h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last night I watched South Park, the one where Cartman is frozen and wakes up 500 years in the future, and Hyperdrive. Both sci-fi comedy. The difference was that IMHO, the former was witty, original and inventive, the latter was dreary, rip-offish, and erm, dreary again (apart from a couple of things (the spaceships looked nice)).

So, my question is...
...actually, I haven't got a question, but I was wondering if sci-fi comedy should be considered a completely different species to either of its components, since by combining 'ha ha' with 'far out', something new is formed.

Also, how crap is Hyperdrive (still)? ...and is there a tendency for the 'not so funny' half of a comedy duo to get to make programes that should never really be made?

YMMV

I like Hyperdrive. Honestly, I do.

Then maybe I'm missing the point. If you take out all the 'Red Dwarf', what's left?

Well, there's Kevin Eldon, always worth watching, But IMHO there are only trace elements of any new humour.

"and is there a tendency for the 'not so funny' half of a comedy duo to get to make programes that should never really be made?"

You think so? I always think of Nick Frost as the funnyman and Pegg as the straight man, at least nominally. If you watch all throuout Spaced, Shaun and Fuzz then I would say Frost gets more than his fair share of the "money shot gags". IMHO at least.

Red Dwarf wasn't very funny. Sporadically brilliant but mostly lazy, turgid rubbish of a 'My Family' level. Hyperdrive isn't much better. I like both. Go figure.

"Red Dwarf wasn't very funny"

That be fighting talk round these parts!

I know! I remember saying to my mate Simon in 1987, while we were walking from school to Ramsgate train station, that Red Dwarf wasn't very funny. I went through quite a long period of doubting that assertion but have come to realise that my 15 year old self was correct. There aren't many that agree with me though.

Mind you, I have watched series 1, 2, 3 & 4 over the last couple of weeks.

Last night's "Hyperdrive" was as annoying as the first series (it's the first I've seen of this new run) because there were occasional flashes of brilliance and yet most of the script felt underwritten and lazy - as if the writers had decided they'd fulfilled their "two good gags" quota for the week and could just do any old stuff.

There was also the problem of overplaying gags. Eldon's "Death didn't pay a visit, he only sent a card" was a funny line but rather than leave it at that they stretched the joke out over the next fifteen seconds or so as Eldon told us what was in the imaginary card and all the humour fell away. And there were bits that should have been so much better - the Supreme Leader (who I was glad to see returning - his performance and episode were the highlights of last year's series) reading out "textual messages" was a real opportunity for sending-up of dumbo "rolling texts" on such shows but instead they had some weak gag about oppression. And whilst Eldon's killing of the first assassin was marvellous the bit with "gun face" was rubbish.

>>most of the script felt underwritten and lazy

I agree. The script is the fatal weakness, everything else is OK, the actors, the fx, but all in that is in vain, without enough larfs.