# Little Britain - Do you think it is funny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771 "2011-05-30T17:25:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/21 "2011-05-31T10:12:28Z")
Like all catchphrase-based humor it was hilarious at first and rapidly became less so. Once they were reduced to piss and vomit jokes I think it needed to be buried quickly. _Come Fly With Me_ was likewise hilarious, and perhaps moreso for parodying an existing type of show. I believe they’re making a second series which will not be as funny. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/22 "2011-05-31T10:53:58Z")
I watched the first season, and almost asphyxiated myself I was laughing so hard. At least at first. By the end of the season, I was getting really sick of how much they recycled their ideas. Never bothered with the second season. (FTR: _Huge_ fan of _Mr. Show_) ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/23 "2011-05-31T11:16:03Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Part of the reason I find it offensive is not the show itself, but the way people use it - people do actually use Andy and Dafydd to take the piss out of gay and disabled people. That’s not the show’s fault in a way, but it makes the sketches less funny for me to watch, and the show made it so _easy_ for people to do that, especially with Andy. Funny, I said exactly the same thing last night, but talking about the breastfeeding adult son sketches. I find them so offensive I had to leave the room - and that’s speaking as a nursing mother. They’re making it far too easy for those with prejudices to take the piss and have breastfeeding seen as “something weirdos do” ☹ ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/24 "2011-05-31T11:19:26Z")
I think [this review](http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transgendernews/message/18607) of the live stage show by Sydney Morning Herald writer Mark Dapin explains why the show is so unlikeable. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/25 "2011-05-31T11:45:58Z")
I thought the first series was very funny, because there seemed to be more standalone sketches. Then the repetition started, and I only enjoyed a few recurring sketches because of the characterisation, rather than the comedy. Well observed characters can sometimes be enough, but too many of them without any decent payoff just appears lazy (see also: The Catherine Tate Show). ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/26 "2011-05-31T11:54:51Z")
> [@hermette](#): > > They’re making it far too easy for those with prejudices to take the piss and have breastfeeding seen as “something weirdos do” ☹ Really?! I mean, the joke’s pretty obvious - at some point you will presumably wean your child off the breast…at least sometime before they’re due to get married? A lot of LB is about the catchphrases, though they do play with the settings and become increasingly self-referential. I do really like it - but I like my sensibilities being tested. It’s good to have a horrified laugh, as well as an intellectual one - and some of the underlying points (the ‘liberal’ university secretary who insults all the students - the so-racist conservative woman who is literally sick at the idea of eating food prepared by foreigners and even Daffyd, who’s so keen to be special in a world populated by people the same as him) are all clever and horrific at the same time. Even Lou and Andy isn’t as simple as ‘a disabled man who isn’t disabled’. There’s a whole level of pathos - of codependency - going on. Watch the ‘evil pole’ sketch, for instance. Where the clever observational stuff fades, there’s still some delicious absurd and surreal humour - but all that said, I’m no LB apologist - some of it I don’t really get (The 'ehhh, ehh, ehhh woman, for instance) - but Matt and David are incredibly talented artists. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/27 "2011-05-31T12:25:31Z")
I think it’s occasionally inspired, but very hit and miss, and the level of recycling is ridiculous. If you’ve seen one episode in a series, you’ve pretty much seen all of it. It’s catch-phrase comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/28 "2011-05-31T13:35:55Z")
Also, I’ve respected a lot of David Walliam’s other stuff, both on and off stage. I’ve sort of grudgingly begun to like him, which makes it just weirder that he got his start on such an utter crap show. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/29 "2011-05-31T15:00:07Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I think [this review](http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transgendernews/message/18607) of the live stage show by Sydney Morning Herald writer Mark Dapin explains why the show is so unlikeable. That article is pretty good, because the excited little brother says at the end “I suppose it’s not that funny” which is EXACTLY what happened to me when I showed my friend LB. I had been watching and enjoying, then excitedly showed my friend (who has very similar tastes to me) and he didn’t laugh once. And I was all “I suppose it’s not that funny.” Perhaps it’s only funny if you’re sad and lonely? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pitter\_Patter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90db22/32.png) [@Pitter\_Patter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitter_Patter)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/30 "2011-06-01T07:23:57Z")
I liked it at first, especially since Tom Baker did the narration, but it was too plug and play. Same stuff, same places. I still would watch it if I were bored:D ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/31 "2011-06-01T08:22:53Z")
I find it very meh. It seems like cheap shots at easy targets. I found it more lazy than offensive. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/32 "2011-06-01T08:55:33Z")
I’ve never seen the show save for the clips. The first one I felt like AT, totally confused. The second I got what was supposed to be funny, but didn’t like it. The third one finally got me to smile at the end. It seems like it depends a lot on backstory. If not, then, yes, it is painfully unfunny. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/33 "2011-06-01T14:17:29Z")
It was wildly uneven with some atrocious filler, but when they got it right it was susan perb. The Daffyd sketch will go in to the pantheon I’d say - the phrase _but I am the only gay in this village_ is now part of the comedy (and everday) lexicon. The Vicky Pollard stuff is funny but sort of cheap. There’s more challenging targets out there than satirising the UK underclass (and we have the real thing to watch anyhow - the Scheme finished this week on BBC scotland), but LB is a very safe show - they’re not interested in really stretching comedy or taking an original approach. Still funny IMO. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/34 "2011-06-01T14:30:41Z")
Definitely unfunny as a whole - the occasional smile but way more misses than hits. They ran out of good ideas before the end of season 1. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/35 "2011-06-04T02:36:47Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > It was wildly uneven with some atrocious filler, but when they got it right it was susan perb. The Daffyd sketch will go in to the pantheon I’d say - the phrase _but I am the only gay in this village_ is now part of the comedy (and everday) lexicon. This was about the only thing I liked on this show. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/36 "2011-06-04T04:29:18Z")
I find it baffling, but that’s better than the short-lived US remake which was simply offensive. I didn’t get **Clatterford** either. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771/37 "2011-06-06T11:40:59Z")
Catch-phrase comedy. I no like. For me a very poor rip-off of _ **The Fast Show** _, or a good version of\*\*\* The Dick Emery Show\*\*\*. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-britain-do-you-think-it-is-funny/583771.md?page=1)