[[toj.cc]Phantom]

Originally Posted by SakSquash

Monty Python is not funny. I watched Holy Grail last week, and I barely cracked a smile. Overrated.

Your not a very happy person are you?

[Tobbe]

Here in Finland we got a guy named André Wickström. he´s a stand-up comedian, really funny guy..

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by SakSquash

Monty Python is not funny. I watched Holy Grail last week, and I barely cracked a smile. Overrated.

Monty Python is *more* than just Holy Grail.

There's also The Meaning of Life, and of course, Monty Python's Flying Circus.

My favourite sketch is still "How not to be Seen".

"SakSquash has made it difficult for us. We don't know behind which of the three bushes he is hiding. But that's easy to find out:"

*Right bush explodes* BOOM!

*Left bush explodes* BOOM!

*Middle Bush explodes* BooAAAIIIIIIEEAAARGGGHooom!!!

"AH! It was the *middle* one."



-

[Gordon Bennett]

I have very mixed feelings regarding Monty Python. I respect them tremendously, as they seem to have somehow tapped into a sort of surreal aspect of the general human psyche and created comedy that has become iconic. It's strange to think that there was a time when their sketches and routines were created, it's almost as if they were always there.

On the other hand, I find quite a lot of what they've done to be unsatisfying. They often come up with a premise and leave it there without any development at all. I liked The Holy Grail and Life of Brian, but aside from that I've had my fill of them as a troupe. Some of the projects with Python members, like ISIRTA before and Fawlty Towers after were excellent, but as far as their contemporaries are concerned, I'd take The Goodies over Monty Python any day. Going back slightly, I must add Kenneth Williams to the list. He could make *anything* hilarious. Sheer genius.

I'm quite fond of the more recent comedy. Hammerite's list above is a good example. I have to add Alexei Sayle, Sue Perkins, Jerry Sadowitz, Lee and Herring, and most of all Victor Lewis-Smith to the list.

However, the absolute greatest comedian ever is undoubtedly Lenny Bruce. He brought fearless social conscience and true compassion to comedy. He did much more than entertain. He told the truth, no matter how painful it might be, and no matter how much he suffered at the hands of those who would prefer the comfortable lies that he stripped away from them with razor-sharp insight.

Some say that puns are the lowest form of comedy. They are wrong, of course. Hate jokes are. Comedy often takes aim at a target, and comedy is at its worst when used against a helpless or innocent victim. Conversely, the very highest form of comedy is satire, which throws light on the hypocrisy of the powerful to protect the innocent. Saint Lenny certainly did that. He was always halfway between bitter cynicism and quixotic idealism, battling fro freedom and dignity against anything and anyone who woudl repress them.

[SakSquash]

I think The Kids in the Hall are pretty funny.

[Hammerite]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

Monty Python is *more* than just Holy Grail.

There's also The Meaning of Life, and of course, Monty Python's Flying Circus.

My favourite sketch is still "How not to be Seen".

"SakSquash has made it difficult for us. We don't know behind which of the three bushes he is hiding. But that's easy to find out:"

*Right bush explodes* BOOM!

*Left bush explodes* BOOM!

*Middle Bush explodes* BooAAAIIIIIIEEAAARGGGHooom!!!

"AH! It was the *middle* one."



-

cant forget life of brian

[SakSquash]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

Monty Python is *more* than just Holy Grail.

There's also The Meaning of Life, and of course, Monty Python's Flying Circus.

My favourite sketch is still "How not to be Seen".

"SakSquash has made it difficult for us. We don't know behind which of the three bushes he is hiding. But that's easy to find out:"

*Right bush explodes* BOOM!

*Left bush explodes* BOOM!

*Middle Bush explodes* BooAAAIIIIIIEEAAARGGGHooom!!!

"AH! It was the *middle* one."



-

That kind of humor is too obvious.

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by SakSquash

That kind of humor is too obvious.

Well, it's just my favourite sketch. Didn't you know that I am a pyromanic that has learnt that setting fire to things I like leaves me with less things I like?

It has explosives, and that's what counts!

Also, the episode with the Masons was fun. Oh, and of course, the Spanish Inquisition!













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[stepurhan]

Jazhara, you've presented an extensive list and a lot of pictures but you really haven't explained why.

Why do you like this long list of people? (Ignoring for the moment the original question was comedian singular)

[Melanie68]

One of them has a duck on his head.

Oh and the Blancmange!

[tabacco]

Some favorites...

George Carlin - Obviously.

Lewis Black - He's so angry... how can you not love his stuff?

Stephen Lynch - Surprisingly naughty songs that sound very pleasant if you're not paying attention to the lyrics [ Example...]

Paul Rodriguez - Just good stand-up. Many may know him as the angry cab driver from 'Rat Race' (the one who strands Cuba Gooding Jr. in the desert)

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by stepurhan

Jazhara, you've presented an extensive list and a lot of pictures but you really haven't explained why.

Why do you like this long list of people? (Ignoring for the moment the original question was comedian singular)

It's hard to explain if you don't know them, I guess.

Herbert Feuerstein is just a funny person. You can see that he is quite older than most comedians, yet he acts like a much younger person. That first picture has him in his role of "Spartacus, the greatest stuntman in existence". The second one has him demonstrating how to play a recorder with your nose. When I think of Herbert Feuerstein, I always remember that one short sketch which had him going down a slide at a kids' playground, with someone talking about him, as if it was one of those wildlife shows, and Herbert Feuerstein was a very rare species.

Rudi Carrell is hard to explain. He died recently of lung cancer, yet he made a point of making the people laugh to the end, even when he was hardly able to speak due to the cancer. He was a dutchman in Germany, and you have to experience his humour, you cannot explain it.

Mike Krüger and Kalle Pohl I mostly like in the show "Sieben Tage, Sieben Köpfe" ("Seven Days, Seven Heads". A concept thought up by Rudi Carrell, by the way).

Bastian Pastewka has so many roles, and all very funny. My favourite is still one of the roles he had in "Die Wochenshow" (a comical news show), as Brisco Schneider. The first picture is Pastewka in that role. Brisco Schneider is the moderator of an Erotic TV magazine (called "Sex TV"), but apparently quite unsuited for that. He seems extremely shy if it comes to exotic erotic topics, making him go either "Ewww", or giggle uncontrollably when they come up. I am still not sure if he has a bit of the stereotype of a gay, or just of a person that is moderating the wrong show.
Then there's his role as Ottmar Zittlau, a not very smart 40 year old single (at least that's what I understood he was). Ottmar Zittlau was also the character that got locked into a container for the jokes about "Big Brother".
Frau Lüttich is the next character. She's one of the ladies from "Tantentratsch" ("Aunts' Gossiping").
Then he is the Indian selling roses. This was a kind of running gag.
The next picture is from the movie "Der Wixxer", which I still have to see.
The last two pictures are not from comedy shows, but rather from Pastewka's travel magazine.

Hape Kerkeling is just extremely versatile, and has managed to fool people with his costumes several times. I especially liked that one time when he dressed up as an obscure nordic rock band with some other people, and fooled the people from VIVA (a German music channel). The rock band what you could only call "extreme", and really freaked out a lot of the people in the studio at the time. Near the end when it was hard to bear any longer, the moderator (a woman) suddenly noticed that something was familiar about those people, and had one of those moments saying: "Say, you look a lot like...OH NO!!!". Hilarious!

Ausbiler Schmidt is quite funny, though I now have to admit not the best.

Didi Hallervorden is just that, Didi Hallervorden. You have to see him.

Olli Dittrich and Wigald Boning are just funny. They used to be a kind of joke two-man band called "Die Doofen" ("The Stupid Ones"). They are quite silly, despite the fact that both of them are actually very intelligent people. I sadly couldn't find the picture of one of his strange suits. His suits are often made from not normal materials, and the one I am thinking of is no exception: It was made from artificial grass.

Otto Waalkes is just way over the top. You have to see him. To illustrate what his humour is like, I'll tell you that he was the German voice of Mushu in Disney's "Mulan", who was voiced in English by Eddie Murphy.

Bernhardt Hoecker has a very witty kind of humour. That, and he is being made fun of (and does so himself) because of his size. He's quite smart too, and in the show "Genial Daneben" where comedians try to find the explanations or answers to strange questions sent in by the audience, 6 out of 10 times it's him who *happens* to know the searched piece of trivia.

Anke Engelke is also way over the top. She's able to take on dozens of vastly different roles, and also does extremely funny facial expressions. She was the German voice of Dory in "Finding Nemo", and she herself is *VERY* similar to Dory in many ways.


-

[Melanie68]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

That is quite cool.

I prefer his older stuff when he used to loads of silly songs as well as comedy.

For Example (Caution naughty words)

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/..._scotsman.html

That was funny! (wet suit eh?)

But his stand up is hilarious

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/..._New_York.html


Dennis Leary is great as well.

I'll have to listen to that one when I'm on my faster connection.

The other one I've been liking too is Craig Ferguson (another Glasgow guy). I don't know how funny some of his skits are on his late night show but his monologues at the beginning make me laugh.

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by tabacco

Some favorites...

George Carlin - Obviously.

Lewis Black - He's so angry... how can you not love his stuff?

Stephen Lynch - Surprisingly naughty songs that sound very pleasant if you're not paying attention to the lyrics [ Example...]

Paul Rodriguez - Just good stand-up. Many may know him as the angry cab driver from 'Rat Race' (the one who strands Cuba Gooding Jr. in the desert)

George Carlin - he is very good... like him a lot.

[Lee in Limbo]

George Carlin, Dennis Miller, Denis Leary, Robin Williams, Billy Connolly, and yes, the Monty Python troupe. They are not overrated. They were revolutionary. They took their influences from the Goons and from Beyond the Fringe and That Was The Week That Was and pushed into completely new territory on every front. Very nearly everything you know about modern comedy (except perhaps improv, which was more Jonathan Winters and Robin Williams) they helped pioneer. So don't feed me that crap about 'overrated'.

Say what you want abou them, but the best comparison I ever heard was that Monty Python are the Beatles of the comedy world, and their legacy is huge. Anyone who thinks they are breaking new ground only has to look carefully at what the Pythons did to realize that they aren't as far off the back porch as they think they are. The only other troupes that really broke as much ground were the original SNL team and the original SCTV crew. Everyone else is polite and cute (or rude and utterly ridiculous) by comparison. That's not saying there is no good sketch comedy left. There's plenty. But very little of it has truly gotten out from under Monty Python's shadow.

(Is that a good enough explanation?)

[insane_cobra]

Pablo Francisco because... well, because I think he's funny, obviously. And he doesn't just tell jokes, ha acts them out perfectly. I wish I'd seen more of his newer material, though.

Jeremy Hotz is also nice and let's not forget The Dudes.

[Erwin_Br]

Dennis Leary, Jerry Seinfeld, and a few Dutch comedians you probably don't know

--Erwin

[lumi]

Stephen Colbert has been consistently funny for me, from Strangers With Candy to the Colbert Report. Of course, he does have writers...



Here's one clip of him.

Here's another.

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

George Carlin, Dennis Miller, Denis Leary, Robin Williams, Billy Connolly, and yes, the Monty Python troupe. They are not overrated. They were revolutionary. They took their influences from the Goons and from Beyond the Fringe and That Was The Week That Was and pushed into completely new territory on every front. Very nearly everything you know about modern comedy (except perhaps improv, which was more Jonathan Winters and Robin Williams) they helped pioneer. So don't feed me that crap about 'overrated'.

Say what you want abou them, but the best comparison I ever heard was that Monty Python are the Beatles of the comedy world, and their legacy is huge. Anyone who thinks they are breaking new ground only has to look carefully at what the Pythons did to realize that they aren't as far off the back porch as they think they are. The only other troupes that really broke as much ground were the original SNL team and the original SCTV crew. Everyone else is polite and cute (or rude and utterly ridiculous) by comparison. That's not saying there is no good sketch comedy left. There's plenty. But very little of it has truly gotten out from under Monty Python's shadow.

(Is that a good enough explanation?)

Please stop taking the words out of my mouth.

[Squinky]

Adam Sandler!

Just kidding.