Ofcom to probe Catherine Tate Christmas special?

Question

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3101285.ece

She is obviously unfunny. Do you think she was out of order as well?

A spokesman for the BBC said: “Catherine Tate creates characters who are so over the top as to be almost cartoon-like and this is where her genius lies..."

Genius? lmao

Answer 1

I don't think she's funny but the Ofcome probe is a bit ott, look at Little Britain (which I do like) a lot of people could be offended by their sketches.

Comic genius? If she's a comic genius then I'm Lyndsey Lohan ;)

Answer 2

The bigger picture is why on earth a single penny of licence payers money was ever spent giving this woman a show in the first place. I have given her a fair crack of the whip and she has never done a single funny thing and her so called comedy is just not clever or in the least amusing.

As for people complaining well I don't understand anyone doing that really, I have better things to do with my life BUT if people did not speak out then things would go haywire.

The girl above who said that she was shocked by the sketch needs to stop being so dramatic, it was not shocking at all. As for the guy who mentions the fact that only 100 complained out of 6 million watching or what ever, is missing the point. That is a huge number of complaints for one show as the vast majority of people are like me and completely apathetic. I would not know how to complain and TV is so unimportant that I feel it a waste of time to take the effort to find out. However that number of complaints can be extrapolated out as a reaction of a hell of a lot of people being less than chuffed.

As I say the bigger issue - why are people like Tate and other serioulsy unfunny things like Little Britain even on the box wasting money?

Answer 3

Didn't see the show and in general I agree that if you don't like something, switch it off, but from what I've read, I gather that the issue with the nan sketch was not simply that there was a lot of swearing (which, obviously, is perfectly permissible as long as it's after the 9pm watershed) but the fact that it occurred in the FIRST FEW SECONDS of the programme and there was no warning given to viewers.

This is a breach of Ofcom regulations, which state that, in order to make an informed choice of what to watch, viewers should be warned by the announcer before it starts if a show has strong language, particularly if it is right at the start. If at all possible, broadcasters are expected to avoid having swearing right at the beginning of a programme- generally, if a programme has swearing in the middle, it's not an issue, as people who don't like that sort of thing will already have grasped from the gritty nature of the material that it's not their kind of show and will already have switched off before the swearing starts.

Answer 4

I didn't really watch the Christmas Special because my other half hates Catherine Tate and says she's just not funny, but I did catch a bit of it.

I didn't see the swearing family sketch, swearing doesn't offend me so I doubt I'd have been bothered by that, but the Northern Irish family with the balaclavas etc seemed pretty seriously out of order. I remember watching it and thinking that it was in poor taste and offensive and that people in NI would be upset by it. I don't understand why she did it!!

Answer 5

I put the programme on but within a few minutes considered it to be tasteless and crude. Comedy was once funny because of the genius of writing and delivering the lines in the best way possible with timing. Now the likes of Taite depends on crude swearing and stupid voices to get laughs. I found it most unfunny and switched off.
As for calling her a genius well that is offencive to real geniuses.
Have a Happy and Blessed New Year.

Answer 6

I have always thought that CT's sketches are funny but just go on for too long.

The Nana character swearing is funny - but once she's said the f-word that should be it. The sketch with Kathy Burke went on and on and on. The moment Kathy Burke as the daughter slagged an absent Nan, we got the punchline and the sketch should have ended.

Gorgeous: I totally agree with you.

Answer 7

I found it tiresome. The swearing-gran sketch is funny, in limited doses, because you expect an elderly lady to be well behaved and so it is the unexpected swearing that brings the laughs. But it went on too long - sadly Catherine Tate doesn't know when to end a joke. But, to all those who were offended, do remember that your television has an 'OFF' button. Why do people carry on watching what they don't like ... there are other channels to choose from.

Answer 8

I dont see what the big deal is. If you dont like it you have at least 4 other channels to watch.

Everyone that watches the programme knows that Nan swears a lot. Maybe the Irish sketch was a little over the top but am sure no offense was intended by the Beeb or Catherine Tate herself.

Answer 9

No matter what it is some will find fault.Comedy is like music,many varieties to suit many tastes,or are we in danger of being told what to watch.That would fit in with all the other do,s and don't,s being thrown at us.Soon be one channel TV and its a fair guess who will run it.

Answer 10

I loved it. I thought Nan was very funny. I find Little Britian a lot more offensive ref the asian jokes. TV channels shouldn't need to censor things because people should be gown up enough to know that if they don't like something, don't continue to watch it. Simple as.