Crab apple wine is disappearing faster than the Arctic ice-shelf. I noticed on Wednesday that this bottle's cork was inching its way in an upwards trajectory, so I put it in the fridge to reduce its chances of explosion. This tactic was successful and even on opening very little was lost.
We drank the bottle to home-made chicken curry pasties and then watched episodes of Doctor Who and Hi-de-Hi on DVD. The latter was interesting - it was filmed in 1980 and I have vague memories of seeing it first time round when I was ten. Whilst dated, it merits a re-watch, and it is close to tragedy, despite being a sitcom. Perhaps that is a mark of good comedy. And many of the actors, despite seeming impossibly old when I was ten, were a good deal younger than I am now. Age plays cruel tricks.
Think you're right Ben. The mark of a good comedy is tragedy. I would also say pathos and self deprecation. The fictional characters in Hi-de-Hi had all been big stars and lived on their past glory.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how many great comedies have been set in Yorkshire: Rising Damp (Rigsby invested in Pennine oil, I Didn't know You Cared (uncle Mort was my hero) Selwyn Froggatt, Little Voice. Brassed Off and of course: Last of the Summer Wine.. Shall I go on?
Great blog topic Ben.
I've never heard of 'I Didn't Know You Cared'! And I didn't know 'Rising Damp' was set in Yorkshire. Or did I? Was it Hull? There are a lot of northern comics out there - and according to a Radio 4 documentary from a couple of years back, rather a lot of Catholic ones too.
ReplyDeleteThough not to everyone's taste, I think one of the things that made The Office such a brilliant piece of television was its tragedy. I watched the very last episode in tears. And that was a happy ending (of sorts).
You can see videos of 'I Didn't Know You Cared' on You Tube Ben. The main character Uncle Mort is one on his own and he had an allotment, railway carriage shed, complete with Union Jack and flagpole.. The series and books were penned by the late and in my opinion - great, Peter Tinniswood. He was a master of sardonic humour.
ReplyDeleteThink northern comics should be celebrated for making us laugh.
Not sure if it was Hull. Don't think they ever said. Rigsby was a character wasn't he? Very funny but very sad.
I could never understand The Office. Never knew when the main character was being serious or not. The humour was far too clever and ironic for me.
Watched Little Voice again the other week. It's a classic. Jane Horrocks performance was incredible.