BBC bans all male panel shows

jank · 10-02-2014 01:55PM

This is what 'equality' looks like folks.

Lyaiera · 10-02-2014 01:56PM

Rob Brydon isn't funny. All men aren't funny.

DesperateDan · 10-02-2014 01:58PM

Wow this is ridiculous.

-Jo Brand sometimes has some good stories 1% of the time when she's not reminding us all how fat she is and how much she hates her husband.
-Sarah Milican is okay - bit grating and again a few too many fat jokes.
-Sue Perkins is not very funny but should keep doing the British Bake Off alright.
-Sandi Toksvig on QI is probably one of the better ones, she's not full of fat jokes and has some good stories.

Hmm slim pickings now....
Aisling Bea was pretty funny on 8 out of 10 cats once, that's all I've got :pac:

eviltwin · 10-02-2014 01:58PM

There is a silver lining in all this. At least having to include a woman means there is less chance of Jimmy Carr being given a spot.

Ash.J.Williams · 10-02-2014 01:59PM

i'm actually in love with eleanor Tiernan....love her...

DesperateDan · 10-02-2014 02:00PM

eviltwin wrote: »

There is a silver lining in all this. At least having to include a woman means there is less chance of Jimmy Carr being given a spot.

Ah what's wrong with Jimmy he's pretty sharp. Is it the laugh? The laugh can be distracting..

krudler · 10-02-2014 02:00PM

Lyaiera wrote: »

Rob Brydon isn't funny. All men aren't funny.

Who said they were? plenty of godawful male comedians, Brendan O'Carroll, Rob Brydon, that bald knob on Mock The Week, Andy Parsons? he's basically that unfunny twat in every group of lads who thinks his own jokes are hilarious.

shruikan2553 · 10-02-2014 02:00PM

Lyaiera wrote: »

Rob Brydon isn't funny. All men aren't funny.

Are you a female comedian? You seem to be taking it very personally. Can I think of unfunny male comedians? Yes, there are plenty. Can I think of any funny male comedians? Quite a few. Now do this with female comedians. I find most to be unfunny but there are some that are good, you're the only person making claims that an entire gender are poor comedians. If they are good they will get the spot on the panel. If they arent well now they need a women so they'll get in anyway.

Too Tough To Die · 10-02-2014 02:01PM

Lyaiera wrote: »

Rob Brydon isn't funny. All men aren't funny.

Rob Brydon is hilarious! Agree with the latter though.

suicide_circus · 10-02-2014 02:01PM

dawn french, jennifer saunders, kathy burke, arabella weir, caroline aherne are funny, the rest not so much

eviltwin · 10-02-2014 02:01PM

DesperateDan wrote: »

Ah what's wrong with Jimmy he's pretty sharp. Is it the laugh? The laugh can be distracting..

his stand up is great, he has to be watered down for these kind of shows though, it just isn't the same

eviltwin · 10-02-2014 02:02PM

UK female stand ups aren't great, Jo Brand is the only one I would watch, the rest I can take or leave. American female comics are so much better and just as funny as their male counterparts.

DesperateDan · 10-02-2014 02:03PM

suicide_circus wrote: »

dawn french, jennifer saunders, kathy burke, arabella weir, caroline aherne are funny, the rest not so much

You're confusing comedy from 1994 with comedy from today

Dyr · 10-02-2014 02:04PM

geeky wrote: »

Sandi Toksvig
Susan Calman
Jo Brand
Sarah Millican

And that's just off the top of my head.

thats an awful list

Jo brand was funny back in ould days though

dark crystal · 10-02-2014 02:07PM

eviltwin wrote: »

UK female stand ups aren't great, Jo Brand is the only one I would watch, the rest I can take or leave. American female comics are so much better and just as funny as their male counterparts.

I do actually find Sarah Millican funny, but my all time favourite is Joan Rivers. I genuinely think she's a comedy genius. I love how she just doesn't give a shit who she offends.

She's not likely to be found on BBC panel shows, though, more's the pity.

Lyaiera · 10-02-2014 02:10PM

shruikan2553 wrote: »

Are you a female comedian? You seem to be taking it very personally. Can I think of unfunny male comedians? Yes, there are plenty. Can I think of any funny male comedians? Quite a few. Now do this with female comedians. I find most to be unfunny but there are some that are good, you're the only person making claims that an entire gender are poor comedians. If they are good they will get the spot on the panel. If they arent well now they need a women so they'll get in anyway.

I can think of as many female comedians that are funny as male comedians. And I can think of far more male comedians than female comedians getting regular gigs on panel shows who are awful.

Now I know full well that my standards for a good comedian are going to be totally different than someone else's so I appreciate that quite a few of these male comedians are funny, just not to me so they still deserve their spot. I can't think of many female comedians I don't find funny apart from Jo Brand and even then she comes out with some very funny things on occasion. I've talked to female comedians about this and the bar is set much higher for female stand ups than it is for male stand ups. People don't think, "She isn't for me, but I understand that other people do find her funny" which gets replaced with "She isn't funny." And even moreso as this thread has shown, the general belief that there aren't very many funny female comedians at all and that they'd get their spots on the panel shows if they were funny. The reality is that there are a huge amount of very funny female comedians but just as with any comedian they don't appeal to everyone. Except with female comedians they are expected to appeal to everyone for fear they play into the "women aren't funny" stereotype.

krudler · 10-02-2014 02:12PM

dark crystal wrote: »

I do actually find Sarah Millican funny, but my all time favourite is Joan Rivers. I genuinely think she's a comedy genius. I love how she just doesn't give a shit who she offends.

She's not likely to be found on BBC panel shows, though, more's the pity.

Some of her one liners are absolutely fantastic alright. Thing is I find a lot of female actresses funny outside of a standup environment, women like Tina Fey, Amy Pouhler, hell even the female cast of Friends, especially Jennifer Aniston has razor sharp comic timing. I definitely don't think "women aren't funny" as that's not the case in the slightest, I just prefer off the cuff wit and delivery instead of a lot of their standup material, if that makes sense.
Same goes for male comedians too, Frankie Boyle was funny on Mock The Week, his standup shows are terrible though.

The Pheasant2 · 10-02-2014 02:17PM

32 appearances

Jo Brand

31 appearances

Bill Bailey

30 appearances
Phill Jupitus

27 appearances
Sean Lock

24 appearances

Jimmy Carr
Rich Hall

21 appearances

David Mitchell

15 appearances

Clive Anderson
Rob Brydon

14 appearances

Dara Ó Briain

13 appearances

Sandi Toksvig

11 appearances

Jeremy Clarkson
Ross Noble

10 appearances

Sue Perkins
John Sessions

7 appearances

Danny Baker
Andy Hamilton
Johnny Vegas

6 appearances

Jack Dee

5 appearances

Ronni Ancona
Jason Manford

4 appearances

Jeremy Hardy
Lee Mack
Sarah Millican
Vic Reeves
Liza Tarbuck

3 appearances

Reginald D. Hunter
Arthur Smith
Linda Smith
Mark Steel

2 appearances

Chris Addison
Gyles Brandreth
Marcus Brigstocke
Susan Calman
Julian Clary
The Rev. Richard Coles
Victoria Coren
Prof. Brian Cox
Hugh Dennis
Howard Goodall
Dave Gorman
Charlie Higson
Phil Kay
Fred MacAulay
Doon Mackichan
Rory McGrath
Graham Norton
Jack Whitehall
Cal Wilson
Julia Zemiro

^^That's a list of everyone who has more than one appearance on Qi (females bolded) - the most frequent guest is female and I think when you think of the more successful female comedians you'll see most of them well represented above. 19 other comediennes have made single appearances on the show also. Is this quota really necessary? I don't think so.

Oranage2 · 10-02-2014 02:22PM

I'm not too bothered about it really, and the people against it sound like the people against affirmative action in the states.

It'll be good for female comedians exposure, also the shows won't suddenly become crap if a girl is on it.

mickrock · 10-02-2014 02:22PM

suicide_circus wrote: »

dawn french, jennifer saunders, kathy burke, arabella weir, caroline aherne are funny, the rest not so much

Most of the above are comedy actresses and not stand up comedians, so probably wouldn't be very good at off-the-cuff humour.

MammaZita · 10-02-2014 02:23PM

RTE have had this policy for years, using the totally unfunny and unwitty Lucy Kennedy, Mairead Farrell and Jennifer Maguire as panellists on various comedy / chat shows.

dark crystal · 10-02-2014 02:26PM

krudler wrote: »

Some of her one liners are absolutely fantastic alright. Thing is I find a lot of female actresses funny outside of a standup environment, women like Tina Fey, Amy Pouhler, hell even the female cast of Friends, especially Jennifer Aniston has razor sharp comic timing. I definitely don't think "women aren't funny" as that's not the case in the slightest, I just prefer off the cuff wit and delivery instead of a lot of their standup material, if that makes sense.
Same goes for male comedians too, Frankie Boyle was funny on Mock The Week, his standup shows are terrible though.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. You'd want to have a serious humour bypass to watch Fey and Poehler hosting the Golden Globes and not even crack a smile. Same goes for the women on Friends. I'm also a big fan of Ellen DeGeneres (delighted to see her hosting the Oscars again this year).

Women can be incredibly funny, but I guess comedy is fairly subjective and some people just don't 'get' many women's humour.

There's a rather interesting Cracked article on this very subject. Worth a read:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-ways-were-programmed-to-think-women-arent-funny/

Rhyme · 10-02-2014 02:28PM

Sandi Toksvig made some really good points on QI (opposite Ronnie Ancona) about the differences between genders as regards humour and the corollary, why there are so few female contestants on QI. Her argument boiled down to that men are more willing to make fools of themselves in front of an audience and that's what people typically find funny.

The clip below is from the episode I refer to above (season G) but not the entire argument. Sandi Toksvig starts the point but is interrupted by a thoroughly unfunny diversion from Ronnie Ancona. Jack Dee then positions himself as an arsehole for a quick laugh at his own and Ronnie's expense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5_IcqrM96M

I find Sandi Toksvig and other female comedians like Sue Perkins and Sarah Millican to be quite funny and entertaining. If I tuned into QI and saw them on the panel I would stick around to watch just as much as if I saw Ronnie Ancona or Anneka Rice on the panel I would be deterred from watching the same as if Phil Jupitus or Mark Steel were guests (being loud and/or obnoxious does not equal funny, though Jupitus can surprise me sometimes).

Knex* · 10-02-2014 02:36PM

Social standing kind of leads to there being far less women comedians than male, when you think about it.

I'm simplifying this, due to laziness and time, but there's far more reason for a guy to try to be funny than girl. Being funny as a guy will help get you women, improve your social standing, even among other males, and is generally more of a social norm. Its often almost a hereditary thing as well. How many funny people do you know who's Dads are also hilarious, and who's Father's Father was probably hilarious too. It becomes a norm of kind.

Anyway, humour has historically been a social tool for men to use to gain standing, whereas this was never really the case with women. Its becoming more popular nowadays, as maybe there was perhaps a stigma attached to being a class clown, of sorts, and being female.

Definitely I think its seen as more acceptable for a guy to make a fool out of himself, use self deprecating humour, regale in embarrassing or crude stories, than it would be for a woman. This goes back to the classic, and outdated, notion of "ladylike" traits. This I feel has led to the scenario that we see today in terms of percentages of female comedians.

Slightly off the point, with regards to this ridiculous BBC notion, and somewhat of a thrown together answer, but I thought I'd just quickly add my two cents to the conversation.

krudler · 10-02-2014 02:36PM

dark crystal wrote: »

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. You'd want to have a serious humour bypass to watch Fey and Poehler hosting the Golden Globes and not even crack a smile. Same goes for the women on Friends. I'm also a big fan of Ellen DeGeneres (delighted to see her hosting the Oscars again this year).

Women can be incredibly funny, but I guess comedy is fairly subjective and some people just don't 'get' many women's humour.

There's a rather interesting Cracked article on this very subject. Worth a read:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-ways-were-programmed-to-think-women-arent-funny/

I like Ellen too,entertaining, pokes fun at herself and comes across as being a laugh to be around. I genuinely think Jennifer Aniston is one of the most underrated funny actresses around, her line delivery on Friends is fantastic and her timing is razor sharp, she was definitely the funniest of the female cast imo.
Same goes with the women on shows like Arrested Development, Jessica Walter especially, her role on Archer is top notch too.

Donkey Oaty · 10-02-2014 02:39PM

Female Japanese performers Frank Chickens won the public-vote Edinburgh Comedy God Award in 2010.

Now that was funny.

eviltwin · 10-02-2014 02:39PM

dark crystal wrote: »

I do actually find Sarah Millican funny, but my all time favourite is Joan Rivers. I genuinely think she's a comedy genius. I love how she just doesn't give a shit who she offends.

She's not likely to be found on BBC panel shows, though, more's the pity.

That's the thing though isn't it, what someone finds funny is subjective. I personally don't get Sarah Millican but I know some people who find her hilarious, I can't understand the fuss about Michael McIntyre or why Peter Kay sells out arenas. I love Frankie Boyle and the mighty Joan but that kind of humour offends others. I think women are funny, there are a lot of great comics out there of both sexes who deserve the exposure, for too long these shows have had the same faces week on week and its getting boring.

ElvisChrist6 · 10-02-2014 02:41PM

I don't agree with this quota business, but hopefully this'll bring in more unheard of women comedians as I'm sure there's something out there. Hopefully it means more Victoria Coren and Sandi Toksvig, and not that Ronnie Ancona, Gina whatsername or the black one with the Nigerian parents she can't help but mention as whenever I see these on programmes, the sooner I turn it off. If there are no new female comedians brought in, this will be a ratings issue.

py2006 · 10-02-2014 02:51PM

krudler wrote: »

I like Ellen too,entertaining, pokes fun at herself and comes across as being a laugh to be around. I genuinely think Jennifer Aniston is one of the most underrated funny actresses around, her line delivery on Friends is fantastic and her timing is razor sharp, she was definitely the funniest of the female cast imo.
Same goes with the women on shows like Arrested Development, Jessica Walter especially, her role on Archer is top notch too.

Sofia Vergara is a very funny actress and is often very funny in interviews. She is also probably the hottest woman on the planet.

darkpagandeath · 10-02-2014 02:52PM

This is just silly, Why is it women feel so excluded still their not. Take for example you don't see men screaming they cant join the women's institute or complaining that women's cancer marathons are sexist. I even seen a fashion show on one of them gossip channels the wife watching the fashion show was for "Women's" heart disease. Maybe take candidates on that are best for the positions as the colour of your skin/gender does not really have anything to do with that. There have been plenty of show’s were women have out numbered men I don't remember anyone complaining. I don't think they are doing themselves any favours these days seeing sexism around every corner yes there maybe some but it’s all but gone.

BBC bans all male panel shows

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