Link between the decline of comedy and the written word

JOHN Watson (Yorkshire Post, January 8) laments the decline in standards of comedy programmes on television. The Editorial (Yorkshire Post, January 5) with regard to Sir Mark Sykes’s 20,000 pieces of correspondence basically mourns the sad demise of the art of letter-writing. These observations come as no surprise to me and I believe that I have identified a correlation between these two completely separate, but recently expressed views.

I am inclined to agree with John Watson because I also regard many contemporary comedians’ approaches to humour as being distasteful at times, as well as unkind.

During my childhood and youth, I enjoyed watching programmes such as Dad’s Army, The Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise, but the humour in these programmes and shows was comparatively benign. Although the protagonists poked fun at certain individuals (as Morecambe and Wise did in addressing and referring to their celebrity guests and Des O’Connor), the humour was gentle and amusing.

Last of the Summer Wine was always one of my favourite comedy programmes because I enjoyed watching the episodes with my parents and other elderly relatives and friends, but I was able to appreciate the bluntness and frank approach of Yorkshire folk, having been brought up in West Yorkshire and having spent time listening to elderly people conversing generally and speaking Yorkshire dialect.

Many comedy programmes during the 1970s and 1980s, such as Dad’s Army, also had historical settings. The era often lengthens the overall appeal of the programme and Blackadder is a notable example because of the four series’ historical contexts and characters.

Naturally, the quality of acting plays a major role in the overall success of programmes. Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson and other leading actors in Blackadder are extremely talented, incredibly witty and many are obviously very intelligent people who are able to project to others an intelligent form of humour. There are, quite simply, many different forms of humour and different genres of humour appeal to different or particular individuals or groups of people.

The overall conclusion I have drawn, however, about the quality of comedy on TV today is related to the quality of the scriptwriting.

Many script writers of programmes during the 1970s and 1980s displayed a far greater command of the written word than many of us generally encounter today. Ronnie Barker, for example, often wrote his own scripts, usually using a pseudonym. He was an extremely humorous, talented writer as well as an accomplished actor. It is the script writer’s command of the written word which can extend the longevity and expand the overall appeal of a TV programme.

This is the point at which I focus upon the correlation between the two aforementioned observations. Text messages are a quick method of facilitating communication between individuals. However, good quality letter writing is a completely different skill which requires precision, an extensive vocabulary range and an accomplished knowledge and use of grammar. If a person possesses an excellent command of their own language and can produce competent pieces of written work, it follows that the same person may be able to write scripts which are effective when transferred to the spoken word.

Radio programmes as well as TV programmes could benefit from an injection of quality pieces of written work. Basically, the written word can impact upon the spoken word and language is a very powerful tool which should be utilised more fully for the benefit and pleasure of others.