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Global Telly Talk
Classic UK TV
The Great British Sitcom
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<blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 305700" data-attributes="member: 23"><p>Last night I finished off the series with:</p><p></p><p><strong>Six Dates With Barker</strong></p><p><strong><em>2774 AD: All The World's A Stooge</em></strong></p><p></p><p>A quirky little curio is probably the kindest thing to say about this episode. As a one-off it's fine, though frankly it probably would have worked even better as a ten or fifteen minute little skit, and even the twenty plus minutes feel like a little bit of a stretch.</p><p></p><p>The premise is of a dystopian future in which comedy is the UK's dominant religion and people are forced to gag and slapstick all day long. Slightly ironically, in among all this extreme wackiness comes a scene which features some straight acting from Ronnie B. as his character Prince Boffo's father dies and he cries, confusing everyone since nobody cries anymore.</p><p></p><p>There are a number of underlying messages to be found. Boffo's wavering faith in the religion of comedy could be read as a metaphor for the depressed comic, going through the motions of silliness and doing what people expect of them while all the while wanting nothing more than simple, grey reality (now we're back with Hancock). While the country stuck in the rhythms of laughing at even the most sombre of events reflects that same trait in Brits who frequently use humour to avoid difficult or unpleasant emotions. In that regard this episode continues the themes from the previous one in which the character had no idea how to act when it came to speaking openly about concerns. Some years ago I remember reading about some research around the way people react to significant bad news such as death, and apparently there was a ridiculously high number of people who reacted with a joke or pun.</p><p></p><p>There are some familiar faces: Michael Hordern is forced to perform silly rituals while being called "baldy" and "billiard head". Victor Maddern is present, as reliable as ever. There's also a young, very beautiful Leslie-Anne Down.</p><p></p><p>The episode ending in which Boffo implements a return to things that are real by offering pets and flowers (things that had been relegated to history) to all households is a message all its own. Comedy may have its place, but it means nothing if there's nothing to give it meaning. All of which makes this episode worth the journey - even if the journey itself wasn't as enjoyable as the one taken in previous episodes.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spells & Karma, post: 305700, member: 23"] Last night I finished off the series with: [B]Six Dates With Barker [I]2774 AD: All The World's A Stooge[/I][/B] A quirky little curio is probably the kindest thing to say about this episode. As a one-off it's fine, though frankly it probably would have worked even better as a ten or fifteen minute little skit, and even the twenty plus minutes feel like a little bit of a stretch. The premise is of a dystopian future in which comedy is the UK's dominant religion and people are forced to gag and slapstick all day long. Slightly ironically, in among all this extreme wackiness comes a scene which features some straight acting from Ronnie B. as his character Prince Boffo's father dies and he cries, confusing everyone since nobody cries anymore. There are a number of underlying messages to be found. Boffo's wavering faith in the religion of comedy could be read as a metaphor for the depressed comic, going through the motions of silliness and doing what people expect of them while all the while wanting nothing more than simple, grey reality (now we're back with Hancock). While the country stuck in the rhythms of laughing at even the most sombre of events reflects that same trait in Brits who frequently use humour to avoid difficult or unpleasant emotions. In that regard this episode continues the themes from the previous one in which the character had no idea how to act when it came to speaking openly about concerns. Some years ago I remember reading about some research around the way people react to significant bad news such as death, and apparently there was a ridiculously high number of people who reacted with a joke or pun. There are some familiar faces: Michael Hordern is forced to perform silly rituals while being called "baldy" and "billiard head". Victor Maddern is present, as reliable as ever. There's also a young, very beautiful Leslie-Anne Down. The episode ending in which Boffo implements a return to things that are real by offering pets and flowers (things that had been relegated to history) to all households is a message all its own. Comedy may have its place, but it means nothing if there's nothing to give it meaning. All of which makes this episode worth the journey - even if the journey itself wasn't as enjoyable as the one taken in previous episodes. [/QUOTE]
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The Great British Sitcom
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