Comedy Archeology - Quick And To The Point

While the Monty Python group may have been the sketch comedy team that had the biggest impact on me, they were by no means the only ones to have an influence. There’s a real thrill to be had in the quick -fire, hit and miss nature of sketch show with the best ones hitting more often than they miss. It’s a comedy form that seems to be going through a slightly bare patch at the moment as narrative-driven comedy seems to be the dominant form in television at the moment but that doesn;t make it any less valid. Here are some of the ones that have had a strong impact on me over the years.

Harry Enfield’s Television Programme / Harry Enfield & Chums
One of the key indicators of a successful sketch comedy show is, “Is it being quoted in the playground/office, etc. the next day?” Well, this one was playground for me and it most certainly was for me. The chemistry between Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke in these shows is undeniable and the range of genuinely funny performances that they are able to give is remarkable. Kathy Burke’s Perry is an absolutely sublime characterisation of an awkward teenage boy.

The Fast Show
The first major sketch show to boil sketches down to their absolute essence - a defined character and a catchphrase and sometimes not much more than that - while still managing to be genuinely funny. Another one that entered the comedy quote lexicon of the nation in the 90s. Launched the careers of John Thompson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, Arabella Weir and the late Caroline Aherne who all went on to bigger things in the world of film and TV. 

A Bit Of Fry And Laurie
A joyous combination of very smart and very silly with the occasional hint of the surreal and a few cracking comedy songs too. This cemented Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as comedy forces to be reckoned with. The sketches still stand up very well today - as with a lot of my favourite comedy, there’s a love of playing around with language particularly evident in the visit to the DIY shop to buy some flushed grollings and the invention of new swear words to bypass BBC censors (cluff, prunk, fusk and pempslider all being examples).

Absolutely
A show that I feel gets sadly overlooked these days even though it was popular enough to get its own spin off series (Mr Don And Mr George which I’ll talk about another time). Being the product of a combination of largely Scottish (plus one Welsh and one English) comedians, it definitely felt like a different voice from the usual comedy of the time. Standout characters for me (besides the afore-mentioned Don & George) were the Stonybridge Town Council, the bizarre Denzil and Gwynedd, lavatory-based Frank Hovis and dirty old man Bert Bastard.

Big Train
Another one that gets a little overlooked in my opinion despite having a number of iconic sketches that have often been stolen for advertising campaigns. From writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews (creators of Father Ted) and starring Simon Pegg, Julia Davis, Mark Heap, Catherine Tate, Kevin Eldon, Amelia Bullmore and Rebecca Front, it’s weird and silly and gave us the (barely) animated World Stare-Out Championship.

I’d initially thought to follow this through in a linear-ish fashion while still theming it but I;ve jumped around all over the place. The sketch show is very much an evolution of a slightly earlier form, one which definitely is part of the comedy DNA…