The changing face of laughter

I watch a lot of comedy on tele, 8 out of 10 cats/does countdown, Mock the Week, QI, Would I Lie To You?, Michael McIntyre's Big Show, Stand Up To Cancer, The Asian Provocateur, Taskmaster, and so on.

I think there are some great new young comedians coming up, some of the ones who were the young ones are now settling down and having children and older ones like Jimmy Carr are dyeing their hair!

In The Asian Provocateur, Taskmaster, WILTY and Michael McIntyre, there is no swearing or smut, just good old fashioned fun and humour.

Saying that, I have just watched The Good Old Days from way back when and there was still suggestive stuff on that, as there was in The Two Ronnies songs and innuendos from Morecambe and Wise, even though I loved them. It's always gone on, look at Bernard Manning and the jokes of the 70's. They are now classed as racist and sexist. But they still got away with it on The Comedians.

Only a small amount are below the belt - Frankie Boyle being one of them, but I still like him, I just have to be in the mood. I think some are worse on tour and their own dvd's. Just don't buy them. But to not have any humour or stand up would be a crime, in my opinion.

absent he may have bought it in Australia - they must have the same sense of humour down under!

Where would one go to get a plastic cat poo or itching powder now?
I'll ask DGS, he arrived with two whoopee cushions which only a 6 year old could find so hilarious!
And some plastic poo, cause of more hilarity!

I agree re Billy Connolly and Peter Kay. DH and I went to see Ken Dodd some years ago and he was absolutely hilarious with his daft jokes.

Billy Connelly is hilarious, my Dad booked him in the early 70s to appear in his club, he went down really well but was never asked back as my Mum didnt approve of his language. Peter Kay just has me in bits, his Max and Paddy show was on par with the Royle Family. Grew up listening to Hector Nicoll,Rikki Fulton etc Today its still game that has me ROFL

find Kevin Bridges really funny ,a young Billy Connelly ,great stories that strike a chord .

A friend told me how much she enjoyed the last series of the Michael McIntyre Big Show, so I watched the first of the new series last night. It had me laughing out loud and also crying at the 'unexpected star of the show'. MM usually annoys me with his pacing all the time, but I thoroughly enjoyed this programme. I haven't laughed so much for ages. I can recommend it as a family show with no swearing.

Some things stand the test of time, my GC love "Fawlty Towers" . I really enjoyed Peter Kay's Car Share last year.

I don't find any stand up comedians funny any more. In the right context, though, I think there are still some very funny people about. Frank Skinner is always good, and I love Lee Mack.

I think there was a seismic shift in British comedy around the start of the early 90s, when political correctness started to kick in and comedy went a bit alternative. I remember not really "getting" Ben Elton, Bottom, the Young Ones etc..glad to see M and Wise are popular once more.

I still enjoy Wilty and Hignfy.

Humour is of its age. The Goons and Round the Horn were of their period and in their period so could not expect to be considered funny now. Iur cultural references are different.

Personally I have always preferred wit to humour, Yes Minister to stand-up comedians. Last year,they had a series called (I think) WC1. It was based on life at the BBC and I found it to be absolutely brilliant; clever, witty and beautifully observed.

DD used to work for the BBC and still works in the media and couldn't watch it. It was so close to the reality she knew, that it made her wince and remember why she left the BBC.

Singing lobster

Most of its not funny today.the audience is mostly made up of clapping seals who would laugh if a cats ass was on fire,[blame me mum]

We recently bought our GS (4.5) a whoopee cushion, he thinks it's hilarious.
Years ago we were staying at Butlins and the comedian there was Tom O'Connor. Would not really have thought of him as being particularly funny but he was brilliant, that was with children in the audience. We didn't get to see the later show!
Anyone remember Billy Pearce? He was really funny on TV. We went to see him at the local theatre and were very disappointed, his act seemed to consist entirely of shouty swearing. I tend to find that with many comedians now, shouty, sweary, sneering. I'm not a prude, honest, but there seems little cleverness in what many of them do. Love the way Ronnie Barker used the language, the way Victoria Wood observed the ridiculous, and to a lesser extent Michael MacIntyre. Sorry, probably totally off the point of the OP by now!

I'm not keen on modern British comedy humour. Apart from the stalwarts - Morecambe and Wise, The two Ronnies, Victoria Wood - Frasier always had me in stitches; and my son used to buy me a Far Side cartoon book at Christmas. They are totally off the wall. As for silliness, DH bought a singing lobster one Christmas and we took it on our annual sojourn to my sisters house on Christmas Eve. He put it on the doorstep, set it going, rang the bell and we hid round the corner. My sister opened the door to this thing waving its claws and singing "Always look on the Bright Side of Life"! I thought she would have an extreme Tena Lady moment she was laughing so hard. He loves stuff like that. Last year it was Splat a Rat, which he bought for my grandson but my now adult step grandsons loved it so much he had to go out and buy another one!

I think a lot of comedians now rely on crudity and swearing to make their point. It's become the norm for a lot of people and is such a shame when we have a wealth of language to get the point across. I loved House too, Morecambe & Wise, Dave Allen, Victoria Wood all brought skill to their craft without gratuitous swearing etc.

MrBags and I are laughing a lot at episodes of House. His totally non-PC remarks are often funny, mainly because their humour is so downright wicked by current PC brigade standards.

My grandson aged 5 has started the knock knock jokes. We are obviously old fashioned in Norfolk.

Do you ever listen to Simon Mayo True Confessions on radio 2? There was a hilarious one about exploding cigarettes a couple of weeks ago.

Certain things never go out of fashion. Last Christmas the "boys" bought a whoopee cushion, they reverted to 5 yr olds and had more fun with that than you would believe. I'd better not tell you how old they are.

I have seen – but not bought – joke shop items such as those you mention JessM in $2-dollar shops here in NZ. I would imagine that they are also available in UK pound shops unless British kids are more sophisticated than Kiwi kids.

I think there is a branch of humour that depends upon swearing – the more frequent and coarser the better. I am not particularly prudish or, indeed, prudish at all about swearing, although there are some expressions I never use. I just don't think it's intrinsically funny. One exception – the end of the Monty Python "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" sketch.

Search online for plastic poo. There's an amazing choice!

Yes tastes change over time and we are more wordly and sophisticated now. I sent my sister a card from Florence showing a full frontal picture of David and commented on the size of his ... hands. She laughed about it for days. When I told my DiL (who does have a sense of humour) she just smiled. Tastes change.

Smut