TV comedy lacks imagination, claims Father Ted creator

Published Wednesday 9 July 2008 at 16:25 by Matthew Hemley

Father Ted writer Graham Linehan has hit out at the “charmlessness” of British television comedy, claiming much of it relies on swearing and rude content to get cheap laughs.

Linehan, who is also behind Channel 4’s The IT Crowd, said the creative teams behind a number of shows on television should impose restrictions on themselves that force them to be more imaginative with their content.

He said: “I always think, just because you are allowed to do something, does not mean you should necessarily do it. If you impose a few restrictions on yourself, it forces you to come up with cleverer ways to get round things.”

Speaking to The Stage ahead of delivering a masterclass in comedy at this year’s MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, Linehan said BBC3 - which has broadcast shows such as Tittybangbang and Touch Me, I’m Karen Taylor - was particularly guilty of trying too hard to be risky and in doing so had polarised audiences with its choice of output.

“BBC3 wants to be a young person’s channel and they think the way to do that is to be as risky as they can. I just never, ever watch BBC3. I don’t think it is tuned in on my TV. It is TV that further polarises and atomises audiences. There is that kind of TV where your dad has to leave the room every ten minutes because he is too embarrassed to watch. I want to avoid that,” he said.

The writer added: “There is a way to talk about taboo subjects and adult subjects without making people feel like they need a bath. Seinfeld does it, The Simpsons does it - always in such a clever way. And that is what you should be aiming for.”

Linehan said comedians and producers of comedy were always trying to outdo Chris Morris, who made a name for himself on shows such as Brass Eye, which dealt with dark, taboo subjects.

However, he said most people who try to emulate Morris are unable to achieve his charm and added: “That is what I am depressed about at the moment - the kind of charmlessness of most comedy on television.”

He said the lack of restrictions on what people can get away with in comedy was creating a mentality of one-upmanship, with writers and performers continuously “pushing the envelope”.

“I think the envelope only needs to be pushed when it is restricting you. At the moment the envelope is like a big circus tent,” he added.