THE ANGRY LARY
If those everyday frustrations are
starting to get the better of you; if
you really need to get something off
your chest before you explode, this
is the place to do it. It’s our soapbox
– your chance to have a bit of a rant.
It’s all in good spirits though. We’re
just letting off steam.
This month, our angry lary wants to
talk about telly…
Have you ever seen a lary or trachee
on the telly? No, let me rephrase
that: have you ever seen a lary
or trachee portrayed on telly in a
positive way?
I’m betting you haven’t. I can only
remember seeing two larys on TV,
ever! The first was in a BBC2 comedy
show about a character called
Alan Partridge. You might have
heard of him. He’s played by Steve
Coogan, who seems to make a living
out of portraying fairly unlikable
characters.
This series charted the decline of
a former TV star, Partridge, and his
increasingly desperate attempts to
get back on the telly. In one episode
38 THE VOICE | Summer 2013
he had to meet with a video
producer with an artificial larynx.
And, as you can imagine, hilarity
ensued…
Or rather, several toe-curlingly
embarrassing minutes of ‘humour’
at the expense of the put-uponlary. Now I know that Partridge
is the real victim in these shows:
he’s misogynistic, racist and
unbelievably insensitive; he’s the
butt of all the jokes, but...
All that being said, what most
viewers are left with is the
impression of a lary who’s a figure of
fun. No matter how much we might
laugh at Partridge, the audience
probably can’t help but laugh at
the funny little man with the silly,
mechanical voice too.
Turns out the programme received
complaints which were upheld
by the BBC. They said that while
Partridge “Offended most of the people
he met, while remaining unaware
the he was the object of the humour,
repeated use of comments made at the
expense of a character who had had a
laryngectomy did exceed acceptable
boundaries.”