Hill Hath No Fury
- 10 Feb 07, 08:53 PM
Many years ago, my old dad sat by the TV and laughed himself silly over Tommy Cooper, Harry Worth and Eric Morecambe. We giggled along with him, sharing his pleasure, even when the finer points of the jokes were lost on us. It was, of course, a vintage stratum of light entertainment, when people bonded over daft jokes and ill-fitting spectacles. We assume that this era has given way to more sophisticated and worldly television. But then we watch Harry Hill on a Saturday and all is hilariously well again.
Harry starts his evening run with You¡¯ve Been Framed, which was never so great with Jeremy Beadle or Lisa Riley. They were either smug or patronising, and the punch lines were often blunted by our dislike of the grinning face between clips. But how would you find harm with Harry? He has little malice and he tickles us with scatty observations about golfing mishaps, BMX pile-ups and hamsters opening biscuit tins. The video footage often takes place at a safari park, prompting Hill to exclaim: ¡°the baboon ¨C chav of the monkey world!¡± just before a startled granny is relieved of her cheese baguette.
Next up is Harry Hill¡¯s TV Burp, another barmpot critique of modern life. We are invited to see the absurd side of Eastenders, and Phil Mitchell¡¯s acting style is a weekly rip-snorter. The naturalist Nick Baker provides endless mirth and yes, there really is a therapy farm for fussy eaters, where a young lad is encourage to chow down on a sausage, despite his terrible misgivings.
One of the gag writers for this show is David Quantick, and old pal from my NME days. He can write a funny sentence like other people can play an amazing guitar solo, and one of his old music reviews was the basis of the band name, Pop Will Eat Itself.
So here¡¯s the after dinner belch. We end this week¡¯s show as Harry dresses as a giant hamburger and sings the advertising theme to Reggae Reggae Sauce. I am filled with helpless laugher, and the Bailie girls all join in.
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