A fascinating subject. How many comedians have fallen victim to changing times and humour ? Benny Hill dropped like a ton of bricks, Freddie Starr evaporated to Spain and Michael Barrymore was almost erased from history. Sometimes the humour just goes out of humour and the nastiness of some jokes wears paper thin. Sometimes personality and fashion plummet together.
Here was a fantastic opportunity to analyse the good and bad intentions of his script, whether he committed political own goals, did his own ability wane ? Unfortunately any entertainer or musician has success supervised by fashion and not just ability. They do not have a divine right to the top of the tree.
It was quite a good PR job on Jim with manager Laurie Mansfield steadying the ship. The programme was weakened by a lack of contribution by any of the five wives and total lack of explanation or justification from anybody from the BBC or ITV. Ironically the left wing new wave of alternative comedians were just as acidic and poisonous as the jokers from the right. The answer wasn't just on the end of the pier.
