British comedies
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Yeh, the US can certainly put out some funny shows - I caught the first episode of My Name is Earl last week and it was very, very funny. Can't wait to see more.
I guess my wife and I are the only ones on the planet that think 'Earl' and 'The Office' both suck. ------- sig starts "I've heard some drivers saying, 'We're going too fast here...'. If you're not here to race, go the hell home - don't come here and grumble about going too fast. Why don't you tie a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001
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How could you leave out "The league of gentelmen" and "Little Brittain"? I like the ones you mentioned of course. I would have to say that I am a huge fan of the UK "The office" and was cold on the U.S. version at first when they were copying the original UK scripts, but I've been watching the U.S. version again recently and it's definitely funny and worth watching in it's own right.
"Hello, hello, what's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here! This is a Local Shop for Local People, there's nothing for you here!" -Edward Tattsyrup
John Cardinal wrote:
"Little Brittain"?
Love it .. we get good mileage from the skit where (think its a bank scene) the guy is sitting across a desk from Bank manager who types a request into the computer, looks at it, and the reply is always the same ..."computer says nooooooooo" in a deadpan face/voice (we use it when utter fools approach the team wanting some miracle performed) 'g'
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Can't believe noone has mentioned Father Ted and RedDwarf!! james
http://www.catch22.netI was keeping quiet for once. :-O Can I interest you in a muffin? :doh::doh::doh: Anna :rose: Currently working mostly on: Visual Lint :cool: Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.
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SimonS wrote:
Anyone else share this view?
As a Brit, of course I do ;-) You may also want to check out 'Porridge' and 'Spaced'. Two comedies that I've just been watching again on DVD. I still think 'Spaced' is the best sitcom in the last 10 years, better than 'The Office' and 'Extras'. Of course, 'Frasier' does give Brit comedies a run for their money. Michael CP Blog [^] Development Blog [^]
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Steve Hazel wrote:
they cancelled Arrested Development
WOOHOO!!!!! YEAH!!! ALRIGHT!!!!!! Now if only they would get rid of that stupid show called Fear Factor and then maybe TV would be half watchable again. Am waiting for the return of Prison Break.
"You're obviously a superstar." - Christian Graus about me - 12 Feb '03 "Obviously ??? You're definitely a superstar!!!" - mYkel - 21 Jun '04 "There's not enough blatant self-congratulatory backslapping in the world today..." - HumblePie - 21 Jun '05 Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
Well, I agree that fear factor is a LAAAAME show, but I really did like Arrested Development...:((
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ahhh, there is something brilliant about British comedies compared to American ones. Already rewatched The Office (the original) and Fawlty Towers this year and busy watching Extras at the moment. I'm not sure if I prefer the style of Ricky Gervais or John Cleese, but British comedies are the best. Anyone else share this view? Cheers, Simon > blog:: brokenkeyboards > my opinion of VS05 :: here > CV :: PDF > skype me! :: SimonMStewart
Must watch: Coupling - UK (much better) version of Friends Yes Minister - Yes Prime Minister - Two classics that set the bar for quick witted dialog Jeeves & Wooster - P.J. Wodehouse by Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, classic. Red Dwarf - They're dead Dave, they're all dead, ... Chef! - Great for learning how to insult others properly Should watch: My Family - The life of a dentist Drop The Dead Donkey - Excellent, set in a TV newsroom Keen Eddie - American cop in England, very well done, some really funny bits Also good: The Piglet Files - Low budget, but some very good bits You Must Be The Husband - Light comedy, life of husband of well known writer Good Neighbors (The Good Life) - Light comedy, like To the Manor Born To the Manor Born - Lighter comedy, easy watching Keep It In The Family - Was later remade into American Too Close For Comfort ...cmk Save the whales - collect the whole set -- modified at 4:10 Thursday 19th January, 2006
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If serial comedies also counts then Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister are my favourite. It's full of typical english humor and I relly like it. For example: Jim Hacker: "Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers: - The Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; - The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country; - The Times is read by people who actually do run the country; - The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; - The Financial Times is read by people who own the country; - The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country; - And the Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is." Sir Humphrey: "Prime Minister, what about the people who read the Sun?" Bernard Woolley: "Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits." Does anyone else like this serial comedy? "Europe will never be like America. Europe is a product of history. America is a product of philosophy." -Margaret Thatcher
Michal Martinka wrote:
Does anyone else like this serial comedy?
Absolutely :) It's a perfect, accurate representation of what actually happens in government ;)
Ryan
"Punctuality is only a virtue for those who aren't smart enough to think of good excuses for being late" John Nichol "Point Of Impact"
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ahhh, there is something brilliant about British comedies compared to American ones. Already rewatched The Office (the original) and Fawlty Towers this year and busy watching Extras at the moment. I'm not sure if I prefer the style of Ricky Gervais or John Cleese, but British comedies are the best. Anyone else share this view? Cheers, Simon > blog:: brokenkeyboards > my opinion of VS05 :: here > CV :: PDF > skype me! :: SimonMStewart
Drop the Dead Donkey Gus Hedges: We've got to downsize our sloppiness overload.
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John Cardinal wrote:
"Little Brittain"?
Love it .. we get good mileage from the skit where (think its a bank scene) the guy is sitting across a desk from Bank manager who types a request into the computer, looks at it, and the reply is always the same ..."computer says nooooooooo" in a deadpan face/voice (we use it when utter fools approach the team wanting some miracle performed) 'g'
Ha! I'm laughing just remembering that. You have to get the accent and inflection right on the "NO" part though, in that one word he manages to amazingly convey mind numbing boredom and utter lack of interest. Here at work it's not unusual to get a "Yeah I know" reply to a long and complex instant message from the Lou and Andy (guy in the wheelchair who likes monster trucks) skit in Little Britain. Usually replied to with an acronym for unlawful carnal knowledge. :-D
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US and British comedies are different - we don't have anything equivalent to Scrubs for example. I never liked The Office but love Ricky Gervais's live shows particularly "Animals" :laugh: The tigress is here :-D
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Can't believe noone has mentioned Father Ted and RedDwarf!! james
http://www.catch22.net -
Must watch: Coupling - UK (much better) version of Friends Yes Minister - Yes Prime Minister - Two classics that set the bar for quick witted dialog Jeeves & Wooster - P.J. Wodehouse by Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, classic. Red Dwarf - They're dead Dave, they're all dead, ... Chef! - Great for learning how to insult others properly Should watch: My Family - The life of a dentist Drop The Dead Donkey - Excellent, set in a TV newsroom Keen Eddie - American cop in England, very well done, some really funny bits Also good: The Piglet Files - Low budget, but some very good bits You Must Be The Husband - Light comedy, life of husband of well known writer Good Neighbors (The Good Life) - Light comedy, like To the Manor Born To the Manor Born - Lighter comedy, easy watching Keep It In The Family - Was later remade into American Too Close For Comfort ...cmk Save the whales - collect the whole set -- modified at 4:10 Thursday 19th January, 2006
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Yeh, the US can certainly put out some funny shows - I caught the first episode of My Name is Earl last week and it was very, very funny. Can't wait to see more.
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Paul Watson wrote:
Absolutely
Having said that ;P Absolutely Fabulous doesn't do anything for me. Cheers, Simon > blog:: brokenkeyboards > my opinion of VS05 :: here > CV :: PDF > skype me! :: SimonMStewart
I share both views mostly. Although I often find a lot of British comedy a little too farcial or slap-stick, it doesn't suffer the inane badly set up, one-liners of a lot of American comedy. I call this the Bensonesque style, later copied by such celebrities as Frasier Crane’s father. British comedy relies more on the intelligence of the viewer in interpreting the situation. I used to get high on life until I realized that life was cut with morons - Unknown
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ahhh, there is something brilliant about British comedies compared to American ones. Already rewatched The Office (the original) and Fawlty Towers this year and busy watching Extras at the moment. I'm not sure if I prefer the style of Ricky Gervais or John Cleese, but British comedies are the best. Anyone else share this view? Cheers, Simon > blog:: brokenkeyboards > my opinion of VS05 :: here > CV :: PDF > skype me! :: SimonMStewart
Yep huge fan of the office / gervais. Fav. episode of Extras would probably be with winslet as the nun :-D little britain also cracks me up... a bit over the top at times, but like the office those moments that make you cringe are sometimes the funniest.
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Curb rules! arrested development is another great US comedy.
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ahhh, there is something brilliant about British comedies compared to American ones. Already rewatched The Office (the original) and Fawlty Towers this year and busy watching Extras at the moment. I'm not sure if I prefer the style of Ricky Gervais or John Cleese, but British comedies are the best. Anyone else share this view? Cheers, Simon > blog:: brokenkeyboards > my opinion of VS05 :: here > CV :: PDF > skype me! :: SimonMStewart
An old one worth watching from the 1970s is Rising Damp. Not quite sure how it would go down in the US. Starred Leonard Rossiter. One of the other lead actors, Richard Beckinsale was also in Porridge, another old British comedy. He died young but was the father of the beautiful Kate Beckinsale. Kevin
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SimonS wrote:
Anyone else share this view?
As a Brit, of course I do ;-) You may also want to check out 'Porridge' and 'Spaced'. Two comedies that I've just been watching again on DVD. I still think 'Spaced' is the best sitcom in the last 10 years, better than 'The Office' and 'Extras'. Of course, 'Frasier' does give Brit comedies a run for their money. Michael CP Blog [^] Development Blog [^]
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Scrubs is superbly written, love it... apart from the odd moral lesson it keeps throwing down your throat in such a subtle manner! We did have Green Wing - which was kind of similar to Scrubs, only a bit dafter! -- The Obliterator
