Favourite comedy sketch/show

[Peter C]

Hello,

I was just looking through some of the threads in the sub-forum (I find this sub-forum often much better than the others - fewer arguments, much more funny conversations) and I thought that, seeing as there's so much to be sad and upset about with the world as it is at the moment, I thought it would be a nice idea to have a thread for people to share their favourite comedy shows and sketches - others might find them funny as well and it could help dispel some of the lockdown blues.
I'll start with Victoria Wood's dinnerladies - such a brilliant show - two series covering a factory canteen and the staff who work there over the last few weeks/months of 1999, culminating, IIRC, in the turn of the century - the year 2000. It's all on YouTube, and it's sometimes shown on Gold on telly.
Anything by Victoria Wood is brilliant actually - An Audience with Victoria Wood is also available on YouTube and it's amazing.

There's also this:

It's about a pair of workers who, upon hearing that the new occupants of the house they've just finished working on need a way of getting into central London, build a Tube extension to their front garden

Anyway - I hope this is of any interest to people on here. Hopefully it'll brighten peoples' spirits in these uncertain times.

-Peter

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Most British comedy is excellent . I loved Not The nine o’clock news.

 

[Peter C]

I'll agree with you there. I've never actually watched that but it's on the list!

-Peter

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Crikey....where to start....

Father Ted - it's difficult to pick out a particular episode as they're all superb but Speed 3 is probably the best one.
The Fast Show - a random slew of characters and catchphrases and yet with no small amount of pathos at times (and added Scorchio to the dictionary)
The IT Crowd - dysfunction people thrown together into an IT dept of a firm run by bonkers alpha males; series 2 with the works outing is a classic
The Office - it's hard to stress how different The Office was when it first appeared. We've seen mockumentaries a plenty since then but this was one of the first and in the two specials that rounded things off, I think it's almost perfection in cringe comedy and emotional depth (and showed
Fawlty Towers - broad raucous comedy but with a lot more to it than just that and racial epithets

Think you can also point to some classic sitcoms like particular episodes of Only Fools and Horses (and not the obvious ones), Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, Phoenix Nights, Car Share, etc. I was also a big fan of the League of Gentleman and the Christmas special for that is fantastically dark and less than festive!!!

 

[Peter C]

Again - some more excellent comedy shows there.
I'll add Open All Hours into the mix - I've been watching it recently and I forgot how funny it is! Much better than the remake from a few years ago.

-Peter

 

[scotrail158713]

The IT Crowd - dysfunction people thrown together into an IT dept of a firm run by bonkers alpha males; series 2 with the works outing is a classic

I’ve got to agree. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[Peter C]

I've also just thought of another example of a brilliant comedy show - On the Buses. The timing of some lines from the actors - and their delivery of some lines - isn't perfect and sometimes sticks out like a sore thumb but it is really good. There's around 7 series to watch, and I think they seem to tail off in quality near the end as Reg Varney left and the show tried to keep going, but it's still funny.

-Peter

 

[90019]

If I had to pick one, it would have to be Black Books.

 

[Peter C]

Never heard of that one before - I'll look into it

-Peter

 

[nlogax]

Many things that Graham Linehan's had a hand in have been worthwhile, so Big Train, Father Ted, Black Books and The IT Crowd. That neatly segues into amazing shows such as Spaced, Smack the Pony, Green Wing and Friday Night Dinner.

Am also a sucker for political comedy. I've always been a big Thick of It fan, and In The Loop was a worthy extension of those characters into film. In recent weeks I've been watching a LOT of Yes, Minister / Prime Minister clips. Can't quite put my finger on the reason they seem more relevant than ever before...

+1 for Harry & Paul who actually seem to get funnier with age. The likes of Armstrong & Miller and Mitchell & Webb are pretty much in the same vein and it seems essential to leave you with this.

 

[Peter C]

I've watched that clip (and the ones following on from it) several times and the name is relevant now in more of a way than I expect they envisaged!

-Peter

 

[scotrail158713]

I’d like to add Two Doors Down to the list. On BBC Radio Scotland last Saturday, Stuart Cosgrove declared it the best ever Scottish comedy. I’d be inclined to agree with him (although Still Game is also excellent)

 

[bspahh]

A lot of humour relies on cultural references, and if you don't get these, then the jokes will fall flat.

I've got a load of MP3 files from I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Singing one song to the tune of another doesn't work if you don't recognise either the tune or the lyrics.

I've got a box set of the Goodies, which came with a book that explains which adverts they were spoofing, and the references to long dead politicians. Having to explain a joke doesn't make it funnier. Sometimes its the details that can kill a joke, such as when they are going around on the trandem, and I'm concentrating on the lack of parked cars, then the set up for the gag.

Its one reason why the 2nd-4th series of Blackadder have aged well. If the references for a joke were a few centuries old on the day it was written, then its not going to change much a few years later.

 

[Peter C]

I think you've hit the nail on the head there.
I've listened to/watched several comedy shows where I don't understand most of the references and it doesn't work. But normally, the jokes I do understand make up for that. On the other hand, though, sometimes it just doesn't work. As you said, explaining a joke can often ruin it - it's the subtlety of comedy which makes it so funny.

-Peter

 

[GusB]

I think my all time favourite sketch show was probably The Two Ronnies, and if I had to pick a particular sketch it would be "Four Candles".

Victoria Wood was another comedian that I loved, and another sadly missed. "The Ballad of Freda and Barry" still makes me chuckle.

For sitcoms there's Open All Hours (the original with Ronnie Barker), Porridge, The Good Life, Still Game. Most of them were from years ago and many of the actors have since passed on. It's really difficult to pick favourites, to be honest, but I'm not keen on some of the more "modern" comedies like The Office.

 

[Peter C]

I definitely agree with your choice of good comedy there. The Two Ronnies were amazing - a lot of their comedy was based on subtle jokes and comments. Four Candles was definitely a really good sketch - it's one of the most well-known Two Ronnies sketches for a good reason - it's really funny!
Victoria Wood's comedy almost always focused on the British and how either depressing or obsessed with, well, you can guess what, we are, whilst presenting it in a funny manner. I'll add Acorn Antiques into the list of things people should watch - the way it's deliberately designed to mock Crossroads and similar shows is done so well!
Porridge and The Good Life are really good shows as well. They are often on telly if people want to watch them and I think the movie of the former has made its way onto YouTube.

-Peter

 

[Strat-tastic]

Many already mentioned, but I have to put Red Dwarf up there.

 

[Romsey]

Many already mentioned, but I have to put Red Dwarf up there.

Agreed, just to prove space travel isn't all brilliant white and shiny (or American), some is plan messy!

 

[hexagon789]

Sketch shows - probably the Two Ronnies or Morecambe and Wise if you can call that a sketch show (it's really something between that and a general comedy show but it does involve sketches of course)

For general comedy shows there's quite a few: Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army, Red Dwarf, 'Allo 'Allo and many others

 

[Peter C]

Some very good comedy/sketch shows there. It's nice to have something to keep spirits up during lockdown and I think the responses to this thread so far have been brilliant!

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Some very good comedy/sketch shows there. It's nice to have something to keep spirits up during lockdown and I think the responses to this thread so far have been brilliant!

-Peter

It’s an audio clip but you might like this.
That Mitchell & Webb look The cash register shop sketch:

And - Are we the baddies?

 

[Peter C]

It’s an audio clip but you might like this.
That Mitchell & Webb look The cash register shop sketch:

And - Are we the baddies?

I'll have a look - thanks! I think I've seen the second one somewhere before, but not the first one. They are a funny duo.

-Peter

 

[SuspectUsual]

Best sketch comedy - the Fast Show

Best series - The Thick Of It

 

[Cowley]

Best sketch comedy - the Fast Show

Best series - The Thick Of It

I finally got round to watching The Thick of It a couple of weeks ago and I have to say I absolutely loved it.

 

[bspahh]

There are a load of recordings of radio comedy as MP3 files at https://fourble.co.uk/podcasts

For example, there are 29 episodes of That Mitchell and Webb Sound

That Mitchell and Webb Sound podcast | Fourble

BBC Radio 4 comedy sketch show

fourble.co.uk

You can either click on each one and download it, or use an RSS file with a podcast app and get it to download a new episode every so often.

 

[Bevan Price]

I always thought that much of the best comedy was on radio rather than TV - possibly because we had no TV for many years. So, I would mention:
The Goon Show; The Navy Lark; Hancock's Half Hour (much better than the TV version); anything with Kenneth Horne.
And on TV - Anything with Lucille Ball; The Likely Lads (and follow-up, Whatever Happened); Anything with Derek Nimmo (Oh Brother, etc.);
Yes Minister/Prime Minister; Anything with Ronnie Barker; Monty Python; The Goodies; George Burns & Gracie Allen; Up Pompeii (Frankie Howard), and for "stand-up" comedy I mentiion Billy Connolly, Max Boyce, Arthur Askey, Dave Allen, etc.

 

[superjohn]

John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme on Radio Four is a favourite of mine. It’s unashamedly clever comedy and isn’t for everybody but he does it very well. Given that he writes all of it, the hit rate is astonishingly high.

Try the “Organising the Russian revolution by email” sketch as a tester. I appreciate not everybody will enjoy it but I love it!

His show “Cabin Pressure” (also on Radio Four) is a more conventional sitcom and also very good. It is currently being repeated from the start and is available online.

Anything involving Armando Iannucci is guaranteed to make me laugh as well.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Monty Python where he ranks higher than any in Rome

Fork handles/four candles

Most of Last of the Summer Wine

 

[Cowley]

John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme on Radio Four is a favourite of mine. It’s unashamedly clever comedy and isn’t for everybody but he does it very well. Given that he writes all of it, the hit rate is astonishingly high.

Try the “Organising the Russian revolution by email” sketch as a tester. I appreciate not everybody will enjoy it but I love it!

His show “Cabin Pressure” (also on Radio Four) is a more conventional sitcom and also very good. It is currently being repeated from the start and is available online.

Anything involving Armando Iannucci is guaranteed to make me laugh as well.

@superjohn - Yes Yes and Yes!

 

[Peter Sarf]

Last of the summer wine did it for me. TBH I think it is nearer to reality than any of the soaps !. Must admit I try not to watch much TV and feel I should have kept sat still long enough to watch "The Office".