I do so love British comedy.
You will hear/see me say/write that quite a lot on this site.
It is the cream of the crop, the standard by which all other
comedy should be measured by, in my humble opinion.
Not to say that humor on this side of the pond is rubbish.
A lot of it certainly is, but not all.
One of the main reasons that I embrace it as much as I do is
that it has a much higher intellectual component to it.
It’s smarter, more cerebral and doesn’t talk down to its fan base.
It is one of the main reasons that Monty Python could produce all those
sketches without the use of a punchline and still make them funny.
I have always said that the smarter the comic, the bigger the laughs.
Some classic examples of that are Bill Hicks, Jeff Caldwell, Emo Philips,
and Jake Johannsen.
Yes, those are American comics, and one might think that it would detract
a bit from my point.
Except that Bill Hicks was a god like figure over there, sold out all his shows
and had a fan base second to none.
I attended the very first Bill Hicks tribute at the Montreal Comedy Festival
back in the nineties, it was soon after he had passed away and the powers
that be eulogized him with a superb get together, celebrities from all
walks of life…all fans of Bill when he was alive.
I was the only comedy show host allowed to record the event, directly from the
main sound board I might add, and I felt honored.
I saw videos that he did over there, at the peak of his fame, and they were
some of the funniest pieces that I have ever seen!
Very smart material, and his audience really appreciated it.
Emo is also a revered figure in England, doing many shows to packed houses.
I remember buying a British comedy album in Canada that was a benefit recording for
Amnesty International.
Emo was on it and the material was hilarious, my opinion and the audiences, judging
by the heavy applause.
My point is, the smarter American comics are held in high esteem over there.
All smart comics are, regardless of where they are from.
I could go on and on, instead I will give you an example of what I think is
smart, well thought out humor.
This is Not the 9:00 News from the early eighties, starring a much younger
Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson and Mel Smith.

Did you happen to notice which finger Rowan had bandaged?
He’s just waving that puppy around…Priceless!