As I get older and when it comes to threads like this, I realise our age and the generational thing frequently have a large part to play in our response. Yes I'm using a broad brush to an extent. There's much that I don't like on tv etc these days, however it's not impossible the teens/20s/30s me would have enjoyed them just fine.
HIGNFY and Mock the Week
- Thread starter JohnD
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No, definitely not afraid to offend. But then in his own words "I don't discriminate; I hate every f*cker!"
Of course he didn't really. Did more for charity in 6 months than you or I would do in our whole lives. It's humour. I fully understand how you wouldn't get it or like it.
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That's interesting. What makes you think you know how many hours of my life I have given, and how it compares with the number of hours given by your racist bigot?
Just be thankful for the laughs, Johnny. 
Bernard Manning was no satirist by any stretch of the imagination. Les Dawson was funnier than him just by standing on stage with a certain look on his face..."like a bulldog chewing a wasp."
The closest thing to a real satirist is Martin Rowson in the Guardian, who's cartoons reflect society with a wide range of references, both written and visual. Peter Cook once quipped that 'the golden age of satire was in Germany during the 30s and it didn't go so well after that'. Satire has a way of skewering the vanities of power in ways that an autocrat like Putin and Xi cannot tolerate; the Chinese leader was most annoyed with the unflattering comparison to Winnie-the-Pooh as it undermined his authority, so it can be said that a far right-wing government is less inclined to satirical commentary because they cannot tolerate that level of dissent, driving it underground as it did in Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
Satire these days covers a wider range of social commentary because the internet has become a breeding ground for memes although i suppose it really began with Hogarth in the 17th century...but never underestimate the role of the fool in King Lear. It's as old as Timon.
The closest thing to a real satirist is Martin Rowson in the Guardian, who's cartoons reflect society with a wide range of references, both written and visual. Peter Cook once quipped that 'the golden age of satire was in Germany during the 30s and it didn't go so well after that'. Satire has a way of skewering the vanities of power in ways that an autocrat like Putin and Xi cannot tolerate; the Chinese leader was most annoyed with the unflattering comparison to Winnie-the-Pooh as it undermined his authority, so it can be said that a far right-wing government is less inclined to satirical commentary because they cannot tolerate that level of dissent, driving it underground as it did in Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
Satire these days covers a wider range of social commentary because the internet has become a breeding ground for memes although i suppose it really began with Hogarth in the 17th century...but never underestimate the role of the fool in King Lear. It's as old as Timon.
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Seen him live twice. Once was a 'gentlemans' evening at The Savas Club in Usk south Wales, complete with strippers and steak dinner. Fantastic night of utter hilarity. Daren't get up to go to gents during his act, or he would mercilessly and very cleverly mock you. My ribs still ached two days later.
You would have liked it.
Obviously not.
I once heard Bernard Manning make a very funny joke. Then I found out years later it was actually a Woody Allen joke. The one about his friend being an unorthodox Jew. I'm not offended by Bernard Manning, I just find his jokes very boring. My favourite comedian by far was Ken Dodd, I think I saw him live at least six times. Funnily enough, I think in the way that he talks to the audience, Stewart Lee is quite similar to Ken Dodd. He is also technically brilliant as a comedian, like Doddy was. I'm not a big fan, though, as I think he is often self-indulgent and tedious and far too clever for his own good. But I love his audience interactions and the sending up of his own on-stage persona. Like this!
He is editor of private eye.
Quality investigative journalism that regularly exposes this dodgy govt
Stewart Lee, a bit of a leftie but on the money
“You can’t make generalisations about people who voted for Brexit, it wasn’t just racists, c***s did too”