Mr. Part Troll
 

Considering how Britain seems to be in the minority on GFF I wanted to see how many people had heard of the comic genius of Bill Bailey. Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfQU_VnxXE0

Bill Bailey is amazing! Everything I've seen him in is great. Anybody seen Black Books?

XD, that was pretty damn funny. "The cold neon research lab of your betrayal", hehe.

I feel like an idiot; I didn't even find it slightly amusing but the fact that the audience thought it was good makes me wonder. I guess British comedy isn't the same as American comedy, or something. I truly am baffled not by the meanings of what he said but how it's supposed to be funny.

Dog smokes sixty cigarettes a day instead of a pipe, lol? Is there something that British people know that makes this funnier?

P.S.: I enjoyed that show Coupling, however.

i'll have to go with eleo here... i found it sad

maybe you have some other videos you like of him that are better ?

My friends have been showing me a load of his routines and songs lately and it is growing on me. At first it's really wierd, but then its the wierdness that makes you laugh.

Black books is awesome, my mate just lent me the first and second series DVDs of it, and I've been watching it nonstop ever since. "This place is filthy! Right now I'm eating scrambled egg, with a comb...from a SHOE!"

How many more series of it are there? Are they still making them?

And also..."Human slaves, in an insect nation..."

Black Books = 3 series, and according to the fount of all knowledge, Wikipedia, there won't be any more. Sad :(. It was genuinely funny, and all the characters were likeable (in a strange sort of way, in the case of Bernard and Fran...)

I love most of Bill's sketches. This is not my favourite... it's a little disappointing, really, mostly because I'm not a fan of that kind of music. The lyrics are funny, yes, but the music sounds a bit strained in an effort to contain the lengthy lines. Unfortunately the clips on YouTube are not representative of his very best, but I enjoyed, for example, Bill Bailey and Cockney Music and Bill Bailey & Slayer. Most of his "normal" standup is first class, due to him being quite literate and surreal at the same time. Also great is the part in "Part Troll" (I think) when he speaks about drugs and the recipes he and the audience have included drugs into (shepherd's pie, anyone?).

This is not representative of all British comedy... this is, I suppose, part of the more alternative style of standup. If you want some idea of the various genres of British comedy you could do worse than try listening to Radio 4 or BBC7, both of which have very good sites and the ability to listen to a whole week's programmes. My favourites include I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again (reeeeallly old, before alternative comedy, but full of punny goodness), I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (an improvised show, the "brother" of the previous show), Radio Active (a programme which lampooned private radio stations and the programmes they transmitted), Old Harry's Game (about Satan and his minions... I'm a Catholic, and was almost offended by some of the humour, but it's genuinely funny), the Now Show (a topical satire show)... well, I think I like all of them ^^;. I'd better stop now. Basically just dip into a couple of programmes, you're sure to find something you like.

Oops, I've just noticed that I've strayed from the topic of Bill Bailey. Sorry ^^;.

Ps: Hokey Kraftwerk and Bill washing up.

Thanks, at the time I could only find the Love Song one (though I have to admit I love that one), but it has to be said he is much funnier in other parts of his routine...

Also the idea of the diversity of British humour compared to other countries was a part of the reason I set this thread up. I wanted to see what people outside of Britain thought of the more obscure and mostly unknown comic acts from here.

oh and if you hadn't guessed, I love Black Books

What the hell is Black Books?

@watkinzez: With your avatar I'd have thought you'd were the expert :D. Anyway, for more info you could do worse than read the Wikipedia entry about it.

@Bernard Black: yeah, that's what's great about it :-). There really is a lot to hear and something for everyone.

Bill is also great on QI, a very interesting panel game hosted by Stephen Fry. Series 1 & 2 are available on BitTorrent, and there seem to be decent seeds. It really is genuinely interesting - all the questions are purportedly impossible to answer, due to their obscurity or outlandishness (e.g. - Q: How many moons does the Earth have? A: Two/Five/None... not one, though!). The panel gets marks for being funny, since they're very rarely right. You should give it a whirl if you have the bandwidth :-).

Dunno how many Aussies are here, but I really want Bill back on Spicks and Specks (along with Ross Noble). They were my favourite guests on that show.