Happy 60th Birthday Charles

So, last week it was Prince Charles’s 60th Birthday, and as a celebration of this, a bunch of comedians put on a joke-fest for him. Now, in my opinion, that is a great way to celebrate someone’s 60th, and I hope someone does that for me when it’s my turn, instead of giving me a pair slippers and mug with ‘60’ written on it.

On the Saturday after it was recorded, it was aired on ITV 1 as ‘We Are Most Amused’. Well can I just say, I was more than amused. So, mainly it was presented by Philip Scoffield, (why I have no idea, apart from the fact he is a patron of Charlie’s charity) and also by John Cleese, which was a great choice. He may be getting very old now, but he is still a great comedian. He is still fresh and knows how to work the audience, what else could you want?
So, first on was Michael McIntyre. He is a great comedian, the kind of person you would want to get stuck in a lift with, because you could guarantee he would make light of the situation. I totally agree with what the advert for his DVD says –‘Most gifted comedian for years!’ Yeah, totally.
Then it was Bill Bailey’s turn. He was also great, and I don’t think there was one joke that I didn’t laugh at, just hilarious. The best bit for me was when they put the camera on Prince Charles and he was laughing, now that’s something you won’t see again.
Then they had a clip made by the ‘This Morning’ team, which was utterly pointless and unfunny. They must have had a better way of filling those few minutes.

Then Robin Williams stepped up which was a shame. He has his funny moments, but I tend to get annoyed by him more than I laugh at him. I will admit he is very good at observing life and the things people do, but every impression and every voice he put on where exactly the same as his voice, just in a different tone.
Another little pointless clip, this time it was a fake news report to show the difference, and the similarities between life 60 years ago and now. It was funny and rather good and they put a good satirical view on it, which was quite surprising because it was done by two people you tend not to find very funny, but I can’t remember their names.
Steven K. Amos then came on. I think he must be the only person in the UK that can’t expect the fact that he is black, which annoys me. Let me explain. Pretty much every joke he makes is somehow connected to the racism and the colour of his skin, which does tend to get boring after a little while.
John Cleese came on, as he did between every performance to introduce every act, but this time he was accompanied by an old friend – Andrew Sachs, Manuel, or the guy from the Brand/Ross scandal as he is now remembered for. They then did a bit of Fawlty Towers banter, which was just good to watch, and a nice change from the rest of the show. Then it was the turn of my favourite comedian – Rowan Atkinson. Now I smiled as he walked on the stage and thought to myself – ‘He’s back.’ His comedy is just brilliant. It’s the way he delivers every word correctly, to perfection to make it funny. He is one of those people that could read the phonebook and make you role on the floor with laughter. I think he is just a genius of both words and laughter, and is much unappreciated by the public.
Then it was time for x-factor, why I have no idea.

And then it returned, after Daniel got booted out of X-factor, when I thought this week was his best performance, but it was going to happen sooner or later, but I can’t help but think – ‘That silly general public’. Anyway, as I was saying, ‘We Are Most Amused’ returned.

Jon Culshaw then came on in the guise of George Bush, which I felt needed to be done, and I also learnt that Barak Obama is as hard as I thought to impersonate, as he done a rather good impression, so I was wrong about that.
Omid Djalili then came on and done the opposite of what Steven K. Amos done, which was the right way. Yes, he does use his race in his humour, but in proportion and doesn’t go on about it, which is why I thought he was actually quite funny.
Then an odd pairing, Bill Bailey and Robin Williams came on to ‘rock the microphone’. Now that was brilliantly funny. And it’s even funnier when you consider what the lyrics were and the fact they are singing them to the Prince Charles himself. Hilarious.
Joan Rivers then came on. I hate her and her comedy, so I don’t really have much to say because I didn’t really pay much attention to her.

Then we had a surprise guest, and I surprise it was. When I saw all the ballet dancers, I did actually think Dawn French was going to come out and do the same sort of thing as she done in the Vicar of Dibley with the ballet dancer, so it was a total surprise when Eric Idle emerged from it wearing a florescent tutu. I was pleased it was Eric Idle though singing his famous ‘Look on the Bright Side of Life’, adapted to be aimed at Prince Charles. It is times like that when I wish I could whistle though.
I expect I was the only one who noticed this, but I found Rowan Atkinson very funny at the end when they were all in a line. I only saw it because I kept my eyes on him. Now he didn’t do anything directly funny, but was just the way he was clapping and singing along. Very funny.
So, overall I really enjoyed the whole thing, and I think it was a great way to celebrate the future king’s birthday! The thing is though, you can’t help but think that these comedians only done this for promotion purposes because a majority of them have at least one DVD recently or due for release. I don’t mind though, I still found it totally hilarious.
Sorry for the long blog.

I’m In The Need Of a Rant

If you are from the UK, then, my dear friends, I am branding you all idiots.

Today I have got very annoyed with the general public of the United Kingdom. In specific the number is around 27,000 members of the island, and I shall tell you why this is so.

Last time I checked, around 27,000 people had complained to the BBC, and I recon around 26,000 of those people don't know why they complained. If you have not worked it out already, I am talking about this Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand fiasco, which has been taken way out of proportion.

On their radio show, they made a prank call to Andrew Sachs (Manuel from Fawlty Towers) saying that Russell Brand ‘Fucked’ his granddaughter. If you read the transcript like I have, you'll see it’s not really that bad. It’s the usual bit of banter you expect from the pair. I’ve put a link to it at the bottom of this blog post.

So, Russell Brand has quit. The papers refer to him as a ‘Former heroin addict’, which I think is a little wrong. I’ll admit I don’t really like him, but I do have my moments when I laugh at him. His humour is crude. I remember watching him doing stand-up on telly, and he was telling the tale of when he met the queen, but he had changed the story a little bit. He said he groped the Queens bosom, at which point I changed the channel. I hate comedy like that, which is why I don’t have much sympathy for him. It’s not as if he’s going to be out of a job though. You can’t go a week without seeing him on Channel 4. I still don't think he should have resigned though, i do like his radio shows and podcasts.

Whereas, Jonathan Ross has been suspended for 12 weeks from the BBC, halfway through his current chat show series, this was a big mistake in my opinion. If he was allowed to do this Friday’s episode, I’m sure he would have apologised in his own way. I am however, looking forward to his return in January. It should be rather good to watch. His job though, was only saved because the Radio 2 controller, Lesley Douglas resigned.

What annoys me the most about this fiasco is the general public of the United Kingdom. Like I have already said, around 27,000 complained about it, which is fair enough. Although, only 2 people complained about the answer phone message on the day. Then the BBC decided they wanted to investigate it. Everyone then decided it was completely ‘out of order’ and complained, a majority of which most probably didn’t even hear it, or even listen to Radio 2. Then Gordon Brown announced he was against the comments made, and was then discussed in the houses of parliament, most of which again probably didn’t hear it.

I know we’re famous for complaining us Brits, but this is ridiculous. Why do people feel the need to complain about things they know nothing about, and only know what the media have told them, which again, are famous for not being accurate and being biased.

So, that is why I am extremely annoyed with everyone, and it’s times like this when I am ashamed to call myself ‘British’.

Link to the answer phone transcript-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/oct/27/russell-brand-jonathan-ross-andrew-sachs-calls