Luxury for the Masses?

Last week 422,000 people tuned in to the hotly anticipated “Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy”. Those aware of Noel’s work whether it be stand-up, performance, art, or even just as Team Captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, will no doubt have to admit that he is one incredibly talented man. The build-up to the premiere was MASSIVE (I can only imagine how much was spent making all of London aware of its air-date) and worked! I genuinely power-walked home after a gig to catch it on E4+1. So I will be interested to see how many people tune in again for the 2^nd episode tonight and why.

Not because I don’t think they should – quite the contrary – but given the feedback I’ve heard from friends and strangers alike in real life and online, it sounds like it received many mixed reviews.

In fairness, Fielding has been dealing with a lot of negative feedback on Twitter with a great sense of humour. These comments made me giggle:

Personally, I found it visually stunning. The amount of work and imagination which has gone into the show, not just from Fielding, but from everyone involved, is spectacular and shows. From the sets to the costumes, the animation to the direction, it is a feast for the eyes and one which I think everyone should tuck into.

This said, I didn’t find it particularly funny. But this shouldn’t offend or upset anyone. I’ve always believed in the philosophy that, “Everyone is funny. You just need to find your audience.” And I say the same for Luxury Comedy. It doesn’t bother me that something I don’t find entertaining is on the TV (Football would have never been a televised sport if I had my way), as long as there are people out there getting the budget’s worth of enjoyment out of it. And obviously there are, as E4 has already commissioned a second series for 2013.

I created a parody of the show the other evening. Partly out of boredom, partly because I thought it would be funny. My workmate commented that this was rather brave of me, given that it is satirising not only a highly regarded comic who could probably ruin any chances of me ever getting bookings if he wanted to, but also because I was parodying someone who I genuinely respect and admire. But this is how I see it:

1. Chances are, no one important will ever see it – Noel Fielding and anyone else who worked on the show included.
2. It would be ridiculous (and totally arrogant) of me to think any “stunt” I pull on YouTube would ever make as big a dent to someone’s self-esteem that they would find it worth their time to seek revenge.
3. If anyone important DID see it, then this means the video would have probably had to go viral, in which case the wide-spread attention would make it worthwhile. (Yes, it’s selfish, but that’s showbiz baby.)
   
   

So say, by some chance, Noel Fielding comes across the video. If he sees the humour in it, brilliant. And if not? Well… Not everything I do can be hilarious to everyone, can it?