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BBC Northern Ireland Comedy for Winter/Spring 2006 Introduction: taking the not-very-serious very seriously
Peter Johnston, Head of Broadcasting, BBC Northern Ireland, writes "Comedy needs to be taken seriously. On the face of it, of all the different kinds of programmes the BBC makes, comedy seems like the one with least obvious pure public purpose, but the evidence suggests that it is one of the most powerful of all the genres. "At its best, it provides a different but very rich insight into contemporary society and its attitudes – the characters and situations of Little Britain and The Office are all too familiar and perhaps make us think about subjects in a new light. "Great comedy still brings together large numbers of people to enjoy and talk about the same communal experience. It provides a platform for talents who often go on to have other creative impacts – would we have Michael Palin and Himalaya without Monty Python? "Sometimes, at its simplest, it provides welcome light relief from the other more weighty subjects we cover. "BBC NI's relationship with comedy goes back a long way. It was always an obvious priority here – some of the worst of our society can only be viewed safely through satire. "We also seem to have developed more than our fair share of comedians and our most successful shows have truly united very large numbers of people.
The Give My Head Peace Christmas special, even after 70 episodes, attracted an audience of 233,000. "The tricky bit with comedy is developing genuine hits – recent audience research helpfully concluded that the secret to developing successful comedy programmes was to 'make them funny'. "It is, of course, often a very subjective business, but we have had more than our fair share of hits from James Young to PK Tonight to Give My Head Peace. "In order to extend this run, we set up the Comedy Unit under Jackie Hamilton over two years ago now. The aims were to put specific development funding into comedy, to have a team who could reach out to new and established talents, and to develop a number of projects across TV and radio to create a portfolio of programmes covering different tastes and genres. "We also hope that the critical mass and relationships established will stimulate other ideas and uncover new talents. "Humour has always spontaneously run through the veins of BBC Radio Ulster and we have now established a fixed comedy slot on Saturday mornings as a regular showcase with recent series including The Blame Game and Folks on the Hill. "These programmes do act as an important counterbalance to our often heavy news agenda. "Working with and finding the talent is vital and we have developed some people through radio on to limited TV exposure, to more ambitious projects and on to network in some cases. "Many of the stars who emerge can also add significant social value back to our society – they are much sought-after to front local charity events or educational initiatives. "In 2006 and beyond, we hope that viewers of BBC Northern Ireland television and listeners of BBC Radio Ulster can sit back, relax and, moreover, have a laugh, safe in the knowledge that BBC NI will continue to take comedy and all its qualities very seriously indeed."
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