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Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:04 pm
by Dorset Girl
I've always liked stand-up comedy, and I know there are a few other people around here who do. So who are your favourites, everyone?

My absolute favourite used to be Eddie Izzard, but now it's David Mitchell. Lee Mack is brill too, and Rob Brydon. Greg Davies, Stewart Francis, Peter Kaye... there are loads I like, actually.

As for ones I don't like - some of those who were big in the eighties just make me feel ill. Ken Dodd is one of them (sorry FJ!), another is Jim Davidson - crude in an unfunny way IMHO.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:18 pm
by !Amz!
I love David Mitchell's pure sarcasm, he's brilliant on Would I Lie To You and I love his work with Robert Webb too. Lee Mack is very funny too, I loved his last DVD - just the beginning of it cracked me up :D
Other favourites are Lee Evans, Russell Howard, Ed Byrne, Russell Kane, Michael McIntyre and Jack Whitehall. Ricky Gervais' stand-up always has me laughing too, although he does do some harsh jokes at times. I'm not a fan of his TV work though. Frankie Boyle was a favourite and I do still like him, but I don't think he's very popular with the public anymore after recent events. His last DVD crossed a few lines with some of the material, no doubt.
I quite like Dylan Moran from Black Books, but not sure if I prefer him doing stand-up or as Bernard in BB.

Haven't thought about who I'm not keen on. I'm not a huge fan of the 'one-liner' comedians, particularly Milton Jones. I've laughed once or twice at some of his ones on Mock the Week but most of the time they just don't do it for me.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:32 pm
by kat
hmmm this could take a while... :lol:

Peter Kay has to top the list, he's just spot on with things that my family do, also like Victoria Wood (seeing a pattern yet? ;) ) Russell Howard, Rob Brydon, Dave Gorman, Dara O'Briain, Michael McIntyre, Ed Byrne.

I'm not so keen on Ricky Gervais and I have to admit that Mickey Flanagan annoys me a bit, but that may just be his accent.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:34 pm
by woggle
Ive never seen any live as im not sure its my type of thing but caught Lee Evans on the box a few times and totally cracked up bt i have a funny sense of humor .

I also seen Freddie star on the box but don't think it was pure stand up think he was jst tourturing some poor celebs ..lol

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:02 pm
by CatNamedRudy
The only person listed in these posts that I've ever heard of is Ricky Gervais! :lol:

My two favorite stand up comedians are dead now. George Carlin and Richard Pryor.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:08 pm
by welshben23
Favourite :- Peter Kay, Rob Brydon, Bill Bailey, Michael McIntyre and Lee Evans.

Least Favourite :- Frankie Boyle and Ricky Gervais.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:09 pm
by insaneasperger
I love jimmy Carr, frankie Boyle, and jethro.


Most others I will put up with, but those three above really make me laugh!

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:14 pm
by Forever Jung
:twisted: Ken Dodd - Hero of comedy. The undisputed king.

Dave Allen - Still the only man I think could swear and be funnier for it.

Bill Bailey - Funny, musically gifted, a talent for languages, I hate the bastard :lol:

Dara O'Brien - Recently started buying his DVD's and read his book. Funny man. He said some very nice things about Ken Dodd which gets him extra brownie points :lol:

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:26 pm
by Dorset Girl
!Amz! wrote:Haven't thought about who I'm not keen on. I'm not a huge fan of the 'one-liner' comedians, particularly Milton Jones. I've laughed once or twice at some of his ones on Mock the Week but most of the time they just don't do it for me.


Milton Jones does some funny stuff, but once you've heard it, that's it, if you know what I mean! All comedians tend to use the same material several times, but I think he's particularly guilty of overusing it. I've seen him on TV doing an hour-long stand-up performance but didn't think it was particular great. However - Stewart Francis, who also does one-liners, has me in fits!

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:28 pm
by Dorset Girl
kat wrote:hmmm this could take a while... :lol:

Peter Kay has to top the list, he's just spot on with things that my family do, also like Victoria Wood (seeing a pattern yet? ;) ) Russell Howard, Rob Brydon, Dave Gorman, Dara O'Briain, Michael McIntyre, Ed Byrne.

I'm not so keen on Ricky Gervais and I have to admit that Mickey Flanagan annoys me a bit, but that may just be his accent.


I actually fancy Peter Kay rather a lot. :oops: I love his Slimming World routine, it's spot-on! He's also great as Big Chris in Roary the Racing Car. Brings some very welcome 'grown up' humour to a children's programme ('grown up' as opposed to 'adult', which has a whole different meaning :lol: ).

Ricky Gervais - nah, I don't like him. Not sure who Mickey Flanagan is, I'll look him up.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:30 pm
by Dorset Girl
woggle wrote:Ive never seen any live as im not sure its my type of thing but caught Lee Evans on the box a few times and totally cracked up bt i have a funny sense of humor .

I also seen Freddie star on the box but don't think it was pure stand up think he was jst tourturing some poor celebs ..lol


Not so keen on Lee Evans (that's not going to go down well, there are some big fans here!). Some of his stuff is funny though, I'll admit. :)

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:32 pm
by Dorset Girl
CatNamedRudy wrote:The only person listed in these posts that I've ever heard of is Ricky Gervais! :lol:

My two favorite stand up comedians are dead now. George Carlin and Richard Pryor.


Yeah, sorry Cat, they're mostly British.

welshben23 wrote:Favourite :- Peter Kay, Rob Brydon, Bill Bailey, Michael McIntyre and Lee Evans.

Least Favourite :- Frankie Boyle and Ricky Gervais.


Bill Bailey - yes, I really like him, particularly his musical stuff. Michael McIntyre - cool. He was in Swansea a while back, it's on Youtube.

Ricky Gervais isn't quite as well-loved around here as I'd expected him to be! And Frankie Boyle - I used to like him, but he went too far and crossed too many lines.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:35 pm
by Dorset Girl
Sorry, my fifth post in a row because I'm trying to answer everyone's responses!

insaneasperger wrote:I love jimmy Carr, frankie Boyle, and jethro.

Most others I will put up with, but those three above really make me laugh!


Oh dear IA, our comedy tastes differ quite a lot. :lol: Jimmy Carr I find kind of 'oily'.


Forever Jung wrote::twisted: Ken Dodd - Hero of comedy. The undisputed king.

Dave Allen - Still the only man I think could swear and be funnier for it.

Bill Bailey - Funny, musically gifted, a talent for languages, I hate the bastard :lol:

Dara O'Brien - Recently started buying his DVD's and read his book. Funny man. He said some very nice things about Ken Dodd which gets him extra brownie points :lol:


FJ - I dispute the fact that Ken Dodd is the king. Hence, he is now 'the disputed king.' :lol:

Dave Allen - yes, funny bloke! BB and DO - both great!

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:37 pm
by kat
don't know how I forgot this cos I was talking about him today (and have met him) John Bishop

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:40 pm
by Dorset Girl
kat wrote:don't know how I forgot this cos I was talking about him today (and have met him) John Bishop


I've not heard of him - I'll have a look on Youtube.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:42 pm
by CatNamedRudy
Oh, I've heard of Eddie Izzard too!

I think stand-up is a lot more popular in the UK than it is in the US. We have our share of stand up comedians but I don't think they're as popular as they were back in the days of Carlin, Pryor and early Bill Cosby.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:46 pm
by Dorset Girl
CatNamedRudy wrote:Oh, I've heard of Eddie Izzard too!

I think stand-up is a lot more popular in the UK than it is in the US. We have our share of stand up comedians but I don't think they're as popular as they were back in the days of Carlin, Pryor and early Bill Cosby.


I think they're gaining in popularity here because of the large number of panel shows that we now have - Mock the Week, Would I Lie To You, Ask Rhod Gilbert (there's another funny bloke I forgot to mention!), and several others. I think they're quite a new phenomenon. We've had Have I Got News for You for years and years, but it's not quite the same thing.

Would I Lie to You, in particular, has me in fits of laughter every time! My stomach aches from laughing, and my neighbours must think I've got some kind of mental illness when they hear me in here all alone, giggling for half an hour. :lol:

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:57 pm
by Forever Jung
kat wrote:don't know how I forgot this cos I was talking about him today (and have met him) John Bishop


:twisted: My dad liked watching him on stand up shows (and my dad isn't usually a great stand up fan, although he introduced me to Dave Allen) so I bought the DVD for him for Christmas and he was a bit let down by it.
I watched it myself and had to agree, it's not as funny as I expected.
My dad said that he thought the A material was spread too thin and that he spent too long going on about a charity football match he played at Liverpools ground. As someone who hates football, i'm sure you can understand how interesting I found that portion of the show :roll:

I'd give him another chance though if he brought another DVD out. I like what he's done on stand up shows, pannel shows etc, so I think he's worth it.


Eddie Izzard, i've heard a couple of great clips on youtuve of him lately.
Darth Vader in the Death Star canteen, and how the English took over countries because they didn't own a flag :lol:

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:57 pm
by Moon-Crane
My top 10 stand up comedians would be something like:

Bill Hicks
Eddie Izzard
Stewart Lee
Dave Allen
Jerry Sadowitz
Billy Connolly
Mark Thomas
Rich Hall
Ross Noble
Mark Steel

Possibly Sean Lock sneaking in to make it a top 11.

Most others fall into an area behind these that are enjoyable to watch.

Never been that bothered with Peter Kay's material, although i don't dislike him, and i'm not that keen on the relatively bland, yet incredibly middle England, tv friendly, acts like Michael McIntyre, Russell Howard, etc (even Ed Byrne in spite of planning on going to see him at one point - Jason Byrne is far funnier). Never been too fussed with the likes of the old school acts that keep on touring to their loyal audiences, such as Jethro, Manning, Chubby Brown, etc.

I'll back Ricky Gervais, though. I think he's a truly great, funny, writer and comedian, but i'm not going to include him in the stand-up list.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:00 pm
by Forever Jung
:twisted: I left out Jackie Mason.

Now I feel like a putz :shock: :lol:

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:04 pm
by Moon-Crane
Dorset Girl wrote:
CatNamedRudy wrote:Oh, I've heard of Eddie Izzard too!

I think stand-up is a lot more popular in the UK than it is in the US. We have our share of stand up comedians but I don't think they're as popular as they were back in the days of Carlin, Pryor and early Bill Cosby.


I think they're gaining in popularity here because of the large number of panel shows that we now have - Mock the Week, Would I Lie To You, Ask Rhod Gilbert (there's another funny bloke I forgot to mention!), and several others. I think they're quite a new phenomenon. We've had Have I Got News for You for years and years, but it's not quite the same thing.

Would I Lie to You, in particular, has me in fits of laughter every time! My stomach aches from laughing, and my neighbours must think I've got some kind of mental illness when they hear me in here all alone, giggling for half an hour. :lol:


I'd say stand up comedy has always had a strong following in this country. The popularity of all these comedy panel shows is partly because these guys have always been able to make a name on the stand-up comedy circuit, and then get picked up to fill in gaps in the tv schedules. We do pretty well with comedy clubs and various decent venues around the country. i'd agree comedians who 'make it' now, though, are able to fill much larger arenas through the amount of tv exposure.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:04 pm
by welshben23
How did I forget so many others? :lol: I also like John Bishop, Rhod Gilbert and Billy Connolly.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:10 pm
by !Amz!
Dorset Girl wrote:
!Amz! wrote:Haven't thought about who I'm not keen on. I'm not a huge fan of the 'one-liner' comedians, particularly Milton Jones. I've laughed once or twice at some of his ones on Mock the Week but most of the time they just don't do it for me.


Milton Jones does some funny stuff, but once you've heard it, that's it, if you know what I mean! All comedians tend to use the same material several times, but I think he's particularly guilty of overusing it. I've seen him on TV doing an hour-long stand-up performance but didn't think it was particular great. However - Stewart Francis, who also does one-liners, has me in fits!


Absoultely no way could I sit through an hour of his material! I prefer it when comedians do anecdotes of sorts, and just generally take the piss out of everyday things. I don't mind Stewart Francis too much, some of his stuff has been quite funny.

Dorset Girl wrote:And Frankie Boyle - I used to like him, but he went too far and crossed too many lines.

I can still watch his stuff, but like you said, he did go too far. I think towards the end because it was his last tour he didn't give a crap about who he offended. I think the controversy there was around the joke about Katie Price's son was what did it for him. I was quite shocked he never apologised though. I can't stand the woman herself, but the joke he made about Harvey was horrible, and I saw there was a documentary about her wanting him to meet Harvey and apologise, but he apparently refused. I think someone who gave a crap would have stepped up and admitted that they crossed a line, and I think that's what's put me off him a bit.

Forever Jung wrote:Dara O'Brien - Recently started buying his DVD's and read his book. Funny man. He said some very nice things about Ken Dodd which gets him extra brownie points :lol:

Only saw him on Mock the Week to start with but I bought BF tickets for his 18th and we went to see him in Bristol and he was very funny. The jokes about 2012 had me in stitches :lol:

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:23 pm
by Moon-Crane
!Amz! wrote:
Dorset Girl wrote:And Frankie Boyle - I used to like him, but he went too far and crossed too many lines.

I can still watch his stuff, but like you said, he did go too far. I think towards the end because it was his last tour he didn't give a crap about who he offended. I think the controversy there was around the joke about Katie Price's son was what did it for him. I was quite shocked he never apologised though. I can't stand the woman herself, but the joke he made about Harvey was horrible, and I saw there was a documentary about her wanting him to meet Harvey and apologise, but he apparently refused. I think someone who gave a crap would have stepped up and admitted that they crossed a line, and I think that's what's put me off him a bit.

I can take or leave Frankie Boyle. The offensiveness levels of his jokes make no difference to me as he's got nothing on Jerry Sadowitz for saying things that people will get up in arms about. It might be ill-conceived to joke about Harvey, but Katie Price is a pretty hypocritical media whore in using her own son for her marketing needs with idiots like ITV and OK magazine. If she thinks Harvey is off-bounds to public comment that's fair enough, but she should also leave the poor kid out of all her own media whore-mongering and stop exploiting him.

Re: Favourite / least favourite stand-up comedians

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:00 pm
by Moon-Crane
Forever Jung wrote:
kat wrote:don't know how I forgot this cos I was talking about him today (and have met him) John Bishop


:twisted: My dad liked watching him on stand up shows (and my dad isn't usually a great stand up fan, although he introduced me to Dave Allen) so I bought the DVD for him for Christmas and he was a bit let down by it.
I watched it myself and had to agree, it's not as funny as I expected.
My dad said that he thought the A material was spread too thin and that he spent too long going on about a charity football match he played at Liverpools ground. As someone who hates football, i'm sure you can understand how interesting I found that portion of the show :roll:

I'd give him another chance though if he brought another DVD out. I like what he's done on stand up shows, pannel shows etc, so I think he's worth it.


I quite like John Bishop. I don't think it matters when the subject becomes based around football as it's more about the delivery of the general story surrounding it. My mate isn't a football fan at all, but he still finds it hilarious when he does the bits that are football based.

I do think you make a valid point about the differences between seeing people appearing on those panel shows, and even tv stand up shows, in comparison to their actual proper, full, stand-up routines.