Comic's Choice

Last updated
Comic's Choice
Comic's Choice.png
Genre Chat show
Clip show
Written by Bill Bailey
Lee Stuart Evans
Directed byPeter Orton
Presented byBill Bailey
Theme music composerBill Bailey
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes5 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAmanda Kean
Mark Brosnan
EditorGavin Ames
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time45 minutes per episode
Production company Unique Television
Release
Original network Channel 4
Original release16 January (2011-01-16) 
20 January 2011 (2011-01-20)

Comic's Choice is a British comedy chat show hosted by the comedian Bill Bailey, and broadcast on Channel 4. The programme ran for a single series of five episodes, and was shown during January 2011. Each episode, Bailey would interview another British comedian, and invite them to discuss some of their favourite comedians or comedy television programmes. [1] The series was produced by Unique Television Production.

Contents

History

Comic's Choice was broadcast in anticipation of the British Comedy Awards, which were being shown on Channel 4 for the first time on 22 January 2011, having been broadcast on ITV for 20 years [2] Comic's Choice was broadcast in the week leading up the event. The five guests on the show were Alan Davies, Lee Mack, Jo Brand, Jessica Hynes and Sean Lock. [3] Each guest picked three nominations for various British Comedy Award categories (such as Best Sitcom and Best Male Comic), and would then discuss them and select their winner during the episode. Discussing the show, its producers stated: "With other smaller, alternative categories and audience interaction thrown in, the show will be not just informative and entertaining – but fun, funny and memorable." [4]

Reviews of Comic's Choice were generally positive, with Steven Cookson of Suite 101 describing it as "a great deal of fun". [5] Bailey's hosting was praised, with Tom Sutcliffe of The Independent calling him the programme's "saving grace", and stating: "[He's] got a manner that somehow makes the format work." [6] A review of a more critical nature came from Henry Venning of The Stage , who described the show's format as "flimsy" and "confusing". [7]

Episodes

Winners are given in bold. The Guilty Pleasure category had only one nominee.

No.Title Directed by Written by Original airdate
1"Alan Davies"Peter Orton Bill Bailey
Lee Stuart Evans
16 January 2011 (2011-01-16)
2"Lee Mack"Peter OrtonBill Bailey
Lee Stuart Evans
17 January 2011 (2011-01-17)
3"Jo Brand"Peter OrtonBill Bailey
Lee Stuart Evans
18 January 2011 (2011-01-18)
4"Jessica Hynes"Peter OrtonBill Bailey
Lee Stuart Evans
19 January 2011 (2011-01-19)
5"Sean Lock"Peter OrtonBill Bailey
Lee Stuart Evans
20 January 2011 (2011-01-20)

Related Research Articles

<i>Whose Line Is It Anyway?</i> (British TV series) British TV improvisational comedy series

Whose Line is it Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy television series created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, presented by Clive Anderson, and produced for Channel 4 between 23 September 1988 and 4 February 1999. The programme's format was on a panel of four performers conducting a series of short-form improvisation games, creating comedic scenes per pre-determined situations made by the host or from suggestions by the audience. Such games include creating sound effects, performing a scene to different television and film styles, using props, and making up a song on the spot. The programme originally began as a short-lived BBC radio programme, before the concept was adapted for television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benny Hill</span> English comedy actor (1924–1992)

Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme The Benny Hill Show, an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double entendre in a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with Hill at the focus of almost every segment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Bailey</span> British musician and comedian (born 1965)

Mark Robert Bailey, known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom Black Books and his appearances on the panel shows Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI, as well as for his stand-up comedy work. He plays a variety of musical instruments and incorporates music into his performances.

The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents..., which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane, Alexei Sayle and others.

<i>Never Mind the Buzzcocks</i> British comedy panel game television show

Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hosted by Mark Lamarr, then by Simon Amstell, and later by a number of guest presenters, with Rhod Gilbert hosting the final series. It first starred Phill Jupitus and Sean Hughes as team captains, with Hughes being replaced by Bill Bailey from the eleventh series, and Bailey replaced by Noel Fielding for some of series 21 and from series 23 onward. The show returned six years later, now hosted by Greg Davies, with Daisy May Cooper as the new captain and Fielding returning as a captain. The show is produced by Talkback. The title plays on the names of the Sex Pistols album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols and the band Buzzcocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Davies</span> English comedian, presenter and actor

Alan Roger Davies is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series Jonathan Creek (1997–2016) and as the only permanent panellist on the BBC panel show QI since its premiere in 2003, outlasting its original host Stephen Fry.

<i>QI</i> British comedy panel game television quiz show

QI is a British comedy panel game quiz show for television created and co-produced by John Lloyd. The series currently airs on BBC Two and is presented by Sandi Toksvig. It features permanent panellist Alan Davies and three guest panellists per episode; the panellists are mostly comedians. The series was presented by Stephen Fry from its beginning in 2003 until 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Lock</span> English comedian and actor (1963–2021)

Sean Lock was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000 he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. He was a team captain on the Channel 4 comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats from 2005 to 2015, and on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown from 2012 until his death in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noel Fielding</span> British actor and comedian

Noel Fielding is an English comedian and actor. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off since 2017. He is known for his dark and surreal comedic style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comedy Central (British TV channel)</span> British pay television channel

Comedy Central is a British pay television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated. This channel is specific to audiences within the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is aligned with the original US version of the channel. The channel started as The Paramount Channel in 1995, before rebranding as the Paramount Comedy Channel in 1997 and again as Paramount Comedy 1 in 2004 before finally becoming Comedy Central on 6 April 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhod Gilbert</span> Welsh comedian

Rhodri Paul Gilbert is a Welsh comedian and television and radio presenter who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008 he was nominated for the main comedy award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Watson</span> British comedian and writer

Mark Andrew Watson is an English comedian and novelist.

<i>Lead Balloon</i> British television series

Lead Balloon is a British comedy television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian whose life is plagued by petty annoyances, disappointments and embarrassments. Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power and Tony Gardner also star. The first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in 2006, with the first episode achieving the highest ratings for a comedy on the channel. Repeats of the series were run on BBC Two and BBC HD, bringing it to a larger audience. The second series of eight episodes aired on BBC Two from November 2007; the third series aired from November 2008; and the final series aired from 31 May 2011 until 5 July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Millican</span> English comedian

Sarah Jane Millican is an English comedian, writer and presenter. Millican won the comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Radio 4's Woman's Hour, and in the same year she married fellow comedian Gary Delaney. Her first book, How to Be Champion, was published in 2017. Millican has performed on various tours, mainly across the United Kingdom, over the years.

The Museum of Curiosity is a comedy talk show on BBC Radio 4 that was first broadcast on 20 February 2008. It is hosted by John Lloyd. He acts as the head of the (fictional) titular museum, while a panel of three guests – typically a comedian, an author and an academic – each donate to the museum an 'object' that fascinates them. The radio medium ensures that the suggested exhibits can be absolutely anything, limited only by the guests' imaginations.

Jon Joel Richardson is an English comedian. He is known for his appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and his work as co-host with Russell Howard on BBC Radio 6 Music. He is the presenter of Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier, and also featured with his wife Lucy Beaumont in the TV show Meet the Richardsons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Whitehall</span> English actor, comedian, presenter and writer

Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is known for starring as JP in the comedy drama series Fresh Meat (2011–2016) and as Alfie Wickers in the sitcom Bad Education and its spin-off film The Bad Education Movie (2015), also co-writing the latter two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Pascoe</span> English comedian, presenter and writer

Sara Patricia Pascoe is an English actress, comedian, presenter and writer. She has appeared on television programmes including 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown for Channel 4, QI for BBC and Taskmaster for the digital channel Dave.

Dick and Dom's Funny Business is a British comedy television series for children, hosted by comic presenting duo Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood. The series was broadcast in a Saturday morning slot on BBC Two and simulcast on the CBBC Channel, and was Dick and Dom's return to Saturday mornings following the success of Dick & Dom in da Bungalow, which ended in Spring 2006. Unlike ...da Bungalow, which was largely broadcast live and ran for up to three hours with inserted content, ...Funny Business was a pre-recorded, self-contained one-hour programme. The first series began in January 2011 and ran for 13 episodes.

<i>Taskmaster</i> (TV series) British comedy panel game show

Taskmaster is a British comedy panel game show created by comedian and musician Alex Horne and presented by both Horne and Greg Davies. In the programme a group of five celebrities – mainly comedians – attempt to complete a series of challenges, with Horne acting as umpire in each challenge and Davies, the titular "Taskmaster", judging the work and awarding points based on contestants' performances. The concept for the programme was first created by Horne for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010; he later secured a deal with Dave to adapt it for television with the first episode premiering in 2015. After the ninth series in 2019, the programme was acquired by Channel 4.

References

  1. "Biography (Part Two)". Billbailey.co.uk. 2011. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  2. Lambert, Doug (23 January 2011). "Miranda Hart wins big at British Comedy Awards". Felling, Tyne and Wear: ATV Today. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  3. O'Donovan, Gerard (13 January 2011). "Today's TV highlights". The Daily Telegraph . London. ISSN   0307-1235. OCLC   613316876. Archived from the original on 15 January 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  4. "Bill Bailey talks funny". Chortle. 9 November 2010. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  5. Cookson, Steven (17 January 2011). "Comic's Choice: Alan Davies on Channel 4". Vancouver: Suite 101. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. Sutcliffe, Tom (17 January 2011). "The Weekend's TV: Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait, Sun, Channel 4, Comic's Choice, Sun, Channel 4". The Independent . London. ISSN   0951-9467. OCLC   240904920. Archived from the original on 18 January 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  7. Venning, Harry (21 January 2011). "TV review". The Stage . London: The Stage Media. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2013.