Comedians you love to hate! And comedians you just love!

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  • Posts: 19,339
    So you have a genuine 'love/hate' relationship re Ricky Gervais then ?
  • Posts: 1,031
    barryt007 wrote: »
    So you have a genuine 'love/hate' relationship re Ricky Gervais then ?

    Absolutely! The Office was brilliant, everything else he's done is truly terrible - his standup is awful.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 7,969
    Extras was brilliant.
  • Posts: 2,107
    Will Ferrell, Jack Black and Dave Chappelle, Melissa McCarthy.

    From the old timers/retirees ; Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray.
  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    Posts: 1,053
    NicNac wrote: »
    Modern comedians like to think it's ok to make jokes about disability and bend the 'sexism' rules as much as possible. They are the same ones who dismissed old comedians like Benny Hill, who basically did the same thing.

    Exactly, the one difference being that Benny Hill was actually talented. The mind bendingly awful Julian Clary does stuff that, had it been performed by Hill (not that he would have done it anyway, he'd have thrown the script in the bin had he been presented with such puerile rubbish) it would have been tarred as unacceptable by todays 'comedians'.

    Crap comedy is not a new phenomenon. I remember one chap in the 1970's whose sole, 'comedy' act was to sing 'Mule Train' while smashing himself over the head with a tea tray. He was on TV at least once a week for years doing exactly the same thing!

    Really bad Johnstone's paint league comedians: John Shuttleworth, Toby Foster, Boothby Graffoe. It was my misfortune to see the latter live once. Complete waste of stage time. I can't remember how long he was on but I don't think he got one laugh. In fact the only time the crowd cheered was when someone dropped a tray of beer.

    Marcus Brigstock is another supposed comedian who IMHO has stolen a living, as has Lucy Porter and Miranda 'jolly hockey sticks' Hart. I also cannot abide Patrick Kielty. All are as amusing as genital warts.

  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    My favourite at the moment is Ricky Gervais.
    Dennison wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    So you have a genuine 'love/hate' relationship re Ricky Gervais then ?

    Absolutely! The Office was brilliant, everything else he's done is truly terrible - his standup is awful.

    I think his stand up is genius. His rubbishing of the Bible is so clever it could turn the Pope Atheist!
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Gervais is great. So are Sasha Baron Cohen and Jim Carrey.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Dennison wrote: »
    Love - Bill Hicks, Peter Kay, Steve Coogan, Mike Myers, Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Michael McIntyre, John Cleese, Ricky Gervais

    That's ridiculous.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited July 2017 Posts: 13,882
    Amy Schumer. You want to know why comedienes have a bad rep, well, there's your answer. If she has ever told any good jokes, those are the ones that she's stolen.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    Amy Schumer. You want to know what comedienes have a bad rep, well, there's your answer. If she has ever told any good jokes, those are the ones that she's stolen.

    This. I'd add Carlos Mencia to this, as well. Both are painfully unfunny.
  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    Posts: 1,053
    Looking back through the posts a couple of comedians stand out. I like Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais (the DVDs of Gervais' live shows are available in poundland - I bought them in the knowledge that a quid would be worth the gamble). I sort of half like Harry Hill, not sure if I could sit through one of his shows though. Tim Vine - okay in very small doses. I did attempt to watch one of his live performances on TV but soon became weary of the deluge of puns. He's clever but quickly wears you down.

    I can't abide David Walliams (is that a real name? I've never heard of it before he came on the scene). Not bothered about Matt Lucas either. I'd have to be forced at gunpoint to watch Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.

    As for Jim Carrey, I simply cannot watch him in anything because he makes me curl up in embarrassment.

    Russel Kane, fashionista 'comedian' who thinks himself very hip and funny.

    There's another one who is so bad I have subconsciously wiped his name from my memory. He's an upper crust tosser who sometimes comes on with his dad.

    Alexi Sayle, toe curlingly bad.

    After a brief dalliance in the late nineties/ early zeros and sadly not on TV anymore, Marc Wooton. A character based comedian who is very good.

    Felix Dexter was a very good comedian. Again he was character based. Sadly he died a few years ago.

    Ric Mayall - say no more.

    Rowan Atkinson, some of his sketches are right up there at the top of my favourites list.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    stag wrote: »

    Alexi Sayle, toe curlingly bad.

    Got to love this. He was also great as the perv in Hardware.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,728
    Dennison wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    So you have a genuine 'love/hate' relationship re Ricky Gervais then ?

    Absolutely! The Office was brilliant, everything else he's done is truly terrible - his standup is awful.

    I thought Extras was very funny as well. Yet to see Derek.
  • Posts: 3,336
    Ricky Gervais is comedy gold. Especially like his Golden Globe hosting.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I'm not really a comedy guy, but there's George Carlin and then everyone else quite frankly. You don't see that special mix of intellect, boldness and clever wit any more, and in such a sensitive and ignorant time as ours the Great Man's unrestricted style would be refreshing. I miss him.

    Others I can enjoy, if not adore as much as the big man (in no order whatsoever):

    Bill Burr- Not as well known American, but he's unapologetically honest and doesn't hold back.


    Jeff Dunham- Nice mix of comedy on stage and actual creativity for me, as he actually creates all of his props. He hasn't done material in a while, but I've enjoyed him in the past and he can pull off a wide range of characters where other ventriloquists fail.


    Ricky Gervais- I love people who stir sh*t, and Ricky very much does that as a specialty. I love his anti-religion bits and his Golden Globe takeovers where NBC got what they paid for and the celebrities of Hollywood were at his mercy for a few hours every year. Nobody is off limits to him, and that's part of what makes him great. He's also the best corpser in the business, though the laugh can come on strong.


    Craig Ferguson- Probably my favorite late night host ever, largely because of his own awkward distaste for how late-night shows are run. He was the man who would tear up the discussion cards when guests came on, valuing spur of the moment random discussion rather than overly rehearsed and artificial interviews disguising bland movie promotions. It's only on a Craig Ferguson show that Alice Eve can come on to promote Star Trek without Star Trek ever being mentioned as she and Craig argue the finer points of calvinism and deterministic thought. It's the loose, naughty style of Craig's and the way he could make a joke out of anything that really made me love his show and I miss it now that it's gone.

    I also really loved the moments where he would use the opening of the shows to comment on personal issues that were important to him as they happened at the time, like his talk in the aftermath of 9/11, his monologue regarding his struggles with alcoholism and addiction, and the times when he'd talk about the passing of his mother and father. He is able to engage people through both comedy and pathos, and I think part of why he's liked is because he feels genuine and you know that what you see is what you get.


    Robin Williams- Pretty self explanatory. A rare breed of a performer and comedian who could make you laugh just after he'd made you cry. I don't think we've yet to see a comedian who could act dramatically and perform their material as well as he was able to interchangeably and that he's gone is quite tragic. One only has to watch his Actor's Studio interview where he quite literally hijacks the whole thing from James Lipton to go into a series of comedy bits with the audience. His mind was always buzzing and looking for ways to make people smile, and that's part of his genius; he never shut off when a crowd was around. Unfortunately like Pagliacci, he was unable to make himself feel the joy he gave to others.


    Jim Carrey- A true physical talent in the comedy world, who can contort and move his features in fantastically amusing ways. Where a lot of comedians get overly political, I like that Jim's catalogue is full of work that strays from smut or heavily loaded content to just be very simple and light in the best way. He doesn't do much anymore that hits the mainstream and that's a shame.


    Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert- The main political commentators stateside. I like Jon for his ability to fall into character and make you unsure of when he's being serious, as well as his true wealth of knowledge about politics that lets you know he believes in what he's saying; those "breaking character" moments where he opens up to the audience like in the 9/11 show were also quite powerful.

    John Oliver follows the same mold, able to be both funny and knowledgable, and he feels very genuine in an artificial reporting climate. I've learned a lot of interesting things from his HBO shows and I look forward to enjoying more of it.

    I liked Colbert on his old show, where he could stay in character better than most, and he is also a very bold sh*t stirrer and it's fun to watch him cause trouble, whether it's by pranking a negligent Congress or crashing other personalities' shows. Since he's moved to NBC I haven't liked his work, largely because he made a very light and non-political nighttime talk show (as it was under Letterman) into just another political show. If he was going to come over to late-night and do the same show he did on Comedy Central, he should've just stayed where he was. It must've been one hell of a paycheck to get him to make the move, but I don't think people want to go to bed at night watching him talk about very little beyond Trump's latest antics. I live in hope that the old Colbert will come back, but I think NBC and his own shtick are holding him back from it.
  • Posts: 1,031
    My favourite at the moment is Ricky Gervais.
    Dennison wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    So you have a genuine 'love/hate' relationship re Ricky Gervais then ?

    Absolutely! The Office was brilliant, everything else he's done is truly terrible - his standup is awful.

    I think his stand up is genius. His rubbishing of the Bible is so clever it could turn the Pope Atheist!

    It's childish.
  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    Posts: 1,053
    I'm not really a comedy guy, but there's George Carlin

    I used to have an LP of his in the seventies. I still recall one joke. Carlin was telling a story about when he was in the military, someone broke wind in the barrack room and Carlin said "Captain Who?" (it sounds better than it reads).

  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    Posts: 1,053
    I like Frank Skinner. Although I have never met him he comes across as a genuinely funny bloke who can easily ad lib his way through his performances.

  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Dennison wrote: »
    My favourite at the moment is Ricky Gervais.
    Dennison wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    So you have a genuine 'love/hate' relationship re Ricky Gervais then ?

    Absolutely! The Office was brilliant, everything else he's done is truly terrible - his standup is awful.

    I think his stand up is genius. His rubbishing of the Bible is so clever it could turn the Pope Atheist!

    It's childish.

    I agree. A book about some magic guy who could walk on water and rose from the dead to fly up into the sky and live with his dad on a cloud? It's sub Harry Potter stuff.
  • Posts: 1,031
    Dennison wrote: »
    My favourite at the moment is Ricky Gervais.
    Dennison wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    So you have a genuine 'love/hate' relationship re Ricky Gervais then ?

    Absolutely! The Office was brilliant, everything else he's done is truly terrible - his standup is awful.

    I think his stand up is genius. His rubbishing of the Bible is so clever it could turn the Pope Atheist!

    It's childish.

    I agree. A book about some magic guy who could walk on water and rose from the dead to fly up into the sky and live with his dad on a cloud? It's sub Harry Potter stuff.

    No, haha, Ricky Gervais is childish.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    One of my favourite local comedians, Calle Hellevang-Larsen. Here he is on hidden camera, testing wether people are xenophobic, or if minorities can get away with anything.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    That reminds me, I forgot to add @Thunderfinger to my list.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    On the hate list, I hope?
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    On the hate list, I hope?

    Unfortunately for you, no. The best hate list you could hope to be on for me would maybe be "hate to love," but then I'd just be kidding myself.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I must work harder, then.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    Dennison wrote: »
    Dennison wrote: »
    My favourite at the moment is Ricky Gervais.
    Dennison wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    So you have a genuine 'love/hate' relationship re Ricky Gervais then ?

    Absolutely! The Office was brilliant, everything else he's done is truly terrible - his standup is awful.

    I think his stand up is genius. His rubbishing of the Bible is so clever it could turn the Pope Atheist!

    It's childish.

    I agree. A book about some magic guy who could walk on water and rose from the dead to fly up into the sky and live with his dad on a cloud? It's sub Harry Potter stuff.

    No, haha, Ricky Gervais is childish.

    Obviously the art of sarcasm has eluded you.....
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I love these guys
    tumblr_oh6bwefYOF1tcarlro1_500.gif
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    Jim jeffries is incredible
  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    Posts: 1,053
    I love these guys
    tumblr_oh6bwefYOF1tcarlro1_500.gif

    Seconded!
  • Posts: 1,469
    Ricky Gervais fan here too. Monty Python! And maybe Mel Brooks is more of a filmmaker than a comedian, though he's been a comedian at various times in his career, but seeing "Blazing Saddles" many many times when it came out when I was a teenager dramatically broadened my appreciation for comedy and made me a better person! And Mitch Hedberg:
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