Is Shakespeare ever funny?

[Valka D'Ur]

I loved the first Blackadder series. Once I read up a little on the original historical context it was satirizing, I found it hilarious. And I'd watch Brian Blessed read the phone book, so that in itself was reason enough for me to enjoy it.

There's a crossover fanfic of Murder, She Wrote and Keeping Up Appearances where Hyacinth is murdered. Of course, it's up to Jessica Fletcher to figure out whodunnit.

I've worked in a retail setting, and known people like some of the characters in Are You Being Served?. There was a ladies' wear clerk who was like a Canadian version of Mrs. Slocombe, except she only had the bad traits. Granted, some of the humor in that show is dated or politically/socially incorrect these days, but I can still suspend that enough to enjoy the show, even the 20th time around.

It's a shame you haven't heard of the Canadian comedy shows I mentioned. They're quite different from American comedy, which is mostly not that funny to me. At least the Americans who watch PBS have had a chance to see Red Green and become devoted fans.

 

[Agent327]

JEELEN, I have found a kindred spirit!

You're most welcome. Now here's a little bit that made me :

That's interesting, as I can't imagine how anyone could not find The Simpsons funny at least some of the time, even if it's not particularly their thing. I think it's easily the greatest comedy programme ever made, although it is perhaps sometimes a bit uneven, at least in the later series. But clearly humour is very much in the eye of the beholder, as this thread in general indicates.

Obviously I like Blackadder - even the first series, which most people don't like if they've ever seen it. I never saw Are you being served? much, but the whole 1970s "risque puns and jokes about homosexuals" thing doesn't really do it for me. I can't say I ever liked Keeping up appearances - it's better than some of Roy Clarke's stuff, perhaps, but that's not saying much. I have reason to thank Benny Hill since he shares a surname with me, and my parents would have called me Benjamin if he hadn't existed, and I don't like that name, so that was a narrow escape. But otherwise, definitely not for me. I haven't heard of the others!

I remember us at home watching Are you being served? almost every time it was on and the "risqué puns and jokes about homosexuals" thing didn't bother us back then (as it turned out one of my brothers was gay and he was probably the one who found it most hilarious - but he was also partial to Benny Hill, which to me was just a bad rip-off of Charlie Chaplin and contemporaries mixed with what was supposed to be sexually risqué situations and stuff). But Blackadder, now there was something funny!

As for the Canadian shows, I'm sorry but we never got any of those. The only association I get was a series about a Canadian Mountie (?) who gets stuck with some US cynical detective (they switched the actor halfway through, which was annoying). I forget why he was in the US, BTW... On a similar note, some time ago I noted an actually funny US series called Monk, again about a detective, but one who's semi-retired because of a nervous breakdown. He's invariably accompanied by a female assistent (again switched halfway through the series), who keeps some sort of order in his neurotic behaviour.

Returning back to topic: I seem to remember us reading Molière in class (Les precieuses ridicules and L'avare and such), which is supposed to be funny, but contrary to Shakespearean grossness/puns it made a rather corny, bourgeois impression on me. We did have a funny French teacher in high school who, on very rare occasions, skipped class entirely and instead read aloud from a Dutch comical author the entire hour (well 50 mins). Not in French, obviously.

 

[Dachs]

I loved the first Blackadder series. Once I read up a little on the original historical context it was satirizing, I found it hilarious. And I'd watch Brian Blessed read the phone book, so that in itself was reason enough for me to enjoy it.

I think you mean BRIAN BLESSED there

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Is there some reason he deserves to be capitalized?

 

[Plotinus]

Because THAT'S HOW HE TALKS! HAHAHAHA!

Adam and Joe, who are two comedians who have (or at least used to have) a show on the radio on Saturday mornings, podcasts of which can be found on iTunes, and which are currently my favourite thing, have a running joke about Brian Blessed and Simon Callow living next door to each other and TALKING LIKE THIS to each other over the fence all the time. Now that's comedy!

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Well, it's certainly how he talked in some scenes in I, Claudius: "QUINTILIUS VARUS, WHERE ARE MY EAGLES!!!" and "IS THERE ANYONE IN ROME WHO HAS NOT SLEPT WITH MY DAUGHTER!!!"

He was kinda upset in those scenes...

He's just a wonderful actor with an extremely rich voice.

 

[Agent327]

With that latest post I suddenly recall who BRIAN BLESSED is (having his features in my mind's eye, so to speak). Yes, HE DOES TALK LIKE THAT.

 

[Traitorfish]

Because THAT'S HOW HE TALKS! HAHAHAHA!

Except for when he doesn't, and sounds incredibly scary because you know that there is a damn good reason for it.