Humour and comedy

TV comedy is pretty dire at the moment.  I listen to a lot of comedy podcasts (Elis and John, WDYDY, Down the Dog, Budpod and,  the king of all comedy podcasts:Three Bean Salad). I am also making the effort to go and see more stand up (usually on my own) and I saw Stewart Lee a couple of weeks ago. He was brilliant.

I think this attitude of "modern comedy is ***" is a bit lazy to be honest. As with music, there is an enormous variety out there, you just can't wait for it to appear on BBC1 in front of you.

For me its not just modern comedy it's comedy, old or new, it's rarely actually funny, maybe its a double empathy thing or maybe its because I analyse things to much?

I can't do podcasts or radio, disembodied voices freak me out.

For me its not just modern comedy it's comedy, old or new, it's rarely actually funny, maybe its a double empathy thing or maybe its because I analyse things to much?

I can't do podcasts or radio, disembodied voices freak me out.

I think a certain type of comedy is about recognition. Observational comedy is the most popular form of standup comedy for instance. Michael McIntyre being a very successful example. That's not my type of comedy at all though. I like comedy that's based on language, or absurdity. Slapstick, when done extremely well, is very funny but it's rare to see it done really well. The thing is though, either you find something funny, or you don't and if you don't, it has no other worth!

I also recognise nothing about Four Weddings and a Funeral (although I think Hugh Grant is a great comic actor) I find nearly everything Richard Curtis is involved in to be toe curlingly bad. So many of his characters I find just obnoxiously smug.

Book and telly.

I think a lot of comedy is about recognition and if I don't recognise a situation then I often don't find it funny, for example I'm the only person I know who didn't get Four Weddings and a Funeral, everyone else was laughing and saying stuff like 'isn't that like every wedding you've ever been too' and having only ever been to two and one of them my own, quick trip to the registery office, no it was not like every wedding I'd ever been too.

I love comedy and couldn't imagine getting through life without it. I can be having the most rotten day but if something really strikes me as funny it will cut through it all like nothing else. I listen to podcasts or audio books at pretty much any opportunity.

What is your preferred entertainment form? Books, music, theatre, film?