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ITV comedy

We want the Desmonds on DVD! (December 2006)

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:-(
A former member
In that actical about the gameshow half of lines were about ITV return to comday, it seem there have even more ideas

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,1948260,00.html

Quote:

Mr Jackson also reiterated his determination to restore mainstream comedy to peak time ITV1.

He unveiled The Abbey, a new pilot starring Morwenna Banks to be made by Baby Cow, the independent production company owned by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal.

Set in a rehab clinic frequented by celebrities, the pilot features a guest appearance from Marti Pellow, the former Wet Wet Wet lead singer and recovered heroin addict.

He said he also had high hopes for previously announced sitcom Benidorm, starring Johnny Vegas, and Catherine Tate one-off The Bad Mother's Handbook.

Speaking at an event to mark the nominations for the British Comedy Awards, he said Al Murray was also working on a set of new characters for yet another pilot and Ben Elton would return with a new half-hour show in which he is joined by a co-host.

Richard Herring is also writing a new comedy, while Guy Jenkins, half of the writing team behind Drop the Dead Donkey, has written a 90-minute comic drama called Bike Squad, about a group of coppers demoted to pushbike duty.
LL
Larry the Loafer
All I can see is unpopular sitcoms like Shane and Barbara, which in my point of view, aren't very good.
ZO
Zoltan
ITV Comedy? I thought ITV WAS a comedy. Ok comedy drama. Okay black comedy. Okay tragic comedy. Comedy of errors.... Comedy Shall I strop now?
MD
Mr D'Arcy
I quite liked Barbara, wasn't that a Carlton show?
DA
David_02
I liked Barbara as well, and it did quite well in the ratings IIRC.
:-(
A former member
It never got shown in scoltand half the time!
TV
tvmercia Founding member
TV Fetish posted:
I quite liked Barbara, wasn't that a Carlton show?

central
AM
amosc100
ITV has made some decent and half decent comedies in the last 20 years - about the same amount as the BBC! Its just in the last 5 years that comedy hasn't worked for the station - except for Harry Hill's TV Burp, or that ITV doesn't have the forsight to sign programmes for certain amount of series' (like in the US) e.g. The All Star Comedy Show.

Just remember would Only Fools and Horses would have ever lasted past the first series if it was starting out today? Would Minder (more comedy than drama to be honest!!!) have lasted as long as it did if it was starting out today?

ITV Comedies are not given the chance so many are seen as failures.

ITV Comedies....
Barbara (success)
Outside Edge (success)
Brighton Belles (failure - and rightly so in not being given a second chance)
The Upper Hand (success)
Watching (success)
Surical Spirits (success)
Up The Garden Path (success)
After Henry (success)
Second Thoughts (success)
Faith In The Future (success)
Home To Roost (success)
Shane (not given a second chance - although IMHO it could have been a success)
Hardwood (success but dropped)
All Star Comedy Show (success but dropped)
2DTV (success but dropped)
Harry Hills All New Show (sucess but dropped)
Harry Hill's TV Burp (success)
Monkey Trousers (failure - a carbon copy of The All Star Comedy Show)
Creature Comforts (success)
Men Behaving Badly (success - first two series but dropped and then picked up by BBC)
Mr Bean - The Animated Series (success)
You've Been Framed (I wish they would send it into space and obliterate it nowadays - nowhere near as good as the Jeremy Beadle days!)

That's just a few in the last 15 years!!!!!!!
TI
tightrope78
'Conjugal Rites' with the late Michael Williams and Gwen Taylor was IMO one of the best ITV comedies of the past 15 years or so.
SJ
sjdavis
I actually liked Shane, there is an episiode on the Avalon web-site somewhere.

Similarly, there was a good comedy (but without the canned laughter nonsense), a number of years ago now, on Friday nights - starring Emma Wray.

* Does research on Google *

Jeepers - it was TEN years ago. It was called My Wonderful life and used the theme tune to Alisha's Attic "I Am I Feel" - that I can remember.

Also, in my unstructured post - does anyone remember that Hardware sitcom, which included the ex-Corrie actor Reg Holdsworth - that was appalling.

In my view, ITV has always been better at comedy dramas than comedy, and to be honest I prefer this type of programme, as it's actually believeable. Obviously I understand that straight up situation comedies are there for escapism more than anything, but nowadays there's rarely a joke I don't expect in them.

Finally, to complete this randomess - The Sketch Show - starring Tim Vine, Lee Mack, Ronnie Ancona and a few others - this was hilarious. I adored it, and this was one short comedy sketch show that ITV screened was was worth watching.
DA
davidhorman
Wasn't Loved by You on ITV? It had John Gordon-Sinclair in it, and I remember it being quite good.

David
AM
amosc100
tightrope78 posted:
'Conjugal Rites' with the late Michael Williams and Gwen Taylor was IMO one of the best ITV comedies of the past 15 years or so.


I completely forgot about that one!! - oh the shame and I used to watch it religiously as it was funny!!!!

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