque dreary sitcom material etc....weak as dishwater…..but nice and safe for the BEEB PR department! Nothing wrong with nice and safe….as long as we have superbly defined characters and great actors to play them. Dads Army, Steptoe and Son, Yes Minister etc etc. The secret to the success apart from very good scripts …was the superbly defined characters and the perfect casting of the actors …lots of depth and so on.

These days, I think some comedy writers, as well as the BBC commissioning departments, take us…the viewer… for utter mugs….and give us dreary superficial scripts with singular dimensional characters …..very boring.

Good comedy should be ground breaking, and hard edged.....and it can be without being simplistically cruel. I don't think Holmes has the right to say what goes on or not on BBC...but I do see his point….as its aimed at him…maybe he feels he does not set himself up to be lampooned about his weight, neither does he set out to pretend he is slim…if he did, the joke would be acceptable perhaps. Little Britain was allowed to have the Fat Fighters sketch….hilarious because the Joke was aimed at the person running teh class. ie people who claim they are NOT fat and do NOT have a weight problem, when they clearly overeat themselves. It was not cruel towards people who have a genuine weight issue……and that's the clever bit innit?

Of course, the BBC wont have scrapped the Holmes sketch character as an apology to Holmes....that's it's PR department working overtime and running scared!

Part of my Co's products is Murder Mystery comedy scripted shows. One of the Scripts is a mish mash of Dad's Army, meets Allo Allo. Nothing offensive in it at all of course, but I had a client who was furious at the suggestion of such a script….as her father had fought in the 2nd World War?!!! I told her I was Jewish, and my Father was 5 years in a prisoner of war camp in Poland, and would have found the script hilarious, as do French audiences…German clients etc. She slammed the phone down!! So you cannot please "everyone" all of the time……and in the name of comedy, thank goodness for that huh?!

	Reply #7
Posted : 20/07/10
Glenn.Speers 221 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	What I am trying to say Guy is, fair enough you think it's ok to base a sketch around an overweight Irishman with his ever expanding girth and quirky catchphrases.. What's the difference between that and taking the piss out of a black guy or an Asian guy for example with all the stereotypical mannerisms and misconceptions that accompany them. You simply wouldn't dare. However there are certain societal groups that people like yourself deem to be ok to lampoon. "fat talentless pikey" WTF ?!

Reply #7

Posted : 20/07/10

Glenn.Speers
221 posts
last on: 07/02/12
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What I am trying to say Guy is, fair enough you think it's ok to base a sketch around an overweight Irishman with his ever expanding girth and quirky catchphrases.. What's the difference between that and taking the piss out of a black guy or an Asian guy for example with all the stereotypical mannerisms and misconceptions that accompany them. You simply wouldn't dare. However there are certain societal groups that people like yourself deem to be ok to lampoon.
"fat talentless pikey" WTF ?!

	Reply #8
Posted : 20/07/10
GUY5 395 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	Actually Glen there are NO Groups I wouldn't take the piss out of Including on an individual basis Myself as I'm human as are we all!! A sense of humour is exactly that. If No malice is intended why read that in?? Take a look at the latino Comedy project and I'm sure you'll enjoy them too. No Malice, no Stress, just comedy ;-) Best to All regardless of race, creed, colour, sexuality or idiocy I include myself in that last one! ;-)

Reply #8

Posted : 20/07/10

GUY5
395 posts
last on: 07/02/12
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Actually Glen there are NO Groups I wouldn't take the piss out of Including on an individual basis Myself as I'm human as are we all!! A sense of humour is exactly that. If No malice is intended why read that in??

Take a look at the latino Comedy project and I'm sure you'll enjoy them too. No Malice, no Stress, just comedy ;-)

Best to All regardless of race, creed, colour, sexuality or idiocy I include myself in that last one!

;-)

	Reply #9
Posted : 20/07/10
GUY5 395 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	Also Glenn whats this quote? "However there are certain societal groups that people like yourself deem to be ok to lampoon" People like myself ?? WTF.?? LOL... I'm in a group now which is??? ;-) Answers on a post card... Best to you Glenn Regardless!!

	Reply #10
Posted : 20/07/10
Glenn.Speers 221 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	Smug.

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