I should clarify. These are the top ten defining moments in comedy for me, and that I could remember. There
are literally seventeen thousand billion amazing moments in comedy (lie) but these, for me, were benchmark
moments. Not necessarily huge ones, but ones that hinted at impending genius, or that broke with convention
ever-so-slightly, leaving the door ajar for legions of imitators to stream through. They're defining because they
did things differently.
So I guess technically, this list should be called
Ten Defining Moments in Comedy.
And you would think I could have asked someone to rectify this, but I didn't. And now you're here, and I'm here,
and things are very, very awkward.
So awkward.
10.
Green Wing remains a mind-shittingly hard show to watch at times, but only because it's so brilliantly crafted,
and so immensely British. It's awkward, and perfectly crafted, and has Dr. Alan Statham doing his creepy recorder
dance. Brilliant.
9.
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is absolute wizardry, and this clip sort of sums up why. It's self-referential,
completely, gloriously awful, and it makes fun of Stephen King on, like, eighteen different levels. Amazing.
8.
Ah, The Boosh boys. Yes, they've been flogging a deceased horse a wee bit of late,
but their scattershot, sexy, crimpy stylings were, in their own way, revolutionary. Crimping was something
they made popular, and by crimping, I don't mean hair. Although their hair is also a focal point of their
comedy. It's confusing, but personally, I enjoy being confused.
7.
I'm going to put this right out there: Ricky Gervais shits me. I don't really enjoy him on any level,
although it's obvious that's part of the appeal (for some people). But if there's one comedian who
has managed to make bone-shattering awkwardness an art form, and a mainstream art form at that,
it's him. This scene is a fantastic example because a) it's very uncomfortable, and b) it features David
Bowie, who proves that he's still majorly boneable. Is boneable a word?
It is now.
6.
Tim and Eric have set a new benchmark for comedy that makes your organs feel itchy. It was damn
near impossible to pick one part of their show, but they've pretty much rewired comedy, television, and
mental illness to create something very special. And by special, I do mean "oh look, Billy is eating crayons
and dry-humping his parents" special.
5.
One word: wordsmitthery. It's not a real world, but shut up.
Black Adder remains to this day groundbreaking, and
probably its greatest achievements are making dense, verbose jokes doable, but making people like me sound
intelligent by informing our knowledge of historical facts and figures. Did you know Samuel Johnson wrote the dictionary?
I do! But solely because of
Blackadder. This knowledge, mind you, scored me major props with my English teacher
in year ten, who proceeded flirt with me. At least, I think she was flirting. Is blinking flirting? Because if so, she was flirting
me up something fierce.
4.
Eddie Izzard is singularly responsible for me wearing makeup and occasionally women's clothing during
university a couple of years back. He's also one of those comedians who blew my mind when I first saw him;
he made being tangential an art form. This bit is representative of Eddie's style, but it's also largely centered
around Hitler. Which is awesome, on account of the fact that in my professional capacity I'm not actually allowed to.
3.
Look Around You, brainchild of Peter Serafoniwicz, parodies educational videos made for British schoolchildren in
the seventies. Not only is it a brilliant deadpan period piece of television, but it manages to bend the idea of stock-footage
and moog music into a sharpened pretzel, and then force that pretzel into your anus. I mean, your brain.
2.
Monty Python were, and are, geniuses. This clip, however, pre-dates much genius by several millenia
(untrue). It begins like any other traditional sketch, but soon deviates into a premise of increasingly awful
depths; I recently showed it to several friends, all Tim and Eric fans, and the general consensus was a)
Python was way ahead of it's time in regards to pushing boundaries, and b) we would all totally do Graham
Chapman.
1.
Mel Brooks was so pivotal in comedy he should win an award. Another one, I mean. Specifically for being
pivotal. The film was, and is, a perfect piece of comedy, with incredible performances, impeccable timing
and wonderful self-referentiality. Also, Marty Feldman's eyes are bonerrific. If you head through to the 4.49
minute mark, you'll see what I mean.
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