Lovecraftian sketch from Scottish comedy show

[J-WO]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGTEOrX_I08&feature=player_embedded


I particularly like the reference to Dream Quest.

 

[j d worthington]

Now, that is quite clever... and obviously done by someone who knows what they're talking about. It's also amazing, for someone who grew up in an era where the name "Lovecraft" would more often than not be white noise to most people, even most readers, that he has reached such a level where no on thinks twice about doing such a sketch for fear people won't get the references.....

 

[J-WO]

Yeah, that struck me too. I put it down to factors-

i- The internet has done wonders for HPL's profile . Cthulu, say, is steadily catching up with Dracula and Frankenstein(s monster) in terms of cultural recognition (ie- far more people are now aware of Cthulu than have read the canon).

ii- There's always room to take bizarre risks in British sketch shows (If one listens to the laughter track of Monty Python, for instance, at least one in five sketches results in mere baffled chuckles from the 70's audience).
If the frankly terrifying characters of Papa Lazarou and Edward & Tubbs from The League of Gentlemen weren't Lovecraftian, they were at least redolent of M.R. James, Machen and Hammer Horror. I guess these new guys took it one step further.

 

[j d worthington]

Yes, British humor does tend to have that over its America counterpart (as well as frequently being capable of more subtlety): it is willing to take such chances, and manages to pull them off more often than not. (It is also, frankly, more literate in most cases....)

 

[J-WO]

On the otherhand, we Brits could never have invented The Simpsons.