Great British sitcoms

[baz962]

Unless I missed it I'm surprised 15 storeys isn't mentioned. I had never heard of it until the death of Sean lock and it was on this forum I heard of it.
I'm a massive only fools fan and bottom and Mrs brown's boys. Another plus for Alf Garnet and also rising damp and Fawlty towers , keeping up appearances and one foot in the grave. I have been a fan of many over the years. Used to watch the good life a lot too. Also red dwarf. Not seen Brittas empire mentioned either.

 

[Cowley]

That's all well and good, but if you don't have anyone saying "oh I know" like Sybil Fawlty every now and again then I'm afraid you haven't watched it enough.

Oh I know…

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Unless I missed it I'm surprised 15 storeys isn't mentioned. I had never heard of it until the death of Sean lock and it was on this forum I heard of it.
I'm a massive only fools fan and bottom and Mrs brown's boys. Another plus for Alf Garnet and also rising damp and Fawlty towers , keeping up appearances and one foot in the grave. I have been a fan of many over the years. Used to watch the good life a lot too. Also red dwarf. Not seen Brittas empire mentioned either.

Fifteen Storeys High absolutely wipes the floor with some of the more "mainstream" sitcoms. Much like many say about Fawlty Towers, the limited run (rather than being milked for all the concept was worth a la My Family) means there are no duff episodes.

Mrs Brown's Boys however is about as funny as an orphanage being hit by an H-Bomb.

 

[D6968]

Has anyone mentioned’Waiting for God’?
It’s another one that seems to slip under the radar, I find Stephanie Cole bloody brilliant in it.

 

[pdq]

A new one - Ghosts

 

[yorksrob]

Has anyone mentioned’Waiting for God’?
It’s another one that seems to slip under the radar, I find Stephanie Cole bloody brilliant in it.

Yes, a very good turn by Graham Crowden as well.

A new one - Ghosts

Indeed. It's nice to have a good newcomer.

 

[D6968]

Yes, a very good turn by Graham Crowden as well.

To be fair they were all good in WFG, as they were set in the same area you do wonder what would happen if Victor Meldrew and Diana Trent should ever meet…

 

[yorksrob]

To be fair they were all good in WFG, as they were set in the same area you do wonder what would happen if Victor Meldrew and Diana Trent should ever meet…

Indeed, that would have been a good xmas special !

 

[brad465]

While not a long-running sitcom, there is a show called "Dinner for one" that is traditionally shown at this time of year, which has a British Author and starring British actors (Freddie Frinton and May Warden), but strangely has found more success abroad than in the UK, in particularly in Germany, where it's believed to be the most repeated show of all time there.

 

[W-on-Sea]

"Father Ted", while Irish rather than British (although made for a British TV channel) I find a work of genius... I also think "Fawlty Towers" has thoroughly stood the test of time, and benefits from only having had two short series.

Conversely , I came to prefer the US version of "The Office" to the original, in part as it's far more extensive run allowed for greater psychological depth of character to be developed and more complex plots to evolve.

"Yes (Prime) Minister" is great, but as has already been observed, might be closer to documentary than to sitcom. We were, with good reason, advised to watch it when studying A-Level Government and Politics... Something similar might be said, I suppose, for "The Thick Of It", which had moments of brilliance, particularly earlier on.

Other recent sitcoms I rate: "This Country", "Rev.", "Detectorists", "WC1A". The BBC is still really good at commissioning writers who can illustrate the pecularities of more or less recognizable particular sub-sections of British society and make us care about the characters they depict.

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Car Share with Peter Kay and Sian Gibson. Not only were their performances brilliant but the adverts on Forever FM quietly poked fun at provincial commercial radio stations.

 

[johnnychips]

Does Red Dwarf count as a Sitcom? Because that stopped me going to the pub before 2130 on a Friday night before video recorders were widely available.
I have a soft spot for Hi-di-Hi. The Last of the Summer Wine was really good when it started then rapidly went downhill (in a tin bath) after about three series.
They filmed Open All Hours in the street where I lived in Balby, Doncaster for the last series in 1982. Watching the reincarnation it makes you think that Ronnie Barker was a genius; or perhaps tastes have changed: what we thought as very funny then perhaps isn’t now.

EDIT: My enjoyment of Dads’ Army repeats was not helped by my grandma’s frequent interjections of ‘oh he’s dead’, ‘ so is he’, ‘ ooh he was an alcoholic you know’. ‘ooh he died so young for his age’ (!!!) and so on. I will guarantee readers aged 55+ will know what I am talking about.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I'm watching Keeping Up Appearances on Drama at the moment. It's a bit cringeworthy, but I quite enjoy it.

Unfortunately it's one of those programmes that prompt me to search Google to see which cast members are still alive.

I do enjoy it. Sadly we lost "Elizabeth" rather recently.

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

 

[McRhu]

Don't forget Arthur Haynes, The Harry Worth Show and Bootsie & Snudge. And of course the wonderful 'Ancock's 'Alf Hour which was mostly on the wireless but also appeared on tv latterly.

 

[Steddenm]

Ones I used to like...

Oh, Doctor Beeching! (BBC)
Trollied (Sky One)
Vicious (ITV)
The Upper Hand (Central/ITV)

 

[Jamiescott1]

Watching a lot of sitcoms i grew up on in the 80s and 90s haven't aged well at all. ofah has and is still funny.

In my mid 40s and I find the inbetweeners hilarious and having seen each episode at least ten times I still see new things that make me laugh.
I love in the inbetweeners where the garage mechanics call Will "mr chumleywarner" and when Jay says he had sex with a Dutch girl and they're proper filthy, Will responds "did she w*** you off with clogs? Have sex in a windmill" . Brilliant dialogue

 

[yorksrob]

I always enjoyed Home to Roost with John Thaw.

 

[Springs Branch]

I wonder if you could work out some kind of personality profle based on what sitcoms someone listed as their favourites and least favourites?

Glad to see neither the OP's voting list, nor any subsequent posters (as far as I can see) have mentioned my least favourite British sitcom: Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em

Even at a young age when I thought Benny Hill was hilarious, I couldn't stand Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. I was amazed when I found out Michael Crawford was quite an accomplished and successful performer in areas away from that beret-wearing, "Ooh Betty!" role.

 

[BrandanM]

Has anyone mentioned’Waiting for God’?
It’s another one that seems to slip under the radar, I find Stephanie Cole bloody brilliant in it.

Yes, a very good turn by Graham Crowden as well.

Graham Crowden previously also played the prison doctor in the Porridge Christmas special 'No Way out'. One of the funniest parts of that episode.

Another bit of classic sitcom trivia; Elspet Gray who starred as the psychiatrist's wife in the Fawlty Towers second series episode 'The Psychiatrist' also played Gertrude Of Flanders, Queen Consort to King Richard 1V (Brian Blessed), in the first series of Blackadder.

 

[telstarbox]

Peep Show is marvellously well observed, absolute genius but retains cult classic rather than mainstream appeal. It’s my favourite sitcom.

My favourite British sitcom with mainstream appeal is probably the Royle Family. Father Ted is brilliant too but it’s Irish, with an Irish cast, Irish pop culture references, Irish writers joking about Ireland’s priests and society. It being produced by Hat Trick makes Father Ted about as British as U2 are American.

Much better for not having a laughter track, as was The Office when it came out.

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

Early Doors.

Close thread. Nothing comes close expect the Royle Family and Phoenix Nights.

Btw only fools and horses is terrible. Cockeny spiv thatcherite wannabes.

Early Doors is incredibly good. The bent coppers with the fake banknotes...

 

[Trackman]

Early Doors is incredibly good. The bent coppers with the fake banknotes...

Excellent call.
Why the BBC axed it is beyond me and they had already written the third series.

 

[Bevan Price]

Some I remember:

Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads.
(The original Likely Lads was good, but this was much better)
Up Pompeii (Frankie Howard)
Oh Brother / All Gas & Gaiters (Derek Nimmo)
Man About The House
Bread
The Liver Birds (early series)
Porridge
Terry and June.
Citizen Smith.

 

[Gloster]

I have just had a look at Wikipedia’s list of 1970s sitcoms ( Category:1970s British sitcoms ). There are a large number that I have never even heard of, quite a few that I have heard of but can remember nothing about, some that I can remember a bit and a few that I wish I didn’t remember (Love thy Neighbour; Yus, My Dear; etc.).

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Is one of the Coronation Street scriptwriters a sitcom fan?

In the past week we have had:

• Mary lifting glasses up in a weak disguise saying "It is I - Mary!"
• Damon dressed up in a Del Boy style coat and doing the mannerisms.
• Fiz calling a broken down car names - albeit she did not pick up a branch and thrash it with it...

This was in consecutive episodes, which makes me think it's being done on purpose...

 

[D6968]

Excellent call.
Why the BBC axed it is beyond me and they had already written the third series.

Did used to enjoy Early Doors
Very similar to to The Royle Family not suprising though as Craig Cash was a co writer on both.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Is one of the Coronation Street scriptwriters a sitcom fan?

In the past week we have had:

• Mary lifting glasses up in a weak disguise saying "It is I - Mary!"
• Damon dressed up in a Del Boy style coat and doing the mannerisms.
• Fiz calling a broken down car names - albeit she did not pick up a branch and thrash it with it...

This was in consecutive episodes, which makes me think it's being done on purpose...

Plagiarism or homage? You decide!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Plagiarism or homage? You decide!

I'd say homage - and I'm watching out for any more but if they do a sitcom I haven't watched, I obviously wouldn't spot the refernces...

 

[Gloster]

As the great Tom Lehrer said” …plagiarise, plagiarise, plagiarise…only be sure always to call it please ’research’.”

 

[Ashley Hill]

I voted for Yes Minister/Prime Minister as I never fail to find it amusing. I watched it when it was first shown and found it funny but I was probably too young to fully understand it. I do now and I never miss its repeats and put the DVD on when there’s nothing else on.
Fools and Horses is good but has been ruined by being repeated to death on Gold.
I don’t remember the Likely Lads but the follow up Whatever Happened To is very true of it’s time.
Mention has yet to be made of Rab C Nesbitt. I loved his drunken philosophy and it’s a shame it never gets repeated.
As for modern sitcoms Friday Night Dinner stands out for its sheer stupidity. My favourite episode is the frozen fox.
Father Ted was a classic. Dermot Morgan’s death ensured in a sad way that it would become a classic series like Fawlty Towers in that it ended without becoming tired. American sitcoms often suffer this problem,they drag on until you die of boredom. How I Met Your Mother is an example in f this.
Open All Hours is a comedy classic but unsurprisingly its follow up Still Open All Hours falls well short of the mark. Talking of Ronnie Barker, Porridge deserves an honourable mention as it has aged really well although I didn’t care for its new version.

 

[Huntergreed]

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!