This guy's about as funny as…
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simplex992000 — 15 years ago(January 22, 2011 05:09 PM)
Although OP was probably just trolling, he has a point. Roy Clarke's shows can get rather depressing. I am a yank who was raised on sugar saccharine US television shows in the 1980s though, so I'm not a good judge of it.
And furthermore, I totally understand where Clarke is coming from. Most of his shows are set in the depressed industrial north of England. Look how our shows portray things happening in West Virginia always depressing, bitter, dark coal towns full of men bursting at the seams with hate and anger from their situation.
Clarke's shows are almost existentialist, in fact I consider them existentialist, especially "Last of the Summer Wine." Life sucks, there's not God, but you just got to get on with it, right? Compo's living happy in this situation. He doesn't believe in God, had no life, he can see the depression and grime all around him, but he still knows that having a laugh and trying to enjoy where you are at the moment, to BE, L'etre, is the most important thing. "A Compo, la liberte!".
Clarke's portrayal of married life is without an exception negative. Married couples always hate each other's guts. Its not just conflict, not just world wearyness, but a deep-seated, visceral dislike of the opposing partner in marriage. Onslow and Daisy from "Keeping Up Appearances" are perhaps the most 'positive' married couple that Clarke portrays. While they don't despise each other, Daisy is desperatley unhappyb68 all the time because Onslow no longer takes a sexual interest in her.
I am unsure as to whether this last item is due to Clarke's depending on very negative portrayals of marriage to get his conflict in order to make a story, or if he, himself, feels this way. Seeing enough of his shows, one would think that he is not a fan of marriage, or indeed, of any male-female relationship. I want to believe that its simply Clarke's way of drumming up conflict. Most writers and creators get to a point where they have one tool in their toolkit that they rely on for sure-fire ideas and to get them going. I think maybe this is Clarke's "fall back position" in the 'I must write a story before deadline, oh yeah, sucky marriage situation brings another story' This definatley seems to be the case in "Summer Wine" where most of the stories seem to be driven my abusive (to the men mostly) marital situations.
Clarke's portrayal of brutality in marriage is not reserved to the menfolk either. Note the scene in "Open All Hours" where a woman in an abusive relationship turns down Granville's offer of an apple saying that "he's loosened so many of my teeth, I'm much happier with a banana!" A joke and punchline based on domestic violence! Again, Clarke is not so much being a neandertal but "telling it like it is."
Perhaps the final point this trolling OP and I could make is is comedy the right place for "telling it like it is?" Oh I can hear Clegg in my head right now ruminating on that. The part of me raised on Robin Williams and Alan Alda wants to say "Hell no!" to that question. But, existentially, if you really think about it, I think there's more to learn from Compo than Hawkeye. There really is. -
hangdoghero — 13 years ago(August 05, 2012 10:07 PM)
I know I'm about a year and a half late, but here goes..
What a beautifully written post, simplex992000! I particulary liked what you said about Compo, because I've got a similiar outlook on life that he has. I'm much cleaner though!
If you look at the "healthiest" relationship in a Clarke creation, it's probably Evans and Rachel from the Magnificent Evans16d0, and they're not married. So maybe Clarke got it against marriage, and nor male/female relationships as such.
I really love Roy Clarke's work. In the Ronnie Barker Seven of One series, he wrote one of the pilots called Spanner's Eleven. I can't help thinking what a wasted opportunity that was. It would have made a great series. I would say they should have called it just Spanner, and focussed on Spanner and his activities, not just the football. Oh well. -
MrTelly — 9 years ago(September 03, 2016 03:06 PM)
I agree with @hangdoghero that @simplex992000's reply was very well written.
I would add that Roy Clarke's best work is simply excellent. When you take into account that he has produced so much work, without co-writers, perhaps he can be forgiven for dips in quality and recurring themes.