Brilliant black comics? The BBC Needs YOU!

The BBC head of Comedy Commissioning, Lucy Lumsden, has spoken in The Stage of her frustration at how “white and male led” most of the pitches she receives are, and her desire to encourage more diversity in submissions. Here’s what she had to say on the matter.

‘The majority of all our ideas are male-led, single camera shows and they are usually white male-led. It is still a very white male industry and white males tend to write about their own lives.

‘Just as it is difficult for women to break through into comedy because they feel it is not their domain, I am sure it is incredibly difficult for black and Asian writers.

‘But if you have a show that speaks to them, suddenly that changes that. They then feel it is a show they can contribute to and not that they are working within this white male world.”

She cited the upcoming hip-hop sitcom Trexx and Flipside as redressing the balance a little.

In this she echoes recent comments made by Lenny Henry –whose married to the Vicar of Dibley and is most memorable recently for his starring role in Extras- complaining of mainstream broadcastings failure to integrate black people into their programming.

Do they have a point? Lumsden is certainly in a position to know. The question is more “why?” It’s not like there’s a shortage of talented black or Asian comic minds: The live circuit is thrumming with them. Reginald D Hunter sold out his entire Edinburgh run last year and gets a decent share of TV work, yet somehow he still feels like a loan voice as a black stand up in the UK. It doesn’t seem to be the case in America- where black-led sitcoms and sketch shows are ratings staples and black stand-ups are hugely popular, most of which achieve equal popularity over here: Chris Rock probably sold more tickets, faster than any other touring comic in the UK in 2007. So why are our own talents finding it so hard to get a commission? If the head of Comedy Commissioning at the BBC is actively looking for this stuff and it’s not appearing then something, surely, is blocking the way?

There’s a horrible sense that should the really talented stuff not get to the top then the Beeb will carry on commissioning any old shit just because it ticks the box. Which is the only possible reason for the continued appearance of Little Miss Jocelyn on the books.

BBC Threesome

BBC 3, the channel that bought you Can Fat Teens Hunt, are aiming to revolutionise the concept of Television as we know it, or at least that’s what they’d have us believe by the tone of controller Danny Cohen over at Media Guardian.

Apparently the channel will ‘Simulcast’ (a point right there for anyone playing Bullshit Bingo: The Media Edition) all of its programming on ‘Multiple Platforms’. Which actually means “it’ll be on the internet at the same time it’s on the telly”.

Give them their dues, this genuinely is an innovation in British TV. No Channel outside of rolling news has dared to broadcast directly on the web, although it does feel a little like the Beeb are Guinea-pigging the concept with the channel they risk least with.

Cohen’s breathless excitement is evident:

"At BBC3 we should be known for pioneering risk, and be obsessed with all things new - new talent, new programmes, and a new relationship between television and the internet.

The thinking behind this rebrand of the channel is that we have, in effect, created a BBC3 world in which our content can move seamlessly between TV, online and mobile.

We have a fantastic lineup of programmes and we are going to make them available wherever young people want them."

Which is all well and good until you look at the new schedule, which despite a fancy new logo (we’ll miss those little blob things) doesn’t feel all that new and risky to us: docu-soaps on single Mums, teen pregnancy and modelling, make over shows “with a twist”, returning American imports like Heroes, a refresh of the old-as-the-hills comedy variety show with The Wall, and a new series of Gavin and Stacey, which admittedly did deserve a second go as it’s quite fine. All of which could probably be pretty decent in their own place, but are hardly unfamiliar BBC3 ground.

There a few genuine innovations. Lily Allen And Friends could actually be quite good…Lily herself is an engaging enough personality, although they’ve been cagey about the format so we’ll hold off until we’ve seen it. The Wrong Door is being described as a “sketch show with CGI”, but quite what that means is anyone’s guess. It won’t be as good as Modern Toss, that’s for sure. Then there’s this

“New entertainment format Upstaged will be a mixture of talent show, stamina and social networking, which Cohen has described as "risky".”

Which sounds horrible.

Best of all is the drama:

Six drama pilots will include Phoo Action, written by Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett; thriller The Things I Haven't Told You; Being Human, a tale of a vampire, ghost and werewolf who share a house; and Mrs In-Betweeny, created by Shameless writer Paul Abbott and Caleb Ranson.

The proposition of a drama by the man that draws Gorillaz definitely spikes our interest and the Vampire thing could well be good.

BBC3 then. There’s more to it than crap docusoaps, Two Pints... and Doctor Who Confidential, and if you’re too lazy to leave the computer and go to the Telly you don’t have to. It’s the future.

Lies, lies, Damned Lies

More lies and moral filth coming out of the BBC as television continues to be to modern media what the Ottoman Empire was to 19^th Century Europe. But this time, we don’t know who is to blame.

Following Blue Petergate, Blue Petergate II, Comic Reliefgate, 6Musicgate and more, it turns out there is still deception bubbling under over at Broadcasting house. Of course the BBC are trying their best to stamp it all out and make sure we find out from them, rather than from some irritating Tab. Next week we’ll find out where the blame lies. What could it be? Was the recent Two Pints live episode really entirely CGI? Is Radio 5 Live actually being broadcast out of Bombay using talented and under paid Indian impressionists? Did John Simm not get transported back to the 70’s to fight crime after all? Is it true that Dot Cotton is really a do-gooding Babyshambles Fan called June? Where will it all end?

Secretly most people will probably agree with Russell T Davies in discussion with Mark Lawson earlier this week (available on the iPlayer until Wednesday, heartily recomended) when he described himself as being actually quite impressed with the resourcefulness of overworked studio telly-peeps making snap decisions on live TV. And if Russell says so, it must be true. He is the last honest man in showbiz.

Let’s face it, the BBC’s earnest attempts to cut out the noddys, apologise to the Queen and restore some of that seeped faith are all very arguable, but most reasonable people were probably happier when the wool was pulled over their eyes. And besides, the problems over at ITV (X-Factor Gate, GMTVgate, late night phone in Quiz-O-Gate, Ant and Dec o’gate) are far far worse.

The end is nigh, we’re all doomed.

Tate Modern

A belated Happy New Year to Conservative MP for Mid Beds Nadine Dorries, who took exception to Catherine Tate's Christmas Day sketch extravaganzer.

If I'm honest I'd have taken exception to it too, but that's because I don't really like The Catherine Tate Show (although her acting chops are to be admired when she's doing it for real), as it is I didn't watch it. Frankly there was something better on. However Nadine's problem came not so much from the medium, but the message itself. Catherine Tate swears too much.

She's not the only one complained either. OFCOM was apparently inundated with people taking exception to foul mouthed 'Nan's branding Cathy Burke a "fucking bastard".

Let's gloss over the fact tha Tate's special was shown well past the Watershed at 10.30pm, (by which time any self respecting child has long passed out in a storm of weeping, or else shot their eye out and been taken to casualty) and take this a point at a time, because it really really deserves the detail.

"Having watched endless episodes of The Vicar of Dibley, Father Ted, Blackadder, and Red Dwarf; timed my pud to coincide with the Christmas special of To the Manor Born; and been subjected to endless episodes of the forever perpetually screened teenage favourite Friends, I have reached a conclusion - that the funniest comedy is entirely void of bad language and overt sexual innuendo."

Just take that last sentance and role it around your mind. You'll enjoy the experience, I promise. I'm going to repeat it again for you now, it's just as good the second time around.

"the funniest comedy is entirely void of bad language and overt sexual
innuendo."

Well is it? Can we really accept that Del Boy falling through the bar is the absoloute zenith of human comic achivement? Are we going to discount everything from Mrs Slocombes Pussy to Samantha sitting on Humphrey Littletons right hand on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue?

For a start I'm not quite sure what Nadine's getting at here. Is Friends part of the problem, or an example of all that is pure and true in comedy? Is she claiming that Blackadder, The Vicar Of Dibley, Father Ted and Red Dwarf are free of smut? Because...well...they're not, are they. Not even a little bit.

Apparently great comedy has to be

"obviously written by people with great intellect, who know how to knit the laughs through a script for maximum well-timed impact".

The best example of this, according to Nadine, is Will and Grace. Will and Grace? Now I like Will and Grace, it's consistently funny it is indeed very well written with those compulsory well timed jokes mentioned above. But it's hardly smut free is it? Really? Infact, if you look through the pantheon of great American trad-sit coms: Roseanne, Cheers, Friends, Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, The Simpsons, Frasier, I Love Lucy,The Golden Girls, Taxis, Third Rock From The Sun (okay I'll stop there) Will and flippin Grace is the smuttiest of the bunch. It's a show that's built on filth from beginning to end. Has she actually listened to Jack talk? Good lord.

So why am I taking such an issue with this? I have to admit a certain amount of prejudice against anythign Tory MP's say as standard (and I suppose you can hardly expect decent arts critique from the Conservative Party, can you?). I don't even like Catherine Tate that much. But I feel duty bound to defend a comics right to utter expletives on Christmas day. It taps into a much much bigger issue going on right now. As comedy writing gets closer to the edge, pushes boundaries further and continues to reinvent itself, the backlash is getting stronger. And so sensitive is the current political climate, people are paying more attention to the complaints. They're being upheld. Look at the outgrage caused by Johnathon Ross at the TV awards.

On 9th of January this year MP's will debate an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, the best possible result is a substantial slackening of the UK's laws on blasphemy. Comedy has never been so high on the political agenda. I think what worries me most is that some of these MP's don't really seem to understand what comedy actually is.

Was Catherine being offensive? Make your own mind up...

Not that bad is it? Actually it's not that bad in quite a few senses...it's one of Tate's better efforts, and it's always nice to see Ms Burke. But the quality control issues aside, who is Nadine, or indeed any of the complainees to deny us swearing on Christmas day. In my house the swearing was uncontrollable on Christmas day! No-one was sober enough by that time of night to control it!.

Don't complain about it, revel in it. Swearing is funny, late night TV shows aren't for Children at any time of the year, parents should no what to expect from Catherine Tate of all people, and Conservative MP's are almost always, always wrong.