The Off Topic Topic

[Syt]

On French comedy: a few years ago I watched Le Prénom which I enjoyed a lot.

[Admiral Yi]

Amelie qualifies as a comedy.  Very self effacing comedy.

[Syt]

Despite it being a quarantine New Years Eve, Dinner For One, a proud North German tradition that has spread across the borders, must be watched:

https://www.openculture.com/2014/01/watch-dinner-for-one-the-short-film-that-has-become-a-strange-new-years-tradition-in-europe.html

There are myriad New Year's Eve customs worldwide. In Japan, toshikoshi soba noodles are eaten to bring in the coming year. In North America, finding someone to share a New Year's Eve kiss with as the clock winds down has become a boon to the romantically-challenged. In Germany, however, a different tradition has taken form: every year on December 31st, TV networks broadcast an 18-minute-long black and white two-hander comedy skit.

In 1963, Germany's Norddeutscher Rundfunk television station recorded a sketch entitled Dinner For One, performed by the British comics Freddie Frinton and May Warden. The duo depicted an aging butler serving his aristocratic mistress, Miss Sophie, dinner on the occasion of her 90th birthday.

Although four additional spots have been set at the table, the nonagenarian's friends have long since passed away, and the butler is forced to take their places in drinking copious amounts of alcohol while toasting Miss Sophie's health. Hilarity, as it is wont to do in such cases, ensues.

Since its initial recording, the clip has become a New Year's Eve staple in Germany. Although Dinner For One has never been broadcast in the U. S. or Canada, the clip has spread throughout Europe to Norway, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Austria, Switzerland, and beyond the continent's shores, to South Africa and Australia. In Sweden, a bowdlerized 11-minute version of the clip has been produced, where, for decency's sake, much of the butler's boozing was excised alongside its attendant comedic effect. In Denmark, after the national television network failed to broadcast the sketch in 1985, an avalanche of viewer complaints has guaranteed its subsequent yearly appearance. Although the category is now defunct, the clip held the Guinness World Record for Most Frequently Repeated TV Program. As for why the video's garnered so much attention? No one's really sure. The Wall Street Journal's Todd Buell posits that the sketch's easy to understand English combined with a German longing for security and simplicity may have led to its iconic status. To me, however, it seems that the finely tuned physical comedy translates readily beyond any linguistic boundaries, and simply hit the right note at the right time.

Above, you can view the original 18-minute comedic opus and celebrate New Year's day in the same way that much of Europe brought in 2014 (don't mind the German introduction — the video is in English). In future years, you can always find Dinner for One in our collection of 600 Free Movies Online.

From all of us at Open Culture to you, have a happy new year!

https://youtu.be/zVd_VLO9xcc

(You can skip the German introduction, it just explains the premise and the running joke of "Same procedure as last year?")

[Sheilbh]

I love this tradition because almost no-one has seen it in the UK (I never have ). I think it was shown here for the first time since the 60s a few years ago on an specialist Arts channel as a German tradition

[garbon]

The Vienna State Opera has light fixtures in its arches that are currently flashing 2020 DANKE FÜR NIX, i.e. 2020 THANKS FOR NOTHING

https://twitter.com/WrStaatsoper/status/1344670131323084800?s=20

[Josquius]

Just me with totally borked forum?
It's like the css is missing.

[Sheilbh]

Thrilled the fireworks all around my flat have started and show no sign of stopping just an hour before new year

[garbon]

Thrilled the fireworks all around my flat have started and show no sign of stopping just an hour before new year

We started getting them slightly after 10...

[Sheilbh]

[Josquius]

We had a big display at 6.

[garbon]

I'm confused as to why the UK trotted out Alicia Keys

[Sheilbh]

Happy NY !(?)

He's hoping it gets the exceptionally low bar of being an improvement on last year

Edit: One of my favourite videos is doing the rounds again. When someone accidentally set off all the Oban Community fireworks at once
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6QtigLJD_4&feature=emb_title

[Razgovory]

In case you haven't seen it already, Boston Dynamics' robots now even dance better than you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3KWM1kuAw

This is how humanity ends.

[Eddie Teach]

We've got people celebrating British New Year here
 

[Admiral Yi]

Did the senior citizen early bird special New Year and had four beers before 7:00 PM.

On a totally cool note one of the crusty old vets I know down at the Regal Beagle told me he had voted for Trump and realizes now what a terrrible mistake it was.