Which is your favourite British Comedy?

[nytemare]

Poll question: Which is your favourite British Comedy?

I love myself some Monty Python, Ab Fab, Mr Bean, etc.

Which is your favourite, and why?







:hi:

[Forkboy]

1. All good choices, but there can be only one....

[Kerrytravelers]

11. Which bitcom is this from?

[Forkboy]

12. The Young Ones!

[Kerrytravelers]

26. I don't think I've ever heard of that one!

I'll have to do a search and see what online clips I can watch.

Thanks! :hi:

[Iggo]

33. Oh, you're in for a thrill.

[surrealAmerican]

13. The Young Ones.

... and yes, it was my first thought too.

[Kerrytravelers]

28. Thanks. I had not heard of this one before.

:hi:

[grace0418]

101. Rick: "What am I now? What am I now?" Vyvyan: "A pain in the ass."

Love that show.

[yellowdogintexas]

2. 'Allo Allo Are you Being Served? Last of the Summer Wine , Good Neighbors

Father Ted,

[azmouse]

3. None.

British comedy is an oxymoron.

[khawkings09]

4. fawlty towers

[GoneOffShore]

5. Chef - with Lenny Henry

[keroro gunsou]

31. +10k

i saw 5 minutes of chef! once, about 5-6 years ago, and i've scoured the interwebs ever since. thank tha lawd for the dvd box.

lenny henry made that big of an impression on me in 5 minutes, that is pretty impressive.

after chef! gotta go with are you being served, then monty python, then abfab.

also liked the vicar of dibley, dawn french is a riot... and married to lenny henry... :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfOCak7wh1U

[kath]

40. Awww, ya beat me to it. LOVE Chef!

[LoveMyCali]

6. Vicar of Dibley

Great quirky characters. Dawn French is the perfect combination of strong woman and insecure mess.

[rurallib]

15. my first thought also.

The Brits don't leave them on until they're run into the ground either.

[ChickMagic]

65. I love Vicar of Dibley

I also like Keeping Up Appearances.

[nytemare]

68. That was another I was thinking of..

She is hilarious in just about everything she does.

This is my favorite skit she did with Jen Saunders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NzCg-oKVBk

[GCP]

102. This is my favorite Dawn French skit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyIMLz_jRbI

[hippywife]

7. I had to pick Ab Fab, of course, but

I also love The Vicar of Dibley. Too bad they have it on here too late for me to catch it. :hi:

[flvegan]

8. Top Gear.

[theophilus]

9. Good Neighbors. Warm, very funny and some good lessons. n/t

[Kutjara]

49. It's strange that they changed the name of the show...

...in the US. In Britain, it was called "The Good Life."

[Rambis]

51. Watched them all on Instant watch via the Roku/ Netflix box

Great show! I am in the process of watching the complete series of all creatures great and small.

[Tikki]

82. Netflix is grand...

it reminds of the early days of FM radio.

Tikki

[Kerrytravelers]

10. Blackadder, Blackadder, You horrid little man...

We own the complete series, we love it so much.

We also own The Office, which we adore. And I'll always have a soft spot for AbFab, Monty Python and Fawlty Towers.

[Patiod]

53. Great Blackadder reference

was reading a very funny book by a British woman who functions as sort of a "cat whisperer", diagnosing and treating neurotic cats (well, cats that are extra neurotic)

She was talking about a "patient" named Baldrick, and said "we needed a cunning plan".

Blackadder, AB Fab and Good Neighbors are my favorites, and of course Red Dwarf ("I'm gonna get you little fishies.....".

[Turborama]

108. Baldrick: "I've got a plan that's so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a fox!"

One of my fave comedy lines ever.

And Lord Flashheart's entrance is one of the funniest sketches ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKfbSHW9uGA

[EvolveOrConvolve]

14. You left out Benny Hill

When I was a young lad, there were but few masturbatory tools better than the midnight Friday airing of The Benny Hill Show (on PBS no less).

[madinmaryland]

20. +1000!!

:wow:

[EvolveOrConvolve]

22. I couldn't believe when I first saw naked boobies on PBS

I was glued to the boob tube (pun intended) every Friday night waiting for it to come on. Most shows didn't have any nudity, but I always watched just in case.

Benny Hill and National Geographic saw me through a lot of good times in my formative years.

[Art_from_Ark]

87. Monty Python also had some naked boobies

the most memorable of which were featured in "The Dull Life of a City Stockbroker".

[tilsammans]

16. Chef, Fawlty Towers n/t

[Mojambo]

17. All time? Fawlty Towers. Currently airing? Peep Show.

More people should be watching Peep Show. It's certainly the best British comedy since The Office, and personally I think it's better.

[AllenVanAllen]

38. +1 for Peep Show

[miscsoc]

18. I'm Alan Partridge, of course.

AP is the funniest character in any sitcom, and the scripts approach genius; most quotable tv show imaginable.

Although from the listed options I'd say Fawlty Towers and The Office

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_IoPAd_Yw0

[Tikki]

19. Fawlty Towers.....and recently Red Dwarf and That Mitchell and Webb Look...

Tikki

[flvegan]

21. Mitchell and Webb is excellent! I'm glad it's back on BBCAmerica.

Numberwang, anyone?

[Mojambo]

23. Yeah me too. Great sketch comedy show

The third series should be out later this year.

My favorite sketch of theirs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqC73omSk4o

"If I thought it was wrong? Like I'd know! Like I'd have any chance of forming an independent basis of right and wrong outside the instructions of some supervisory being! No, Lord, I am Your bitch!"

[AllenVanAllen]

41. That's great!

On the fifth day he invented the birds and the fish and today he's invented me murdering my son!

[fishwax]

24. monty python, definitely ... though of the current shows I'm interested in The In-Betweeners

I've only caught the first few episodes on on-demand, but there were some wickedly funny moments in it. It's about a group of adolescent boys, so sometimes the sensibility is quite crude, but it's often hilarious.

[Mojambo]

25. I've just recently watched that series.

LOVED it.

Very crude, but captures the way teenagers talk and interact PERFECTLY.

Great music in it as well. Third series just finished shooting. Should see it in a few months.

[fishwax]

27. oh cool -- I'm glad someone else here has seen it and enjoyed it

The episode where Simon goes over to Carli's while he's drunk had me in tears.

I agree, they captured the age perfectly. :hi:

[Mojambo]

29. I love the one where they go on the field trip and take the boat out in the harbor

And Neil punches the fish to death.

[HipChick]

30. Love Thy Neighbor...No Problem...Porridge...Open All Hours

No Problem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8erq4SzB8GY&feature=related

Porridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA6k5d0L8iI


Open All Hours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K4WwihCXhU

[TransitJohn]

32. Other

Hard Talk.

[one_voice]

34. Benny Hill...

I used to watch that cuz my brothers liked it. Wonder why they liked it so much. :eyes:

[Iggo]

35. Probably nothing to do with the naughty bits,(n/t)

[MiddleFingerMom]

36. Definitely Fawlty Towers, but also Good Neighbors (formerly "The Good Life"...

.
...in large part because of Felicity Kendal.
.
From Wikipedia:
.
She was voted "Rear of the Year" in 1981 for her appearances wearing
wellington boots and tight jeans in The Good Life. This compliment was
later reiterated in an episode of Red Dwarf by ship's computer Holly:
"..last month, we came across a moon shaped like Felicity Kendal's
bottom. We flew around that one a couple of times".
.
Kendal was selected as one of the FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World"
in 1995.
.
In an episode of The Young Ones, the only way that a launderette washing
machine could be induced to take the main characters' revolting washing
was by being told that the load contained a pair of Felicity Kendal's
knickers.
.
She was considered thinking man's crumpet in the 1970s
.

.

[LeftyMom]

37. Monty Python, of course. But I'm amazed Keeping Up Appearances didn't make the cut.

[Sebastian Doyle]

39. Does anyone want any toast?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRq_SAuQDec

[Robeson]

42. Blackadder I & II and The Dave Allen Show.

[struggle4progress]

43. Where's Yes, Minister? Where's Lovejoy?

x(

[MilesColtrane]

44. While I love Python, my nod goes to Fawlty Towers.

EVERY episode is brilliant.

Perhaps, if there were more episodes, the quality would have dropped off but, for whatever reason, the show went out at the top.

Add to this the noticeable drop off in MPFC after Cleese left, and the choice is indisputable.

[slay]

77. mine too

in post #76 - Farty Towels. Loved that show. Flowery Twats was good too. :evilgrin:

Basil Fawlty: Manuel, go and get me a hammer
Manuel: Que?
Basil Fawlty: A... hammer
Manuel: Ahhhhh, a hammer sandwich!
Basil Fawlty: Oh, must we go through this every time? A hammer.
Manuel: You want to see my hamster?
Basil Fawlty: No, not your hamster. How could I knock a nail in with a hamster? Well... I could try, couldn't I?

Basil Fawlty: Get a hhhammer and hhhit you on the hhhead with it.

[NuttyFluffers]

45. Are You Being Served?

i love the other ones very much so this was a crazy hard decision. but at some point i thought about Are You Being Served? leaving me with some of the largest "can't breathe, pain in my side" laughs while being pretty consistent overall. the other series are great, but every now and then i'll be waiting for them to hurry up to the funny. whereas this one played so much with anticipation and side stories that you generally had a string of laughs from midway to end.

[Recovered Repug]

79. That's also my favorite one.

Mrs. Slocum always talking about her pussy (cat, of course).

[GreenPartyVoter]

46. Love Monty Python, Black Adder, Bean, the IT Crowd and so many others but

I would have to put MP slightly ahead of Black adder as my fave. They are so different, and yet both so brilliant.

[Zorra]

47. Is this the right room for an argument?

[gatorboy]

48. No Young Ones? No SPACED???

You gotta have Spaced!

[Kutjara]

50. Peep Show. n/t

[Mojambo]

55. Yes! Another fan.

It's brilliant.

"I guess I just feel unfulfilled..."

"Unfilled!!?"

"Oh great, so I'll be paying one pound a minute to hear how shit I am at sex. Now that's value for money!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pXsdy3o5F4

[HughBeaumont]

52. Shame. Young Ones should have been the choice AFTER MP.

It doesn't get much better than Vyvv, Neil, Mike or Rick.

Bottom is also killer.

[gatorboy]

54. Whoops! Almost forgot The Mighty Boosh

Caught this at a friend's house and I was hooked.

[MorningGlow]

56. So many...but I have to add Doctor in the House

Early '70s, about a bunch of fuck-ups at med school. Totally hilarious. (Well, the first season was weak, but OMG did it kick ass in the second and third seasons especially.) Lots of episodes were written by John Cleese and/or Graham Chapman--and GC certainly put his medical background to good use!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dle60EvDtcs

[pink-o]

70. OMG! I'd forgotten about "Doctor in the House"

I was a total Anglophile when I was 17; I moved to England a year later in 1973. But I made my parents watch that show, it was on at dinnertime on PBS. My mom's dad was from Yorkshire, so she thought it was hilarious as well. My Dad didn't get it--but he loved Python a few years later.

And speaking of Yorkshire and Python: Remember Michael Palin's Ripping Yarns? I LOVE Fawlty Towers as the best Python spinoffs, but Ripping is right up there.

Eric Idle's take on the Beatles, with George Harrison's blessings) called "The Rutles: All you Need is Cash" should get a special mention too. Truly brilliant, and great satirical songs!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripping_Yarns

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_You_Need_Is_Cash

[MorningGlow]

72. Love ALL of those!!

A friend of mine in high school used to have the Ripping Yarns book and the Rutles album. I thought Neil Innes was a genius. "I suffered for my music...now it's your turn."
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[bookworm65t]

57. Keeping Up Appearances

Nobody does stuck-up, stupid, and self-centered like Hyacinth Bucket.

I named my cat Onslow after her slob-of-a BIL.

:)

[realisticphish]

60. slob

but I'd rather hang out with Onslow and Daisy than Hyacinth :D

[Pool Hall Ace]

64. slob? Ah, NICE!

:hi:

[ChickMagic]

66. That's boo-KAY!

Love that show!

[WCIL]

58. Beautiful People

I hope Logo will get season 2 at some point.

[foxfeet]

59. I'm with you. Beautiful people is great.

Love 'em all, but AbFab has a special place in my heart. I almost peed myself when Edina's mother mistook the female condom for a rubber glove and when Saffy learned she had been breast fed by a bunch of drug-addled "saggy-titted hippies" in Edina's commune days.

[realisticphish]

61. To add a couple, "Allo Allo" and "Father Ted"

yes, Father Ted is Irish, not British, but who cares, I still place it within the same general genre

[jobycom]

62. "Yes, Minister" has faded from collective memory, eh? Oh well, I'll pick it anyway. nt

[Misskittycat]

74. "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" were terrific. n/t

[yellowdogintexas]

84. Yes Minister is airing in Dallas currently, on Saturday nights. nt

[eppur_se_muova]

109. Absolutely! Three tweedy bureaucrats standing around talking for half an hour!

It doesn't get better than that! :D (Provided you do it right!)

[nuxvomica]

88. "Yes, Minister" is my favorite, too

I was also fond of a series called "Two's Company" in which Elaine Stritch played an American stage actress living and London who continuously traded insults with her British butler, played by Donald Sinden.

[ceile]

63. Um, hello? Father Ted!

And before I get the "It's Irish", it was produced in London for Channel 4.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Ted

[ChickMagic]

67. Of all of them

and it's a hard decision to be sure, but I'd have to go with Father Ted. Every time we watch it, we howl! I loved their protest. "Down with this sort of thing!"

[WinkyDink]

69. FT, with "Rising Damp" a close second!

[Skittles]

71. Steptoe and Son

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steptoe_and_Son

[OmahaBlueDog]

73. The show where the Members of Parliment ask each other loaded questions and yell a lot

I think it's called "Question Time"

[Art_from_Ark]

90. We need something like that in the Senate

It would sure beat the stuffing out of "the Gentleman from Oklahoma is a good friend of mine, and I'll support his cockamamie proposal if he'll support mine"

[KatyMan]

75. The Fast Show...

and the short lived The Strangerers...

[slay]

76. Farty Towels

I like the format better than Python, but both are great with Python having much more historical significance. John Cleese in both woo-hoo! :evilgrin:

[nytemare]

81. Cleese is hilarious.

When I first saw the Silly Walks sketch, I about blew out a button with laughter, especially that one step as in the photo above where his leg goes nearly over his head.

[Common Sense Party]

78. Python, definitely, but I always have a fond place in my heart for The Goodies.

Goody goody yum yum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22lFzsE5KNU&feature=related

[Heidi]

86. Do the Funky Gibbon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXq8rELhUkw

[bigwillq]

80. Ab Fab

followed by Mr. Bean

[Bryan]

83. Brass Eye

Fantastic parody of tabloid news that is still lively despite being more than a decade old, and a major influence on Sacha Baron Cohen's ambush interview bits. It's all available on YouTube.

[SwampG8r]

85. the young ones

funniest shite evah mate

[velvet]

89. Pick a favourite? Impossible!

I'm for all the above and each of the aforementioned, and would like to add the following:

early on ...
Hancock's Half Hour
Spike Milligan's "Q" (a major influence on the Pythons)
Men Behaving Badly
Waiting for God

a bit later ...
Little Britain
Black Books
Absolute Power
Shameless

[Deep13]

91. The Mind-Control Ants of Death were made for peaceful purposes!

http://videosift.com/video/Mitchel-and-Webb-The-Giant-Death-Ray

From the BBC show That Michell and Webb Look. Webb plays the mad scientist while Mitchell plays Truman.

[bamacrat]

92. Love that Red Dwarf is on here. Anyone remember "Are You Being Served"?

I like Are you being served as much as Monty Python.

[SoxFan]

93. Question Time in the House of Commons

The English have a particular gift for telling people to "fuck off, you ignorant inbreeder" in a way that almost sounds genteel.

[nytemare]

94. I know what you mean.

They make you believe that your trip to hell will be wonderfully splendid.

:)

[RFKHumphreyObama]

95. Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister

[geardaddy]

96. It's a toss up between MP and FT for me.

Monty Python was great sketch comedy, but Fawlty Towers was the Curb Your Enthusiasm of it's time.

[geardaddy]

97. The Office:

Gareth: If you’re so clever, what am I thinking now?
Tim: You’re thinking "how can I kill a tiger armed only with a biro?"
Gareth: No.
Tim: You’re thinking "if I crash land in a jungle will I be able to eat my own shoes?"
Gareth: No. And you can’t
Tim: What are you thinking Gareth?
Gareth: I was just wondering whether will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark.

[MrCoffee]

98. Arsenal's starting XI v. Wigan

Funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

[old mark]

99. Used to love a show called, "No Honestly..." that I got on the short wave BBC World Service

many years ago. It later became a TV show and it was on US TV for a few seasons. Good show, lots of pleasant silliness.

Pauline Collins is very funny.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No,_Honestly



mark

[grace0418]

100. All good ones, but I gotta go with The Young Ones!

That's the one I quote most often.

[Riftaxe]

103. On the bus!

queenie!
Dark ages!
Steptoe and son
dad's army
to the manor born
mulberry
Thin blue line
Keeping up appearances
open all hours

so many have been left out!

but if forced to sit in a chair and re-watch them all, 4 way tie {have all on dvd and watch constantly for background noize)

Are you being served (grace & favour)
Red Dwarf
Black Adder
Father Ted


}( So many as i said, other notable mentions

men behaving badly
absolutely fabulous
last of the summer wine

Sorry all, a bit of an anglophile when it comes to comedies :P

But the be all & end all, all time epic britcom is

Only Fools & Horses




*edited to make my 4 way tie, more of a 4 way tie :P

[Turborama]

104. Not the Nine O'clock News, Only Fools and Horses, The Day Today, Brass Eye, Spaced

Are some of my faves.

Lots of Not the Nine O'Clock News clips
http://www.google.com/search?q=not+the+nine+o+clock+news&num=50&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&prmd=v&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=OPrpS4iJLYbHrAem4IT5CQ&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CDkQqwQwBA

Lots of Only Fools and Horses clips and some full episodes
http://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=p&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&tbs=vid:1&q=only+fools+and+horses&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=only+fools&gs_rfai=

The Day Today "News Felch" - (Some of) The Best Bits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6jZFZNeOF0

Lots of Brass Eye clips and some full episodes
http://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=p&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&tbs=vid:1&q=brass+eye&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Several full episodes of Spaced
http://www.google.com/search?q=spaced&num=50&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=s&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&tbs=vid:1,dur:l&source=lnt&ei=HP3pS6PkHsfCrAfz4LCaCg&sa=X&oi=tool&resnum=3&ct=tlink&ved=0CAsQpwU

[Riftaxe]

106. I suspect something is wrong with you, me, and del boy :P

The actor who played rodney in "only fools and horses" played in another long running comedy where he was able to travel back to WW2 as well as playing one where he was a spy.

Unfortunately my memory has forgotten those titles.

He also is currently or within the last year in a new britcom.

[Riftaxe]

105. The in-betweeners does strike my puerile nature tho :)

never claimed much sophistication :rofl:

[Pryderi]

107. The Goodies?

[donheld]

110. Are You Being Served?