Always a treat to see the sketches in full. It means we get to see Fyffe get up to mischief. Whether it's pouring himself the stiffest of whiskies, doing shots of tequila, or huffing paint fumes...
That Alexander Armstrong is hosting some 2p game show (Pointless) rather than making top notch comedy like this is one of the great crimes of our times.
He does Pointless for the money - it’s very well paid. There will come a time when he won’t be working, so he needs to make as much dosh as he can while he can. See also Bradley Walsh
It is impressive and a clearly loving tribute. I just have to keep reminding myself that, relative to the era, it's probably no more shocking than Michael and Donald.
Kevin Bower. This is not keeping Flanders and Swan alive. This "tribute actors nothing of the sort. It lacks any of the intelligent humour. All it really is,is low grade porn . DISGUSTING.
Firstly it’s ‘Swann’ not ‘Swan’. I would have thought that an obvious expert such as yourself would have known that. And secondly - if you can’t see the humour and intelligence shown in the writing and performing of this and you do truly think it’s disgusting porn - then you’re either a religious bigot, or you truly have no hope of a life filled with amusement or joy, my friend. Have a nice day.
As the great men said themselves "Still, we feel that the time has perhaps come for us to take our stand on the somewhat polluted beaches of the 'nouvelle vague', to say goodbye to mealy-mouthed hypocrisy, which has served us so well for so long, and come right out with something adult, fearless and forthright. And filthy."
Michael & Donald got away with a great deal of innuendo. They were much more subtle with it. The A&M parodies are very funny: Great use of the old Test Card C.
Don't be ridiculous. They would never have stooped to this disgusting level. I don't mind smut if it's original smut - let's say Jimmy Carr. But to take the wit of Flanders and Swan and turn it into low grade porn just shows the depth of depravity this country has sunk to.
Nope you aren’t the only one. Personalities, mannerisms, and voices are somewhat similar too, though Armstrong’s speaking voice is obviously somewhat deeper than Harris’s is.
As good as this is, they took quite a risk writing a sketch about two people that last performed about 40 years before. Still, its a cracking good portrayal!
Kind of a self own for a comedy duo to parody a more famous comedy duo and then not be as funny as them. Gotta hand it to these guys for their courage in inviting the comparison.
dusty0608. How wrong you are. When Flanders and Swan sang about the English being the best they were ridiculing the English. Why do you say this is apt today? Could it be because of your own racism? If you think this is apt you have completely missed the humour.
Simon Winter Have you never heard of Brexit?? The comment was aimed at the prevailing mindset of a sizeable proportion of the UK populous, the underlying (and indeed generational) mindset that led to what is seen as tragic isolationism by the remainder of the population. Oh, I am British by the way and have every right to that opinion and the particular sketch by Armstrong and Miller I detailed was produced many years prior to the whole Brexit situation and the version of the Flanders and Swann material is humorous in todays context not just when it was aired on TV and this applies to the originators as well. Nothing racist there but then again maybe I should pre-qualify every post I make with context expanding narrative to avoid being called a racist in the future. How dare you Sir, project your own bias and prejudice on to a stranger and accuse them of racism.
Cleverly done, but I always found that part of the charm of Flanders and Swann was the way that it didn't even appear to cross their minds to be in any way sexual or even imply swearing. Perhaps it is a desire to hark back to a fictional better time when one didn't need to make an effort to clean up one's comedy because it was never dirty in the first place. Armstrong and Miller rather negate that...
Comedy was never clean, but they got past the censors by double-intendre and innuendo. Shakespeare had some pretty cheeky gags in there. I think, double-intendre is kind of played out, and Miller and Armstrong have here turned it on it's head, by using the sixties format of Flanders and Swann to be incredibly rude. It is kind of like the Regency Dance sketches, which is 18th century ladies and their suiters talking dirty to each other. Or the Victorian Piano sketches, which is about a pianist playing modern songs, like Horny and Take Me To The Gaybar, to victorian ladies and gentlemen. Or even their RAF airman using modern chav-slang. They do love to contrast the perceived cleanliness of polite society through history with bawdiness.
@@markheywood8236 "pee po belly bum drawers" springs to mind. A clever swipe at the dramatists if the day who grabbed publicity for themselves by putting four letter words into otherwise incomprehensible scripts. If these words come into common usage, we shall have nothing left for special occasions.
Not sexual? Apart from their song about date rape, that is... (I'm a big fan of F&S but that is one song that hasn't aged well, even in a satirical sense.)
Well, obviously you never heard the song Madeira M'Dear. It's downright a date rape song and I love it. Showed how rapes were better worked out in the old days. Nowadays you just slip in a pill and be done with it... No charm whatsoever... If you went to the trouble of actually doing it the way F&S suggest, the least you should expect is for the girl to consent to be raped. Least she could do...
Yes: "Armstrong was educated at Mowden Hall School in Stocksfield, Northumberland and St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh, where he was a chorister at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral from the ages of 11 to 13.[4] He attended Durham School and Trinity College, Cambridge on music scholarships.[5][6] He played the piano"
This is an impressive piece of craftsmanship. They sound and look just like the originals. But they’re not as funny as the originals, so what’s the point?
@@tonywright8294 F &S are whimsical, not funny in the sense of having punchlines that are designed to trigger laughs at specific moments. It's a very British thing, and most Americans don't care for it.
This is wrong. Flanders and Swan were not smutty. This is bismirching their legacy. Quite frankly in my opinion it's disgusting. They have taken intelligent humour and turned into low grade porn. This is not a tribute act. You make me feel heartbroken 💔 that you could this to the Great Flanders and Swan.
