Unfunny comedians

[TheTecknician]

We've covered lousy actors and questionable singers. A further spin-off: who really isn't that funny, past or present? I offer:

Hale and Pace
Freddie Starr
Lenny Henry

Mean-spirited, I know.

On the plus side, I did like Jimmy Tarbuck. I'm probably being unfashionable but his delivery as a stand-up was perfect, even if some of the jokes wouldn't go down well today.

No one is funny anymore, not the side splitting, can't breathe kind of funny.

There is no comedy, on TV its a panel show, slapstick, or just banal lets all be nice to each other and slightly hate a few we consider bigots these days, but not really because we're so very very nice. They spend most of their time talking about themselves. It's so smug and up it's own arse

Yawn.

No can do ..you can keep Ross..ta

Romesh is very funny. He’s like the hilarious one out of your mates who you say “you should do stand-up” to. I watched a programme on him and his family a few years ago and both he and his brother were naturally funny.

Jimmy Carr is not really funny to me. I saw him live once and I did laugh but that was probably some latent peer pressure (or he bewitched me).

Unpopular opinions:

I quite like Rosie Jones, but only as a comic actress. She isn't suited to panel shows.

I like Romesh Ranganathan and think he's dry and funny

I like Katherine Ryan but she's fallen off track since marrying her cocklodger school friend. I hope she can get back to her best because she's very witty.

I like Bernard Manning and don't think his material is offensive.

A few make me cry laughing ...

Dave Allen
Dame Edna
Eric Morecambe (NOT the other one)
McIntyre
Joan Rivers

Big smile...

French and Saunders
Jo Brand
John Cleese

Most of them mentioned favourably here leave me cold, bitch face!
As do most of the ones who have that effect on the rest of you!

Vic Reeves - deeply unfunny.

Rosie Jones

I think MM has got a really nasty streak, no regard for anyone else as a human being...

In fact, I don't like any comedian who gives off a whiff of 'must have been the school bully.' Lee Mack, Eddie Large back in the day, like that...

To that end, I love Rhod Gilbert because I think he has a core of sweetness or sensitivity to him - suspect he's actually quite shy underneath.

I wonder if there are two kinds of comedian - the ones who were dominant at school and wielded humour as a weapon, and the underdogs who developed comedy as a defence mechanism?

Not sure what happened to the Russell Brand investigation or if he has been charged but the accusations originated from a documentary where the comedy industry was portrayed as misogynistic and full of perverted men. I would not be at all surprised if one of RBs namesakes is revealed at some point. There are many others to with a horrible vibe about them.

I like Rhod Gilbert - agree he comes across as being quite unassuming. I bloody loved Sean Lock as well; his comments on Russell Brand were absolutely on the nose.

I don't find Rosie Jones funny as a stand-up but she was very good on Taskmaster.

Rosie Jones.

Michael MacIntyre

I used to like Mickey Flanagan until I saw him live. He just went on about how rich he was. It was said in jest supposedly but it got dull . We get it you live in a big house and eat hummus with your middle class wife. Yawn.

We went to see Milton Jones at the Fringe one year and he was awful.
One liners are great on panel shows but can't sustain a whole gig.

Billy Connelly is the comedians comedian, so many top comedians name him as their inspiration without him there would be less regional accent comedians around plus he’s just an all round lovely human.
Drops gavel , he IS funny.

Not to me he's not 🤷🏻‍♀️

Comedic genius!

Funny enough, I did know of him a lot more than 6 years ago.

I think there’s a big difference between people
who are funny and sharp on a panel show and people who are funny enough to carry a 90 minute show. There’s not many of the latter.

James Corden , I don’t get the huge fuss about Gavin and Stacy nice wee programme to watch but the way it’s being feted at the moment is all a bit much, it’s not iconic

Do you remember The Comedians and The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club? Compered by Bernard Manning and Colin Crompton. I don't remember any female comedians on it.

It's so personal isn't it?

I don't really want to find Stewart Lee funny because I'm a bit annoyed by his anti-woman politics, but he does make me laugh. I can't help it! Bob Mortimer always makes me laugh. He just has to say one random, surreal thing and I'm bursting out laughing. But most surrealists I find boring. Peter Kay always made me laugh - not seen him lately but the fact is I'm from a place like him and I share all those touchpoints, so it's like a school friend talking.

I don't laugh much at most of those BBC type comedians who are on everything. I don't mind them - they are sort of, you know, energetic presenters who carry a light entertainment show fine, but I'm not splitting my sides. Maybe it's that observational type comedy, you have to have something in common with people and I don't have much in common with most people like that. I'm not from London/SE. Same with most American comedians for me -- too distant. I like Dave Chappelle, but I'm not crying laughing from it.It's not really my world. ...But Sindhu Vee really makes me laugh out loud and she's all London and posh, so maybe that's rubbish.

Maybe I'm completely wrong about that. I just think you can't help laughing. It's not really a thing you're controlling - it's just an instinctive response.

I was a kid when that was shown no female comedians on the only females on that programme were the stripper's cue me getting very embarrassed.

A lot of comedians cite Richard Prior as their inspiration/favourite comedian. He is another one I don’t get at all, too hyper/off his face, talking about ‘bitches’, annoying but not remotely funny.

I’ve seen Al Murray live and he was very funny. Really good knowledge of history.

i went off billy connolly, could no longer watch him when he started swearing so much, every other word.
i did like jasper carrott

bob monkhouse was more popular later,
it became a thing not to like him for a while