Great British sitcoms

[alxndr]

Open All Hours is a comedy classic but unsurprisingly its follow up Still Open All Hours falls well short of the mark.

Still Open All Hours is no where near as good as Open All Hours was, but it did far better than any of the other attempts at reviving old comedy (e.g. The Dads Army film). It didn't fall into the usual trap of trying to keep the characters but change the actors that usually instantly puts me off anything like that.

It Ain't Half Hot Mum is another that's not been mentioned here, probably because it's not something that's "allowed" on TV any more.

 

[Cletus]

Porridge is my all-time favourite (even the film version was good).

 

[Ashley Hill]

Porridge is my all-time favourite (even the film version was good).

The film bucked the trend in sitcom spin-offs in that it was not just a rehash of old scripts but more like an extended episode in its own right. It was truly funny!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Dec 2022 ==

e.g. The Dads Army film). It didn't fall into the usual trap of trying to keep the characters but change the actors that usually instantly puts me off anything like that.

I’ve only seen snippets of the film and I wasn’t impressed. Introducing the Mrs Manwaring character broke away from the joke in the origin series where she was unseen. The recent remakes of the lost episodes work well though.

 

[bspahh]

I've got a soft spot for Not Going Out with Lee Mack.

My favourite episodes are the ones with a restricted location, like the one on a flight. Its interesting to go to a recordings, but for scripted comedy, it takes 3 hours to record a 30 minute program. If you get to one of the read throughs, the cast have a script to read from, and if they mess up, they can just repeat the line, rather than having to reset the set. The Not Going Out ones that I have been to have been in a 60 seat room above a pub, so the atmosphere is better than in a big TV studio.

 

[alex397]

I tend to prefer ‘comedy dramas’ or surreal comedies over sitcoms, but there’s still a lot I’ve enjoyed.

Only Fools & Horses - growing up watching this, there is a bit of nostalgia that draws me to this sitcom. I have watched every episode countless times and still find it funny. However, I’m not sure I would enjoy it so much if I had never seen it before and just started watching it now. Some of it is cheesy, unrealistic and they should have stopped making episodes after the 1997 Christmas special. That said, I think it is more nuanced than many other sitcoms, has some good drama aspects which make you sympathise with the characters and it has stood the test of time quite well.

One Foot in the Grave - I think this is my all time favourite sitcom. What I like is that it *looks* like a bland sitcom which will have stereotypical storylines and irritating catchphrases, but in reality is quite a dark comedy with surreal storylines - you can tell that David Renwick was getting ready for something like Jonathan Creek!
Richard Wilson is of course absolutely superb in this. He doesn’t act like a typical sitcom actor either, which I think helps make it feel like a better quality sitcom.

Porridge - another one I grew up watching. I think it shows the great quality of the writing by having a very simple setting but still managing to have interesting and funny storylines.

Keeping Up Appearances - wouldn’t say it’s a favourite of mine but for some reason, I’ve re-watched a few episodes recently. It really is a ridiculous sitcom, and I’m not quite sure why it is still repeated. Although I do think Patricia Routledge is fantastic in this - and that’s probably why I’ve kept watching episodes of it. A relative of mine also pointed out how rare it was to have an older woman (or any woman) being the lead character in a sitcom - she does do a great job I think.

Some more modern sitcoms that I think were/are very good are Spaced, 15 Storeys High, Peep Show, The IT Crowd, Ghosts.

With The Office, while the UK series was very good, it’s one of the rare occasions where the US version is even better, as many others also seem to agree.

I think Father Ted was good, but don’t quite get it as much as the big fans of this show. Sometimes seems a bit irritating for me.

 

[52290]

What about the Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin? I rather like the idea of faking my own death and turning up, in disguise, at my own funeral.

 

[McRhu]

2.5 Children (or a name of that ilk). One of the ones that is forgotten as soon as it goes over the horizon, but was very inventive and funny.

 

[Ashley Hill]

2 Point 4 Children was one that I could not get into,nor The Office.
The Vicar of Dibley was funny when it first came on but now seems incredibly cringeworthy. Whoever would have a parish council run by such buffoons and whatever happened to Jim Trotts wife?
I cannot stand Gavin & Stacey and do not like anything James Cordon does.

 

[yorksrob]

"Here we go" was very funny. It's pilot episode was set during the pandemic and provided vital light relief.

 

[D6968]

Almost certainly because I’m Scottish and I grew up with it, but anything other than Still Game being top of the list is utter sacrilege!

Still Game is like a big hug for me, if ever I have a crap day, I’ll put an episode on and within 5 minutes I’ll have a smile on my face.

 

[DarloRich]

Anyone wanting to watch a decent comedy show will find early doors on bbc 2 from 7th Janaury.

It is the first time since it finished i can recall the show being broadcast by the bbc.

I know most here wont get it judging by some of the truly awful suggestions above but those sensible people who do should fill their boots!

 

[D6968]

Anyone wanting to watch a decent comedy show will find early doors on bbc 2 from 7th Janaury.

It is the first time since it finished i can recall the show being broadcast by the bbc.

I know most here wont get it judging by some of the truly awful suggestions above but those sensible people who do should fill their boots!

Nice one mate!

 

[Struner]

Still Game it is (the OP asked about “Great British sitcoms”, but listed english ones only )

 

[Huntergreed]

Still Game it is (the OP asked about “Great British sitcoms”, but listed english ones only )

Us scots are used to it

100% agree with your Choice though!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'm currently binging Little Britain, which has to be one of my favourite shows of all time.

Off topic slightly as it isn't a sitcom, but Little Britain is an awful show in my opinion. Repetitive and predictable, and the "humour" is of a particularly cruel nature. Considering the political beliefs of the two creators, it's surprising they were behind a show that consistently "punches down". Personally I'm not "offended" by any of the sketches other than that they insult the intelligence of the audience, but given Matt Lucas' eagerness to "call out" other comedians for being politically incorrect, some of the stuff in Little Britain is rather hypocritical.

Again though, the biggest crime is that it's about as funny as a plane full of nuns crashing into Battersea Dog's Home.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Off topic slightly as it isn't a sitcom, but Little Britain is an awful show in my opinion. Repetitive and predictable, and the "humour" is of a particularly cruel nature. Considering the political beliefs of the two creators, it's surprising they were behind a show that consistently "punches down". Personally I'm not "offended" by any of the sketches other than that they insult the intelligence of the audience, but given Matt Lucas' eagerness to "call out" other comedians for being politically incorrect, some of the stuff in Little Britain is rather hypocritical.

Again though, the biggest crime is that it's about as funny as a plane full of nuns crashing into Battersea Dog's Home.

Many far left viewers of the wokest form have taken great offence, purely due to their failure to recognise satire as something condemning and mocking prejudiced people. Calls to have it and Come Fly With Me “banned” are really very silly.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Many far left viewers of the wokest form have taken great offence, purely due to their failure to recognise satire as something condemning and mocking prejudiced people. Calls to have it and Come Fly With Me “banned” are really very silly.

I certainly wouldn't call to have it banned for any form of "ism" or "phobia", I just find the hypocrisy of certainly left-leaning entertainers rather distasteful. Lucas and Walliams in particular seem to have an "it's okay when WE do it" attitude, but will condemn people like Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Carr for making "edgy" jokes. It just reeks of envy to be honest, because they'll never make anything as groundbreaking as The Office or After Life.

As I said my main criticism is that it isn't funny in my opinion, bit I wouldn't ban it because I don't like it. I'd just rather the populace at large let it fade into history!

 

[AlterEgo]

Many far left viewers of the wokest form have taken great offence, purely due to their failure to recognise satire as something condemning and mocking prejudiced people. Calls to have it and Come Fly With Me “banned” are really very silly.

A lot of Little Britain wasn’t satire though. The two terrible transvestites skit wasn’t satire - it wasn’t poking fun at attitudes, but rather just raising a laugh that some transgender people absolutely didn’t “pass” and struggled to mimic the mannerisms of women properly. What’s the Lou and Andy skit a satire of?

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

A lot of Little Britain wasn’t satire though. The two terrible transvestites skit wasn’t satire - it wasn’t poking fun at attitudes, but rather just raising a laugh that some transgender people absolutely didn’t “pass” and struggled to mimic the mannerisms of women properly. What’s the Lou and Andy skit a satire of?

No, a lot of it was just comedy :P
But “Marjorie Dawes” being rude to fat people wasn’t poking fun at fat people, but rather showing how distasteful and unlikeable people come across when they’re openly unpleasant about someone’s size; “Maggie Blackamoor” vomitting back up mince pies made by a gay man shows how silly and petty homophobes look, etc.

 

[duncanp]

A lot of Little Britain wasn’t satire though. The two terrible transvestites skit wasn’t satire - it wasn’t poking fun at attitudes, but rather just raising a laugh that some transgender people absolutely didn’t “pass” and struggled to mimic the mannerisms of women properly. What’s the Lou and Andy skit a satire of?

Little Britain bears some similarity in this respect to Till Death Us Do Part and Love Thy Neighbour, both of which poked fun at racism.

All three shows would not get made today, and would have "trigger warnings" on various streaming platforms such as BritBox.

 

[Lost property]

Nice to see a mention for Rab C...lot of homespun philosophy you might say...very entertaining...not sure if Steptoe and Son has been mentioned, another with some great social humour....or Till Death us do part ....for the hard, if at all, of thinking, they never realised Alf was the parody of themselves. Brilliant !

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

The Catherine Tate Show is a great favourite of mine, though more of a sketch show. The disgusted Yorkshire couple who turn their nose up at any food with foreign origins would have to be my personal favourites there.

 

[AlterEgo]

Little Britain bears some similarity in this respect to Till Death Us Do Part

Till Death Us Do Part was different in that Alf was the fall guy. It was anti-racist in the sense that Alf was not meant to be the good guy even if he was likeable. Alf got into trouble because of his disreputable racism. You weren’t meant to sympathise with his racism. The scene with Spike Milligan on the train “parkistarnis” is brilliant in that regard.

 

[Spamcan81]

I think that the appreciation and enjoyment of TV comedy shows and comedy films is very dependent on where you were brought up. People brought up in Scotland and the North of England are unlikely to appreciate or understand the humour in London-centric shows such as 'Only Fools and Horses', 'Birds of a Feather', 'Til Death us do Part' (with the honourable exception of @McRhu), etc......whereas people brought up South of the Border are unlikely to appreciate or understand shows such as 'Para Handy/The Vital Spark', 'Chewing the Fat', 'Still Game' or 'Scotch and Wry'. 'The Likely Lads', 'Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads' and 'Last of the Summer Wine', although having a a definite regional identity, seem to have had a broader appeal over a wider area of the country.

Brought up in the south and enjoyed the Para Handy series as well as Last of the Summer Wine and the likely Lads series.

 

[Cdd89]

I see Mrs Brown’s Boys has only got two votes, but that’s two votes too many in my view.

It always reminded me of When The Whistle Blows — the awful show-within-a-show in Extras (one of the best sitcoms of all time).

 

[Struner]

Us scots are used to it

100% agree with your Choice though!

Indeed! (but then again, @PTR 444 never had the chance to watch them? )

 

[alex397]

Many far left viewers of the wokest form have taken great offence, purely due to their failure to recognise satire as something condemning and mocking prejudiced people. Calls to have it and Come Fly With Me “banned” are really very silly.

Who is actually calling for it to be ‘banned’ though? I imagine it’s not many people. Right wing media like to pretend there is ‘outrage’ about certain things when there isn’t really much of it. Such as taking a Tweet from one person and claiming it represents all views of every lefty.

Matt Lucas blacking up though… Not quite sure what they and the producers were thinking.

 

[alxndr]

Matt Lucas blacking up though… Not quite sure what they and the producers were thinking.

Especially as It Ain’t Half Hot Mum hasn’t been shown since 1984 (as far as I know) for similar reasons, and at least with Ain’t Half Hot although Michael Bates was white he grew up in India speaking Hindi and Urdu fluently.

It possibly also says something that it was probably around the same time that Little Britain and Come Fly with Me were being broadcast and making me feel uncomfortable that I was watching through the box set of Ain’t Half Hot for the first time (I wasn’t born until 1996).

 

[Gloster]

There is always the possibility that those who complain about programmes being banned due to wokery miss the point that they aren’t being shown for another reason: they aren’t funny. Many were pretty poor at the time and even some of those that were passable have dated badly. Even allowing for the enormous number of channels that have to fill up their schedules, there really isn’t enough time for everything to be shown: the number of series available has increased at an enormous rate.

 

[D6130]

Nobody seems to have mentioned 'Minder' yet. Even though it was more Cockney 'spivvery', I used to find the scriptwriting and characters to be of a much higher standard than 'Only Fools and Horses'.