Page 10 | To Think That Morecambe & Wise Are Not Funny

TheShellBeach · 2022-12-14T00:33:40+00:00

Now that it's almost Christmas it reminds me that we watched Morecambe and Wise Christmas Specials every year when I was a child. My parents thought they were funny but I always found them cringeworthy. I just don't find them funny at all and I don't understand how anyone can enjoy them, not to mention wishing they were still around to make even more Christmas Specials.

Nanny0gg · 15/12/2022 00:30

ScarlettSunset · 14/12/2022 07:37

I never found them funny at all.
It always felt to me like a lot of people seemed to think they were funny because someone else told them they were.

Why so sneery?

People genuinely laughed at them because they were clever and very, very funny. We didn't have SM so there was no need to be in with the Cool Crowd

But yes, they've dated and understandably don't appeal to younger generations.

I loved them, as did my parents. But I hated On the Buses and Love thy Neighbour and lots of those kind of sitcoms

AiKayai · 15/12/2022 00:32

I used to love To the Manor Born and Terry and June when I was a kid

I didn't find them in the least bit funny, but I liked the cosy, regular, comfort of them somehow.

Nanny0gg · 15/12/2022 00:34

woodhill · 14/12/2022 19:36

Milky milky

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Punt and Dennis were the best on that show. Saw them live - we were far the oldest in the audience as the majority were students. I ached from laughing so much.

Nanny0gg · 15/12/2022 00:35

AGoodDayForSomebodyElseToDie · 14/12/2022 20:47

What makes you the arbiter of what is humorous, OP?

I think Mrs Brown's Boys is absolute shite, and I have no time for Bob Mortimer or Vic Reeves. M&W were of their time, but they clearly were funny to an awful lot of people, as is Miranda Hart to her fans. Nobody gets to decide something "isn't funny" 🙄

I have no strong feelings on M&W, Dad's Army or John Cleese, but I do like Rosie Jones and she seems to be divisive on these threads. Each to their own...

I have yet to come across anyone who likes Mrs Brown's Boys, either in RL or on any SM.

Who is it written for?

stillvicarinatutu · 15/12/2022 00:43

Anyone remember Lee and herring?

Stuart Lee is the funniest stand up I've ever ever seen . He doesn't go on panel shows. He's absolutely brilliant.

catandcoffee · 15/12/2022 00:45

bloodyplanes · 14/12/2022 09:11

They are not funny at all, also Tommy cooper! I never got what people found so funny about him!

🤨😮😮‍💨

stillvicarinatutu · 15/12/2022 00:56

Tommy coopers
Genius was that he performed really really badly ....all his tricks went wrong very much on purpose. He was a talented magician and a member of the the magic circle .

I appreciate his humour now much more .

Just gentle funny humour that was very cleverly orchestrated. Much like morcombe and wise , les Dawson , two Ronnies , - less cutting edge and in your face than monty python or Dave Allen or Kenny Everett- but they were all very funny and good at what they did .

I watched the Kenny Everett show when I was about 5 and loved it !

But seriously watch the Richard Pryor Netflix special from the 70s - genius. As funny today as he was then .

I think what people find funny is very subjective.

I really don't get mrs browns boys , or mighty boosh , or peep show , or the office.

Yet I love after life , and Ricky gervais in stand up.

I love vic and Bob but didn't t always get it ....
Yet gone fishing I love .

stillvicarinatutu · 15/12/2022 00:59

Oh and I loved big train and smack the pony and the fast show .

IncessantNameChanger · 15/12/2022 00:59

Sometimes I watch the two Ronnies late before bed. There was a pistols at dawn sketch that was so funny. Just really stupid stuff that made me laugh

CallieQ · 15/12/2022 01:07

YABU

Of course they are funny

DdraigGoch · 15/12/2022 01:48

Do you think people were sitting around watching 1920s silent movies in the 70s with the reverence we have for this?

Didn't the TV unions impose restrictions on repeats during the late '60s/early '70s?

honeyrider · 15/12/2022 02:10

I never found them funny but each to their own.

vera99 · 15/12/2022 03:21

JudgeJ · 14/12/2022 16:53

A true MNer, no sense of humour whatsoever, I would hate to spend time with a lot of the people on here, they sound so miserable, constatly looking for something to criticise to make themselves look soooooooooo caring!

The fact that I have never found Fools and Horses nor Hello Hello funny constantly amazes friends who think they're wonderful. Luckily, we are all differnt and long may it continue!

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Might be anti-comedy comedy or maybe rubbish or maybe just likes an argument.....

HappinessAlley · 15/12/2022 04:41

Do you think people were sitting around watching 1920s silent movies in the 70s with the reverence we have for this?

as others have pointed out, absolutely!

I’d also add that of all the comedies that came out in the 70s, only a few are watched 50 years on. I dare say in 2040, Seinfeld and the Office will be looked on fondly, but not everything (Mrs Brown’s Boys).

Catspyjamas17 · 15/12/2022 06:24

Do you think people were sitting around watching 1920s silent movies in the 70s with the reverence we have for this?

There used to be a series on in the 1980s showing clips from silent movie star Harold Lloyd, and I remember some of it being absolutely brilliant and hilarious.

ScarlettSunset · 15/12/2022 06:40

Nanny0gg · 15/12/2022 00:30

Why so sneery?

People genuinely laughed at them because they were clever and very, very funny. We didn't have SM so there was no need to be in with the Cool Crowd

But yes, they've dated and understandably don't appeal to younger generations.

I loved them, as did my parents. But I hated On the Buses and Love thy Neighbour and lots of those kind of sitcoms

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It's not sneery. It's how I genuinely feel. I feel the same way about why many things are popular where I just can't see anything special.

I'm plenty old enough to remember them when they were 'fresh' and I thought they were dreadful then too so it's nothing to do with them being dated.

HeatwaveToNightshade · 15/12/2022 07:07

I love Morecambe and Wise. My dad used to have tears rolling down his face watching them and I love remembering that. My mum has never liked any comedy show, so the rest of us would all be laughing (mostly at dad laughing🤣) while she sat there looking a bit bewildered! My dad gave me my love of comedy as he just loved to laugh and would have watched anything from the gentlest, lightest comedy show to very edgy, dark and complex stuff. And my tastes are similarly varied.

It's good that we all like different things. I'm not sure I've ever completely understood why people start threads like this. Did you really think you were alone in not liking Morecambe and Wise? That would just be weird.

DuncanBiscuits · 15/12/2022 07:47

Has anyone mentioned Laurel and Hardy yet? I adore them. If I need cheering up, Way Out West will do it every time.

SamphiretheTervosaurReturneth · 15/12/2022 07:59

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia
On the trail of the Lonesome Pine
In the clear moonshine our hearts entwined
Where she carved her name and I carved mine
Oh June, like the mountains I'm blue,
Like the pine I am lonesome for you - oo oo oo

All from memory, because I loved that film as much now as I did as a 5 or 6 year old. Black and white, no relevance to my life whatsoever. The moment that baritone voice kicks in is a golden moment on celluloid - and the small screens of the day!

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 15/12/2022 09:32

Catspyjamas17 · 15/12/2022 06:24

Do you think people were sitting around watching 1920s silent movies in the 70s with the reverence we have for this?

There used to be a series on in the 1980s showing clips from silent movie star Harold Lloyd, and I remember some of it being absolutely brilliant and hilarious.

I agree - I remember watching it along with Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton. Keaton and Lloyd. I've also seen modern stunt performers looking at what they did and how they developed stunt work in the cinema.

I also remember watching the Marx Brothers and listening to reruns of Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel

awaynboilyurheid · 15/12/2022 09:41

They were funny in their time , well the majority of folk watching only two channels thought so! But wish BBC would stop now or keep to rare occasions, it’s like oh it’s Christmas get on M and W again that will keep them happy!

SamphiretheTervosaurReturneth · 15/12/2022 09:52

Do you think the plethora of channels has made things funnier @awaynboilyurheid ?

Or is it, to paraphrase Pink Floyd just endless channels of shit on the TV to choose from?

Having lived with both I am certain that today's 'wide range of choices' has not really improved my viewing experience. With all that cheap reality TV, the even cheaper substandard cartoon rubbish, house/cooking/antique/other rubbish selling etc. The hunt for meaningful programmes is endless.

And that's without a streaming service - where it's all vampires and old BBC comedy

KimberleyClark · 15/12/2022 09:56

I used to love The Goodies (RIP Tim Brooke-Taylor). Apparently a man died laughing at that show.

DuncanBiscuits · 15/12/2022 12:26

SamphiretheTervosaurReturneth · 15/12/2022 07:59

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia
On the trail of the Lonesome Pine
In the clear moonshine our hearts entwined
Where she carved her name and I carved mine
Oh June, like the mountains I'm blue,
Like the pine I am lonesome for you - oo oo oo

All from memory, because I loved that film as much now as I did as a 5 or 6 year old. Black and white, no relevance to my life whatsoever. The moment that baritone voice kicks in is a golden moment on celluloid - and the small screens of the day!

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Original poster

TheShellBeach · 15/12/2022 13:32

KimberleyClark · 15/12/2022 09:56

I used to love The Goodies (RIP Tim Brooke-Taylor). Apparently a man died laughing at that show.

I also cringe at the awfulness of The Goodies.

OP posts: