Comedy Review
Encyclopedia
Comedy Review was a British comedy
magazine
published by Future Publishing
which ran for five issues in 1996. The editor was Andy Lowe, Damien Noonan was Associate Editor and Danny Wallace
, then 19 years old, was Staff Writer.
According to its original cover strapline, the magazine covered "TV, Stand-up, Films, Radio, Theatre, Books, Videos and Other Amusing Media". The last of these was dropped from the strapline after one issue, and "Theatre" vanished after three. Regular items included a reprinted "Classic Interview", a transcript of a classic scene from a sitom or comedy film, dubbed "Masterpiece", an episode guide to a comedy TV series, and a column by Peter Baynham
.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
published by Future Publishing
Future Publishing
Future plc is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography. Future is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers...
which ran for five issues in 1996. The editor was Andy Lowe, Damien Noonan was Associate Editor and Danny Wallace
Danny Wallace (writer)
Daniel Frederick Wallace is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books Join Me, Yes Man, and the TV series How to Start Your Own Country.He lives in London, with his wife, an Australian publicist...
, then 19 years old, was Staff Writer.
According to its original cover strapline, the magazine covered "TV, Stand-up, Films, Radio, Theatre, Books, Videos and Other Amusing Media". The last of these was dropped from the strapline after one issue, and "Theatre" vanished after three. Regular items included a reprinted "Classic Interview", a transcript of a classic scene from a sitom or comedy film, dubbed "Masterpiece", an episode guide to a comedy TV series, and a column by Peter Baynham
Peter Baynham
Peter Baynham is a screenwriter and a British comedian, writer, and performer. He often collaborates with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and has worked with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. He is first heard on Morris' early radio DJ slots, often going out to places...
.
Summary
- Issue 1, "Debut Issue", March 1996. Cover star: Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
. Articles: The Fast ShowThe Fast ShowThe Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
; British sitcoms remade in the USA; A to Z of comedy songs; 20 Forgotten Sitcoms. Masterpiece: The fire drill scene from Fawlty TowersFawlty TowersFawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
episode "The GermansThe Germans"The Germans" is the sixth episode of the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. It is remembered for its line "Don't mention the war" and Cleese's silly walk when he is impersonating Adolf Hitler.-Plot:...
". Classic interview: Bill HicksBill HicksWilliam Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy...
. - Issue 2, "Sofa Issue", April 1996. Cover star: Felix DexterFelix DexterFelix Dexter is an actor, comedian, and writer living in the U.K..-Early life:Dexter was born in St Kitts in the Caribbean, and moved to London with his family at the age of seven.-Radio:...
. Articles: The fifty funniest comedy films (This is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
appears at number one), Pranks and hoaxes, Bugs and Drugs magazine. Masterpiece: a scene from Blackadder IIBlackadder IIBlackadder II is the second series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986...
. Classic Interview: Peter CookPeter CookPeter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
as Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling. - Issue 3, "Red Issue", May 1996. Cover stars: Eddie IzzardEddie IzzardEdward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
, Neil MullarkeyNeil MullarkeyNeil Mullarkey is an English actor, writer and comedian.Mullarkey studied at Robinson College, Cambridge; while he was there he was Junior Treasurer of the Cambridge Footlights in the academic year 1981 to 1982 and was president in the year ending 1983...
, Stephen FrostStephen FrostStephen Frost , also known as Steve Frost, is an English comedian.Frost is known for his work in the 1980s with Mark Arden as part of the double act The Oblivion Boys on Saturday Live...
and Suki Webster. Articles: British sitcom movies, Magic and comedy, Bernard Manning, people who work behind the scenes on TV comedy shows. Masterpiece: The "20 Jokes" scene from RoxanneRoxanne (film)Roxanne is a 1987 comedy film directed by Fred Schepisi. It is a modern retelling of the 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac, written by French author Edmond Rostand, and stars Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah.-Plot summary:...
. Classic interview: Graham ChapmanGraham ChapmanGraham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
. - Issue 4, "Space Issue", June 1996. Cover star: Lee EvansLee Evans (comedian)Lee Evans is an English comedian, writer, actor and musician.-Personal life:Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England to an Irish mother and a Welsh father, Dave Evans, a nightclub performer. He left Bristol at the age of 13 and then went to The Billericay School in Billericay, Essex...
. Articles: VizViz (comic)Viz is a popular British comic magazine which has been running since 1979.The comic's style parodies British comics of the post-war period, notably The Beano and The Dandy, but with incongruous language, crude toilet humour, black comedy, surreal humour and either sexual or violent storylines...
magazine, Ventriloquism, Louis TherouxLouis TherouxLouis Sebastian Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and...
on British sitcoms, Stewart LeeStewart LeeStewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
on "Bizarre Cabaret". Masterpiece: three scenes from Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
. Classic interview: Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
. - Issue 5, "Manic Issue", July 1996. Cover star: Steve CooganSteve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
. Articles: Comedy in TV adverts, A night at The Comedy StoreThe Comedy StoreThe Comedy Store is a comedy club located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. It has a sister comedy club in La Jolla, San Diego, California.-History:...
, TV warm-up men, Rich Hall, comedy obsessives. Masterpiece: a scene from Nuts in MayNuts in MayNuts in May is a television film devised and directed by Mike Leigh, originally broadcast as part of the BBC's Play for Today series on 13 January 1976. It is the comical story of a nature-loving and rather self-righteous couple's exhausting battle to enjoy what they perceive to be the idyllic...
. Classic interview: Keith Allen.