Cult British TV comedy
From Reeves and Mortimer to Psychoville
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7497945 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Leon Hunt (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Pages | 258 |
| Publication date | 2013-06-30 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | BOOK |
| Venue | Cult British Tv Comedy From Reeves And Mortimer To Psychoville (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Manchester University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.7228/manchester/9780719083778.001.0001 |
| OpenAlex | W4247956529 |
| ISBN | 9780719083778 |
| Open Library | OL26179797M |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
The TV debut of Vic Reeves Big Night Out on Channel 4 in 1990 is often seen as marking a turning point for British TV Comedy, ushering in what is often characterised as the ‘post-alternative’ era. The 1990s would produce acclaimed series such as Father Ted, The League of Gentlemen and The Fast Show, while the new century would produce such notable shows as The Mighty Boosh, The Office and Psychoville. However, while these shows enjoy the status of ‘cult classics’, comparatively few of them have received scholarly attention. This book is the first sustained critical analysis of the ‘post-alternative’ era, from 1990 to the present day. It examines post-alternative comedy as a form of both ‘Cult’ and ‘Quality’ TV, programmes that mostly target niche audiences and possess a subcultural aura – in the early 90s, comedy was famously declared ‘the new rock’n’roll’. It places these developments within a variety of cultural and institutional contexts and examines a range of comic forms, from sitcom to sketch shows and ‘mock TV’ formats. It includes case studies of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and the sitcom writer Graham LInehan. It examines developments in sketch shows and the emergence of ‘dark’ and ‘cringe’ comedy, and considers the politics of ‘offence’ during a period in which Brass Eye, ‘Sachsgate’ and Frankie Boyle provoked different kinds of media outrage. Cult British TV Comedy will be of interest to both students and fans of modern TV comedy
Art · Art history · Comedy · Comics · Cult · Entertainment · Literature · Media studies · Movie theater · Political science · Politics · Sketch · Sociology · Spectacle · Visual arts · Contemporary Literature and Criticism · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Media Studies and Communication · Television comedies · History · Law
| Citations per year | 0.56 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |