Brit-coms

[auld argonian]

No No No No No No.......yes

Daughter went to a volleyball camp this week and dropped a lot of lines from Are You Being Served that we always use around the house:

"...are you free?"
"I'm freeeee!"

and

"Glass of water for Mr. Granger."

Needless to say, she found that nobody else there "got it". She is disappointed to say the least and is cursing all of the cultural illiterates in these here parts.

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[MacSimoin]

I've been a fan of "Britcoms" since first watching The Young Ones many years ago. Are You Being Served? and Are You Being Served Again? are also two of my favorites, along with the acerbic Fawlty Towers, the wickedly funny Bottom and the exemplary Monty Python's Flying Circus.

For fans of the US drama House, you really need to see Hugh Laurie at his peak comedic talent in Jeeves and Wooster. Stephen Fry, as Laurie's valet, co-stars as "Jeeves" but often steals the limelight from Laurie's "Bertie Wooster". If you love House and want to see Hugh Laurie in a lighter role, I highly recommend the series.

As for Coupling (another popular series), I could never quite get into the contrived plots (the laughs are few and far between) for fear of it leading to me watching Friends reruns. No thanks.

Absolutely Fabulous certainly has its comedic merits, although most of the supporting cast paled against the onscreen antics of Jennifer Saunders (wife of Adrian Edmondson, aka "Vyvyan" of The Young Ones) and Joanna Lumley, but it's definitely worth watching.

Keeping Up Appearances is another great show but its plots are loosely repeated throughout the series. Still, don't miss the plucky Patricia Routledge as Mrs. Bucket ('bouquet'); she's perfect in the role.

'Allo 'Allo! was another funny show, if you like period comedies. Set during WW II, it's about a cafe owner, René Artois, in a town occupied by Germans. Funny stuff.

Chef was another hilarious show, about a manic gourmet chef played by Lenny Henry. I really miss that one and rarely get to see it around here.

Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean is in a class all his own. I've seen bits of his (when he performed on stage prior to the series) and still say he's one of England's most misunderstood and underrated comedic geniuses. He's performed in many other series and is well worth watching time and again.

The Vicar of Dibley (starring Dawn French, an early-80's comedic compatriot of Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Jennifer Saunders and Robbie Coltrane) had its moments but French was by far the funniest one in the series.

My all-time favorite is Father Ted. If you haven't seen this gem, you're truly missing out. Set on the fictional Craggy Island, off the west coast of Ireland, the series unveils the lively misadventures of three priests and an ofttimes funnier supporting cast (i.e. their housekeeper, Mrs. Doyle). Quirky and occasionally surreal, one of the best episodes is "A Christmassy Ted" (a holiday special). One of the funniest scenes in this show is when Gerard McSorley (a brilliant actor, playing Father Todd Unctious) arrives at the parochial house, yet no one has a clue to who he is (a thief after Father Ted's recent 'Golden Cleric' award). Mrs. Doyle rattles off some hilarious priestly monikers while trying to guess his identity ("NO CLUES!!!)...but she finally guesses the name of the mystery priest in under an hour.

Seriously, I can't recommend Father Ted enough. Sadly, Dermot Morgan (who played Father Ted) died at his home the day after filming the last episode of the series. A former teacher, Morgan was a fine comedian (and a credit to his latter vocation) but he left us much too soon. What a loss.

As for where you can find copies of these series (and others), try these links:

BBC Shop

BBC America Shop

ITV Shop

Channel 4 Shop

RTE Shop (Irish TV & Radio)

Amazon.com.uk

Amazon.com

Or, you can always give eBay a try.

Well, that's it from me. I hope these suggestions help.

[macwilkin]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Dad's Army", a very funny look at the Home Guard during the Second World War. If I remember right, one episode even featured a Burns Supper.

"Black Adder" is still my all-time favourite Brit-Com, though Atkinson's "Thin Blue Line" was funny as well.

T.

[auld argonian]

Good that MacSimoin brought up 'Allo 'Allo...it actually aired on a COMMERCIAL TV station here in Chicago, not on a PBS station. WGN picked it up and I can only guess that it was because the local FOX affiliate was having success with Benny Hill at the time and they figured that another English import full of double entendres would fare as well as ol' Benny.

It's a well known fact that American producers have churned out American versions of Brit-coms...Steptoe/Sanford, All In The Family/Till Death, etc....with varying degrees of success. Are there any show concepts that went the other way and met with any acceptance? I'm aware of the Friends/Coupling/American-disaster-version-of-Coupling business...were there UK versions of The Dick Van Dyke Show or Mr. Ed? I wouldn't be suprised if these were shows that we didn't hear about. Just curious on this point.

I recently had to look up the title of the US sit-com that was about a young man who inherits an inn in New England and finds out that not only is he the heir of Victor Frankenstein but that the Monster is the handyman at the inn...anyone else remember this one? It was called Struck By Lightning and I remember it because Jack Elam, the great character actor, played the Frankenstein Monster...with little or no additional make-up, I might add. And, if I remember correctly, this was pre-Young Frankenstein. As we discuss UK TV series, this concept seems like it might have had more success had it been done "over there" rather than "over here"...it bombed but probably because it was too conservative in its approach...in other hands it might have become one of those classics that we're discussing....

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[MacSimoin]

Are there any show concepts that went the other way and met with any acceptance?

AA,

The cheesy sitcom Who's the Boss? is one example of that; it was revamped and aired in the UK as The Upper Hand.

[Sciuropterus]

What about "The Good Life" (AKA "Good Neighbors" in the US)?

I stumbled upon that show when I was about 16 and was immediately smitten by Felicity Kendal, and I thought the rest of the cast was quite funny.

[Frank McGrath]

Red Green is 10 times funnier than foxworthy. No cussin', no sexual inuendoes. And Duct tape. now thats funny

[Freelander Sporrano]

What about "The Good Life" (AKA "Good Neighbors" in the US)?

I stumbled upon that show when I was about 16 and was immediately smitten by Felicity Kendal, and I thought the rest of the cast was quite funny.

....And don't forget Richard Briars played Hector in Monarch in his later years.

[Colin]

....And don't forget Richard Briars played Hector in Monarch in his later years.

Richard Briers was also in the very first episode of Mr. Bean (1989). He was seated beside Bean in a church.

[Mr. Kilt]

"Are You Being Served" is one of our favorite shows to watch. Side-splitting funny most of the time. We also like "Fawlty Towers", "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (and their varous movies), and other old BBC shows that we catch from time to time.

As for Canadian shows...how about "Blackfly"? It didn't last more than a couple of seasons, but was rather hilarious. Ron James is a very funny man. As well, one of the characters was kilted most of the time.