Is Little Britain the slightest bit funny?
IT IS THAT dreadful time of year again, when intelligent people dress up in ridiculous costumes to perform direly “hilarious” skits and sketches. The entire nation is supposed to join in the fun, anybody who complains is branded a cynic and everybody drones on about how much money it is making. Yes, it is Children In Need. But I was thinking about the new series of Little Britain. After trying and failing to launch the Little Britain backlash during the previous series, I feared that I might be the only one in the village left cold by the BBC’s most popular comedy. Now others are saying “Nobutnobutno” to the whole Little Britain kerfuffle, accusing the characters of embodying grotesque stereotypes. I am sure Little Britain has succeeded by chiming with the humanity-baiting mood of our misanthropic times. As the title implies, its attempts at satire aim more at “little people” than the powerful. But none of that would matter so much if it were actually funny. There should be no taboos o
