why does Britain have nine hundred identical quiz shows where nobody appears to be keeping score, all featuring precisely the same eleven comedians in different combinations
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Conversely, it's kind of fascinating that American TV can't figure out how to put a bunch of funny people together just shooting the shit and manage to make it interesting.
Honestly it's kinda cozy, you wind up almost in a parasocial relationship with a set of recurring characters, who are mostly nice and nonthreatening. Hopefully that doesn't go too far ...
At least that's my experience of listening to a LOT of Radio 4 for 20 years, I never watched the TV shows.
I'm always amused when there are American comedians regularly on those shows who've been completely forgotten in the US (e.g. Rich Hall of "Sniglets" fame)
Wrt scores I think it may have started off with points from rounds that got edited out still counting and then just became a standard part of the format?
I feel like the US has a version slowly percolating with Dropout TV - Drag Race - After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson. Lots of crossover opportunities it seems
The whole country is like 8 miles wide. I think it’s just really easy to get people into a studio when you have functional mass transit and an entire country the size of Nebraska.
ive had this explained for a similar question ive had for japanese television and i wonder how much overlap there is; a function of a still existing studio system where you have a lot of talent on contract with nothing to do between projects and its cheap
much like the 70s here when networks were king you'd have celebrities that you didn't allow to make movies easily or were between tv shows or were just a bit washed up but for pennies could fill a studio to make jokes about doing whoopie while day drunk to fill huge gaps in programming
Yeah I've definitely noticed how similar British and Japanese celebrity culture are before (and I mean they also both have tea and are living in the shadow of a faded empire), although British celebrities do have the chance of becoming globally famous in the US most Japanese celebrities don't.
Is that why they're all so smug? Secure in the knowledge that their seat on the BBC gravy train will never be taken by anyone not named David, Rob or Lee or Sandy.
Americans keep trying to do panel shows but somehow always get them wrong. I'm not sure how you manage to fuck up such a simple and widespread format, but you do. You've got like two and they're all Dropout shows.
I watched a pretty good YouTube video a while ago that was basically "is dropout finally making the panel show work for America" but I couldn't tell you the video for the life of me
They make it impossible for anyone who isn't a lord or old money to be int the business, anyone who isn't who not enough has to claw their way through.
The writer's pay crisis of US and Hollywood Productions has been the daily business since they stopped hangings at London Tower.
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Give Americans the tools, and we can do the rest! Don't give up on us, baby!
I personally loved Tough Crowd
At least that's my experience of listening to a LOT of Radio 4 for 20 years, I never watched the TV shows.
(I watch a lot of them tho, and love them!)
I don't mind as long as I never have to watch them.
One of the best Saturday Night Live sketches ever...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEVQWBn20ws
Now there are about 20 quizzes on weekday afternoons hosted by comedians.
They are incomprehensible and the comedians seems as baffled as everyone else.
The writer's pay crisis of US and Hollywood Productions has been the daily business since they stopped hangings at London Tower.