Funny Business (TV series)


Funny Business is a BBC television documentary series about the craft of comedy consisting of six 50-minute episodes. The Series Producer was Sarah Williams and was produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for the BBC, with the first episode airing in the UK on 22 November 1992. It was also shown in Germany and New Zealand and later released on video.

Episodes

Series 1 (1992)

Visual Comedy: A Lecture by Rowan Atkinson M.Sc. (Oxon.)

This episode was directed by David Hinton. The writers were Rowan Atkinson, Robin Driscoll, and David Hinton. The show featured appearances by many comedians, including Rowan Atkinson who made an appearance both as the presenter/narrator and as an aspiring comedy actor named Kevin Bartholomew. Atkinson demonstrated many of the principles of comedy in a manner which was instantly identifiable to anyone familiar with his Mr. Bean character.
In this episode, Atkinson claims that the three principal mechanics behind visual comedy are for an object or person to
  1. behave in an unexpected way
  2. be in an unexpected place
  3. be of the wrong size
In a central part of the documentary, Atkinson emphasizes the need to deliver the comedy with a carefully crafted attitude or persona. The character behind the comedy is at least as important as the techniques used. He claims that even though Charlie Chaplin is considered to be one of the greatest comedians of all time, Chaplin does not make us laugh anymore today, because we can not identify with Chaplin's "attitude."

The Subsections of the Episode

This 50-minute episode shows the mechanics at work in chapters that define visual comedy. Each section illustrates examples of mostly early visual comedy and references to the comedians, actors, and directors that defined these movements. The post-era visual comedy that is referenced is that of slapstick comedian Leslie Nielsen.

Slapstick and Violence

  1. Imitating the mannerisms of a well-known character
  2. Jokes about the physical mechanics of the parody
  3. Imitation of the visual style of the original

    Mime and Body Language

  1. The Dim Attitude: stupidity and a lack of awareness
  2. The Aggressive Attitude: Apathy toward others
  3. The Crude Attitude: vulgarity
  4. Charlie Chaplin: he was the master of visual comedy

    The Character of the Physical Comedian

  1. The Romantic Approach: "his emotional age zooms up from childhood to early adolescence"
  2. The Direct Approach: "ignores all codes of proper behavior and acts on his desires"
  3. The Startled Virgin: a role reversal "with the woman as the sexual aggressor" and the male as a "bewildered child"

    The Final Point