Mr Bean, Basil Fawlty, Dave Allen

Comedy: an opiate for the masses

Two big things in my life are music and comedy. During the long Covid-19 lockdown, I cited a different song each day that has meant something to me over my lifetime. In 2022/203 I did something similar with comedy sketches; again searching Youtube for videos I have particularly enjoyed over the many years I have watched the output of talented comedians who often critique the dark realities such as government corruption through the medium of laughter.

However, please note that comedy is a tricky thing and what can be funny for one person can be insulting to another. I personally do not find strong language offensive when it is used for comedic effect so I may from time to time cite sketches that contain strong language. When I do this I shall warn the reader so they can skip over these sketches if they are offended by strong language.

At the bottom of this page, you will find a Youtube video which contains the comedy sketches in the order I have cited them on this website that you can play for your enjoyment.

List Sketches by:   Comedians

Sketches categorised by Weeks

A random set of seven sketches from the Comedy collection (Month 1: 1st April 2022 — Week 53: 31st March 2023)

Week 3: What’s My Job, Armstrong and Miller (Month 1)

Here is a really funny sketch from Armstrong and Millar. Anyone who has spent hours on flights for their business or employer will relate to this little sketch. A nice dig at high powered business folk who spend their work hours presenting other colleague's work.

Week 8: 40 – 45 Years, Harry Enfield (Month 2)

Another funny sketch from Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse. In this series part of the charm of this humour was simply capturing the odd characteristics of certain iconic characters that exist in every generation in this strange world we all find ourselves in. The ultra posh private Harley Street specialist routine is just so funny as in high powered medicine you do end up getting some characters, especially at the top echelons of the profession.

Week 26 Butler of the Year, Morecambe & Wise (Month 6)

Another sketch from two of the most naturally funny comedians who dominated the TV networks when I was a child. While some of their comedy has now aged, this sketch still makes me laugh out loud. Eric Morecambe was incredibly naturally funny, I would have loved to have met him.

Week 28: Why everyone on Strictly sleeps together, The Mash Report (Month 7)

I live in a house with 3 women (two daughters and one wife) so Strictly come dancing is a weekly fixture. While I have tried to get into the show, I only find it mildly entertaining so tend to watch the show very occasionally. However, whenever I do watch it, I am always struck by lots of very young pretty woman and hunky blokes spending hours together in close physical contact. It therefore has never surprised me that dancing couples not too infrequently end up in some form of short or long term physical (and or romantic) relationship. I guess it was only a matter of time before a comedy group would also pick up this truth and run with it in a funny sketch. Nice also to see Michael Spicer (the room next door) making a guest appearance in this sketch.

Week 30: The Market are Spooked!, Matt Green (Month 7)

Ok so we are now entering yet another period of complete chaos in the UK government as Truss was forced to sack her chancellor after Kwarteng released a non-costed mini budget that crashed the pound and the UK economy. Thankfully, the comedians have been at work trying to soften the pain for the long-suffering average Brit who have witnessed the health service collapse and their standard of livings fall as the government continues to pursue policies that only help the very wealthiest in society.

Yet it has also been a very busy week in UK politics. On the 19th of October Suella Braverman resigned as home secretary because she broke the ministerial code. Two days after that, on the 21st, Liz Truss was also forced to resign after her whole premiership was in tatters, there was bullying in the Commons as MPs were forced through the "yes" corridor in the voting chamber of the House of Commons on a crucial fracking vote, and Labour gained a 30 point lead over the Conservative party. In short, the whole country is in a right state because of a group of far right greedy, narcissistic, unintelligent, misanthropic, Dunning-Kruger-type individuals who care about as much for the common folk of the UK as I do for a garden slug. Sad and very difficult times indeed for the UK.


Week 38: Going around for a birthday tea, Peter Kay (Month 9)

Peter Kay is a master of observation and so much stand up comedy relies on observing the funny little things that we all do as foible-ladened human beings.

Week 43: Striding Man – Fired, Armstrong & Miller (Month 10)

So last week I posted a compilation of sketches by Armstrong and Miller which captured the sometimes strange dynamics that occur in "high powered" workplaces full of alpha male (and sometimes female) middle managers and their underlings all vying for patronage from their boss. The Armstrong and Miller show often ran the same sketch each week developing it little by little each time. If you want to see how the striding man character developed during their comedy series then look at last week's post

The sketch below is the final instalment of the Striding Man and I guess the moral of the story is no matter how successful you are inside your workplace, there is always a chance it could all come crashing down in a moment. I guess this even applies to CEOs who can find themselves fired by their boards. Having said that, I think most CEOs know that even if they get fired they will walk away with a gigantic severance payment and into another CEO role in another large company such is the old boys revolving network that seems to exist at that level.

Year 2023: Occasional Post

RIP Matthew Perry (1969 - 2023)
RIP Barry Humphreys (1934 - 2023)

Month 12: March 2023

Week 53 - The final Sketch: Head to head discussion of the Beatles, Alas Smith and Jones
Week 52: Aeroplanes, Dave Allen
Week 51: Tunnel Contractor, Alas Smith and Jones
Week 50: Moments of Wonder: Computers, Philomena Cunk
Week 49: Happy Couples, Armstrong and Miller

Month 10: January 2023

Week 44: The work outing Part 2, The IT Crowd
Week 43: Striding Man - Fired, Armstrong & Miller
Week 42: Information, Armstrong and Millar
Week 41: Morecambe and Wise Christmas show 1978

Month 8: November 2022

Week 35: Boys are always more popular when they are murdered, Diane Morgan
Week 34: Dating a Republican, Garfunkel & Oates
Week 33: Cabinet Ministers Charity Appeal, Larry & Paul
Week 32: Braverman Shanty, The Marsh Family

Month 6: September 2022

Week 27: Mr Bean goes to the Dentist
Week 26 Butler of the Year, Morecambe & Wise
Week 25: Dr Death, The Two Ronnies
Week 24: Small Talk, The Two Ronnies
Week 23: Work outing part I, The IT Crowd

Month 4: July 2022

Week 18: Constitutional Peasants Scene, Monty Python
Week 17: Who does one think one is, Harry Enfield
Week 16: Nadine Dorries Conservative Party leadership campaign video, Sooz Kemper
Week 15: Boris Johnson's Resignation Speech, Matt Green
Week 14: Mastermind, Morecambe and Wise

Month 2: May 2022

Week 9: The Beatles, Morecambe and Wise
Week 8: 40 - 45 Years, Harry Enfield
Week 7: Doctors Scene 4, Harry Enfield
Week 6: The Upper Class Twit of the Year, Monty Python

The videos below will play all the Youtube videos in the order they were added. If you click on the button in the top right corner of the video below, it will bring up the full play list of videos and you can scroll down to select whichever one you want to play. Enjoy!

The Youtube Complete Play List (Sketches 1 to Present)

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