JackTheLad

The new style of comedy over the last 10 years has been to push the boundaries of acceptable standards. So more swearing where it would never have been allowed, they even let F**k with the f and k still audible on Radio 2.

Jonathan Ross is at once both the worst offender and the best proponent of this. When he is funny he is very very funny. But when it doesn't work he does come across as a rather offensive teenager.

Some others are just offensive, without the underlying potential wit of Jonathan Ross.

I'd prefer they kept the 'pushing the boundaries' bit to scripted stuff, and were just naturally witty the rest of the time.

(I'll go get my cardy and slippers now, and put on a bit of Val Doonican)

JTL

seang

Indeed. She seems to now be taking the moral high ground. However she has made no mention of some , err, acting she may have done in the past. I would hazard a guess that grandpa would be more upset about that. It was mean what they did but she hasnt a leg to stand on.

ps - if you google hard enough you will find some stills from the "movies" I alluded to. Rather hardcore stuff. not that I googled or anything. Someone told me about them ...honest

poppie

Russell Brand is known for "pushing the boundaries" and being extremely unpredictable, you either love or hate his humour. That is what he does. Jonathan Ross? Not that funny, but hey, he gets a lot of viewers/listeners.
I think the producers should have shelved the show. It wasn't live, so they did have that choice.
As for Sachs & his grandaughter? Well, hasn't Grandad got his grandaughter a whole lot of publicity? More than Satanic Sluts ever had
And for the record, she's actually admitted that she DID s*%g Love Muscle Russell, & done a big newspaper interview giving all the gory details
Bet Grandad loved reading that!
Watch this space: what will she do next? But it'll be thanks to this "circus" that she got the "job"!
Brand? He'll go to ITV or Channel 4.........
Ross? Who cares?

john& becky

And I'm currently watching Russell Brands Ponderland on Sky+ and its as funny as ever.

Sorry killjoys.

framac67

As funny as the mumps.

MattW82

Excellent column on the whole debacle:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...-russell-brand

The column pretty much sums up my thoughts exactly.

Damson

The arguement of her having this dubious erm career may mean it makes here fair game in some peoples' eyes (though not mine). However, carry this forward and explain where her grandad fits into this, ie, why is it relevant that he is contacted - because he is 'famous'. This was using his as a prop for a completely unfunny gag.

Yeh I know that i'm an old fogey, but I do think that as has been said before, we do have the right to complain as we are paying for a 'service' which is rapidly going downhill and trying to compete with Channel 4 et al. It's just that this incident has galvanised people to say that enough is enough and it's not 100% to do with the show. This really is lazy TV and the sooner they get back to interesting and intelligent stuff the better.

I'm glad it's backfired and that some good has come out of it - Brand has gone (creepy bugger he is).

MattW82

See, this is what gets me. You're complaining about the incident yet you've not heard it nor have you any idea what actually happened. For your info, the reason that Andrew Sachs was contacted wasn't anything to do with the granddaughter, it was because he was supposed to have been interviewed for the show but couldn't make it. Brand was leaving a message on his answering machine and Ross made the ill-advised comment about Brand having slept with the granddaughter. It escalated from there and yes, frankly, it got out of hand. It in no way deserved the crazed media attention that has been lavished on the whole debacle though.

TV?! IT WAS A RADIO SHOW! I wonder how many of the complaints put in are from people in a similar situation to yourself, ie have absolutely no idea what happened nor the circumstances surrounding it but have decided to jump on the media 'decency' bandwagon.

Gone where? Oh, yeah, to one of his many other shows. I'm sure he's really upset.

Assegai

Boundaries have been pushed too far and in this day and age everybody's scared to make a stand against offensive behaviour for fear of being called a prude or tarred with the Mary Whitehouse brush.

The hue and cry may have been ott and people have jumped on the bandwagon, (doesn't that happen all the time when an issue which seems popular gains momentum?). I'm glad that both Cameron and Brown have both spoken out publicly against such vulgarity masquarading as humour and the radio 2 controller from the BBC who sanctioned this cruel, unfunny joke has been sacked.

It would be nice if this marked a watershed for bad standards on the BBC but I won't hold my breath. Oh and credit to the Daily Mail for bringing this unpleasant episode into the public domain so that the silent majority's view (who have no choice but to pay the BBC license fee so that Ross can receive his obscene salary) can be heard.

john& becky

Once again an uneducated ill informed rant that has no bearing on reality nor a grounding in fact.
Cameron and Brown are politicians and I think they have bigger fish to fry. If they don't then neither of them should be in office.
The Radio 2 controller who sanctioned this joke? The radio 2 controller, universally acknowledged as the best in a generation fell on her sword, and was not sacked.
The Daily Mail is nothing but a soapbox for the middle classes that obviously would rather listen to Brucie on Saturday night tv. The same people who probably thought Ben Elton a bit too risque and the very same ones who decided Monty Python was far too vulgar.

MartinLuther

This puts paid to a few myths:

• British entertainment is always classy entertainment.
• British humour is always funny.
• The British government always discusses serious issues.
• British journalism is the best in the world.
• The high-brow quality of public debate in Britain.

poppie

Absolutely agree

poppie

Why a cruel and unfunny joke?
Yes, the phone message was meant to be a funny joke.....they got carried away & let it slip that Russell had done the deed with his grandaughter.....Guess what? He had! A couple of days later she was giving her story, as I've said before - best publicity she & grandad have had in years.
I think the PM & co have far more they should be worrying about, don't you?

poppie

And, I certainly don't think people are scared of making a stand for fear of being a prude - I think most people see/hear (radio show, after all) things as they are. If they don't like it they switch it off. You underestimate people.

Assegai

Two replies to my post, I am honoured.

Switching off the tele/radio and making a public stand against something they deem offensive are 2 different things.

As for the publicity, yeah right. I'm sure at 78 Andrew Sachs really wanted and needed such publicity. And yes his granddaughter (who I have limited sympathy for) may have been a "slut" but that doesn't mean that Sachs deserved to be humiliated by these two cretins on the basis of his granddaughters behaviour. And just because a woman may have slept with another person it doesn't mean she wants it broadcast to the nation.

Do you think Jonathan Ross or his daughter would be proud of the fact if some "comedian" and a broadcaster were to publicise her sexual behaviour over the airways on the basis that it gave them great publicity.

As for the PM and Leader of the Opposition, I think it beholds them to speak out about standards in public life and let it be known when the boundaries of decency have been breached.