The English Class (and Irish Tv Comedy)

**Ash** · 02/10/2007, 7:23 AM

Only caught the last 10 minutes of this but I presume the
first 20 minutes were just as sh!te.

Once again a very, very poor offering from RTE

It was so bad that it actually made Anonymous look mildly amusing!

**Lionel Ritchie** · 02/10/2007, 7:30 AM

watched five excruciating minutes wondering what the hell it was.

The chap playing the teacher should revert to whatever Mother Goose/Ugly Sisters roles he's evidently more familiar with.

This could rival Upwardly Mobile for cringe inducing unfunniness. It really could.

...and did no-one tell them that LWT were making Mind Your Language a full thirty years ago? Maybe they thought no one would remember.

**Ash** · 02/10/2007, 7:41 AM

Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

The chap playing the teacher should revert to whatever Mother Goose/Ugly
Sisters roles he's evidently more familiar with.

I think he was in Fair City before this!

They should really rename it "Cant Act, Wont Act"

**Sligo Hornet** · 02/10/2007, 7:52 AM

Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

watched five excruciating minutes wondering what the hell it was.

The chap playing the teacher should revert to whatever Mother Goose/Ugly Sisters roles he's evidently more familiar with.

This could rival Upwardly Mobile for cringe inducing unfunniness. It really could.

...and did no-one tell them that LWT were making Mind Your Language a full thirty years ago? Maybe they thought no one would remember.

That has to have been the most unfunny heap of sh*te to appear as "humour"

**Wolfie** · 02/10/2007, 8:11 AM

Originally Posted by Ash

Only caught the last 10 minutes of this but I presume the
first 20 minutes were just as sh!te.

Once again a very, very poor offering from RTE

It was so bad that it actually made Anonymous look mildly amusing!

I was fortunate enough not to endure this - but this thread has reminded me of how poor RTE's attempts at comedy have been over the years.

They actually turned down Arthur Matthews and Graham Linehan's approach in relation to Father Ted. This offering appears to be the latest in a long line of comedy failures.

Anyone got any suggestions, a "pitch" so to speak, for an Irish comedy series that might actually turn out to be well observed and, above all things, just funny? I reckon there's a few on here certainly couldn't do any worse.

**Magicme** · 02/10/2007, 8:29 AM

Just get UCD students together, they are funny.

**anto1208** · 02/10/2007, 8:41 AM

I had to sit through the ad for it and actually went red looking at it i was so embarressed by it , yet another wacky character that is over acted by a crap actor and im normally willing to give anything a go but this is serious pants .Makes you happy forking out 158 euro on your licence that it isnt being wasted anyway !!!! .

Thank god there is new Family guy ( 2 episodes stars wars parody ) , American dad and curb is on to its 4th new episode so there should be no reason to watch the english class !!!!

Good stuff rte has done

Realing in the years i like
bachelors walk 1st series before it got all soppy and gay
love is the drug
prosperity

that is all i can think of

**Aberdonian Stu** · 02/10/2007, 9:03 AM

I would have cut you off at Reeling in the Years, it's good the rest is dirge.

**tetsujin1979** · 02/10/2007, 9:10 AM

Watched the first 5 minutes or so of it. Once the teacher started doing the "happened in the past, hasn't happened yet" and thought he was acting like a rapper, I switched back to the football.
Utter, utter dreck.
Thank God for the panel after it.

**Magicme** · 02/10/2007, 9:11 AM

For once am grateful that spend monday nights at meetings.

**Angus** · 02/10/2007, 10:11 AM

Just logged on and was going to start a thread on this but glad to see we already have one.

I watched this open mouthed that somebody not only commissioned this, then made it and then signed off and said, yes, let's broadcast this.

This is Mind Your Language with one change - in MYL, the teacher was clever and Johnny Foreigners were caricatures and stupid - the hilarious, post modern, abstract, 21st century shift in this is that the teacher is supposed to be some kind of sub David Brent character.

Apart from the fact that this operates barely, yes, barely, on the right side of the "R" word, it is staggeringly bad - RTE have a few half decent shows like Dan and Becs, Bachelors Walk, that prison thing with Rats and that comedienne woman person, so there were signs of life but this is so spectacularly bad and ill advised as to be beyond a joke.

**stann** · 02/10/2007, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by Angus

Apart from the fact that this operates barely, yes, barely, on the right side of the "R" word, it is staggeringly bad - RTE have a few half decent shows like Dan and Becs, Bachelors Walk, that prison thing with Rats and that comedienne woman person, so there were signs of life but this is so spectacularly bad and ill advised as to be beyond a joke.

Paths To Freedom was a good aberration because of the actors involved and the fact it was a spoof documentary, but RTE just cannot do sitcoms, there must be some genetic incapability there.
Their efforts are worse than bad, consistently, and you're right, you have to wonder who are the gimps that are saying 'this is great, let's get it out!' because, as well as everything else, we're paying them.

**Ash** · 02/10/2007, 10:24 AM

Their output is quantity rather than quality.
Justify the licence fee by churning out programme
after programme, no matter how bad they are.

**John83** · 02/10/2007, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by Wolfie

...They actually turned down Arthur Matthews and Graham Linehan's approach in relation to Father Ted...

Small correction: Matthews and Linehan never offered it to them - they felt that it wasn't worth their while to make that pitch. RTE just weren't interested in making a comedy like that.
(I have this from Linehan himself).

**Dodge** · 02/10/2007, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Wolfie

They actually turned down Arthur Matthews and Graham Linehan's approach in relation to Father Ted

No they didn't. Hat trick and channel 4 commisioned a sitcom from them.

Agree with all other comments though. RTE's worst problem is they proximity to BBC and their excellent US purchases.

**Lim till i die** · 02/10/2007, 11:10 AM

I genuinely thought this was going to be a thread started by the Ucd lads and dedicated to improving our grammar

**Angus** · 02/10/2007, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by Lim till i die

I genuinely thought this was going to be a thread started by the Ucd lads and dedicated to improving our grammar

Oh, come on, you don't need the "and", all you need there is a simple comma.

**Schumi** · 02/10/2007, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by Lim till i die

I genuinely thought this was going to be a thread started by the Ucd lads and dedicated to improving our grammar

UCD should be all capitals.

Be careful what you wish for.

**Lim till i die** · 02/10/2007, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by Angus

Oh, come on, you don't need the "and", all you need there is a simple comma.

Indeed

**gustavo** · 02/10/2007, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

No they didn't. Hat trick and channel 4 commisioned a sitcom from them.

Agree with all other comments though. RTE's worst problem is they proximity to BBC and their excellent US purchases.

Agreed , RTE's output is probably better than a lot of Continetal Europes