Like good tea, bad weather, and even worse teeth, good comedy is something often associated with Britain, and I for one fully subscribe to (at least) the latter. Of course we’re funny – think of all the funny people we’ve produced, the funny performances and the funny writing. Britain this year might be characterised by economic crisis and a misogynistic Church, but it’s all okay because we’re still really good at the jokes and stuff.
Cue The British Comedy Awards: notoriously shambolic and frequently unforgiving, they are essentially a lock-in for Britain’s best comedians, and we lucky people get to watch the chaos that ensues. Or at least that’s what we expect when we commit a whole two hours to watching an awards show peppered with people who get paid to be funny.
Everything seemed in order this year. Jonathan Ross – check. Jonathan Ross’ questionable goatee – check. Bingo card of risqué (or merely tasteless?) jokes – check. Why then did I begin to find Channel Four’s adverts for other shows more entertaining than the program itself? (15 Stone Babies is clearly a must see; titles like that deserve their own awards show.)
The problem appears to be the nature of the awards themselves: thanks to a reshuffle of categories, it felt as though there were around three comedians and, at a push, four shows spread over all of the nominations. In any awards ceremony it is difficult to establish clear categories, and even harder to find justifications for what ultimately turn out to be arbitrary divisions between types of broadcasting. For example, Julia Davis’ macabre period piece, Hunderby, was nominated for both Best Sitcom and Best New Comedy Programme, and to everyone’s surprise scooped ’em both. Hunderby may be excellent, and is definitely new, but it isn’t a sitcom. It seems like perhaps it needed to be chucked into that category because there is no longer a category for comedy-drama.
Most annoyingly, the Entertainment Personality award had solely male nominees. This meant that brilliant comics such as Sue Perkins were defined by their panel show appearances, rather than their own creative contributions. What’s more, Jonathan Ross had the audacity to make a joke about it. Yes, these are the comedy awards, and yes, they should be edgy, but pissing off the entire room was not a great way to start. Even the painfully predictable Savile jokes got more laughs than that. Equally, the clips of British Comedy Awards past was a screaming reminder of how hopelessly inadequate this year’s offering really was. Smart move, Mr Director.
But Wossy’s eternally irritating presence, along with the almost non-existent structure, didn’t make the evening a complete waste of time. There were some bad bits, but there were also the bad-but-brilliant bits. One of my favourite things about the awards was the increasingly bizarre parade of presenters they draft in. Though nothing will beat the pairing of Vivienne Westwood and Pamela Anderson in 2009, producers this year certainly tried, with Cuba Gooding Jr (bored? low on cash?), Joan Collins and characters from Facejacker taking the stage.
One of the nominees for Best New Comedy was Steve Coogan’s Welcome To The Places of My Life. Don’t get me wrong, we’re all happy to have Alan back. I was even happier when (after losing the award) Coogan still had it in him to lead the audience in a classic AHAAAA. Yes I did join in, but any character with a catchphrase so ‘classic’ probably shouldn’t be up against new comedy.
In fact, the awards didn’t really seem to be about new comedy at all: the highlights of the show were the moments which featured comedians we grew up with, the ones that my generation probably shouldn’t have been allowed to watch (I am eternally grateful for lax parenting). Reeves and Mortimer received a thoroughly well deserved Writers’ Guild Award; the montage of their work showing everyone how playful surrealism should be done, and their acceptance speech bringing silliness and fun back into the program.
In keeping with this focus on comedians from long ago, and perhaps most memorable, was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award. How I have missed that beard, that bling and those bloody awful sunglasses. It was Ali G who brought the show to its close, and watching a classic character take on current affairs was a huge treat. However, it says a lot that the final note of this year’s show was a ten-year-old creation.
Though many newer comedies were overlooked, Cuckoo and Fresh Meat to name only a couple, it appears that if British comedy has anything, it is longevity, or at least a tendency to wait a good long while before celebrating its best. But I’ll let you know in ten years time if Jonathan Ross starts being funny.
The 2012 Winners
Best Comedy Entertainment Programme
Harry Hill’s TV Burp
Best Sketch Show
Cardinal Burns
Best Sitcom
Hunderby
Best New Comedy Programme
Hunderby
Best TV Comedy Actor
Peter Capaldi – The Thick of It
Best TV Comedy Actress
Rebecca Front – The Thick of It
Best Male Television Comic
Lee Mack
Best Female Television Comic
Jo Brand
Best Comedy Entertainment Personality
Charlie Brooker
Best Comedy Breakthrough Artist
Morgana Robinson
The Writers’ Guild Of Great Britain Award
Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer
The British Comedy Academy Outstanding Achievement Award
Sacha Baron Cohen
The 2012 King/Queen of Comedy
Jack Whitehall
