More on Awards...

I had intended to post a lengthy report on the British Comedy Awards - in fact, it is written ... and I spent ages working up some graphics too... but I decided I didn't want to post it after all. Instead, I want to address some points which have arisen from conversations since.

Firstly is the idea of judging comedy at all.
Whether we laugh at a particular joke or not comes of our own circumstance, our beliefs and opinions; there is not a single joke which everyone in the world finds funny. This is why I so enjoy hearing from you all about what you find funny: people who send me links to things they feel I should watch or hear; those who post in the comments area here or on facebook telling me why they agree or disagree with my opinions; people who invite me along to events; anyone who has ever said or written the phrase "You'll love this!" You all offer up your own perspective which is no less or more valid than my own. Likewise the opinion of a panel making the choices for an award ceremony. Who is to say that what that small group of people decide is 'the best' truly represents the views of the greater public? Especially when we do not know their true motivation.

There is always a smack of politics about any award ceremony and this one is no different. Does it not invalidate the entire process that the nominees are selected from a pre-approved list? Should someone really be overlooked simply off the back of the fact they would probably not attend the ceremony to collect in person? I was always taught you do not give to receive. This is the same, surely?


Any regular readers will be aware I will never answer a "What is your favourite _?" question, because such things always depend on mood. And there is the issue: ask me now what is the best sitcom at the moment ... go one, ask! Today I will say 'Him and Her' - mostly because that was the last I watched, partly because I am in the frame of mind right now suited to the show. Ask me again later, it will be different... you won't know that until you ask but I guarantee it will change. Does this make me a fickle person? In spite of previous accusations, no. I won't think it is any less funny than I did before, just that my mood will be different or there will be something else at the forefront of my mind which eludes me right now.

So that is the problem.

I recently found myself in conversation with a very dear Cymrutalian friend Gino, which you can see in the comments here: BCA 2012 Blog Post about having some sort of "awards"-type setup here. Part of me thinks that would be fun and something I definitely want to do. But there is also a part of me that just knows there would be a huge bias towards my own favourites... and you all know what those would be.


So here is what I will do.

If the consensus is that you all care enough send ideas.

What/who would you recognise in the "No Fucking Prize it's Just a Bit of a Laugh" awards of 2013?

Categories, nominees, ideas for a better name... anything at all. You can easily find my opinion just by reading more of this blog, so if there is not enough feedback from people who aren't me I will not bother at all... such is the manner of true democracy!

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Yea, That Time of the Year Again!

2012 British Comedy Awards

I should have known better, really. I watched the nominations show thinking about the grim offerings we have seen of late thinking that if nothing else, at least the few gems should stand out. I was wrong.

I know time is an issue, that it is always difficult to fit the awards into its timeslot. Some might suggest adbreaks don't help matters and clearly there needs to be time allowed for the drivelling nonsense of Jonathon Ross between each, but there are so many aspects of comedy missing.

The most prominently missed each year would be radio. There are so many fantastic radio comedies at the moment it is almost impossible to find a favourite. Okay, maybe that is wherein lies the problem: the nominations list itself seems a rather lazy one even in spite of the poor selection from which to choose, possibly it was just deemed too much hard work to trawl through radio shows to find the best of them. Or maybe those arranging the nominations are unaware of the existence of such a new, modern format as radio. Either way, there is an enormous selection of comedy being ignored from the outset.

What of the stand-up circuit? How's about awarding those doing all the really hard work in going out in search of their audience? After all, people will always watch television, getting them to leave the house to go and find their comedy is surely far more difficult and worthy of recognition, is it not?

And those who work hard to bring the industry to a greater market by appearing in more mainstream shows. I mean, yes, okay at the end of the day appearing on breakfast and daytime television or local news shows and the like may be a means to sell more tickets, but if they are also making the audience aware of the greater live comedy circuit in the process, surely this is a good thing too. There are also a growing number of acts using their comedian personas to present factual shows. This is equally commendable, is it not?

In the modern age, there is also scope for a multi-media selection. There are comedy shows which are purely internet-based, a huge range of parody websites, the endless list of podcasts we all subscribe to; all available to the audience for free and all unrecognised by the cursory glance through the Radio Times which has clearly inspired the current choices.

Surely there is also scope to have separate Best Comic and Best Character Comic categories. I mean, how can you choose between someone who undertakes their chosen comedy format, be it as a stand-up, presenter or chairing a panel show as themselves versus someone permanently acting out a character?


So what of the nominations themselves?

It seems lazy at best. For the most part, we are just being drip-fed the same things each year. Yes, we remember those shows, now how about nominating something different for us?

Not to detract at all from the efforts of the repeated nominations, I mean who doesn't love the likes of TV Burp and Horrible Histories, but there are also plenty of new things which are equally as deserving.

There are a couple of minor irritations amidst, too. For example, how could Alan Partridge be nominated as a New Comedy? Officially, of course, it is because of being on a new channel but does that make a difference? Maybe it should simply be an award for Best New Sky One Comedy? Again, this is no derision of the show itself; I quite enjoyed the new series, but it was nothing new.
Another annoyance would be the Best Actor/Actress categories. It seems logical to me that an award for acting should cover every role the person plays, yet in this case it is character-based meaning that someone displaying the ability to play more than one role brilliantly is nominated twice. This makes no sense and does smack of laziness in finding other people worthy of nomination.

The thing which bothered me most about the whole event is the King/Queen of Comedy. Again, I wouldn't want to detract from those nominated because all have worked hard to get where they are, but why should they be nominated at all? I would like to see an award voted for by the people with a completely open forum allowing real comedy fans to vote for whoever they choose. Not that I know who I would vote for, but regardless at least it allows for those who actually love pure comedy to have something of a say before those who like their laughs neatly packaged in mainstream boxes to make their selections. Of course, the television audience will always beat the true fans of fun and laughter in the long run, but at least we can feel we have contributed something.

Stay tuned for an analysis after the event. Hopefully it won't be too much of a ranty one!

Roadtrip of Heroes

I had intended to post this a while ago. I know I promised some sort of regular soundcast - I have been recording them, but we waffle far more than we should and I have to find time to edit and I could think of a billion more excuses but it still wouldn't mean they were ready to be uploaded. I'll try though.



So daughter two and I battled the most horrendous weather to get to Cardiff in order to watch the recording of two episodes of the second series of the utterly brilliant "Pantheon of Heroes". What can I say but that you should make sure you listen! Even if you missed the first series, definitely catch this one!

First episode is tomorrow (or today, dependant on when your feed of choice picks up this post!) Friday 7th December at 6.30pm on BBC Radio Wales. Don't live in Wales? No problem: Sky customers can listen on channel 0117, you can listen live online via the Iplayer or those who use the Iplayer app (which won't let you hear regional shows) can use Tune-in Radio which I find to be a good reliable app. No excuses! (Oh and it'll probably be repeated after Rhod Gilbert's show on a Saturday too, dependant on a lack of sport!)

So here is the soundcast. Apologies for the poor sound quality in the mid-section. I spent a lot of time editing out background noise, but wasn't able to clean it completely.