Isn't it Good...no, it's just Wood

Oh well.

Chubby, chatty British women are upset today. One of their own has gone. Wood was somebody THEY identified with.

No, I have no snarky remarks to make.

Every group should have some comic they can relate to, someone who gives them "slice of life" observations, or a particular brand of broad slapstick or pinpoint satire. Comedy is always in short supply, even for people who seem to laugh at anything.

Also, you don't like to see anyone drop at a "young" age. (To Millennials 62 is old, but no, it isn't)

Unfortunately, when I went to see if I'd missed anything, I discovered I hadn't.

IF I'M BEING HONEST, there are a lot of comics I've never watched because they don't look interesting to me. I can't relate to them. Same with sitcoms that aren't trying to appeal to me. "Absolutely Fabulous" was aimed at twats and drag queens, not ME. "Only Fools and Horses" was aimed at dimwits, and people living a certain lifestyle and having a certain accent. The genius is when despicable people, or people you wouldn't want to know, make you laugh and enjoy their company. On the surface, why would anyone want to watch "Steptoe and Son?" A low class nasty junkman and his dimwit son? Yet that show had appeal for a lot of people. Most everyone could identify with it, somehow, appreciating the writing and the characters.

I once had a conversation with a very well known comedian, who had some jokes stolen by another well known comedian. He said it didn't matter much: "They're buying our personalities. Taking a few jokes doesn't hurt my business."

Some pretty well known comedians, desperate for a bail-out laugh and possessing a good memory, were known for joke thievery. Milton Berle was one. So was Robin Williams. We'll stick to the dead, and not mention Carlos Mencia and Amy Schumer.

So, in discovering a disappointing answer to "Isn't it good...Victoria Wood..." I thought of the reasons why I never paid attention to her and found it difficult to tolerate even a few minutes of her stand-up.

First up, her personality means NOTHING to me. I can't identify with chatty trivial British cows. I wouldn't want to overhear their phone conversations and I certainly don't want to be trapped listening to an hour or more of non-stop monologue chat about menopause, clothing, hair, and whatever else she cares about.

I didn't exactly identify with an American fat cow like the late Totie Fields, but Fields told good self-deprecating jokes. If you have good material, you can make people like you. Joan Rivers, Rita Rudner or even Sarah Silverman, all can make any audience laugh, not just women or members of a particular ethnic group.

Most often the comedians who'll turn you off are...am I right...of a different sex and ethnicity, and relying on anecdotal "observational" humor, with a lot of face-making and over-acting.

Wood was an "am I right" comedian. Her fat cows identified with her experiences with she re-enacted in tedious detail.

What was great about Spike Milligan was he had a lot of levels. He didn't just stand around miming what it was like to go to the dentist, or describing his frustrations in shopping for clothes and not having a competent salesman helping him. First off, if he DID bother with that kind of thing, he would've offered so many faces and accents it would've been awesome. And second, he would've added actual jokes and witty remarks.

Two more things about him; you could feel both superior to him and in awe of him. As he made his silly faces and told desperate hit-and-miss jokes you could think, "Poor guy, he's bombing!" Then he'd suddenly offer up a brilliant poem, a winning song, or display his overpowering personality in a vivid minute of mime, and you'd think, "what a genius."

Nope, Wood didn't have such levels. This didn't matter to those who identified with her problems and agreed with her opinions. Her audience was pudgy British twat-owners, many with dickhead hairdos and very ordinary voices and faces.

They identified with her trivialities and could think, "why, she's like my best girlfriend. We could go shopping and make each other laugh just talking about nothing and comparing notes on things we don't like about our husbands, our favorite stores, or ourselves." So, too bad. There will be people hunting YouTube to re-live Wood's tales of gynecology exams and shopping for oversized dresses. Or, having watched an hour two of that, now having a good cry about her demise while eating a box of chocolates and listening to an entire Adele CD.