Chewin' the Fat

I love the fact that there's so many comedy critics bemoaning the fact that Scottish comedy is "outdated" and scandalously unfunny. Hmmm, interesting that they're all from places that has produced far worse (After all, England has the dire 'All about me' and 'My Hero' amongst other hideous offerings, whilst the good old USA has given us such tripe as 'Will and Grace'.)

As far as Chewin' the Fat goes, its decent, solid comedy that more often or not hits the spot straight on. OK, it may not pack the mirth ratio of the Fast Show, but when it stumbles it doesn't do so as pathetically ("Hi! I'm Ed Winchester." anybody?). I think the problem is that, unless you've actually spent any time in Scotland and realised that's exactly what its like, you just won't get it. You're not clued into the language, slang or the general ambiance of the country, so you've got nothing to base the series on and just slag it for being what you perceive to be "unfunny". I hate to tell you, but theres more than a million Scots that would probably disagree and hail both Chewin the Fat and Still Game as the best comedy shows to come out of the country since Naked Video. And why? Because believe it or not, both are actually very, very funny if you know what you're meant to be laughing at. (perhaps its a little unfair, but the Scots don't tend to make it very easy for outsiders to get in on the joke. Maybe its all those years of wearing woad on their faces and yelling "Freedom!", eh?)

Rab C Nesbitt was similarly criticised when it made the trasition to mainsteam UK screens - primarily because southernised Englanders couldn't understand the Glaswegian dialect and missed the humour. And to suggest that Scotland hasn't had any decent comedians to come out of it....Billy Connolly anyone? Ronnie Corbett? Phil Kay, Fred McCauley or Rhona Cameron? This little country isn't quite as stagnant as you think - you just need to open your eyes a little and try to understand the humour a little better.

Personally, I think that part of the genius of Chewin' the Fat is that it doesn't need to be prestigious or live up to any kind of predecessor to be quality entertainment.

There're countless jokes in the show which can simply be described as plainly silly, but its this naïvety and disregard for intellect makes these sketches hysterical on even the most primitive of levels.

Chewin' the Fat is more orientated (and, indeed, is prone to subjectiveness) around the Glasgow way of life as opposed to that of Scotland in general; hence it's likely to appeal to an even more limited audience than anticipated.

It's unjust to write of this show as a failure to amuse due to its skin-deep lack of precision, but this programme has mair baws than is widely concievable because the creators were aware that it didn't need to live up to any bygone acts.

Top-notch; just don't watch it too many times :)

I've read reviews to say it's not for non-Scots due to the culture etc. I'm Welsh and I've loved every minute, so much more than the 'valley' culture that infests our shows. I'm a city boy so I cannot identify with the Welsh sitcoms/sketch shows (fact I don't speak Welsh is a factor too)

Roland Villiers, The lighthouse men, the crazy shop lady, the camp banter boys - it's brilliant.

Some say to avoid this and watch Little Britain instead. For me that ran out after 2 series but they kept going and was much more crude - only Tom Baker's linking bits were worth it.

Half way through this (finished S2), two more to go and it's great to see the origin of Jack and Victor from Still Game - plus regular guest roles from Paul and Mark who played Winston and Tam.

I've lived in one of the rougher areas of Glasgow all my life and grew up with such comedies as Rab C Nesbit and Naked Video, and i can honestly say that Chewin' the Fat is a near perfect representation of real life in this part of the dear green city! The characters portrayed in the show are people i see in every day life - there's a Jack and Victor on most Glaswegian buses at any given point in the day! And an earlier comment made about the school teacher and her pupils being disrespectful, well thats exactly what happened when i was at school and i have it on good authority from my younger brother that the case is still the same today. If you don't 'get it' then fair enough but no show on TV has annoyed me enough to make me feel like logging on here and going off on a multi-page rant about it. Basically if you don't like it - then its probably not been aimed at you in the first place, so get over it.

Just got turned on to Chewin the fat. Absolutely brilliant Glaswegian comedy. Burned through every Still Game episodes and found this precursor. Though not from Scotland, having been multiples of times to Bonhill and Islay, found this one piece that made it all make sense. Laugh out loud comedy, crude or not. For those with tender mercies on their sleeves, leave this be. For others, like me, who found the comedic locale of Glasgow forbidding and hilarious, this hit the spot. Indeed, not for everyone. Yet, if you want to peer into the Glaswegian wit and lack of sensibility, this is the ticket. Give it a go if you have the patience for not so mainline sketch comedy. Worth every minute.