- Johann Hari got there before me, and went into far more detail than I can be bothered with, but it needs to be said: Little Britain really isn’t very funny. At first I thought it was amusing enough, if downright shameless in its blatant plagiarisation of The League Of Gentlemen in terms of both theme (the twisted underbelly of everyday British life) and characters (don’t tell me that Marjorie Dawes, the sadistic weight loss support leader, isn’t just a carbon copy of TLOG’s Pauline Campbell-Jones, the sadistic restart officer at Royston Vasey’s job centre). But now, the show has become a monster: the nation’s favourite programme, a guaranteed ratings hit. Which is depressing, seeing as it’s little more than a franchise for catchphrases – a real comedy basic. “I want that one”; “Eh eh eh”; “Yeahbutnobutyeah”; “I’m the only gay in the village”. Yawn! Give me Extras, Peep Show, Nighty Night or Curb Your Enthusiasm any day. One of the new Little Britain ‘characters’ (an elderly woman with no control over her bladder – yep, pure comic gold) was criticised this week for making fun of incontinence and being ‘offensive and in poor taste.’ Being offensive and in poor taste actually often works in comedy. But not being funny? That’s a definite no-no.
- Well, the new licensing laws came into effect (although too late for poor George Best – RIP). Society is still intact. Shaky as ever, but intact.
- The Vietnamese rule of law stipulates that, if found guilty of having sex with children, Gary Glitter could face death by firing squad. Oh well, don’t let us stand in your way. So long, Gazza. Your legacy? A collection of shit glam rock and your name immortalised forever as cockney rhyming slang for a part of the human body that isn’t mentioned at the dinner table.
- Shocking news revealed today. Apparently, and this may shock many of you, some of the men in the Royal Marines don’t spend their spare time playing chess and discussing the works of Schopenhauer. Incredible.
- According to Site Meter, Liberal Elite today passed the 10,000 visits mark. Hurrah!
- Brrrrrrrr. Fucking cold, innit?
Centrist. Atlanticist. Dry liberal. Anti-totalitarian. Post-ideological pragmatist. Child of The Enlightenment. Toucan.
Citizen Sane 
Yes, it’s freezing.
Glorious mish mash of your talent! Happy 10,000.
L
Congrats Liberal Elite. Keep up the good work!
Waah! Never even heard of half those shows- right now “Miss World – Vote For Me!” is the cream of the Israeli Cable crop. What I wouldn’t give for just a glimpse of Channel 4…
And- kudos on the 10,000!
I agree… It was mildly amusing to begin with, but the jokes are more than a little thin now.
However.. in their defence, I have to say that many of the characters have been around for a long time before LB started. Particularly the Matt Lucas ones – Marjorie Dawes, Sir Bernard Chumly, etc. These characters were out and about up here at the Edinburgh Fringe even before TLOG were impressing the Perrier judges.
Still… it’s tired now. Time to put it to bed.
Hmmm. That’s true. But Little Britain’s still a one trick pony that needs putting down.
I think Lucas and Walliams were funnier doing their Rock Profiles.
Excellent blog. Little Britain is dire.
How to watch little britain:
Watch one episode every month – then you forget just enough to not realise that what you are watching is exactly the same as what you watched in the episode before hand.
Or alternatively, just can the un-funny bar stewards.
H
Lots of things here to comment on but first up I am soooo glad that someone else has noticed that Little Britain just ain’t funny. I thought for a while that I was the only one (in Britain) not getting the joke. I totally agree about the likeness with TLOG too. Give me Peepshow any day – I can safely say that last Friday’s episode made me weep with laughter and was possibly one of the best so far….
As for 24 hour drinking I have yet to experience the pleasures but I was intrigued to hear from my step dad who drinks religiously in the same watering hole every night, that he had a rather surreal few moment last Weds when there was no 10.50 bell…and no 11.00 bell…and as a result ended up having half a pint less than he normally would! Presumably due to not being in a hurry to cram it all in. Him and his cronies all went on their merry way at 11.20…
Totally agree about last Friday’s Peep Show. I laughed out loud – a rare occurrence for me.
So there we have it – conclusive evidence that longer licensing hours leads to reduced drinking!