British TV comedies

[bigjohn]

Question for all the Brits out there. I used to watch a lot of Brit-coms on TV and I was wondering if the ones we got here in the States were also wildly popular in England or if they were produced primarily for US consumption.

Four of them really stand out for me.

Monty Pythons Flying Circus comes to mind immediately. I remember watching that when I was a kid (mid 1970's) and I would get all excited when I heard that music and the big foot coming down in the opening. Probably the first TV show I saw boobs on and some of the skits were so far out there; The lumberjack song, Ministry of Silly Walks, the cheese shop, the Spanish Inquisition and on and on.....

Fawlty Towers was another spectacular John Cleese vehicle. The Waldorf Salad episode stands out in my mind and the one with Manuel's rat named Basil.

I have seen every Keeping Up Appearances I could watch and loved them all. I felt so bad for poor Richard!

The king of all television comedy in my mind was Benny Hill. I have almost every episode on Beta tape, gotta get them transferred to DVD some day. His timing and execution were unmatched. He was sheer genius but I hear he could be difficult to work with because he was such a perfectionist and he did not like to do live performances.

I did not understand a lot of British comedy until later years but they all had something for all ages.

 

[KasinoKing]

I LOVE Monty Python and could recite many of their sketches to you word for word for hours on end!
(Back in the 70's they released many vinyl records of their work - I had a lot of them & listened to them a LOT!)

I also remember recording Faulty Towers on my old cassette recorder when they first appeared, so I could listen to them again and again (this was before Video recorders were common household items!)

I also loved Benny Hill, Morcombe and Wise :notworthy and The Two Ronnie's.

The other classic British comedies that I love would be the "Carry On" films, The Young Ones, the Black Adder Series (not so keen on series 1, but 2, 3 & 4 are EXCELLENT!), and Bottom.

KK

 

[LaurieJim]

My first taste of anything British before cable t.v growing up was late night weekends, they would show Benny Hill reruns , I always thought he was a hoot and that little old man he always slapped on the head and how he was always chasing the chicks at the end, theme music was great

Laurie

 

[bigjohn]

I LOVE Monty Python and could recite many of their sketches to you word for word for hours on end!
(Back in the 70's they released many vinyl records of their work - I had a lot of them & listened to them a LOT!)

I also remember recording Faulty Towers on my old cassette recorder when they first appeared, so I could listen to them again and again (this was before Video recorders were common household items!)

I also loved Benny Hill, Morcombe and Wise :notworthy and The Two Ronnie's.

The other classic British comedies that I love would be the "Carry On" films, The Young Ones, the Black Adder Series (not so keen on series 1, but 2, 3 & 4 are EXCELLENT!), and Bottom.

KK

That's funny because my friend Mike just bought a new home and there was an old shed in his yard and he put up a new shed right next to it so now I call him 'Mikey two sheds'. Nobody has a clue what I am talking about! Sometimes I'll drop little quotes like that and see who gets it. FTR Arthur Jackson only had one shed but he was considering putting up another...

 

[bigjohn]

My first taste of anything British before cable t.v growing up was late night weekends, they would show Benny Hill reruns , I always thought he was a hoot and that little old man he always slapped on the head and how he was always chasing the chicks at the end, theme music was great

Laurie

Little Jackie Wright, AKA Atlas Charlie because he never wears a hat.

 

[skiny]

Check out Hugh Laurie with his real accent in an old sketch from A bit of Fry and Laurie.

 

[JackTenOff]

I could watch Fawlty Towers on an endless loop, especially the Germans episode, great stuff.

 

[KasinoKing]

That's funny because my friend Mike just bought a new home and there was an old shed in his yard and he put up a new shed right next to it so now I call him 'Mikey two sheds'. Nobody has a clue what I am talking about! Sometimes I'll drop little quotes like that and see who gets it. FTR Arthur Jackson only had one shed but he was considering putting up another...

For the benefit of those who have NO IDEA what you are talking about...



KK

 

[Jasminebed]

There were lots I remember, many on PBS, and TVO here at home. Loved Yes, Minister, Fawlty Towers, On the Buses, Good Neighbours, and Are You Being Served.

Mister Bean still cracks me up.

 

[Booo73]

Are You Being Served is by far my fav but there are sooooo many classics. Like my friend Jasminebed said, in Canada we had alot of them on TVO and PBS. I think they had a big part in all of our childhoods and now adulthoods. After all, Canada is part of the Commonwealth. God save the Queen. CHEERS :notworthy

 

[skiny]

There were lots I remember, many on PBS, and TVO here at home. Loved Yes, Minister, Fawlty Towers, On the Buses, Good Neighbours, and Are You Being Served.

Mister Bean still cracks me up.

Some mothers do 'ave 'em.

 

[Andy Walker]

Some British comedy show that never travelled abroad (most probably) that was called “The Hale and Pace Show”

Perhaps enjoy, perhaps cringe, perhaps both.

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[maxd]

Python, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served, Black Adder, Red Dwarf, The Office, Snuff Box, etc etc. If it weren't for British comedies we'd likely all have the wit of George W Bush and the humour of Darth Vader. Or we'd all just be telling penis and barf jokes, probably sharing the same punch line. British comedy is the brown sauce of modern life, much harder to stomach without.

 

[skiny]

The two Ronnies.

 

[Andy Walker]

Python, Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served, Black Adder, Red Dwarf, The Office, Snuff Box, etc etc. If it weren't for British comedies we'd likely all have the wit of George W Bush and the humour of Darth Vader. Or we'd all just be telling penis and barf jokes, probably sharing the same punch line. British comedy is the brown sauce of modern life, much harder to stomach without.

A fine wine and viewing Frasier of an evening does tickle one's fancy and gently rock the soul into slumber and content.

One must look beyond the rugged shores of the country loosely called Great Britain and climb out of our bassinet and embrace.

Sod the Euro though that's a broken bridge too far.

 

[Andy Walker]

Updated four candles sketch

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[maxd]

A fine wine and viewing Frasier ...

Meh. I'm Canadian, American comedy is largely a wasted effort on me I'm afraid. The last American comedy series I watched and enjoyed was probably ... Sanford and Son, or M.A.S.H. Sure, ancient stuff but whatever. If it ain't funny it ain't funny and life is too short to force it into being funny.

As to the Euro, time will tell. My guess is it's only as broken as people agree to say it is, but that probably won't matter in the long run. Anyway, that's politics and well out of my league.

 

[skiny]

Meh. I'm Canadian, American comedy is largely a wasted effort on me I'm afraid. The last American comedy series I watched and enjoyed was probably ... Sanford and Son, or M.A.S.H. Sure, ancient stuff but whatever. If it ain't funny it ain't funny and life is too short to force it into being funny.

As to the Euro, time will tell. My guess is it's only as broken as people agree to say it is, but that probably won't matter in the long run. Anyway, that's politics and well out of my league.

And All In The Family.

 

[nisosbar]

Something about the very nature of British culture gives birth to legions of gifted comedians of all kinds - writers, comedians, actors. I enjoyed Monty Python, Dave Allen At Large, Keeping Up Appearances, and Terry Pratchett, of course - lesser known personalities like Simon Raven probably don't count, but British comedy seems to be a safe bet most of the time.

 

[swampwitch]

A few years ago Younkers Tea Room in Des Moines had a "High Tea With Mr. Humphries" event with John Inman. My husband and I paid I think $50 each to attend. It was the absolute best time. He spoke to each person individually, and kept everyone in stitches telling naughty stories about the cast of Are You Being Served. He was especially kind to one elderly gentleman who kept insisting that there was no way the character of Mr. Humphries was gay.
Iowa Public Television was the best weekend television there was. Python, Are You Being Served, Doctor Who, No Honestly. Absolute appointment TV for our family in the 70's. My sense of humor was honed on Britcoms and Python and The Goodies.
Nowadays I love shows like Trollied...yay for the internet!

Canada's winning me over these days...I'm hopelessly addicted to Trailer Park Boys. But I'm weird, so there's that.

 

[PNEFOREVER2]

My faves are Dad's army, some mothers do 'av em, Only fools and horses (BBC1 ain't half repeating episodes of OFAH too often lately), Blackadder, Open all hours and 'Allo 'Allo!

They sure don't make them like they use to.

 

[mimi26]

Cannot beat only fools and horses, The first series was not much good but the rest is excellent.

 

[PNEFOREVER2]

I thought 'Trigger' was hilarious, everytime I see this part I cry with laughter. Brilliant.

 

[mimi26]

LOL, or

 

[Andy Walker]

Doing a cultural translation of the video to a North American in regards to "Only Fools & Horses" would look like this to a Brit.

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