Murder Most Horrid.. is Watmm sleeping on this quality show?

[Guest Iain C]

The year is 1991.

 

A cricket-loving boy from Brixton is Prime Minister...

 

Vic Reeves and The Wonder Stuff are troubling the charts with

...

 

And a talented, attractive young comedian is starring in a new blackly-comic anthology series on BBC1.

 

That comedian was Dawn French. That series was Murder Most Horrid. And if you've forgotten about it since it was last on the air 13 years ago, then I've got news for you - you're a cunt YOU'RE MISSING OUT.

 

Each episode is a self-contained parody of murder mystery/thriller stories, with the hugely charismatic and likeable Dawn French usually playing the killer...

 

And having been revisiting it over the past week or so, I have to say - it was fucking brilliant.

 

I mean, I loved it when I was a kid and I used to watch it with my family. But it's aged incredibly well and it's still getting belly-laughs from me. Taking a look at the credits, I was surprised to notice that Private Eye editor, HIGNFY! panelist and Brain-lookalike Ian Hislop wrote a few episodes.

 

It's smart, it's funny, and it has a lot of fun playing with the tropes of the genre. If you've not seen it for a long time, or if you've never seen it at all, why not watch a couple of episodes on Youtube? This very funny one has Hugh Laurie supporting as a thinly-veiled Tony Blair (this episode is from shortly before his landslide election victory):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG8OJhnp6Hk

 

Anyone else love this programme?

[BCM]

yeah I guess it was alright. remember this from when it was out originally. nothing too special from what I recall - it's no comic strip presents for example (the original comic strip - not the travesty they did recently).

[Guest Iain C]

Yeah, Comic Strip is a classic, no doubt. So much talent in that group. MMH isn't up to those standards, but I love the concept of the series - Dawn French offing people every week. You can tell she loved performing in it, and it's a brilliant showcase for her as a comedic actor. Better than the Vicar of sodding Dibley, anyway.

[BCM]

lol yeah, fucking vicar of dibley

[Guest Pennywise]

BBC comedy is dead now right? Please let me know if I'm missing anything good from the BBC comedy wise. Pretty much no decent comedy at all at the moment in the UK. Its all turned into panel shows because they're cheaper to make I guess. I liked the Thick Of It

[Guest Iain C]

BBC comedy is dead now right?

 

Basically. TTOI was very good, but Armando says it's finished. Limmy's Show is brilliant, but it's only on in Scotland. iPlayer has the new episodes up, classic ones are on a site called TVpatter.

[Blir]

BBC comedy is dead now right? Please let me know if I'm missing anything good from the BBC comedy wise. Pretty much no decent comedy at all at the moment in the UK. Its all turned into panel shows because they're cheaper to make I guess. I liked the Thick Of It

 

You mean like sitcoms? Yeah I'd say they're mostly dead.

 

TTOI is the best thing we've come up with for a while. 15 Stories High is acclaimed by people whose taste in comedy I trust, I watched the first episode the other night and enjoyed it. Going to work my way through the rest of it. Really well written I think.

 

I like Charlie Brooker's output, the Wipe shows are fantastic. A Touch of Cloth was excellent spoof comedy, so there's a recent standout.

 

Actually struggling to think of recent good comedy. OH! Grandma's House! Simon Amstell's sitcom, I thought that was bloody excellent. Some great performances there. So yeah, that's what I've got. America is destroying us in the comedy department.

[Guest Iain C]

15 Stories High is acclaimed by people whose taste in comedy I trust

 

I've heard that's good, I'll have to scope it out myself.

[Guest Gary C]

I remember enjoying Murder Most Horrid, but I might be inclined to agree that BBC comedy is dead, or at least comatose. There's not a dedicated night any more (I remember it being Mondays, but I think it changed to Fridays in the late 90s).

 

BBC2 has rebranded as a National Geographic type.

 

Alan Partridge might have been the last good comedy I've seen on the BBC. Oh, and the Mitchell & Webb look. Good silly sketches. Look Around You, obviously. Big Train was the BBC show from a bunch of comedians who made more notable shows on Channel 4. Marion & Geoff was decent.

 

Look at this list, and note that the quality gets remarkanle thinner into this decade.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:BBC_television_comedy

[Guest Adjective]

what about peepshow? i have not seen the newest couple of seasons, just whatever is on netflix, and i thought it was fantastic

[Guest Gary C]

That was on Channel 4, as was Black Books, which I highly suggest you watch.

[Guest Blanket Fort Collapse]

Don't parody my thread titles. That is all. You may continue with your wanky old school BBC talk now.

[spratters]

I'm quite looking forward to the new Pep show. I'm thinking it starts this Sunday. But I did recently start watching The Thick of It, which I'd never seen before. I must say I'm enjoying it so far. It's unfortunate that Langham had that element about him that caused his exit because he was a truly excellent character in both TTOI and People Like Us, which has the same dry comedy appeal to it.

 

I was talking to people earlier, now that the festive season is approaching, about how there always used to be Christmas specials by all sorts of British comedy outlets. Now look what we've got. Fucking fat people singing and old has-beens prancing about on stage like stuck-up, underpaid, over-indulged pricks.

[Guest Adjective]

That was on Channel 4, as was Black Books, which I highly suggest you watch.

*jots it down*