Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights
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''Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights'' is a
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
created in 2010 by
Frankie Boyle Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. Boyle first gained widespread recognition as a regular panellist on the comedy show '' Mock the Week'' from 2005 until 2009. He then created and starred in t ...
, starring Boyle himself alongside Jim Muir, Tom Stade,
Robert Florence Robert Luke McBrian Florence (born 29 July 1977) is a Scottish television presenter, comedian and writer who starred in the BBC comedy sketch show '' Burnistoun''. Early life Robert Florence was born on 29 July 1977 and was raised in a working- ...
and
Thaila Zucchi Thaila Lucia Zucchi (; born 19 January 1981) is a British singer and actress of English and Italian descent. She began her career as a member of the British band allSTARS* before transitioning into nude acting, appearing in '' Big Brother 8'' ...
.


History

In October 2009, Boyle announced online that he would be leaving
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
panel show ''
Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...
'' after seven series to focus on his tour and "some other funny things I'm writing". Later that month, he told ''
The Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead ...
'' that his new material would include a comedy sketch show for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, without censoring any of the
black humour Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
he had become known for. An appearance on ''
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...
'' followed, when Boyle revealed that the show was originally called ''Deal with This, Retards'', but had to be changed to avoid offence. The show was consequently renamed ''Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights'' (a reference to the
opioid Opioids are a class of Drug, drugs that derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy plant. Opioids work on opioid receptors in the brain and other organs to produce a variety of morphine-like effects, ...
drug ''
Tramadol Tramadol, sold under the brand name Tramal among others, is an opioid analgesic, pain medication and a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) used to treat moderately severe pain. When taken by mouth in an immediate-release form ...
'' and the
J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...
novel ''
Cocaine Nights ''Cocaine Nights'' is a 1996 novel by J. G. Ballard. Like ''Super-Cannes'' that followed it, it deals with the idea of dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearfu ...
''), with a broadcast date of November–December 2010.


Content

The show mixed pre-recorded comedy sketches with
stand-up Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...
routines before a
studio audience A studio audience is an audience present for the recording of all or part of a television program or radio program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack (as opposed to canne ...
.


Critical reception

The show received a mixed critical reception. The first episode, broadcast on 30 November 2010 after an advertising campaign on London buses, attracted a "modest" audience (1.54 million viewers including the time-shifted repeat the same evening). The
free daily newspaper Free newspapers are distributed free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. They are published at ...
'' Metro'' applauded the first episode's blend of stand-up and sketches, that "cantered gleefully – but never gratuitously - past the boundaries of taste and decency" with "some fantastically acerbic rants about religious people and the mentally ill." ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
's'' Rhiannon Harries felt "the best of the sketches were those that satirised the bland inanity of TV culture" but was "less comfortable with the jokes about mental illness" that more or less "conflated religion and autism", concluding that there was "something very brittle about the laughter. The world seems a meaner place after listening to Boyle." The ''
Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St. Paul's Square, Liverpool, England. It is published Monday through Sunday, and is Liverpool's da ...
'' observed that "in a former life, not so long ago, Boyle was the best thing about ''
Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...
''" but thought the new series' uncompromising material "was, somehow, over the top and below the belt at the same time," culminating in a parody of ''
Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American media franchise, entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three-television series: the original ''Knight Rider (1982 TV series), Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequ ...
'' that was "one of the most tedious and unfunny sketches in the history of tedious and unfunny sketches." In ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', John Crace, noting that the absence of previews was usually PR speak for "We don't think it's much good and we want to avoid it getting a kicking," implied that Boyle's standup sequences were re-hashed from his recent "least exciting" tour. The conclusion that Boyle – known for "heartless sensitivity-baiting and not much else" – has been given "enough rope to hang himself" is difficult to resist. But "there are flashes of the caustic wit that make him great" and "even to those who've heard his jokes before, there are laugh-out-loud moments." Writing in ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
'', Aidan Smith said he didn't find any of the jokes very funny and the filmed sketches "showed up Boyle's limitations as a comic actor."
MSN MSN is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps provided by Microsoft. The main webpage provides news, weather, sports, finance and other content curated from hundreds of different sources that Microsoft has partnere ...
's Stuart Bak wondered whether Frankie Boyle was still funny. In sketch form, his material is "neither particularly offensive nor particularly funny, but a bit run-of-the-mill and even, at times, embarrassingly awful" so Boyle should "stick to the stand-up." '' The British Comedy Guide'' branded the show "disappointing", citing "over-long sketches" and an "almost childish fixation on sex". On 7 December the second episode (including the time-shifted repeat) reached 1.14 million viewers, down 26% on week one. ''Metro'' withdrew its support, claiming "laughs were thin on the ground" in the second week and that in the third episode "almost without exception, the sketches were wholly unfunny and the in-house audience seemed to be struggling to raise even the smallest of titters." The final episode was broadcast on 29 December and averaged an audience of 575,000.


Controversy


Harvey Price

In December 2010, both
Katie Price Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis Price (''née'' Infield; born 22 May 1978) is an English media personality and model. She gained recognition in the late 1990s for her glamour modelling work, including on Page 3 of the tabloid newspaper ''The Su ...
and
Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea; 27 February 1973) is a British-Australian singer, songwriter, and media personality. Born in England to Cypriot parents and raised in Australia, Andre achieved success in the mid-1990s as a singer, topping ...
were said to have been left "absolutely disgusted and sickened" by a joke in the 7 December 2010 broadcast about Price's disabled son, Harvey (then years old). On the show, Boyle said: "Apparently Jordan atie Priceand Peter Andre are fighting each other over custody of Harvey - well eventually one of them'll lose and have to keep him. I have a theory that Jordan married a cage fighter cause she needed someone strong enough to stop Harvey from fucking her." In a response, Katie Price said: "If Mr Boyle had a 10th of his courage and decency he would know that to suggest, let alone think funny, that Harvey may sexually attack me is vile and deeply unfair. To bully this unbelievably brave child is despicable, to broadcast it on television is to show a complete and utter lack of judgment." Peter Andre's representative also responded to the comments made by Boyle and said "We're all disgusted by these comments. Peter is angry and very upset at Harvey being mocked in this way. Children, especially a disabled youngster, should be off-limits." Both have confirmed that they are seeking legal action and have written a complaint to Channel 4 regarding Boyle's jokes with Katie saying "To bully this unbelievably brave child is despicable; to broadcast it is to show a complete and utter lack of judgement. I have asked my lawyers to write to Channel 4." The charity Mencap described Boyle's joke as a "disgusting" attack on a disabled child. In April 2011
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...
upheld 500 complaints about the incident and censured Boyle and Channel 4 for broadcasting the jokes, which had been personally cleared by Channel 4's Chief Executive David Abraham, ruling that the material appeared to directly target and mock the mental and physical disabilities of a known eight-year-old child who had not himself chosen to be in the public eye. "As such, Ofcom found that the comments had considerable potential to be highly offensive to the audience."


Racism

In a later episode, Boyle was criticised by some media outlets for using racially offensive terms. A character played by Boyle used the term 'Pakis' during a joke criticising prioritisation of British and western war casualties over others in UK news media. In July 2011, the Daily Mirror published an article which strongly criticised Boyle, describing him as a 'racist comedian'. In response, he sued the Mirror for libel, and was awarded £54,650 damages after a High Court jury found he had been libelled. Boyle said after the case that he intended to donate the money to charity.


DVD release

The series was released on DVD on 21 November 2011. The Harvey Price joke from episode two has been cut from the DVD version.


References


External links

* * *{{IMDb title, id=1798787, title=Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights Channel 4 sketch shows 2010s British comedy television series 2010 Scottish television series debuts 2010 Scottish television series endings Scottish television shows British English-language television shows Television series by Banijay Television controversies in the United Kingdom