Alan Davies is dreadful. This was summed up on the show where Ardal O'Hanlon said something about never talking about 'kebabs on the way home from the pub' in his routine - and Davies revealed that this is exactly what he did. The funniest thing about davies is his job describtion.

Hmmm. When I first found the SOTCAA site I was amazed by how disliked Davies was. I saw him live and found him quite funny - his material is very observational (and occasionally lazy) but he is a funny performer - very physical and energetic. I think AD has borne the brunt of the 'Lazy Comedy Slags' backlash.

And then I got off the bus...

I have to say, having now watched Many Splintered Thing, without falling asleep, that Alan Davies's irresistibility is taken as read. "Aaaaaah, how vaguely amusing, faintly hilarious, and not to mention cute, cuddly and downright shaggable he is" appears to be the script's stance.

Meanwhile, the women don't get any funny lines. Oh! So it WAS written by the writer of Babes In The Wood, then...

Sometimes Davies can be quite funny (Jonathan Creek was good, but thank David Renwick for that), but he sort of epitomises that "anyone can do this" comedy like few others these days.

No his style is superb. It's as if he becomes the audiences friend and the whole proceeding of his stand up feels like an old friend telling stories in a pub. Why should the recreating of this feeling on stage subdue the credibility? Why do you want the performer to be godlike when put on a stage? At least there are no illusions with Davies, he is not pretending to be something he is not. And he does great characatures, you cannot deny that the man has audience awareness.

When anyone tries to act as though they're the audience's friend, whether honest or not, it usually creates a break in the performer's credibility. We clearly know next to nothing about Alan, unlike our friends, so sometimes his charming style can strech the realism of his act - He can't be friends with everyone in the audiences.

I do enjoy his stuff, but recently he's been over-exposed. He dangerously close to Carol Voderman land, and that's not a nice place to be if you're a public figure.

When comedians start out on the circuit they all strive towards success. They don't want to be doing the circuit forever that's for sure, it is like a stepping stone. So why would Alan Davies turn down opportunity shoved in his path? He has MADE it and very few do. He is desired by prime time TV executives and advertisers because of the talent and popularity built up with his hard work as a stand up. Why would he turn down the things strived towards by the comics who set out on their path to making a career of their talents?

And how can you accuse a comedian of being 'lazy'? What is it you are expecting them to do on stage? A David Copperfield flying affair? What they are doing is basically a monologue but with the added pressure of having to get the 'majority' of the audience to laugh continuously. Not an easy task. It is bound to lag in parts as with any one-man show just due the human inefficiency. Every laugh should be valued, not calculated against the non-laughter moments.

Laughter moments = 0%
Non-laughter moments = 66%
God someone kill me now = 33%

Harsh? Maybe, but i really think his material is bad. Tired observations, once again we hear the same old thing.

Ah, but he has curly hair, so i'll let him off.

I *wasn't* accusing Davies himself of being lazy, merely acknowledging that some of his observational gags have been caught up in the whole backlash against observational stuff that Lee and Herring catalysed. As I said earlier, I think Davies *is* funny as a stand up, not simply because of his jokes, but because he is a talented performer on stage (I suspect this is why I don't enjoy his acting roles as much). If you don't believe me I'm in the audience of the Urban Trauma video guffawing like a loon. (Although I'm only visible for about five seconds - that's my moment in showbiz over)

I wouldn't say Alan is 'desired' by prime time - his recent shows are a bit late to be called primetime, and he wasn't the first choice for Johnathan Creek.
I think i made a comment about the adverts somewhere else, so i won't repeat it. I'm trying to add some constructive critism here, and i do like some aspect of Davies. Just not enough.

>Laughter moments = 0%
>Non-laughter moments = 66%
>God someone kill me now = 33%
>

I don't mean to pry but do you think there was any possibilty that you could have been slipped a sedative prior to the show?

>God someone kill me now = 33%

And are now suffering demensia?

To be fair on Alan Davies, 2 shows which were probably recorded months apart being shown at the same time is more to do with shit scheduling by the BBC than with him. And he's on about 2 adverts, not all of them like C. Vordemaan. Now when he does a comedy gardening show, I'll agree he's over-exposed.

House Invaders starring Alan Davies - Now there's a show i'd watch.

Oh my god, or how about Changing Hair starring Alan Davies? Where people's neighbours get to give them hair makeovers while he stands there being slightly cheeky to them.