VEEP is apparently now being written by a team of semi-literate teenagers who believe that this sort of vulgarity takes the place of good writing. I’m not a prude, and I’ve been watching HBO programming for many years, but this little gem reaches a low that I wasn’t sure was possible. It had nothing to do with the show’s story line and everything to do with how the bottom has fallen out of the quality of writing for the show. It now consists of nonstop profanity and different twists on how to stick various objects in various orifices. I would expect that next the writers will be making merry with pedophiles.
I’ve always liked JLD for her comedic timing, and thought that she had some class. I’m shocked that she would agree to utter this dialog, and have written to the network to protest its inclusion. We won’t be watching any further episodes.
And why not? In fact Chris Morris, one of the directors of the show and like Iannucci a comic genius, did this in one of his shows several years back to hilarious effect.
I very, very much doubt that, and I can only imagine Iannucci or Morris’s reaction to such a request. (Plus the Q-unit is smart enough not to provoke a “Streisand effect”)
Why would it be censored? A fictional president in a fictional universe abuses a fictional queen in a fictional universe?
I’m not sure having said offensive line in the title of this thread was a good plan. I don’t particularly want to have to read it every time I visit the SDMB.
As others have said Iannucci has written far more shocking stuff(I realise he is no longer a writer on Veep) and most of it worked fairly well. I do think some of the language in *The Thick of It *was gratuitous. One example in particular sticks in my mind. It’s worthless complaining about bad language on a forum such as this as earthy language is the in thing at the moment, and as I suggested previously it often adds to a show.
However, the use of bad language in a show is often the last bastion of an uncreative motherfucking cocksucker writers.
I haven’t gotten HBO in awhile and since haven’t since VEEP but I think you’re being premature. The ability to use a word like that (in a witty way) is what makes HBO a great place for adult, witty comedy.
Off the top of my head I can think of two great HBO shows that did just this. Curb Your Enthusiasm had an episode called Beloved Aunt in which Larry’s aunt dies and when he orders the condolence cards the printer screws up and instead they have ‘Beloved Cunt’ written on them. His family is furious thinking he did it deliberately. Ironically in another episode guest starring JLD they are playing cards at her house and when somebody (a man) makes a really bad play he shouts, “Oh you cunt! You stupid cunt!” Nobody says anything but everyone is shocked and leaves.
Another was a quick scene in The Larry Sanders Show. Both Brooke Shields and Marlee Matlin are booked as guests and since Matlin was booked first she expects to go on first. Brooke Shields just says, “I don’t care, I’m the bigger star, I’m going on first”, to which Matlin signs something to her interpreter and he turns to Shields and says, “Cunt”.
