Tracey Ullman and American Sitcom
horo...@admin.njit.edu
that smacks of snobbery.
Someone wrote that Tracey Ullman ended up in America doing standard
sitcoms. First of all, she was not in a sitcom. It was one of
the most inventive and well-written shows of sketch comedy to
be seen since the days of Sid Ceasar and the Colgate Comedy Hour.
She is possibly the most amazing talent of her generation. She can
do anything. She took a chance with a new network and that, more than
anything, is why she's still not on the air.
Before you slam someone, make sure you have the facts.
As for the slight note of disdain regarding American fare, I feel
compelled to remind you that many (if not most) American
sitcoms are based on British shows which are equally as mindless.
Wind Slasher
[lengthy cheering of Tracey Ullman deleted (tm)]
To be frank, I saw her on Three of a Kind, and then moved to the US and
saw her own show over here.
It was crap.
:)
--
----------------------------------------
Wind Slasher+...@io.com++
"Batman ran up the Batstairs to fetch the BatPolaroid"
Alex Craxton
:
: [lengthy cheering of Tracey Ullman deleted (tm)]
: To be frank, I saw her on Three of a Kind, and then moved to the US and
: saw her own show over here.
Yep, american sitcoms (which the TU show was), are usually dreadful,
and get little attention outside of the USA. American sitcoms are so
hellbent on bringing in family morals, and sentimentality, that they
are boring and not very inventive. If anybody knows a USA sitcom
that isnt, tell me.
: It was crap.
I aggree, she was much better in 3 of a kind.
Andy Clews
> sla...@pentagon.io.com (Wind Slasher) writes:
> : To be frank, I saw her on Three of a Kind, and then moved to the US and
> : saw her own show over here.
> I aggree, she was much better in 3 of a kind.
....which itself was generally on the crappier side of complete and utter
crapness, IMHO; sometimes so crappy it made dogs doings look good. (IMHO)
[ That's enough about crap - Ed. ]
--
Andy Clews, Computing Service, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
Email: A.C...@sussex.ac.uk
J.M. Cruickshank
>
>Yep, american sitcoms (which the TU show was), are usually dreadful,
>and get little attention outside of the USA. American sitcoms are so
>hellbent on bringing in family morals, and sentimentality, that they
>are boring and not very inventive. If anybody knows a USA sitcom
>that isnt, tell me.
>
or have you had a humourectomy recently?
Or maybe you think ours are better, with such side-splittingly funny
offerings as Birds of a Feather, So Haunt Me, and anything with James
Bolam and Dame-old-actress-who's-completely-past-it-and-devoid-of-the-
merest-atom-of-wit??
j.c
p.s. OK, I admit, I HATE Tracy Ulman too.
Brad Gibson
In article <1994Sep20....@devteq.co.uk>,
al...@devteq.co.uk (Alex Craxton) writes:
[snip]
|> Yep, american sitcoms (which the TU show was), are usually dreadful,
|> and get little attention outside of the USA. American sitcoms are so
|> hellbent on bringing in family morals, and sentimentality, that they
|> are boring and not very inventive. If anybody knows a USA sitcom
|> that isnt, tell me.
In general, American sitcoms are vastly superior to the dismally written
and acted nonsense that passes for humour on the British airwaves.
Recent shows like Frasier, Mad About You, Seinfeld, Larry Sanders, Roseanne,
The Simpsons, and some would argue Grace Under Fire (although I wouldn't),
are just an example of a half dozen shows which are leagues ahead of
what's been available here over the past year ... Keeping Up Appearances?
Men Behaving Badly? The 10%ers?
Good grief ... wake up and stop buying into this UK Britcom superiority
that has perpetuated ad nauseum for years. Due to the volume of
programming available in the US, of course there will be more than
enough crap to last a lifetime (e.g. Home Improvement).
On the flip side, because of said quantity
there is the option to pick and choose a lineup which is infinitely better
than BBC/ITV home-grown offerings.
YMMV, of course ...
Cheers,
Brad
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brad K. Gibson INTERNET: b...@astro.ox.ac.uk
Dept. of Astrophysics
Keble Road PHONE: +44-(0)1865-273292
University of Oxford FAX: +44-(0)1865-273390
Oxford, England
OX1 3RH
URL: http://www-astro.physics.ox.ac.uk/~bkg/gibson.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Alan Cirino
endearing as, say, Benny Hill, but for a Brit, she's not bad. Also, "The
Tracy Ullman Show" was most definitely NOT a sitcom - it was a
sketch/variety show. And a damn fine one at that. It's major claim to
fame, however, is that it launched the Simpsons. Little 60 second cartoons
of the Simpsons (among others) were used as 'bumpers' leading into
commercials. The first time I saw these 'toons, I knew Fox had a hit.
horo...@admin.njit.edu
Don't you feel superior! How many American sitcoms do you receive there
in jolly old? Oh forgive me, let's see British comedies are sooooo
much better. Let's see, Steptoe and Son, Are You Being Served, Screaming,
Two Up --Three Down, Man of the House,,,,
Oh yes, pity us poor Americans who don't realize the great writing and
taste that went into these gems of taste and wit.
Have you seen Seinfeld? Have you seen Bob Newhart? Have you seen the
Have you seen Murphy Brown? Have you seen Northern Exposure? Have you
seen Cheers? Have you seen Frasier? And there are plenty more....
Like I said when I started, know what you're talking about before you
start slamming.
Hiawatha Bray
Absolutely right. The Ullman show in the States was, for want of a better
description, abfab. It also, let it not be forgotten, was the birthplace
of The Simpsons, which began as a series of brief bumpers that came on
before and after commercials. The Simpsons, to my way of thinking, is one
of the most intelligent things ever to hit television on either side of
the pond.
Wind Slasher
>Don't you feel superior! How many American sitcoms do you receive there
>in jolly old? Oh forgive me, let's see British comedies are sooooo
>much better. Let's see, Steptoe and Son, Are You Being Served, Screaming,
>Two Up --Three Down, Man of the House,,,,
Never saw screaming. Steptoe was ok (although I was really kinda young
when it came on). AYBS was ok. 2 up was tripe. Man of the house??? Dunno.
>Oh yes, pity us poor Americans who don't realize the great writing and
>taste that went into these gems of taste and wit.
>Have you seen Seinfeld? Have you seen Bob Newhart? Have you seen the
>Have you seen Murphy Brown? Have you seen Northern Exposure? Have you
>seen Cheers? Have you seen Frasier? And there are plenty more....
Yes to all of the above ('course, I'm over here now). they're pretty
decent. I actually _really like_ Frasier.
>Like I said when I started, know what you're talking about before you
>start slamming.
I agree that there are some decent US sitcoms out there. There's also
some pure tripe (cf. Growing Pains etc). It's the same on both sides of
the Atlantic, IMHO. I was just saying that I laughed 3 or 4 times
at Three of a kind as opposed to the minus 7 times (if you discount "The
Simpsons" shorts) in an average episode of "The Tracey Ullman Show"
--WS
James Kew
horo...@admin.njit.edu writes:
> Don't you feel superior! How many American sitcoms do you receive there
> in jolly old? Oh forgive me, let's see British comedies are sooooo
> much better. Let's see, Steptoe and Son, Are You Being Served, Screaming,
> Two Up --Three Down, Man of the House
I was valiantly resisting this thread, but:
"Steptoe and Son"! Steptoe belongs with "Hancock's Half Hour" as one of the
best comedies of its era -- brilliantly tight writing, two memorable
characters, and some excellent acting; how many other shows managed as
many basically two-handed episodes?
And isn't that list missing "Red Dwarf" and "Blackadder" -- two UK
comedies that seem perennially popular in the US? To say nothing of
"Fawlty Towers" and "The Young Ones".
I would, however, be the first to admit that we do manage to produce an
awful lot of steamingly bad sitcoms... you want to see some of the ones
that don't make it across the Atlantic. Likewise, there's a lot of dross
on the American networks, as well as a few pearls.
___________________________________________________________________________
James Kew Zookeeper, cathouse.org British Comedy Pages.
Imperial College, London http://cathouse.org:8000/BritishComedy/
Kevin Vaillancourt
comedy's alleged superiority being some sort commie
disinformation campaign deleted)
Are you, like, insane or something?
Kevin
Ian Miller
|> |>
|> |> Eh? Quote obscure comedies from the late '70s why don't you??
|> |>
|> |> Ever hear of Red Dwarf? Heck, even the repeats of Hi-De-Hi are
|> |> infinitely superior to the tripe you guys send over here...
|> |>
|>
|> I enjoy Red Dwarf as a pleasant little diversion almost entirely because
|> of the presence of Chris Barrie. But to elevate it to the level of quality
|> you seem to be suggesting is self-delusional at the best. For the most
You're wrong philistine !! It _is_ quality -- ok, so some episodes have
really tired jokes in them, but this has to have the most original and
innovative concept for a sitcom EVER, and the concept is built on to
great effect.
|> part the writing is infantile ... just check out what Grant/Naylor are
|> capable of creating without having Chris Barrie's performances to salvage
|> them .. specifically, one viewing of The 10%ers should be enough to convince
|> of their "skills".
|>
10%ers is shit, there's no denying it. I can't explain it -- but to
draw parallel to Red Dwarf is ridiculous -- the only thing that alerts
you to the fact it was written by Grant/Naylor is the end credits.
|> I'm not sure who the "we" is that you are referring to ... Roseanne
|> is obviously well-loved over here, as is Frasier, as you say. I would
|> also say that the majority of critics here are Seinfeld fans, judging
|> by the uproar/complaints over BBC2's decision to cancel it after a half
|> dozen episodes or so recently. Admittedly the ratings weren't hot, but
|> that also could have something to do with its crappy Saturday night time
|> slot. Recent comments in the media seem to suggest that Murphy Brown
|> also meets with approval, although to be honest I am not a fan of her
|> character ... the supporting cast though is fantastic.
|>
I'm a big fan of Frasier, and I sometimes watch Roseanne, Seinfeld,
and Murphy Brown; but the fact is, even though these sitcoms sometimes
raise a smile, they are hardly what you're trumpeting as "genius".
If anything, I'd call them run-of-the-mill, AOR, MOR ...
|> To also write-off Newhart, Cheers, NExp and Seinfeld as shite sort of
|> puts your opinions into perspective, doesn't it?
|>
Newhart? Isn't that programme 20 years old today? I think I recall
watching an episode when I was seven. It is/was overhyped crap.
Cheers was average; probably the best of what you mention above.
As for Seinfeld... it's TIRED I tell you ! The jokes are more lame and
predictable than the predicable jokes in Red Dwarf, and don't deny it!
How you can slate RD on the one hand and praise Seinfeld on the other,
is a complete f---ing mystery!!
The thing about ALL the American sitcoms that you mention is of course
they all rely heavily on the "irony" joke, which died of old age in
1974. You know what I mean... it's the joke that runs like this:
Man 1: I bet my friend in the other office doesn't have to
sweep the floor like I do.
[cut to other office. Man 2 is sweeping floor just like Man 1]
[cue canned laughter]
hahahahahaha, my sides are splitting... call a doctor !! Ok, I'm not
denying this is used a lot in British comedies, but it's just soooooo
much more noticable in Yank productions.
|>
|> Like I have said over and over ... of course a truck-load of shit like
|> these are produced overseas ... it's an inescapable result when such a
|> huge quantity of stuff is being produced. The flip side is that there
|> is also a much greater number of quality shows to choose from. The
|> advantage we have here in the UK is that the crap like Pets Win Prizes,
|> So Haunt Me, The 10%ers, Keeping Up Appearances, etc only stick around
|> for 6 episodes before disappearing for the year.
So what is your point exactly? My point was that the ratio of
sitcoms produced/sitcoms that are good is higher in Britain. Do we
disagree on this?
|>
|> And about the only way you would have to endure Herman's Head would be by
|> staying awake til two in the morning to catch it on Channel 4 ... you would
|> really have to go out of your way to endure it :) Still, even these crappy
|> shows do not sink to the level of The 10%ers or Keeping Up Appearances.
|>
There's nowt wrong with Keeping Up Appearances..... Anyway, the only
reason I am FORCED to watch Herman's Head (which isn't _that_ bad --
just another average sitcom with a dumb idea) is that one of my
house mates is an addict and videos every episode, replaying them
on a continuous loop. Yes, I have considered killing him.
|> Brad
--ian
PS Did you like "Chelmsford 123" ..?
--
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are EXCLUSIVELY those of the author, |
| and are in NO WAY representative of British Telecom or its employees. |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
Ian Miller
|> In article <1994Sep22.1...@inca.comlab.ox.ac.uk>, b...@alderamin.astro.ox.ac.uk (Brad Gibson) writes:
|>
|>
|> So what is your point exactly? My point was that the ratio of
|> sitcoms produced/sitcoms that are good is higher in Britain. Do we
|> disagree on this?
|>
I MEAN THE RECIPROCAL OF THIS RATIO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark Alan Cirino
women just like Hyacinth?
"It's booKAY!"
Ian Miller
|>
|> Surely the 10%ers wasn't *so* bad that you have to rank it with shows like
|> Keeping Up Appearances and Herman's Head??
|>
Well, it wasn't *good*. Put it that way.
Plus --- the cast had seen better days --- I think most of them
were rejects from the original series of Are You Being Served?
But hey, it's what we've come to expect from ITV isn't it?
Ian Collier
> And about the only way you would have to endure Herman's Head would be by
> staying awake til two in the morning to catch it on Channel 4 ... you would
> really have to go out of your way to endure it :) Still, even these crappy
> shows do not sink to the level of The 10%ers or Keeping Up Appearances.
Surely the 10%ers wasn't *so* bad that you have to rank it with shows like
Keeping Up Appearances and Herman's Head??
Ian Collier
Ian.C...@comlab.ox.ac.uk | i...@ecs.ox.ac.uk
Matthew Kenneth Sharp
: In article <1994Sep20....@devteq.co.uk>, al...@devteq.co.uk (Alex Craxton) writes:
: > sla...@pentagon.io.com (Wind Slasher) writes:
: > :
: in jolly old? Oh forgive me, let's see British comedies are sooooo
: much better. Let's see, Steptoe and Son, Are You Being Served, Screaming,
: Two Up --Three Down, Man of the House,,,,
: Oh yes, pity us poor Americans who don't realize the great writing and
: taste that went into these gems of taste and wit.
: Have you seen Seinfeld? Have you seen Bob Newhart? Have you seen the
: Have you seen Murphy Brown? Have you seen Northern Exposure? Have you
: seen Cheers? Have you seen Frasier? And there are plenty more....
: Like I said when I started, know what you're talking about before you
: start slamming.
Advice you should perhaps follow before you start slamming Steptoe And
Son. Actually one of the better British sitcoms, written by Galton &
Simpson (Hancock's Half Hour, Casanova '73). Mind you, the episodes from
the 1960s are the better ones.
I didn't realise that Nothern Exposure was a comedy - I thought it was
of that new genre: wacky-drama.
Let us not forget "gems" from America like Hangin' With Mr Cooper, or
Blossom, or Home Improvement, or Grace Under Fire to name but a very few
indeed. All turgid rubbish for the proles to lap up.
------------------ And we've just missed Christmas again... ------------------
Matthew K. Sharp. "I suppose you think it's terribly amusing
917...@edna.cc.swin.edu.au to say things that are funny." - Alfresco
------------------------- I am *NOT* overly defensive ------------------------
Brad Gibson
I would have to say that my brief exposures to Keeping Up Appearances
and Waiting for God have made me think twice about just how bad The 10%ers
was, but in all honesty The 10%ers might be the pick of the litter! :)
(Aside: Who was the lunatic raving about Waiting for God being the greatest
show ever made?? Did anyone watch it last night? I simply will not accept
that any living breathing person could find this show funny.)
As bad as Herman's Head is, it gets bonus points in my books for having
a guest appearance by Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick (sp)!
Ian Miller
|>
|>
|> I would have to say that my brief exposures to Keeping Up Appearances
|> and Waiting for God have made me think twice about just how bad The 10%ers
|> was, but in all honesty The 10%ers might be the pick of the litter! :)
|> (Aside: Who was the lunatic raving about Waiting for God being the greatest
|> show ever made?? Did anyone watch it last night? I simply will not accept
|> that any living breathing person could find this show funny.)
|>
|> As bad as Herman's Head is, it gets bonus points in my books for having
|> a guest appearance by Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick (sp)!
|>
--FANBOY ALERT--
|> Brad
|>
--ian
PS Drop The Dead Donkey is back soon !
Ian Collier
> (Aside: Who was the lunatic raving about Waiting for God being the greatest
> show ever made?? Did anyone watch it last night? I simply will not accept
> that any living breathing person could find this show funny.)
Well I wouldn't place it in the category of "greatest show ever made", but
it does happen to be one of the shows I will watch if it's on. So there. :-)
Ian Collier
Ian.C...@comlab.ox.ac.uk | i...@ecs.ox.ac.uk
horo...@admin.njit.edu
> Rule Britannia!
> Britannia rules the (air) waves!
> Britons never never never shall be forced to watch "Married With
> Children"....
>
> --ian
Ian darling and all you other nationalists--
In case you haven't noticed, Britain doesn't rule anything anymore.
You want the airwaves -- okay have them. The rest of the world will be
watching with baited breath to see what you do with them.
I guess your presumption of superiority goes back to the pissing contests
all of you had -- after taking those cold showers -- in those warm and
friendly public schools you all favor so. You know the ones. Where you
take frightened little children and rip them from all they've ever known
and put them in prison-like settings where they seek human comfort from
each other in homosexual encounters they all deny later during their
civil service careers for Queen and country. Of course, those poor souls
who don't have the benefit of such a good start in a superior life are
consigned to being demeaned by the likes of you as they go on about their
lives making fun of you.
I mean, boys, (because British women don't seem to be part of this
dialogue here, I see) you sound like jerks. Give it up already.
I thought this was to APPRECIATE what's good, wherever one finds it,
not to see whose dick is larger.
This is the global village, not the brown shirts meeting hall circa '94.
There's even a "chunnel" now that actually connects you to the rest of
the world. Maybe you should get on it and see something beyond your
own nose.
qsa...@eds.ericsson.se
> In article <1994Sep23.0...@devteq.co.uk>, al...@devteq.co.uk (Alex Craxton) writes:
> |> So american comedies are more fresh than things like
> |>
> |> Have I got news for you,
> |> The day today (On the hour),
> |> Knowing me knowing you,
> |> Python,
> |> Blackadder,
> |> The young ones,
> |> Ripping yarns,
> |> etc...
>
> Porridge,
> Chelmsford 123,
> Drop The Dead Donkey,
> Red Dwarf,
> Bottom,
> Dear John,
> Only Fools & Horses,
> .
> .
> .
> Terry & June,
> Hi-De-Hi... the list goes on and on !
>
>
> |>
> |> I could go on for ages. Lets face it, 90% of american sitcoms are either
> |> based around the family, or at a work place. This include
> |> Cheers, the dreary Frazier, MASH (which just went on and on and on..).
> ^^^^
> WHICH WAS NEVER ANY GOOD ANYWAY !!
> I mean, a comedy with the theme tune
> "Suicide is Painless".... how f---ing cheerful!
>
>
> |> There may be the odd exception, but lets face it, the most original
> |> comedies are simply from the UK over the past 30 years. Over here
> |> we can produce comedy that doesnt have to conform, in fact with the
> |> list above, do any of those copy each other ?. I dont think so.
> |>
>
>
> We are the best. Altogether now!
>
> Rule Britannia!
>
> Britannia rules the (air) waves!
>
> Britons never never never shall be forced to watch "Married With
> Children"....
>
> --ian
>
> ,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
> | DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are EXCLUSIVELY those of the author, |
> | and are in NO WAY representative of British Telecom or its employees. |
> '-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
Ian,
while I agree with 99% of your comments, I happen to like MWC, mind
you I just might be sick, but it reminds me of my own family, except my
kids are smrter, they are after all British.
JiMK. ________________________________________________________
____ ____ |Ye cannae change the laws of physics, laws of physics |
/ |---| \ |laws of physics. |
|<Ö>|---|<Ö>| |------------------------------------------------------|
\ / \ / |From QSA...@kiera.ericsson.se |
=== === |------------------------------------------------------|
Matt Ackeret
Alex Craxton <al...@devteq.co.uk> wrote:
>Yep, american sitcoms (which the TU show was), are usually dreadful,
>and get little attention outside of the USA. American sitcoms are so
>hellbent on bringing in family morals, and sentimentality, that they
>are boring and not very inventive. If anybody knows a USA sitcom
>that isnt, tell me.
Roseanne, Frasier (wonderfully rare instance of taking a character
from one show and spinning him off into a completely different environment,
that's still hilarious), Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Love & War, Ellen.
--
unk...@apple.com Apple II Forever
These opinions are mine, not Apple's.
Ian Collier
> PS Drop The Dead Donkey is back soon !
As if we'd managed to miss the trailers that seem to have been on every
half an hour for the past three months... :-)
Ian Collier
Ian.C...@comlab.ox.ac.uk | i...@ecs.ox.ac.uk
Thomas Arthur Beam
In article <366tbn$9...@pheidippides.axion.bt.co.uk> imi...@axion.bt.co.uk (Ian Miller) writes:
>
> DON'T call me darling you turd....
ian likes to be called darling.
METALBAG
Ian Miller
|>
|> Ian darling and all you other nationalists--
|>
DON'T call me darling you turd....
|> In case you haven't noticed, Britain doesn't rule anything anymore.
|>
At least we aren't ruled from abroad (i.e. Japan)...
|> You want the airwaves -- okay have them. The rest of the world will be
|> watching with baited breath to see what you do with them.
|>
|> I guess your presumption of superiority goes back to the pissing contests
|> all of you had -- after taking those cold showers -- in those warm and
|> friendly public schools you all favor so. You know the ones. Where you
Oh dear, you seem to have confused English Public Schools of the 19th
Century with American "College" "Frats" of today... still they're much the
same thing aren't they?
|> take frightened little children and rip them from all they've ever known
|> and put them in prison-like settings where they seek human comfort from
|> each other in homosexual encounters they all deny later during their
|> civil service careers for Queen and country. Of course, those poor souls
|> who don't have the benefit of such a good start in a superior life are
|> consigned to being demeaned by the likes of you as they go on about their
|> lives making fun of you.
Tell me, have you ever visited the 20th Century?
|>
|> I mean, boys, (because British women don't seem to be part of this
|> dialogue here, I see) you sound like jerks. Give it up already.
|>
|> I thought this was to APPRECIATE what's good, wherever one finds it,
|> not to see whose dick is larger.
|>
|> This is the global village, not the brown shirts meeting hall circa '94.
|> There's even a "chunnel" now that actually connects you to the rest of
|> the world. Maybe you should get on it and see something beyond your
|> own nose.
|>
Yes, yes, it's all very well to talk utter shite, but let's see how
long you'd last on nuke.the.USA with a name like "Horror-wits"....
James Kew
Ian Miller, imi...@axion.bt.co.uk writes:
> [much verbiage deleted]
>
> Oh dear, you seem to have confused English Public Schools of the 19th
> Century with American "College" "Frats" of today... still they're much the
> same thing aren't they?
>
> Yes, yes, it's all very well to talk utter shite, but let's see how
> long you'd last on nuke.the.USA with a name like "Horror-wits"....
Enough!
This no longer belongs on rec.arts.tv.uk. I've set followups to
alt.nuke.the.USA; can you move the flaming there and leave us out of it?
Cheers, mates.
Joseph E Nemec
|> In article <1994Sep23...@admin.njit.edu>, horo...@admin.njit.edu writes:
|> |>
|> |> Ian darling and all you other nationalists--
|> |>
|>
|> DON'T call me darling you turd....
Unless you've got your cash in hand...
|>
|> |> In case you haven't noticed, Britain doesn't rule anything anymore.
|> |>
|>
|> At least we aren't ruled from abroad (i.e. Japan)...
Dream on. Who's building your new semi-conductor plant in Scotland?
|>
|>
|> |> You want the airwaves -- okay have them. The rest of the world will be
|> |> watching with baited breath to see what you do with them.
|> |>
|> |> I guess your presumption of superiority goes back to the pissing contests
|> |> all of you had -- after taking those cold showers -- in those warm and
|> |> friendly public schools you all favor so. You know the ones. Where you
|>
|>
|> Oh dear, you seem to have confused English Public Schools of the 19th
|> Century with American "College" "Frats" of today... still they're much the
|> same thing aren't they?
|>
The difference is, men don't rape boys in college frats.
|>
|> |> take frightened little children and rip them from all they've ever known
|> |> and put them in prison-like settings where they seek human comfort from
|> |> each other in homosexual encounters they all deny later during their
|> |> civil service careers for Queen and country. Of course, those poor souls
|> |> who don't have the benefit of such a good start in a superior life are
|> |> consigned to being demeaned by the likes of you as they go on about their
|> |> lives making fun of you.
|>
|>
|> Tell me, have you ever visited the 20th Century?
Yes. Being in England, need we even ask?
Henrik Jonsson
Joseph E Nemec <nem...@athena.mit.edu> wrote:
>The difference is, men don't rape boys in college frats.
Agreed...The boys in the college frats are quite willing, right? Enlighten
us with your expertise, Duuh...
--
To post or not to post, that is the question...Whether 'tis nobler on the 'net
to suffer, the flames from outrageous loonies or to press 'F' against a sea of
slander and by opposing end them? To send KILL signal; to sleep(1); No more...
---*** d1...@dtek.chalmers.se ***===---===*** h...@cd.chalmers.se ***---
Joseph E Nemec
|> In article <3697ip$7...@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU>,
|> Joseph E Nemec <nem...@athena.mit.edu> wrote:
|>
|> >The difference is, men don't rape boys in college frats.
|>
|> Agreed...The boys in the college frats are quite willing, right? Enlighten
|> us with your expertise, Duuh...
Why, are you cruising for a piece of tail, henrik? Mommy not letting you into the
room at night anymore? Daddy too busy standing in the welfare line?
If you want sick, perverted sex, I suggest you call Koopman. he lives in the
capitol for such things.
Harjeet Dillon
unk...@apple.com (Matt Ackeret) wrote:
>
>In article <1994Sep20....@devteq.co.uk>, Alex
>Craxton <al...@devteq.co.uk> wrote:
>>Yep, american sitcoms (which the TU show was), are
>usually dreadful,
>>and get little attention outside of the USA. American
>sitcoms are so
>>hellbent on bringing in family morals, and
>sentimentality, that they
>>are boring and not very inventive.
Alex, old chap you are talking through your ring-piece....I
don't know what you've been watching, but if you can watch
Ellen, Seinfeld, The John Larroquette show (all most definitely
adult humour comedy) without busting a gut, then you are a
sorry person indeed. And if you you haven't heard of these
shows then your generalizations make you sound even more
ignorant.....
Dhillon, Seattle WA
Henrik Jonsson
Joseph E Nemec <nem...@athena.mit.edu> wrote:
>Why, are you cruising for a piece of tail, henrik?
Hey, I'm going to London, so _if_ I really wanted some tail, I wouldn't bother
asking you, Nemic. But if I'm going to NYC, I bet you could enlighten me
with fantastic stories about how you had a whole team of Rangers at the same
time. Thanks, but no thanks, ok?
>Mommy not letting you into the room at night anymore?
Your mom still does, right? Or, maybe even _want_ you in her bed at night...
God, you're disgusting, JEN.
>Daddy too busy standing in the welfare line?
He spotted a yank and died laughing...A horrible waste of human life...
/Henrik
Brad Gibson
OK ... I have now endured two of these so-called gruesome "Speed Kills" ads.
What I can't figure out for the life me is who the hell they are aiming them
at?!? In the first one, that dumb woman leaps out of a crowd of people on
some incredibly busy city street and is killed by a car driven at a very
reasonable speed. Her ghost then berates the driver for going too fast ..
it's damned annoying cause the guy is obviously driving well; there's a zillion
people milling about out ... there's simply no way to protect yourself against
some nut who jumps out illegally into oncoming traffic.
In the second one, we see another teen in a van being driven by his dad stopped
at a stop sign, waiting to pull out and make a turn. They're chatting away,
ignoring the traffic on the main road, then old dad randomly guns it out
and gets broadsided by someone driving again at a completely reasonably speed.
The van flips (bullshit based on the speed the guy in the car is driving).
The teen is killed ... his ghost then pops out and starts berating the driver
of the oncoming car for going too fast ... doesn't berate his dad for almighty
fuck-up that has cost him his life .. but the innocent driver, who again, can
not ever be fully prepared for a lunatic suicidal careless driver pulling out
at any random time.
The commercials seem to blame the innocent driver in both cases. My wife and
I just can't fathom what the hell they're doing putting the blame on the wrong
person. The woman in the first one leaps from a crowd into an oncoming car;
the kid's dad in the second pulls out without looking and gets him killed;
clear-cut blame against the ghosts in both cases!
Aargh ... these have turned into a pet-peeve of mine!
Cheers,
Brad Gibson
Can someone familiar with the censorship laws in the UK clarify something
regarding Channel 4's decision to not air the B-5 episode "TKO"??
As someone posted earlier, the letter he/she received from C4 seemed to imply
that because bare-knuckle boxing/fighting is banned in the UK, they could not
show that particular episode as this was theme of it (kickboxing fights to
the death tye of thing ...).
(The obvious next question is ... yeah, but murder is also illegal in the UK;
shoot-outs with cops is illegal in the UK; high-speed motorway chases are
illegal in the UK; ... why can they be shown at any time pre- or post-nine
o'clock watershed??)
Disregarding that ... let's just look at the bare knuckle fighting excuse
again. Why could I stay up and watch "Renegade" on Monday night (actually
Tuesday morning ... at 02:25) and see the first of a two part episode which
revolved solely around Reno's infiltration of a gladiator style, underground,
bare-knuckle/kickboxing/fight-to-the-death-in-GRAPHIC-detail ring?? This
was exactly the type of thing that C4 said was illegal, isn't it?
OK ... sure it was well-after the 9:00 watershed, and B-5 is on at 18:00
(a sore point all on its own) ... well fine ... then why is BBC showing
"Every Which Way But Loose" this week, and "Any Which Way You Can" next week?
These Eastwood vehicles also revolve solely around the fact that he's a
bare-knuckle fighting champ. Both films are being shown well before the
watershed (19:00 or 19:30) as I recall. Both show this illegal activity,
yet BBC has chosen to show them. I realize they are "comedies", but there
is still plenty of graphic bare-knuckle brawling on display. What about
Bronson's classic "Hard Times"? Has it been shown here?
I just want some clarification on what is and what isn't illegal, and what
the real reason is that C4 won't show "TKO"?
Anyone shed some light on this for me??
Andy Clews
eloquently) wrote:
> DON'T call me darling you turd....
[...]
> Oh dear, you seem to have confused English Public Schools of the 19th
> Century with American "College" "Frats" of today... still they're much the
> same thing aren't they?
[...]
> Yes, yes, it's all very well to talk utter shite, but let's see how
> long you'd last on nuke.the.USA with a name like "Horror-wits"....
Ian, do yourself a favour and stop embarrassing your fellow countrymen and
your employer (who I am sure would be delighted to know how you are
spending paid time) with all your offensive and jingoistic nonsense!
--
Andy Clews, Computing Service, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
Email: A.C...@sussex.ac.uk
Dave Crowson
>From: b...@alderamin.astro.ox.ac.uk (Brad Gibson)
>Subject: Those "Speed Kills" Ads!
>Date: Wed, 28 Sep 94 13:51:50 BST
>OK ... I have now endured two of these so-called gruesome "Speed Kills" ads.
>What I can't figure out for the life me is who the hell they are aiming them
>at?!? In the first one, that dumb woman leaps out of a crowd of people on
>some incredibly busy city street and is killed by a car driven at a very
>reasonable speed. Her ghost then berates the driver for going too fast ..
>it's damned annoying cause the guy is obviously driving well; there's a zillion
>people milling about out ... there's simply no way to protect yourself against
>some nut who jumps out illegally into oncoming traffic.
[chomp]
Totally agree, the woman steps out and Whammo she gets killed...good, one less
idiot on the planet.
Natural selection at it's best IMO.
(And I know what I'm talking about 'cos I got run over when I was 11 and
it was _totally_ my fault, lucky I wasn't killed, but I would have deserved it
if I was).
Brad Gibson
In article <365uef$h...@apple.com>, unk...@apple.com (Matt Ackeret) writes:
|> In article <1994Sep20....@devteq.co.uk>,
|> Alex Craxton <al...@devteq.co.uk> wrote:
|> >Yep, american sitcoms (which the TU show was), are usually dreadful,
|> >and get little attention outside of the USA. American sitcoms are so
|> >hellbent on bringing in family morals, and sentimentality, that they
|> >are boring and not very inventive. If anybody knows a USA sitcom
|> >that isnt, tell me.
|>
|> Roseanne, Frasier (wonderfully rare instance of taking a character
|> from one show and spinning him off into a completely different environment,
|> that's still hilarious), Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Love & War, Ellen.
Quite right Matt ... one could also add The Larry Sanders Show,
The Simpsons, Mad About You, Dream On,
and Grace Under Fire ... even here we're looking at what? 10 shows or so
... let's say 25 episodes per year ... 250 "quality" episodes of sitcoms
per year. We here in the UK are lucky to get a few 6 part series per year
which can measure up the aforementioned "American" sitcoms. So ... a good
order of magnitude more quality sitcom stuff is coming out of the American
market. Of course there's also more shit as well ... but with so much
in the way of quantity of quality, the determined channel surfer can easily
avoid things like Home Improvement, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Full House, etc.
Despite what some of the denizens of r.a.tv.uk say, the quantity of quality
UK sitcoms is simply the figment of a lot of active imaginations, as well
as the not-so-fully informed spoutings of some who have not had the
opportunity to sample the seemingly endless parade of dismal UK shows which
do not get exported overseas. If you're in North America, and basing your
opinions on what you get on PBS, you will be in for the shock of your life
when you sit down and watch a few days worth of "quality" programming over
here!
Cheers,
Ian Miller
|>
|> Ian, do yourself a favour and stop embarrassing your fellow countrymen and
|> your employer (who I am sure would be delighted to know how you are
|> spending paid time) with all your offensive and jingoistic nonsense!
|>
So let me get this straight; you think we should all live in peace
and harmony with our North American cousins, and appreciate
the fact that we all have our own strengths and weaknesses in terms
of sitcom production?
Eh? I don't get it?!
|> --
|> Andy Clews, Computing Service, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK
|> Email: A.C...@sussex.ac.uk
Andy, do yourself a favour and stop embarrassing your fellow countrymen
and your employer (who I am sure would be delighted to know how you
are spending paid time) by living up to all the preconceptions we all
have of university SysOps.
--ian
PS Unlike you I don't read news in paid time. Observe the time of
this post.
Mark Moir
>
>OK ... I have now endured two of these so-called gruesome "Speed Kills" ads.
... true comments deleted
>
>The commercials seem to blame the innocent driver in both cases. My wife and
>I just can't fathom what the hell they're doing putting the blame on the wrong
>person. The woman in the first one leaps from a crowd into an oncoming car;
>the kid's dad in the second pulls out without looking and gets him killed;
>clear-cut blame against the ghosts in both cases!
>
>Aargh ... these have turned into a pet-peeve of mine!
>
Does a peeve take a lot of looking after? Do you have to take it for walks
or do you leave it in the back garden to run around? :)
Sarcastically yours,
Mark.
G Bell
>(a sore point all on its own) ... well fine ... then why is BBC showing
>"Every Which Way But Loose" this week, and "Any Which Way You Can" next week?
>These Eastwood vehicles also revolve solely around the fact that he's a
>bare-knuckle fighting champ. Both films are being shown well before the
>watershed (19:00 or 19:30) as I recall. Both show this illegal activity,
>yet BBC has chosen to show them. I realize they are "comedies", but there
>is still plenty of graphic bare-knuckle brawling on display. What about
>Bronson's classic "Hard Times"? Has it been shown here?
Reading the Radio Times the Clint opuses have now been edited for
violence and language, so they do read this group. And as far as I
recall Hard Times, under it's UK title The Streetfighter, has been on. In
fact many years ago it was shown just after 7.00pm on ITV, I remember
because this was the only time I have seen this film.
Maybe next they'll cut the scene in Romancing the Stone when lost in the
jungle Douglas and Turner come across a crashed plane carrying "grass"
and later shows Douglas breathing in a lungful of the fumes from a fire
he's made of the stuff.
Graham
John Burton
> wife and
> I just can't fathom what the hell they're doing putting the blame on the
> wrong
> person. The woman in the first one leaps from a crowd into an oncoming
> car;
> the kid's dad in the second pulls out without looking and gets him
> killed;
> clear-cut blame against the ghosts in both cases!
I couldn't agree more!
David Stevenson
>I just can't fathom what the hell they're doing putting the blame on the wrong
>person. The woman in the first one leaps from a crowd into an oncoming car;
>the kid's dad in the second pulls out without looking and gets him killed;
>clear-cut blame against the ghosts in both cases!
The message seems to be that "if you have an accident, even if it's not
_directly_ your fault, it _is_ really your fault cos you must have been going
to fast, otherwise you would have avoided it". On that basis, given that
cars only have a finite energy dissipation capability, you cannot actually
_move_ at all.
It really is a very stupid ad indeed.
Hoagy (ho...@cix.compulink.co.uk, d...@jet.uk, 0734 351783)
Ian Collier
Now look here! This is getting too silly. I'm afraid I'm going to have to
stop this thread right now. Go on, off with you. And don't let me hear any
of this America vs UK nonsense again, or I'll... <cue next sketch>
Ian Collier
Ian.C...@comlab.ox.ac.uk | i...@ecs.ox.ac.uk
Ian Collier
two new articles both as follow-ups to an article about US sitcoms. Also,
the mail address in your header didn't work.
Ian Collier
Ian.C...@comlab.ox.ac.uk | i...@ecs.ox.ac.uk
Kristine.Hensel
>In article <1994Sep28.1...@inca.comlab.ox.ac.uk> b...@alderamin.astro.ox.ac.uk (Brad Gibson) writes:
>>From: b...@alderamin.astro.ox.ac.uk (Brad Gibson)
>>Subject: Those "Speed Kills" Ads!
>>Date: Wed, 28 Sep 94 13:51:50 BST
>
>
>>OK ... I have now endured two of these so-called gruesome "Speed Kills" ads.
>>What I can't figure out for the life me is who the hell they are aiming them
>>at?!? In the first one, that dumb woman leaps out of a crowd of people on
>>some incredibly busy city street and is killed by a car driven at a very
>>reasonable speed. Her ghost then berates the driver for going too fast ..
>>it's damned annoying cause the guy is obviously driving well; there's a zillion
>>people milling about out ... there's simply no way to protect yourself against
>>some nut who jumps out illegally into oncoming traffic.
>[chomp]
>
>Totally agree, the woman steps out and Whammo she gets killed...good, one less
>idiot on the planet.
>
>(And I know what I'm talking about 'cos I got run over when I was 11 and
>it was _totally_ my fault, lucky I wasn't killed, but I would have deserved it
>if I was).
>
>
Me too (although I think I was 10)! And I'm Brad Gibson's wife! Spooky...
Kristine
>
Mark Alan Cirino
to explode.
BOOM!
Ian Miller
|> I couldn't agree more; they are VERY stupid ads.
|>
-ian