Harry Hill gets Bafta

[LEE]

Peep Show and Black Books are the best comedies to have been on TV in the past decade.

In my opinion, of course. 

I have no idea about football really.

That's why our company carefully seated me between you (an Audaxer) and Dave E (Man U fanatic).  I always assumed HR took our interests into account when designing the seatnig plan.

[Attitudeless Badger]

Peep Show and Black Books are the best comedies to have been on TV in the past decade.

In my opinion, of course. 

I do like TV Burp, as well.  Like Screenwipe but child friendly.

I think the child friendlyness is probably relevant as part of the BAFTA evaluation.    My eight year old loved the saturday double header of YBF and TV Burp, or as my five year old calls it "You've Been Burped!"

[Zoidburg]

Series one of "Spaced" was the best thing channel 4 had shown for ages but they killed it with later and later slots on a week night.

Then it came out on DVD and proved Channel 4 wrong, as did Simon Pegg by then making it all the way to the big screen Hollywood films.

[Charlotte]

Spaced was a work of profound genius and I still watch the occasional episode from my boxed set.

[Notsototalnewbie]

If we are talking about Things Wot Are Funny, don’t suppose anyone else discovered Pulling when it was on BBC 3?

Now that was damn funny...but hardly anyone else has seen it. One by one I am indoctrinating my friends with my DVD of series 1...

By chance I watched an episode that was being re-run.
Instantly hooked, very, very funny.

I suppose it's a girlie version of Men Behaving Badly.

I think it is a lot darker than MBB, which is probably why I like it so much (I like black comedy)

[her_welshness]

Black Books (splishy splashy) and the IT Crowd are fab - both products of Graham Linnehan (who was the writer for the genius that is Father Ted).

More yesteryear stuff I enjoy watching again and again are Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister.

[geraldc]

I find TV burp hilarious, on the other hand I find Screenwipe too depressing.
With regards to rating sitcoms, Friends is quite funny, but is loved by people with no sense of humour, but who want to watch aspirational comedies. My life has never mirrored friends, but has at times mirrored the Young Ones, Bottom and Coupling. My work life has been similar to The Office but The Brittas Empire was probably a truer reflection of the farce that has been my working life.
Genius sitcoms are Seinfeld and My name is Earl from the US. I can always find time to watch Father Ted and anything with Alan Partridge. I also liked Gimme Gimme Gimme, Blackadder and Thin Blue Line.

Harry Hill is funnier than Bobby Davro, Freddie Star  and Les Dennis(the old Saturday early evening comics), however the fact that as a child I found Russ Abbott hilarious should be used as a caveat. 

[LEE]

I think for many of us "The Office" and "The Brittas Empire" are a fairly accurate reflection of working life.

"The Office" uses a long shot of a photocopier spewing out copies, no dialogue, just 5 seconds of a photocopier.

They both focus on meaningless management-speak of which we are all too familiar ("let's work smarter not harder", as if everyone is suddenly going to have an epiphany "By jove, he's right, we've all been working stupid all these years, that one motivational sentence may just transform the company")

I know many people who don't find either of those comedies because they find it too close to the truth.

That's why I like them.

"The Royal Family" IS, I mean it really really is, my friend's family.  I've always been convinced that Caroline Aherne secretly filmed them.  Forget top comedy, it's top drama.

"Put the kettle on Babs"

[Regulator]

I liked The Brittas Empire - but loathed The Office...

...I'm afraid Ricky Gervais spoiled it for me.  I just can't stand the man.

[Mr Larrington]

Didn't get The Office.  As far as I could tell it was a fly-on-the-wall documentary.  Dr Larrington and her other half, OTOH, loved it.  Possibly because they've never had real jobs encountered dicks like that except in the form of Gus Hedges..

[LEE]

Didn't get The Office.  As far as I could tell it was a fly-on-the-wall documentary. 

Therein lies the genius of the writing.

The closest thing to it I have ever seen was a real fly-on-wall doc about a midlands double-glazing company.  It proved that truth is much stranger than fiction.  It was, in turns, more hilarious, more embarrassing and more tragic than any comedy.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qe5rnyXMzDU&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Qe5rnyXMzDU&rel=1</a>

Sheer brilliance.

Brittas, listen and learn

Brent, watch the masters in action

[Mr Larrington]

Didn't get The Office.  As far as I could tell it was a fly-on-the-wall documentary. 

Therein lies the genius of the writing.

Yebbut, wasn't it supposed to be a comedy?

[LEE]

Didn't get The Office.  As far as I could tell it was a fly-on-the-wall documentary. 

Therein lies the genius of the writing.

Yebbut, wasn't it supposed to be a comedy?

Yes, it's the most successful and critically acclaimed British comedy ever I think. 

It's not everyone's cup of tea though.  Some people prefer Lee Mack's "Not Going Out" which is 30 minutes of tenuous joke set-ups followed by predictable punchlines.  you can almost hear the subliminal drum-roll/symbal  "Drrrrrrrr-tsssh" after each shoed-in pun.

"My grandfather shot down some Fokkers in WW2..." (all that remains is to wait 5 minutes for the "These Fokkers were Messershmidts" payoff and the subliminal "Drrrrrrrr-tsssh")


Come to think of it, Ricky Gervais DOES write the type of sit-com I hate, "When The Whistle Blows" sums it up perfectly.  It only fails to be terrible on one count and that's the irony of it, which actually makes me like watching it.

I wouldn't be surprised if ITV tried to commission it for Saturday evening 7pm prime-time.

[Pingu]

help me, I've been posessed by the spirit of 1970's script writers

now sing-a-long . . . .



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For a biography we've ghost writers,
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You bastard.

You utter, utter bastard.

Do you realised what you've condemned me to for the rest of the day?

 

[mattc]

I liked The Brittas Empire - but loathed The Office...

...I'm afraid Ricky Gervais spoiled it for me.  I just can't stand the man.

For a while I agreed with you, but you shouldn't write off Gervais just based on the Office - Extras is in a different class.

[Really Ancien]

The big three in British comedy are Benny Hill, Mr Bean and Are You Being Served? That's what the world thanks us for. It's a funny old world.

Damon.

[nuttycyclist]

I liked The Brittas Empire - but loathed The Office...

...I'm afraid Ricky Gervais spoiled it for me.  I just can't stand the man.

For a while I agreed with you, but you shouldn't write off Gervais just based on the Office - Extras is in a different class.

Extras was even more ego feeding self promoting lack of humour.

As is his standup I've seen on TV.

As for his supposed "funny" contributions to comic relief etc - cringeworthy and an embarrassment.



I used to turn off/turn over when he annoyed me.   I now turn off/turn over the second I hear he'll be on.

[mattc]

I liked The Brittas Empire - but loathed The Office...

...I'm afraid Ricky Gervais spoiled it for me.  I just can't stand the man.

For a while I agreed with you, but you shouldn't write off Gervais just based on the Office - Extras is in a different class.

Extras was even more ego feeding self promoting lack of humour.

As is his standup I've seen on TV.

Yup, his standup is pretty atrocious!

[clarion]

The big three in British comedy are Benny Hill, Mr Bean and Are You Being Served? That's what the world thanks us for. It's a funny old world.

Damon.

You forgot Norman Wisdom!

[Moloko]

And 'Carry On' swanee whistle moments.

[Really Ancien]

I've always tended to favour US comedy, we have little to rival this.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/SnhgpVb-u5s&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/SnhgpVb-u5s&rel=1</a>

Damon.

[Moloko]

I've always tended to favour US comedy, we have little to rival this.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/SnhgpVb-u5s&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/SnhgpVb-u5s&rel=1</a>

Damon.

  Brilliant. Wow! LSD really does fuel the creativity process. 

At the start of the opening credits she looks more like the Free Falling Nun.

[bikenerd]

I've always tended to favour US comedy.

Most US comedy is also trite, though.  Stuff like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, 8 Simple Rules... etc.
But there is some really good stuff like Larry Sanders, Curb Your Enthusiasm and, my current favourite US comedy show, 30 Rock.

[Regulator]

I liked The Brittas Empire - but loathed The Office...

...I'm afraid Ricky Gervais spoiled it for me.  I just can't stand the man.

For a while I agreed with you, but you shouldn't write off Gervais just based on the Office - Extras is in a different class.

Extras was even more ego feeding self promoting lack of humour.

As is his standup I've seen on TV.

As for his supposed "funny" contributions to comic relief etc - cringeworthy and an embarrassment.



I used to turn off/turn over when he annoyed me.   I now turn off/turn over the second I hear he'll be on.

+1


God - I can't believe that Nutty and I agree on something.  The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse must be gearing up for a ride out... 

[Really Ancien]

I think that 'The Office' isn't as good as 'People Like Us'.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DFZgK4QW0Ps&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/DFZgK4QW0Ps&rel=1</a>

Damon.