Television Comedy
Benidorm
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First aired on February
1st, 2007 (a Thursday). Repeats go out on ITV 2 and ITV 2+1 at 9pm
(right on the Watershed). Must be broadcast after the watershed because of
language and sexual references.
·
Aimed at a
working class audience and is an alternative to ‘safer’ middle class comedies
such as My Family.
·
Set in the
Spanish resort town of Benidorm, where thousands of British tourists go every
year for cheap holidays in the sun.
·
Shot almost
entirely with hand held cameras on location with no laughter track, so in this
sense reflects more modern, edgy comedies like I’m Alan Partridge and The
Office, although in terms of the content, has more in common with the ’80s
sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, which was set in a fictional Butlins-style holiday camp.
·
Audience pleasure
comes from situations which people who take holidays in resorts can relate to,
like avoiding paying for things and parents using foul language around their
children.
Have I Got News For You
·
The original panel
show, first aired in 1990 on BBC 2. Switched to BBC 1 in 2000 due to its
popularity (BBC 2 is generally for programmes with smaller audiences). Now goes
out at 9pm on Friday nights and old episodes are repeated on the Dave channel,
which specialises in programmes aimed at men (hence the name). The show must be
broadcast after the watershed because of language, although because of the
style of humour (political satire), does not generally appeal to children
anyway.
·
Has a fairly
broad appeal, reflected in the range of guests such as Reginald D. Hunter, a
black American comedian, Grayson Perry, a male cross-dressing artist, and
Germaine Greer, a female writer and broadcaster famous for her feminist
politics.
·
The regular team
captains, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, represent contrasting sections of
society. Hislop, whose day job is to edit the satirical newspaper Private Eye, was educated in a private
boys’ school and always wears a suit, therefore representing the middle and
upper classes. Merton, by contrast, is from a working-class background and
spent many years on the stand-up comedy circuit before moving into television.
·
Audience pleasure
comes from seemingly improvised jokes about topical events, although some are
prepared before the show is recorded.
Would I Lie to You?
·
A panel show originally
broadcast in 2007 and still going. Goes out on BBC 1 at 8.30pm on Fridays (just
before Have I Got News For You).
·
Hosted by Rob
Brydon, a Welsh comedian and actor who also appears in Gavin and Stacey. He is
famous for his impressions, which he frequently does on Would I Lie to You,
even though it does not really fit in with the format of the programme, but
appeals to people who watch the show specifically because of him.
·
The team captains
are Lee Mack, a stand-up comedian who also appears in the sitcom Not Going Out,
and David Mitchell, a comedy actor who appears in the sitcom Peep Show and the
sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look.
·
Based on the
guests telling stories about themselves, and the other guests trying to work
out if they are telling the truth by asking them questions about the story.
·
Due to its
timeslot, there is no swearing and the humour is generally light.
·
It is one of a
host of panel shows which have been inspired by Have I Got News For You,
including Mock the Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats.
My Family
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Originally ran
from 2000 to 2011, and was one of the BBC’s most successful ever sitcoms.
Currently goes out on the BBC Entertainment channel at various times of day,
including mornings.
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Filmed in front
of a live studio audience and, like many American sitcoms, used a team of
writers, rather than one or two.
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Starred Robert
Lindsey and Zoe Wannamaker, two established and popular British actors.
·
Focussed on a
supposedly dysfunctional family and the disputes they had with each other,
although they were very stereotypically middle class. Unlike The Simpsons or
Family Guy, the jokes were very clean and based on situations which were not
that implausible.
·
Designed to be
watched by parents and children as young as around ten.
