Dark Comedy

I've mentioned before that I am often attracted to fairly dark subject matter. This topic is for the discussion of any comedy of any medium that you think dark.

I've mentioned liking shows such as Inside No. 9, Psychoville, The League of Gentlemen, does Darkplace count (lol)?, various dramedies such as Misfits which are quite dark, and shows like Nathan Barley or Dead Set, Brasseye etc. and films such as Brazil and The Bothersome Man, Delicatessen and City of Lost Children, short films such as Mompelaar (Mumbler). And there are various novels I've read of that ilk.

Recently I've been on something of a Chris Morris kick and listening to his Blue Jam radio series, which can be very, very dark indeed. Here's a clip from the TV series of it. This from Blue Jam sure is dark (as a father it fills me with a certain horror).



https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2013/10/26/mompelaar-mumbler/

Many that combine horror and comedy interest me (say Shaun of the Dead). So what are some of your dark comedy picks?

Edited by Logan - October 17 2019 at 13:11

Huge fan of Edward Gorey....Harold & Maude....Dr Strangelove....The Addams Family....Little Shop of Horrors...A Boy & His Dog....The Producers....The Ruling Class....

^ Yep.

Snicolette wrote: Huge fan of Edward Gorey....Harold & Maude....Dr Strangelove....The Addams Family....Little Shop of Horrors...A Boy & His Dog....The Producers....The Ruling Class.... I'm sure more will come to me, but those arrive first right now.

Harold and Maude is a particular dark comedy film of mine. I love it; it's one of those I like to return to every few years. It's one of my all-time favourites. Big fan of Dr. Strangelove too, and while A Clockwork Orange I now find more disturbing to watch than when I was young, that has some very good black comedy. Another with Malcolm McDowell that I often associate it with is a film called O Lucky Man, which is a fave of mine. From Australia, there's a film called Bliss that I love (more of a drama than a comedy). I loved A Boy and His Dog, both film and what I've read of the narratives (which came later for me). Harlan Ellison did not like how the film turned out, and as I recall he hated this, I think delicious, line: "Well, I'd certainly say she had marvelous judgment, Albert, if not particularly good taste."

An American Werewolf in London, Eating Raoul, and Fargo (I prefer the series still), and The Lobster (love it) and Barton Fink. And Brazil counts. Withnail and I, How to Get Ahead in Advertising, Time Bandits arguably, Four Lions, The Magic Christian, and Bedazzled I think counts. One called Happiness is terrific. I often like my comedy with a huge dose of pathos.

I had another two in mind, but I forgot amongst the rambling.

Donald Westlake's Humans was an excellent read, and it reminds me of Good Omens, which could also fit (if not that dark really). Those who liked the novel and TV series should consider checking out the radio series: https://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x5xauc Wonderful.

Related to that is not really dark is the Old Harry's Game radio series (I'm a big fan of radio series): https://archive.org/details/OldHarrysGameSeries1

By the way, that youtube clip in my first post was to show something really dark from a comedy series, but I find Blue Jam disturbing....

EDIT: I think Harold & Maude s great example of a kind of black comedy that I love, ultimately its very moving and deeply humanistic. It's darkly funny, and care deeply about the characters (whatever the genre, a sense of empathy helps in appreciation).

Edited by Logan - October 17 2019 at 23:24

^ Thanks.

^^ I really love The League of Gentlemen, and quote it a fair amount. I exposed my wife to it, but unfortunately she didn't like it, so I had to find another by declaring "You're my wife now", and then another, and another. The circus animals got so full of my wives that I had to store them in a mine, they're wife mine now.

The one I use the most around the house is Pauline's "Hokey-cokey-pig-in-a-pokey."

If you haven't seen the anniversary specials from late 2017 (three episodes), those were also wonderful. And I really liked the radio series, On the Town with the League of Gentlemen too. https://archive.org/details/TheLeagueOfGentlemenBBCRadioRip

I liked the 2005 film The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse the least; still enjoyed it.

For those League of Gentlemen fans who haven't seen Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's Psychoville and Inside No. 9, I think you could be in for major treats.

By the way, Justin Trudeau got in trouble for old pictures of him in Papa Lazarou face (that's a bit of a joke, not sure if many outside Canada know about the blackface and brownface pics that emerged, or know Papa Lazarou here).

Another British comedy TV and radio show that has some lovely dark comedy is The Might Boosh. And Peep Show has great dark comedy in it, as well as classsics such as The Day Today.

Another is the Onion's Today Now! which I got to know while temporarily seperated and living in a van with a Wifi hotspot. Also the Onion's Porkin' Across America.

^^ I like all of those you mentioned Grumpyprogfan.

^^^^^^^ As for the Bill Hicks, must admit that I find most stand-up comedy hard to appreciate (I tend to enjoy the more performance based ones that use elements of physical comedy). Sad what happened to him, but, and I know it's going at the hecklers which is part of the show, but such tends to just often come across as crude, nasty, and arrogant. His brand of darkness there is too dark for me in a way due to the mean-spiritedness (it's a show and I may be misreading things). With something like League of Gentlemen or Psychoville, while they can be quite horrible in that they employ horror elements and people do do terrible things, there is also a humanity there, and they can be lovable, even if murderous characters. There'a vulnerability to the characters. I too prefer comedy which deals more in self-deprecation, or the characters are shown as flawed and you feel sorry for them (the pathetic qualities lead to a certain sympathy), than the cocky making fun of others (though I can love some clever sarcasm too).. Maybe Hicks does self-deprecating humour well as well (I know him more by reputation as I never got that into stand-up comedy -- I do like Mort Sahl).

An important element in what we enjoy is what we empathise with, and part of laughing at things is us laughing at ourselves because we identity with the situations (say awkward moments, social faux pas).   A lot of the best comedy for me is also very uncomfortable. I like a sense of humanity and humanness in my comedy.

Sorry, long post that surely needs editing and more thought.

Edited by Logan - October 18 2019 at 08:52

Logan wrote: I've mentioned before that I am often attracted to fairly dark subject matter. This topic is for the discussion of any comedy of any medium that you think dark. I've mentioned liking shows such as Inside No. 9, Psychoville, The League of Gentlemen, does Darkplace count (lol)?, various dramedies such as Misfits which are quite dark, and shows like Nathan Barley or Dead Set, Brasseye etc. and films such as Brazil and The Bothersome Man, Delicatessen and City of Lost Children, short films such as Mompelaar (Mumbler). And there are various novels I've read of that ilk. Recently I've been on something of a Chris Morris kick and listening to his Blue Jam radio series, which can be very, very dark indeed. Here's a clip from the TV series of it. This from Blue Jam sure is dark (as a father it fills me with a certain horror). https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2013/10/26/mompelaar-mumbler/ Many that combine horror and comedy interest me (say Shaun of the Dead). So what are some of your dark comedy picks?

I'm a big Chris Morris fan. I think Brass Eye was his greatest achievement. Jam was interesting...especially the day Kilroy lost his mind..

Kilroy loses it..

I loved The League of Gentlemen too. I don't that would be commissioned these days.

Blacksword wrote: I'm a big Chris Morris fan. I think Brass Eye was his greatest achievement. Jam was interesting...especially the day Kilroy lost his mind.. Kilroy loses it.. I loved The League of Gentlemen too. I don't that would be commissioned these days.

With Chris Morris, Brasseye is also my favourite of his, and agree about Jam and The Day Kilroy Lost his Mind. I did love his film Four Lions as well (which concerned the bumbling exploits of a group of Jihadists, but it was done with heart), and The Day Today had very funny stuff. I want to see his latest film, The Day Shall Come.

I think there's quite a lot that the BBC wouldn't commission now.   I'm afraid its losing its edginess. So much of the best comedy and drama does deal with controversial/ taboo in polite social circles subject matter. I've been disheartened by some comments made by directors there, which really does seem a sort of virtue-signalling, but I won't get into that now.

A problem I've had with Canada's BBC equivalent, the CBC, is that they play things safe and seem to have an on the nose agenda. It lacks bite and is too focused on social messages that they think should apply to being Canadian (to help foster a sense of identity or increasingly identities in a sense). I wish they would be willing to be more controversial and trust the audience more to make up its own mind where they stand. If Jam were aired here for instance, I think they'd offer regular trigger warnings after every f*ing commercial break (the CBC has commercials, yuck).

I like that someone like Chris Morris is not afraid to confront you with uncomfortable things (and of course he has made fun of many). I could never do things he has done even if I had the talent. I'd be so uncomfortable; so embarrassed. Even then it's surprising what he got away with with Channel 4 and BBC.

As for the League of Gentlemen, it probably wouldn't be commissioned these days had it not already had a strong following. With the, I think terrific, specials that came out in late 2017, the BBC had wanted a full series. It still had edge, but there's going to be a rather different approach. Creators on it have said that they wouldn't do some of the things they did now.

Some complained about Papa Lazarou, thinking it was racist black face, but I would have never thought so.

Psychoville, which came out a decade ago, has this:



Which I know would not go down here, even in the context of a "Psycho" comedy.

I still love the BBC and may the second B ever stand for ballsy.

By the way, I tend to use the term black comedy, but once in a Black Comedy topic a person, I believe unironically, said The Cosby Show. Now Bill Cosby is a dark character (I mean aspects of his character and life rather than the colour of his skin), but not the show, at least not particularly.


EDIT: As for Moshkito's post, sorry for taking this short excerpt as a quote:

"My biggest concern is that we consider something dark, because we don't like its tone...."

Considering this acting as an appreciation thread, clearly many of us like the tones of much dark/ black comedy. It's about the subject matter it deals with which is often taboo, people often find disturbing, uncomfortable and distressing. Some hate comedy that makes light of serious issues, things that people have suffered through and suffer with. I can find it rather cathartic. To me it means the most when it resonates the most with my life experiences, but I have a sense of empathy beyond that. We all deal with horror, we all suffer, yet try to get on with our lives, make sense of it, and often make light of terrible things that have happened -- that's a way we cope.


Edited by Logan - October 18 2019 at 11:26

My favorite black comedy is "In Bruges" with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and one of the best performances ever from Ralph Fiennes. Warning, the language is very...colorful. And hilarious:

It seems crassly self evident that all comedy is at source dark, because all you need for humour is a victim and a punchline (the clue is in the name really) The proto stand up MC of jolly japes. Friedrich Nietzsche, described it with characteristic prescience as sublimated cruelty. That's not to say that humour is a bad thing but just that making jokes is the evolved and acceptable face of torturing  those we find inimical to our values.


Edited by ExittheLemming - October 19 2019 at 08:34