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 16: Nadine Dorries Conservative Party leadership campaign video, Sooz Kemper (Month 4)

So last week I shared a comedy video which was a parody of de Feffel's resignation speech. This week we of course now must be subject to the spectacle of those who supported Johnson's car crash vying to replace him. Given that Johnson created a strong evolutionary selection pressure to reward those who were least likely to present any threat to his leadership into cabinet positions, the choice the country has, in relation to the field of possible Tory replacements, is (as the LBC radio presenter James O'Brien stated) a bit like trying to chose a portaloo toilet at the Glastonbury festival.

Thankfully, probably the worst three in Johnson's cabinet of infamy had enough sense not to run and this of course included Nadine Dorries the minister for culture. Sadly over her tenure, Nadine has sadly demonstrated why she would never, in a million years, get a cabinet position under any other Prime Minister who had even a modicum of public duty in his body. Yet for comical effect, the comedian Sooz Kemper imagines what it would be like if Nadine had decided to run to replace Johnson as PM and what her campaign launch speech might have looked and sounded like. Enjoy.

Week 18: Constitutional Peasants Scene, Monty Python (Month 4)

The works of Monty Python are a bit like marmite. You either hate them or love them. I personally enjoy some of the Python movies and one of my favourites was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. There are so many classic scenes from this movie but one of my favourites is when king Arthur receives a lecture on modern constitutional democracy. Probably a lesson that our current PM contenders Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak would do well to learn.

Week 20: The Scammer Broke his phone after losing $2,000, Kitboger (Month 5)

So I guess this strictly isn't comedy although it certainly contains very funny elements. I must confess I am mentally exhausted living in a world where wicked people always get away with it and seemingly never face the consequences of their many crimes. I think for me the last few years in Britain has been really tough as I have witness an extremist faction of the Tory party (the European Research Group) get control of the party and through their stooge Boris Johnson, completely reek havoc on the UK economy by taking Britain out of the European Union trading bloc while allowing a man like Johnson, who does not have a honest bone in his body, lie his way through his premiership. The harsh consequences for the country has been the highest death toll in Europe from Covid-19, a National Health Service in complete meltdown, sustained double digit inflation, a severe cost of living crisis that the government is not even pretending to deal with, and finally a political campaign to find Johnson's replacement fought by too completely incompetent non-entities who should not have a job cleaning toilets let alone running the UK as the next PM.

Anyway, in this video you will see how Kitboger strings along a professional scammer, who normally preys on poor old ladies and gentlemen, to waste 5 hours of his day and give him the complete run-around as he thinks he has an easy target on which to ply his trade. The sense of schadenfreude in is strong in this video.

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Week 23: Work outing part I, The IT Crowd (Month 6)

I think one of the funniest comedy series made in the teens of the 21st was the IT crowd. The concept of the series is based around the IT department of a big multinational (Reynholme industries) that produces a product that is never revealed (part of the comical concept of the whole series). The IT department consists of two geeky guys: a classical geek (Moss) and a more subtle geek (Roy) who boasts to his boss Jen in the final episode of the whole series that his girlfriend thinks he is on the "emotional artistic spectrum". In some episodes (including this one) a goth called Richmond, who lives in the Server room, also puts in an appearance just to add to fun.

The series in general was brilliant but like all series, there were some episodes that were particularly funny. This clip is taken from the first episode of season 2 where Moss and Roy gate crash a date with their boss Jen who taken to the theatre by a bloke she hopes will be her next love interest. Unfortunately for her, he is gay and the musical he takes them to is not what one would describe as "mainstream". Yet given this is Moss's very first time at the theatre, he is very impressed, although, unbeknown to him and Roy, things are going to get interesting as the episode unfolds with Roy having to fake he is disabled and Moss ending up working behind the drinks counter and causing utter mayhem. All crazy stuff that generates a ton of very funny comedy. The clip below is the beginning of this very funny episode.

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 35: Boys are always more popular when they are murdered, Diane Morgan (Month 8)

Diane Morgan plays a famous character in the UK comedy scene called Philomena Cunk. While searching for funny comedy sketches for this section of my website, I came across this Youtube video of her working her craft as a stand up comedian. One of the interesting things about stand up comedy, is that comedians definitely inject their own unique characters into their routines. It is clear from Cunk and Morgan's routine in this little clip that she would be a person with an incredibly dry wit which completely permeates her whole character.

In fact, to give you a feel of Diane in a real life situation, I have also included this interview of her with her director Charlie Brooker. It is clear from some of the statements that Charlie makes, that he really doesn't have the first idea of what makes Diane tick. Sixteen minutes into this video Brooker says "Philomena is sort of on some unknowable level like or horse or something...It's hard to know what her inner life is or is that just me" To which Diane replies: I wouldn't say it was an absence of character"

Week 39: Blackadder The Third’s Cunning Compilation, Blackadder (Month 9)

Time for some more Blackadder. The last time I cited Blackadder on this website was all the way back in June when the days were warm and long. That particular set of sketches was taken from the final series of Blackadder which was set in World War I. This Blackadder is set around the time of George the 3rd and this historical context created lots of opportunities for the very clever comedy writers of Blackadder to create a series of master sketches. These wonderful sketches have brought many people much joy over many years and have raised the spirits of those who are feeling the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune".

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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