Dara O'brien

Tallspoon

Can anyone explain how this guy has managed to carve out a career as a comedian, especially on BBC where the quality control is a little higher than here. I have never found him in the least bit funny...witty, ironic maybe but not funny yet he seems to be flying on tv at the moment. He does not have the delivery, timing or natural warmth to be a star yet the BBC are constantly bigging him up...go figure!

Passport

he's funny.

Guy:Incognito

Tallspoon wrote:

Can anyone explain how this guy has managed to carve out a career as a comedian:

Tallspoon wrote:

I have never found him in the least bit funny...:

Because t channels dont use your opinion exclusivly to decide on talent?


Just because you dont think someone is funny, doesnt mean they arent. I quite like him on the panel.

CiaranC

Apparently some people think hes funny then. At least two.

Crucifix

He's funny and fairly good at the presentery thing.

chilli_pepper

hes a funny guy , why not start a thread on the wodden Pat Kenny and how he manages to keep a slot on prime time friday nights

lostexpectation

Tallspoon wrote:

Can anyone explain how this guy has managed to carve out a career as a comedian, especially on BBC where the quality control is a little higher than here. I have never found him in the least bit funny...witty, ironic maybe but not funny yet he seems to be flying on tv at the moment. He does not have the delivery, timing or natural warmth to be a star yet the BBC are constantly bigging him up...go figure!

he was invovled a production company I think that did well on few shows and he fronts some of them.

just like the music business its all about the production

I never thought his standup was the great too many university and dinner party stories

limerick_man

i like him

Ghost Train

I thought he was very funny on QI recently talking about his asian wife

Mossy Monk

Tallspoon wrote:

Can anyone explain how this guy has managed to carve out a career as a comedian, especially on BBC where the quality control is a little higher than here. I have never found him in the least bit funny...witty, ironic maybe but not funny yet he seems to be flying on tv at the moment. He does not have the delivery, timing or natural warmth to be a star yet the BBC are constantly bigging him up...go figure!

and everyone thinks you are a fool

chilli_pepper

Mossy Monk wrote:

and everyone thinks you are a fool

LMAO:D

Sandwich

Tallspoon wrote:

Can anyone explain how this guy has managed to carve out a career as a comedian, especially on BBC where the quality control is a little higher than here. I have never found him in the least bit funny...witty, ironic maybe but not funny yet he seems to be flying on tv at the moment. He does not have the delivery, timing or natural warmth to be a star yet the BBC are constantly bigging him up...go figure!

Would disagree and find him very entertaining, infact, most of the characteristics you list him lacking above I would see as his strong points.

mal1

Tallspoon wrote:

Can anyone explain how this guy has managed to carve out a career as a comedian, especially on BBC where the quality control is a little higher than here. I have never found him in the least bit funny...witty, ironic maybe but not funny yet he seems to be flying on tv at the moment. He does not have the delivery, timing or natural warmth to be a star yet the BBC are constantly bigging him up...go figure!

totally disagree with just about everything you have said. I really like him and I think is constantly improving. What exactly is wrong with his 'delivery'??

Lump

It's Dara O' Briain btw, and he's funny.

John

Jerichoholic

He's not Gervais funny, but he's acceptable. If he didn't say "ehhh,ehhh,ehhh" every 10 seconds he'd be a lot better. Andrew O'connor is the real star of the panel whereas Ed Byrne really, really isn't funny at all.

dave13

Who is Andrew O'Connor? Colin Murphy is the real star of that show.

Rollo Tamasi

I think he is ****ing woefull. He keeps going 'ahh, uhmmm, eh....' and eh...um a humaaaina' while trying to deliver the punchline. Very average for a comedien.

Bring back Sean Moncrief (sp?)

scargill

each to their own - but his delivery annoys the shoite out of me. can't listen to the constant 'eh....eh....eh.....eh'.

He is quite quick thinking on his feet on the likes of The Panel, QI and Have I Got News For You.*

I remember watching HIGNFY last year and thinking that he had toned down the eh-eh's a lot. Maybe the BBC had a word with him about it ??!



* i know these things are prerecorded and slickly edited - in case anyone mentions this !!

SprostonGreen

Dara did a great job on HIGNFY, albeit its an autoque driven show, I like him, he's funny and comes across a decent fella.

Even Echo Island was good. Give the man a break.

fade2black

eh eh....eh...eh...eh....eh...Dara has his moments. I like Andrew Maxwell on the panel actually. Colin Murphy's alright too, I remember him supporting Patrick Keilty a few years ago and easily upstaging him.

Tallspoon

Thanks for the replies, I suppose that means that he is funny after all.

kevmy

I went to a show he did in Castlebar about 18 months ago on the first date of his tour (the one thats out on DVD at the mo) and while some of his stand up wasn't fantastic (but then it was the first date so he hadn't it exactly right) he was fantastic at thinking on his feet. He did about 45 mins solid of crowd interaction and it was all off the top of his head. I have to say he was the most genuinely funny comedian I've seen. While someone like Tommy Tiernan has a very brilliant and probably more funny act it has been polished down to the last. Nearly all of Dara's stuff was off the cuff

Jerichoholic

fade2black wrote:

eh eh....eh...eh...eh....eh...Dara has his moments. I like Andrew Maxwell on the panel actually. Colin Murphy's alright too, I remember him supporting Patrick Keilty a few years ago and easily upstaging him.

Well it wouldn't be hard to upstage Kielty. I've seen Colin Murphy live and he was very good.

One thing, when Colin and Niel Delamare appear on the God awful Norn Iron version of the panel with the drivelling unfunny drooling zombies that are Norn Iron political "satirists", they are terrible. They need to drop that gig fast.

Someone mentioned Moncrieff earlier. No thanks! Don't feed the Gondolas was one of the worst shows ever, it wasn't funny in the least, unless you think jokes about "brown envelopes" are groundbreaking comedy. His radio show consists of him not being able to speak, and when he tries, he talks about himself, or reads hillairious texts that his listeners send in. Awful.

Andrew Maxwel is definetly the breakout star from this group, he was excellent on Never mind the Buzzcocks, and has finally found his comedy "niche".

I don't know who the woman is on it, but her jokes are so painfull they make me go bright red.

Lump

Back to the op, maybe the BBC are bigging him up because people in the UK like him. Since it's people in the UK paying the license fee they big him up for that reason.

Tallspoon

Mossy Monk wrote:

and everyone thinks you are a fool

And everyone thinks you are a tool

Pigman II

Just to give a bit of balance to this debate, I agree with the OP that DOB isn't the least bit funny. That constant (and I increasingly suspect deliberate?) 'eeehing' of his coupled with his gormless smile that just screams "approve of me" sinks his act for me every single time. Oh yeah and what comes out of his mouth isn't particularily amusing either.

I watched the Panel there the other night when he wasn't on it and it was probably the first time I've ever found myself enjoying it. He sinks that show faster than Anna Nolan with a new knock-knock joke.

Rollo Tamasi

Tallspoon wrote:

And everyone thinks you are a tool

what a minute, that is a very sweeping statement....what kind of tool?

sham69

Not funny in the slightest, Colin Murphy is great, quite witty and very quick.
The other guy (not ed byrne) is very funny in a quirky kind of way, a bit strange but funny none the less. Overall I don't think there are any decent Oirish comedians. Jason Byrne, Tommy tiernan and the other Oirish american geezer not funny at all. I know people will jump straight in with the "Tommy is legend" shi* but all he does is shout and curse and sweat, slag off religion etc.
Thats my moneys worth.

gucci

i dont watch the panel as it frustrates me with its rehersed script,which is so rigid and un flowing,i mean you can see them ticking theyre lines off a sheet as they go along...but on the dara o'brien ting, he guest presented have i got news for you (probably as scripted but they reherse it so well you cant tell!) and he was one of the best presenters they had.

Tallspoon

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

what a minute, that is a very sweeping statement....what kind of tool?

A knob shaped tool;)

Mossy Monk

Tallspoon wrote:

A knob shaped tool;)

i am a dildo?

i dont know what to say. i am so proud. much better than a spanner

Rollo Tamasi

Tallspoon you're hilarious, you're the next Daire O Brien.
Well done.

Killaqueen!!!

Wow..you obviously have a boring sense of humour if you don't find Dara O Briain funny. He's hilarious. Very quick thinking. Great on panel shows and good at stand up too. He's not the BEST but he's the funniest Irish stand-up guy at the mo. His "eh....."'s are kinda annoying though :rolleyes:

mambo

For the record, I also find him funny and entertaining. Even his radio ads for Dublin pubs.

Better than the likes of Jimmy Carr, Russell Brand, etc. anyway...

Killaqueen!!!

mambo wrote:

For the record, I also find him funny and entertaining. Even his radio ads for Dublin pubs.

Better than the likes of Jimmy Carr, Russell Brand, etc. anyway...

Ah no, Himmy Carr is class. Russell Brand is annoying.

Tallspoon

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

Tallspoon you're hilarious, you're the next Daire O Brien.
Well done.

Are you serious or just being sarky?

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

DublinWriter

fade2black wrote:

eh eh....eh...eh...eh....eh...Dara has his moments

Nah, more like a gigantic big ehhhhhhhhhhhh while he rides the non-existant laugh.

He's alright, there are worse Irish comedic crimes - such as Deirdre O'Whatsherface.

Rb

Tallspoon wrote:

Thanks for the replies, I suppose that means that he is funny after all.

Yes.

Mossy Monk wrote:

i am a dildo?

i dont know what to say. i am so proud. much better than a spanner

Niiice

Jimoslimos

mambo wrote:

For the record, I also find him funny and entertaining. Even his radio ads for Dublin pubs.

Better than the likes of Jimmy Carr, Russell Brand, etc. anyway...

I'll second this. Seen JC and DOB live recently and Dara is far far funnier. Jimmy Carr's stand-up was basically a re-hash of all his one liners and there seemed to be no natural flow to the jokes, whereas Dara was far better, particularly interacting with the audience and very quick-witted.

kevmy

Jimoslimos wrote:

I'll second this. Seen JC and DOB live recently and Dara is far far funnier. Jimmy Carr's stand-up was basically a re-hash of all his one liners and there seemed to be no natural flow to the jokes, whereas Dara was far better, particularly interacting with the audience and very quick-witted.

Yeah Brands a tit and Jimmy Carr isn't built to be a stand-up really he's better presenting shows. That show he did for E4 where they burnt money, wrecked cars etc. when they got an answer wrong was good.
Have to say also that a previous poster who slandered Tommy Tiernan is obviously without humour. Tommy tells bizarre storys which are long winded and I can understsnd how a minority might not find them funny. But to say he just curses and shouts and decries religion is a bit stupid. They've obviously been watching the Late Late far too much.:rolleyes:

Lump

Watched an episode of Room 101 that I had on my PVR last night. Dara O' Briain was on it, and I lol'd quite a lot. I still think he's funny. Has anyone bought his stand up DVD? I might buy it.

Dave!

He's hilarious

kuzmanovic

a mate of mine had the pleasure of meeting dara when he went to see socceram a few weeks back. said he was sound bloke.

i like him presenting shows. ive only ever seen him on stand up shows for a few minutes at a time so i cant really judge hes stand up but from what i did see he is a funny guy.

sweetie

Lump wrote:

Watched an episode of Room 101 that I had on my PVR last night. Dara O' Briain was on it, and I lol'd quite a lot. I still think he's funny. Has anyone bought his stand up DVD? I might buy it.

Has anyone seen the ads for Dara's 'Live at Theatre royal'? He has a quote on the sleeve but during the ad the small print says the quote is actually from the Guardian in August '04. Chancers!

Dave!

kuzmanovic wrote:

a mate of mine had the pleasure of meeting dara when he went to see socceram a few weeks back. said he was sound bloke.

i like him presenting shows. ive only ever seen him on stand up shows for a few minutes at a time so i cant really judge hes stand up but from what i did see he is a funny guy.

My brother ran (not literally) into Dara on Grafton Street on a drunken night, and let's just say... he made a fool of himself.

Lump

Who, Dara or your brother

film_gonzo

I find Dara O'Briain to be a 'nice' comedien. He's fairly consistently funny on 'The Panel' but never edgy or going to break any moulds. His habit of going 'eh eh' is irritating and I've have seen some of his stand up gigs on tv and wasn't terribly impressed. But I think presenting shows is perfect for him. He's comfortable with guests and seems to know the tv format well.

I think the funniest on 'The Panel' is Colin Murphy without a doubt. Neil Delamere is funny also but sometimes he comes out with a few stinkers.

I once told Andrew Maxwell that he was "an awful b0ll0x" to his face and that was a proud moment. If he's the best we have, god help us all....:eek:

Dave!

Lump wrote:

Who, Dara or your brother

My brother He started telling him that he has a physics degree (because Dara also has one), and I think he got his name wrong as well!

chamlis

Yes DOB is a nice charming comedian. He's harmless really, much like Brendan Garace is fairly harmless. You mightn't find it funny, but obviously people do.
Personally I like him and you have to respect a comedian who can do well off the cuff.

Colin Murphy is fantastic, Neil Delamere is starting to grow on me a bit, but for God's sake will some get rid of Ed Byrne in fairness.
He was never funny, will never be funny and I can honestly say I have never heard of anyone who ever thought he was.

Just for laughs was painful.

IronMan

sham69 wrote:

Not funny in the slightest, Colin Murphy is great, quite witty and very quick.
The other guy (not ed byrne) is very funny in a quirky kind of way, a bit strange but funny none the less. Overall I don't think there are any decent Oirish comedians. Jason Byrne, Tommy tiernan and the other Oirish american geezer not funny at all. I know people will jump straight in with the "Tommy is legend" shi* but all he does is shout and curse and sweat, slag off religion etc.
Thats my moneys worth.

What about Dylan Moran? I know he doesn't partake in the quiz show, light entertainment circuit, but his DVD and live show are very funny, witty and erudite. And he tends to keep the phuq this phuqing stuff to a bare minimum. Me like.