Can we take a joke? (apparently not)

Len: ‘We should write a comedy one day’
Bob: ‘Nah, no one would air it.’

So the Daily Mail brigade is trying to derail another comedian’s career. Jack Whitehall‘s recent performance on The End of the Year Quiz Show was close to the mark at points but ultimately very funny. Which is the point…isn’t it? Comedy (like any art form) is intent on invoking an emotion (hopefully laughter) the more people that react the more popular the comedian. Jake Whitehall was crowned King of Comedy by viewers of the 2012 Comedy Awards. I’ve seen his DVD and its fucking hilarious. It’s therefore a fair assumption to make, that he’s good at his job and that people like what he does. I found his performance on The End of the Year Quiz Show entertaining and had to really rack my brains to see where he may have crossed any lines. I was definitely not ‘shocked’ by any of the jokes.

Personally just because I feel something is distasteful or perhaps just not funny I don’t feel compelled to complain. Perhaps this is an age thing? Like most men, I don’t like complaining at the best of times. Perhaps when you get old this pent-up complaining comes out in streams.

Agnes: ‘Albert are you ready with the email’
Albert: ‘Yes Agnes’
Agnes: ‘OK, it’s coming on now’

They wait for the programme to start

Agnes:  ‘OK, Albert the introduction montage is too bright’
Albert: ‘Disgraceful. How dare the BBC offend my intelligence as well as my delicate eyesight. From the opening sequence of over-illuminated flickering lights, I knew I was in for a torrid time’

Albert awaits further direction from Agnes

I haven’t watched the series Miranda because I just know I won’t find it funny. Does that mean I should complain? It’s a typical ‘BBC funded by the taxpayer so better not push the envelope’ sort of comedy. I pay the same amount for the TV license as the next man so can I make a complaint about the niceness of these shows? Course not. I understand it’s a simple matter of taste. That’s the wonder of the remote control. I don’t have to watch Miranda or My Family. I simply turn it over. So what has The End of the Year Quiz done that’s wrong? It was after the watershed and its guests included the edgiest comedians around. It’s as far as I can gather quite ad-libbed so you can expect some close-to-the-marks gags. The format doesn’t even allow for things to be cut as it’s a quiz and you have to see all of the answers. A point made even clearer when Jack Whitehall attempted to hide a particularly risque answer. If the answers were that offensive turn over and never watch anything Jack Whitehall does again. Problem solved.

Frankie Boyle is another example of boundaries being pushed. He’s even said things that make me blush! So what do I do about it? I accept that’s what you get with him and decide not to watch him or follow him on Twitter (by the way I do watch him and follow him on Twitter). Celebrity juice is another show where it’s completely crass and in bad taste. This is the point of it though. I’d hate to think the number of complaints it would get if it were to air on the BBC.

So I have a solution. Anyone who reads the Daily Mail will get their TV for free but will only get 1 channel for comedies. Before the watershed, it plays endless re-runs of Last of the Summer Wine and after the watershed, it plays Allo Allo. This will allow the rest of us to enjoy the comedy that we enjoy.