Comedy shows in Covid times simply aren't funny

NIMAN

Perhaps a sweeping statement, but I have tried watching a few shows recently where there is no studio audience or the panellists are at home, and they simply don't work.

I would have watched plenty of John Oliver's stuff. Just not the same.

And Have I Got News For You, when all the guests are at home. Due to the timing and gag delivery issues, it's a shadow of its former self.

Tom Mann Centuria

Have I got news for you stopped being funny years ago.

gmisk

NIMAN wrote: »

Perhaps a sweeping statement, but I have tried watching a few shows recently where there is no studio audience or the panellists are at home, and they simply don't work.

I would have watched plenty of John Oliver's stuff. Just not the same.

And Have I Got News For You, when all the guests are at home. Due to the timing and gag delivery issues, it's a shadow of its former self.

I think the John Oliver show from home actually works quite well.

Have I got news for you I gave up after the first remote episode it was useless

Agent Coulson

Have I Got News for You hasn't been funny since the late 90's early 00's.


Agree with the above on John Oliver's working.

Mr E

The Adam Driver fixation is cringey though.

whisky_galore

John Oliver has made for depressing watching, focused as it is on the slow motion car crash that is the US response.

pixelburp

John Oliver's presentation still works, but it helps he's a naturally witty man with a decent stand-up background. Self-deprecation goes a long way with presenting solo, which is something Americans don't do so well.

Comedy is kind of a social response: the general thinking is that we laugh out-loud as a deliberate indicator to the group that "I find this enjoyable and funny", as there's no pragmatic or logical reason to do it otherwise. Love it or hate it, but there is method in the madness of canned / studio laughter; it can grease the wheels of the viewer into joining in on the chuckles. Without that it can be hard for some material to land - especially for writers who ordinarily script the material with intentional pauses for laughter.

Penn

pixelburp wrote: »

John Oliver's presentation still works, but it helps he's a naturally witty man with a decent stand-up background. Self-deprecation goes a long way with presenting solo, which is something Americans don't do so well.

Comedy is kind of a social response: the general thinking is that we laugh out-loud as a deliberate indicator to the group that "I find this enjoyable and funny", as there's no pragmatic or logical reason to do it otherwise. Love it or hate it, but there is method in the madness of canned / studio laughter; it can grease the wheels of the viewer into joining in on the chuckles. Without that it can be hard for some material to land - especially for writers who ordinarily script the material with intentional pauses for laughter.

Yeah, I had a longer post that the general f*ckiness of this site lately swallowed. But the main point was that the best stand-up routine in the world could still come across as awkward and cringey if performed in a completely empty, silent room.

Some like John Oliver, Colbert, Seth Meyers etc, have adapted as well as they can to the new scenario. But there are still moments (like the aforementioned Adam Driver bits that John Oliver does, or Colbert/Meyers' Trump impressions) that would work well in front of an audience, but just don't work without them.

It's why the likes of HIGNFY don't work as well in this new way. It's heavily contingent on audience reaction and banter between guests. Much harder to do separately over webcam with no audience.

lawred2

NIMAN wrote: »

Perhaps a sweeping statement, but I have tried watching a few shows recently where there is no studio audience or the panellists are at home, and they simply don't work.

I would have watched plenty of John Oliver's stuff. Just not the same.

And Have I Got News For You, when all the guests are at home. Due to the timing and gag delivery issues, it's a shadow of its former self.

he's been brilliant for me

Have I Got News For You was last funny some time around 2004

Hodors Appletart

hignfy has gotten better as the weeks have gone on, the editing has gotten better.

John Oliver has finished for a while now too.

Basq

Very little is working in these Covid times as it’s missing interaction / chemistry / reactions with people together in a moment compared to when it’s simply "talking heads".

Mentioned this elsewhere but I’m going to try and erase that "Parks And Recreation" special from my mind entirely - lifeless, delayed and cringey reactions to not particularly funny jokes.

Unearthly

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

John Oliver has finished for a while now too.

Has the season ended? IMDB has no future episodes listed

Hurrache

I think he means finished being funny? Which he's not, his show is still great.

Harry Palmr

HIGNFY is having it's best series in a while, they've changed the tone and tenure to fit the remote nature. The repartee between Ian and Paul is terrific at times. Like Felix and Oscar with social distancing.

Hodors Appletart

Hurrache wrote: »

I think he means finished being funny? Which he's not, his show is still great.

I didn't mean this I still watch religiously and love the show!

Unearthly wrote: »

Has the season ended? IMDB has no future episodes listed

there was no show on 26/4 and none on 3/5 as far as I can see and the season hadn't run it's course I think

Hodors Appletart

Apologies!!!!

I see now there was indeed a show this week

Penn

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

Apologies!!!!

I see now there was indeed a show this week

The schedule for it is always kinda f*cky. It could be on 5 weeks in a row, then off for 2 weeks, then back for two, then off for 3 etc. It's just the way Americans do TV.

Hurrache

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

Apologies!!!!

I see now there was indeed a show this week

Yeah, there was a week break.

The Black Oil

The Bill Maher show. I've always gotten the podcast, so the studio aspect tends to sell it. I wish he'd stick to interviews now and forget the idea of audience. It sounds awful.