Best britcom of the 00s

Back when I did a "comedy script writing" course, I made a summation *against* 'cutting edge' comedy, as it was way overdone, and life had edgy undercurrents anyway.

Gav&Stace got it right.

e.g. episode 1, you get distracted by two people in the bathroom, having comedy/kinky/noisy sex, whereas the 'normal' young couple are doing it on their first date and the moral guardians barely noticed.

(mind you, most of those morguards are ded now anyways)...

No doubt you will disagree.

So, er, you're voting for Gavin and Stacey?

Gavin&Stacy failed in the most important respect - it just wasn't funny. at all.

Voted Nathan Barley. Feel like there are some things missing - Garth Marenghi's Darkplace?

I thought the first series of G&S was mildly funny and fairly likable.

a ringing endorsement

It wasn't intended to be.

We've done this before, I'm sure. Still, The Thick of It.

I'm torn between Peep Show and The Thick of It. I like edgy sweary comedy myself - as long as it's, you know, good.

Psychoville. Although I was weirdly kinda tempted by Mighty Boosh after having seen it being reassessed by Alan Davies on TV the other day. It was never going to be a long-lasting formula, but it felt very refreshing and original at the time.

ah we do this on the reg I'm sure. Thick of It by miles.

iirc the thick of it was the highest placing on the tv poll, upsetting ze office

I did a similar but different poll about three or four years ago. This is an update.

So, er, you're voting for Gavin and Stacey?

Dunno.

The IT crowd is alright, rings true a lot of the time and is funny too.

Peep Show, is just one or the other repeating what the other has done in a sardonic voice. "You ate a Pizza?" and then slower, "You ate a pizza?"

Green Wing was good.

The rest, I didn't watch enough to go "yeah" or "No"...

Christ almighty.

The Mighty Boosh, I often thought "oh, that's on, I'll watch it" late at night not sleeping, only to find it's the exact same episode every time (bloke picks up hitch-hiker, is a psycho, etc. Didn't Woody Allen do this as part of his stand-up routine?)

Hated Green Wing, and each episode went on for an hour as well.

falling through the bar: The Inbetweeners, The Office, PHOENIX NIGHTS (altho maybe it wouldn't hold up too well on rewatch), The Thick of It

flashdance + mc hammer shit: Black Books, The IT Crowd, GETTING ON, Peep Show

fork handles: Extras, Gavin & Stacey, Marion and Geoff/Human Remains

musical number from 2.4 children: Green Wing, The Mighty Boosh, Nathan Barley, Nighty Night, Saxondale

not seen: 15 Stories High, Psychoville

Peep Show, is just one or the other repeating what the other has done in a sardonic voice. "You ate a Pizza?" and then slower, "You ate a pizza?"

uh

Black Books
Gavin & Stacey
Green Wing
Peep Show

^^god help me i have endured entire episodes of all the above. completely fucking dreadful in every single way. at no point did i come close to laughing.

comedy is just the worst, and british comedy may be the VERY worst subset of it.

peep show was particularly embarrassing. i couldn't fathom a single reason why i should want to watch it.

I remember seeing "That Peter Kay Thing" and liking most of them, but did think the "Phoenix Nights" one was the most rubbish and unfunny one of the lot.

Then the series came out, and whatever was wrong with it had got fixed.

Thank you lex, thought I was on my own there.

I'm nowhere near a Peep Show stan but dialogue-wise it seems to occupy a pretty good middle ground between 'how people actually talk' (cf chat on Family Guy thread a couple of days ago) and being funny in an absurdist sort of way

(that was a response to Mark, not a robust explanation of why it's good, you understand)

comedy is just the worst

This is an interesting comment.

iirc i thought peep show was pure forced awkwardness from start to end

We've done this before, I'm sure.
― Matt DC,

Boosh.

Thick of it was the political one, right? I tried but I think it was a little too English for me to fully get.

comedy is just the worst, and british comedy may be the VERY worst subset of it.

― lex diamonds (lex pretend), Tuesday, January 18, 2011 9:29 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

O_O

please tell me Gavin & Stacey is a hugely popular British adaptation of the short-lived U.S. show Ned & Stacey. nevermind, i'm just going to pretend it is no matter what.

Lex's argument at least has consistency as a virtue.

Of the others I've seen I also love Black Books and Extras.

comedy is just the worst

This is an interesting comment.

oh have you not seen me sound off on this before? I HATE COMEDY, ALL OF IT, AND COMEDIANS, ALL OF THEM, WITHOUT EXCEPTION. not just the execution though this is 99% lamentable, i hate the concept of comedy.

I have no idea what that is but shall join you in that regardless xp to Al

I watched all of and sort of enjoyed Gavin and Stacy but mainly just because I liked the fat Welsh one. I def wouldn't vote it best by any means.

Since it took a few years to get over here I had no idea that Spaced started in 1999. Always felt more recent than that. Anyway, of those on the list, I've really only seen 4 of them - The Office, The IT Crowd, Peep Show, and a few episodes of Black Books. Even though The Office gave me some of the most uncomfortable and cringe-enducing laughs I've ever had, I have to give it to Peep Show for being more consistently funny. The IT Crowd was alright, but forever tainted by the awful U.S. pilot.

Lex, which do you dislike more - comedy or rock music?

The IT Crowd is v hit for miss for me but the Gay the Gay Musical ep is amazing. I'm sure I've said this before on ILX. Prob more than once.

As much as I dislike pretty much everything else Peter Kay has done, Phoenix nights was great and I still occasionally watch the DVDs. Best of this lot, hell no, still like it, though.

Lex, which do you dislike more - comedy or rock music?

comedy

Yeah, I have the PN DVD and while I haven't watched it in a while I remember thinking it was pretty good.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_leftkrHJkw1qf8yek.gif @ lex

dammit

The IT Crowd is v hit for miss for me but the Gay the Gay Musical ep is amazing. I'm sure I've said this before on ILX. Prob more than once.

best episode ever is either that or the football one (probably the latter just steals it for me)

I mean, he's entitled to his opinion of course, but thats exactly the kind of dismissive "I hate all country music without exception" bullshit that annoys me to no end.

I hate adventure, I hate romance...

if u don't think the thick of it is the best of that lot, u are not merely wrong but contemptible and dangerous

The football one or the one where Roy had to figure out how his girlfriend's parents died at Sea Parks for me.

xposts

First series of the IT Crowd is pretty dire.

the IT Crowd is pretty dire

i love laughing. i have many many amazing friends who regularly make me laugh. the idea of paying someone for it is a bit like the idea of paying someone for sex, to me.

(stand-up comedians EVEN WORSE than the ones on tv)

what's the deeeeeeeeeal with that

I don't even know how to respond to that. To me, that is like, "I have a good friend who is an amazing singer and I love to hear him sing, so I see no reason ever to hear other music".

how many of these shows have canned laughter?

none

As opposed to "an actual audience" ?

whichever

"an actual audience" = canned laughter for the innocent smoothies set

I remember when the BBC accidentally screened an episode of MASH with the laughter track, and millions of people went "huh?" and then got amazed that that's how the USA always had it.

Think Black Books and IT Crowd are the only ones with a laugh track.

still want version of nathan barley with canned laughter (just dropped in randomly)

Lex be crazy in this thread. Great comedy is like great songwriting or great poetry/prose/script-writing. In fact it can be all of those things at once. It is not, however, the same as being a lonely 40 year old man in a trench coat driving around looking to pay for a blowy

The Mighty Boosh, but it kinda transcends comedy in general.

IT Crowd for trad britcom

I need to see The Mighty Boosh sometime, for the first few years I heard about it I kept confusing it with that FOX That's My Bush show and wondering why people were so excited about it.

willing to bet that 30 minutes of secret in-car footage of trenchcoated johns would make me lol more than the average G&S episode

IT Crowd for trad britcom

Black Books over IT Crowd any day.

the ones i've seen:

Black Books - pretty decent, not as funny as Linehan's other shows
Extras - had its moments, the scene with patrick stewart describing his movie script is still one of the funniest things i've seen
The IT Crowd - love this
The Mighty Boosh - only saw a little bit of this, didn't really get it
The Office - classic obv
Peep Show - pretty LOL in an embarrassing way
Saxondale - admire its sense of character but prefer the alan partridge shows

voted IT Crowd even though Office is probably "better"

i hate the concept of comedy.

I already knew this but it's still an amazing thing to say.

The Thick of It by a mile, but Nathan Barley had its moments.

Peep Show just depresses the shit out of me.

I remember when the BBC accidentally screened an episode of MASH with the laughter track, and millions of people went "huh?" and then got amazed that that's how the USA always had it.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 09:47 (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

IIRC Some seasons did, others didn't

15 Stories High - great
Black Books - some good bits
Extras - "
Gavin & Stacey - horrible
Green Wing - irritating
The Inbetweeners - not seen it
The IT Crowd - dreadful
Marion and Geoff - not seen it
The Mighty Boosh - 90% terrible
Nathan Barley - a failure
Nighty Night - not seen it
The Office - good
Peep Show - good
Psychoville - garbage
Saxondale - brilliant
The Thick of It - brilliant

I don't really see The Thick of It as a comedy. It's kinda just 'British West Wing' imo in that was a kind of jack of all trades. Wait, no, a fucking genius of all trades.

15 Storeys High definitely deserves higher praise.

None of these shows had anything as good as the paint dead cat hair cut japan fad from Nathan Barley

Maybe the Black Books episode where they start serving coffee

Loved these:
Peep Show
The Inbetweeners
The Office
Nathan Barley

Liked these:
Black Books
Extras
The IT Crowd
The Mighty Boosh
Saxondale

Didn't like:
Gavin & Stacey

Didn't see:
15 Stories High
Green Wing
Marion and Geoff
Nighty Night
Psychoville
The Thick of It

Office was wayyyyy too over the line of extreme excruciating uncomfortable awkwardness for me to ever rate it as a comedy. And on a less personal level, by the 2nd series Gervais' character had become too over the top and implausibly grotesque, suspension of disbelief became a problem.

Marion & Geoff isn't really a sitcom as it's just Rob Brydon talking at a camera for ages. I remember it being funny at the time (ie about 2003) but would probably find it both excruciating and depressing now.

Psychoville - garbage

Fighting talk.

xpost

Oh right I think I did see that once, or maybe twice, think it was quite good but never got into it.

Loved: TTOI, Barley, Black Books, Psychoville, Phoenix Nights
Loved but am no longer 16: Marion & Geoff, Mighty Boosh
Liked: Inbetweenies, IT Crowd, Ideal
Border on dislike, guess I could sit through it if there was nothing else on: Ricky Gervais's career, Peep Show episodes that weren't about Superhans on crack or of a similar crazy
HATED: Green Wing, G&S, anything else Peter Kay did, My Family, Two Pints o' Lager, everything else I saw Rob Brydon in (M&G was just a nice 5 minute thing - not enough comedians know how to be discreet and unfortunately, neither did Rob Brydon in the end)
Never saw: Anything else here.

any Nighty Night fans in the house? I found it to be nastiness with no real purpose (or jokes), but I only watched two or three episodes.

Nothing on this, even the worst bits of Gavin & Stacey, is as bad as the Mighty Boosh.

Not mentioned, make me laugh more often than don't make me laugh:

Still Game, Not Going Out, Coupling

I also want to say Early Doors, but it's often not very sitcommy.

I'm not as extreme as lex but I'm with him as far as 96 percent of stand-up comedians being painful bullshit and looking thru this list genuinely great sitcoms don't roll up v. often either.

Early Doors was terrific!

Still Game wd probly be in my top 3 if it were on here, and if Miranda made the list I might've voted for it on principle even tho it's obv no TToI

Agreed. It's more like an affectionate drama with laughs though.

xpost

still game was brilliant!

I'm not as extreme as lex but I'm with him as far as 96 percent of stand-up comedians being painful bullshit and looking thru this list genuinely great sitcoms don't roll up v. often either.

― I thought I lived in England (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 16:04 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

can apply this to the majority of things ever done? like only 4% of cars are SUPER FUCKING AWESOME CARS and the other 96% just get people around and break down too often - yawn.

was Still Game the one where old fast show dude was relocated after accidentally stumbling on some sort of criminal haps?

can apply this to the majority of things ever done?

no it doesn't, I like the vast majority of music and a sizeable percentage of movies, books, other artistic endeavours. It's just comedy that is tired and lame and evil.

Thought Still Game started losing its way towards the end, but the early episodes are solid gold.

xposts, no, it's two grumpy old Scottish blokes.

can apply this to the majority of things ever done?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeons_law

Grass, that's the one you're thinking of with yer man from The Fast Show.

not sure if nv really likes the vast majority of music...

Sturgeon otm. When you hear pub acoustic nights or 15 year old boy learns the keyboard music do you think 'oh my this is great'?

Only difference is that the bbc/e4 don't commission every fucking pub singer

xpost

i think i do! I mean, I generally find music pleasurable and interesting, and even when I dislike stuff it's probably got more to do with unfair reasons like fandom, idiocy, tedious overexposure etc. but I'm sure that I get along good to fantastic with most of everything I hear.

and I don't think yr pub singers or school orchestras are the greatest thing ever or anything but I usually enjoy them whereas most stand-ups are pure acidic agony down my spine

idk, in many respects music is overrated, compared to say lakes or clouds, both of which are mostly good

I've never heard of Still Game! Will check it out.

I also forgot about Caterick, which I remember enjoying.

And yes, bad comedy is more excruciating than bad music. I think partly because, if you're in the audience, you're expected to make what is generally an involuntary reaction rather than just applaud politely.

"point your head at the comedian and laughing will happen in your body"

Still Game is like an 'edgy' LastSumWin.

Early LotSW was decent. Pretty sure SG isn't going for edgy.

It's a bit sweary sometimes. It's kind of Last of the Summer Buckfast though, aye.

I saw one episode, thought it great.

They went round someones house and did ecstacy or some such.

It was never on at a decent time tho.

If LotSW hadn't got sucked into Three Blokes in a Bathtub territory and then degenerated into the Yorkshire Bread it could've been as fondly remembered as I Didn't Know You Cared.

pardon?

First couple of series = feckless old miscreants wandering around lovely landscapes being witty. Mid period = lol Compo has fallen off a cliff. End times = retirement home for senile comedy wash-ups.

t/s; last of the summer wine vs the mighty boosh

music doesn't have heckling though?

There are about 12 more good episodes of LotSW than TMB, ergo

Still Game is the one you're in, Winston.

there are 12 good lotsw episodes?

No-one shouts "FreeBird" at Michael Macintyre, true...

"Fuck off you desperate cunt" sounds a bit like "FreeBird" if you say it quickly enough

Compo was able to feel up Norah Batty for years and no one complained. Take that "edgy" comedy.

Peep Show wins for me on the laughs I got from the first, say, three seasons and the effect it had on my sense of humour. They really should have stopped after four. It's really, really unfunny now.

The Office was a kind of landmark, I think. Hard to believe that was like ten years ago now.

Nathan Barley is not the funniest by a longshot but there's something about it that I really love.

yeah i liked nate b a lot

Marion and Geoff for me. Funny and moving.

Of the ones I've seen:
Black Books - Bill Bailey inside the piano. That was quite funny.
Extras - ugh Gervais
Gavin & Stacey - ugh Croden
The IT Crowd - insufficient Thornton Reediness
Marion and Geoff - ugh Brydon
The Mighty Boosh - excellent, but not actually funny in a jokes sense.
The Office - ugh Gervais
Peep Show - punchable
The Thick of It - excellent

Peep Show wins for me on the laughs I got from the first, say, three seasons and the effect it had on my sense of humour. They really should have stopped after four. It's really, really unfunny now.

Did you stop at four? Only that season is infamous for being a bit of a turd. PS really picked up again afterwards though, and I'd say the latest episodes are some of the best - laughed like a drain at the one where they're stuck in a stairwell.

Also wtf at still game being edgy.my granny likes it,and I'm sure she's not the only octogenerian who's intae it.

The people who don't like comedy seem to be outweighing the ones that do itt.

I want to love Bill Bailey - he's a really likable guy - but I'm always disappointed by his comedy. Dylan Moran is the star of Black Books really, and BB's standup and the unlikely mashups ("Look, a techno version of the BBC News theme! A sitar version of "Creep"!") which is nice, but not really all that funny. His pop culture references are as old as the hills (who's bothered by Chris DeBurgh these days?), although I realise this may be the point. And he repeats his own jokes too often - I'm sure I've seen at least three DVDs where he tells the same story, with no variation whatsoever.

Am I the only one who preferred Chris Morris over Matt Berry as the Direcotr in IT Crowd? Love Matt Berry to bits (now there's a good musical comedian viz: previous post), but Chris doing the "Stress" episode had me in stitches.

How Do You Want Me? is the only good Dylan Moran sitcom, obv.

I think those are all really valid criticism's of B Baily to be honest but I still like him because, as you said, he's sort of inherently, just, likable. I saw him on the part man part troll tour in London and he was pretty good live. You're right about Dylan Moran being the star of BB though. I'm kind of a little bit in love with him tbqh. What is How Do You Want Me? I do not know about this!

I think Matt Berry is the best part of the IT crowd but I love Chris Morris in general and the Stress episode was great.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Do_You_Want_Me%3F

Depressing, evil, realistic portrayal of rural England.

He plays off the same schtick WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much. Should have left Buzzcocks years before he did. Ooooh, I've gone a bit quirky, and i've mentioned meeting a badger.

But in small doses and with people to keep him in line, he's funny

yes

How Do You Want Me is great in a low-key way. Charlotte Coleman (RIP) as his wife and Peter Serafinowicz as his arsehole brother-in-law.

is that worth watching nv? considering i would happily erase everything in this poll from history with the apart from ttoi and nathan barley......

oooh I'm going to watch this asap

I think it's worth watching if you like sitcoms with more drama than belly laughs and if you hate families and hicks. I found it quite moving at the time plus some good bitter laughs and Moran's "alcoholism is hilarious" routine is reined right in.

will try first ep

xp

Yeah, seconded. Don't like much on this poll consistently, barring Thick of It, The Office (despite later sins of Gervais) but remember How Do You Want Me v fondly.

the office, thick of it, & i remember marion & geoff being really good, tho it's the kind of thing that might be cruel to "rescreen" - tucked away on late night bbc with a guy u've never heard of talking to a camera mounted in his car it seemed good.

early doors is gr8.

don't really care for other things on this list and actively h8 many of them

The Thick of it by some distance but I'm very keen on The IT Crowd too.

Great:

• 15 Storeys High (one of the great BritComs of ~all time~)
• Peep Show (went back through this from Season 1 a couple of months and it's just incredibly consistently funny - despite a couple of shark-jumps - mostly because of the secondary characters: will never tire of Johnson, SuperHans, Big Suze etc)
• The Mighty Boosh (possibly better on the radio, cops ILx h8 because of the fanbase)
• Black Books (only got good when Linehan left, season 2>)

• The Thick of It
• Nathan Barley

• The Office

• Extras

• Saxondale

• Gavin & Stacey

• Green Wing
• Nighty Night

• The Inbetweeners
• Marion and Geoff

• Psychoville

IT Crowd so poor I didn't even list it.

Psychoville is basically League of Gentleman pt. 2 Stevie, if that is how yr boat is floated

It's slicker and leaner than LoG.

voted Gavin & Stacey based on the assumption that it's a remake of Ned & Stacey

There hasn't been a UK remake of a US comedy since the early 90s right?

Whereas we keep remaking all your stuff and doing so really badly. :(

I really hope the rumored remake of Spaced never happens.

i saw a trailer for it a while back but it was canned right?

still reeling from learning that william h macy is playing frank gallagher in this shameless remake

Yeah, that's crazy right? I mean, he's a great actor but I just can't see him in that role. Will probably watch anyway just to see. I was really surprised when I saw the preview.

inevitably everyone in it is noticeably (and relatively) more attractive.

i actually watched the ending of the US Life On Mars on YT the other day just to see how bad. man...

Write in for Coupling, because it's the only '00s Britcom I've seen.

still reeling from learning that william h macy is playing frank gallagher in this shameless remake

― idgi fridays (blueski), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 14:12 (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Episode 1 was a shot for shot remake of the british one. William H Macy doesn't seem rough enough, especially in the accent.

You bastard. I'd forgotten about that, now I have to relive the horror of that episode all over again

xpost re last episode of US Life on Mars!

Do we have a 'classic' Britcom thread? PBS Sunday nights of my youth were filled with Are You Being Served and Fawlty Towers and Chef and that one with Hyacinth Bucket and the slightly racist one about Italians during WWII.

Hilarious for a 10-year old, but I don't know how Americans got the impression that your television programming was superior to ours.

Wait if the US cast of Shameless is all better looking than the UK one, I really want to know who is playing James McAvoy's character.

PBS still shows Keeping up Appearances and AYBS!

Keeping Up Appearances was the worst, between Hyacinth and her poor relations.

I liked Waiting For God, about the grouchy old atheist woman.

until it got soft at the end and she moved in with her daughter

had to ask if John Inman was still alive the other day, leading to inevitable "I'm dead!" catchphrase alteration

didn't he die this past year?

oops 2007 - not good with time over here

I have to vote Boosh if only for the Spirit of JAZZ and Nanapocalypse episodes

Waiting for God actually had some decent laughs iirc. Good example of how to do mainstream well.

and the slightly racist one about Italians during WWII

I'm struggling to think what this one is, you don't mean 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum', do you?

'Allo 'Allo perhaps

the slightly racist one about Italians during WWII.

is this supposed to be dads army or allo allo? both are essential viewing

I assumed it was 'Allo 'Allo

Nanapocalypse episodes

ahem - it's Nanageddon. Get it straight next time, k?

Yeah, 'Allo, 'Allo makes more sense I suppose. French, Italians, same difference.

There's at least one Italian dude in it

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/3467357539_04d34b7b0a.jpg

well-drawn, sympathetic characters? we got 'em

Yeah, 'Allo 'Allo. I last saw it in 1991 or thereabouts, so I just know there were comedy accents and a hot Aryan woman.

it's too bad they stopped doing credits sequences where you see various characters from the show breaking the fourth wall rolling their eyes and shaking their heads etc.

Miranda does this

ahem - it's Nanageddon. Get it straight next time, k?

;_;

I kid!

It is called that tho. Hairspray made from the tears of Robert Smith. Of course you like that one. ;)

allo allo really is the pinnacle of comedy

...

no lie I prefer You Rang M'Lord

you may pretend you are a sophisticate who is above allo allo but noone is above allo allo

Tough call for me between Peep Show and TTOI. It's gotta be PS though, I feel I can identify way, way too much with Mark & Jeremy.
TTOI is also genius, though.
I have a hell of a lot of respect for 15 Storeys High, Nathan Barley and Psychoville. I'm sure I enjoyed most of the Mighty Boosh when I watched it but I can't really imagine doing that now.

The Office seemed amazing at the time, but I re-watched it recently and it was a lot more unpleasant and actually quite unrealistic than I'd remembered (even given Brent's character and the people in the rest of the office, there are some instances where the tumbleweed response to his jokes just felt really weirdly staged)

Can't believe no-one's mentioned Pulling, which is fantastic.

otm on pulling. its like if gavin and stacy wasnt absolute shit

like a female version of peep show imo - the whole carl/donna relationship is probably one of the most realistically portrayed in a sitcom, leaving aside some of the more extreme moments perhaps.

15 Storeys High, Nathan Barley and Psychoville

^never saw any of these

i stopped watching peep show a few years ago. not even sure why. don't hate it or anything. meanwhile im wondering of the office is actually genius, not having seen it for ten years.

currently id probably vote inbetweeners, but they did fuck it up something rotten. first two seasons would definitely get it tho.

love TTOI, deep down, just not in the mood right now. hope they bring it back and bring it mean.

miranda at least deserves a nom.

Bet she doesn't hear that very often.

DARKPLACE

Yeah just came here to say Darkplace too - why wasn't it included?

Matt Berry can make anything good, for me, tho.

Nathan Barley is mean spirited, horrible assholery. I dont find that shit funny. It was like watching a cockney Jackass. I couldnt watch more than 2 eps before I got a headache.

Yeah, I think Darkplace for me too. I didn't like the first season of the IT Crowd at all, but it's been great since then. Black Books the opposite.

i stopped watching peep show a few years ago. not even sure why. don't hate it or anything.

It got crap for a while (the episode where they ate a dog was a particular nadir. Not because it was offensive or anything, just because it was dreadful), but it's better again now.

Nathan Barley is mean spirited, horrible assholery. I dont find that shit funny. It was like watching a cockney Jackass. I couldnt watch more than 2 eps before I got a headache.

― Stargazey Pi (Trayce), Tuesday, 18 January 2011 21:26 (8 minutes ago)

uhm it's supposed to be a satire of nu media amorality

my vote is actually a write-in and is for Snuffbox but I know no fucker saw it hence it not being on a 'selective list'

I like snuffbox!

nahk - yeah I know that, and I like Chris Morris and I know he's all subversive and dark and all that, but ... I just found Barley a hard slog as a result.

A parody of bad art is still bad art.

(challops maybe)

OTOH I liked Nighty Night, even though I found it also very difficult to watch!

what's that one with with the drug dealer in the flat, and that other new one with the couple

'Ideal' starring Johnny Vegas?

The one with the couple could be anything! Gavin & Stacey?

btw, I don't suppose it gets much love on here, but Outnumbered also makes me laugh more than several shows mentioned on here already.

Couple one = Roger And Val Have Just Got In?

Outnumbered rules

I quite like Outnumbered, because it's low key and kind of 'real', instead of being filled with wAcKy CHARACTERS.

i like pulling but that's mostly because i have a crush on rebekah staton

yeah Pulling is just miles funnier than any of these except Peep Show. almost had to breathe into a paper bag a couple of times. can't believe how little publicity and hype it got when it was first on, although it did get a comedy award for the final special.

Enjoyed The Smoking Room when it was on but no idea if it stands up however many years on.

thick of it
Office
Extras
Boosh

In that order

yeah the couple one, been searching but i can't find it. it stars that cockney bloke who turns up on light entertainment panel shows that don't require wit, where he usually wears a suit and t-shirt combo. in the show he lives with a partner in a flat that the camera doesn't get out of. a weirdo from the same building calls in, i assume regularly, with nothing to say. it seems a very "sitcom about nothing" type thing. anyway i saw one episode and it was pretty funny.

actively hate the IT crowd, and black books has always looked just rubbish anytime i've tried with it.

The rest i'm neither nor or haven't seen enough of. Would prob go for moreinbetweeners and saxondale given the chance.

Crackfox episode of mighty boosh best uk tv of the decade imo, tho i can understand ppl hating the show too.

Allo allo destroys most of this, agree on that. And allo allo is no steptoe and son.

zvookster, is your show Him & Her?

are there any actually memorable scenes from Allo Allo or was it always just a sketch show/catchphrase routine in disguise where pretty much the same thing happens in every episode?

ailsa, yes! ty! not sure how u got it from that

I knew what you were on about as well, couldn't remember the name though :) Gave up on that after a couple of eps, although it had a few good jokes.

green wing and nathan barley, peep show at a close third.

lex you are the single most depressing human being I have ever come across.

Green Wing wins this btw, that is fact not opinion, you are all disgusting savages, lock thread.

gotta be monty python

loved that one about the parrot

"eez dead!"

<3 u max

This is hard.

I feel like Peep Show gets at some universal pathetic truths that I think most TV fails to grasp properly

but The Thick of It has incredible lols aplenty

and The Office is pretty much unimpeachable IMO

and Extras is worth it for the Xmas special alone

not a UKer btw.

mind you Brass Eye would win this in a second for me.

'cept of course it was made in the wrong decade.

yeah Pulling is just miles funnier than any of these except Peep Show

Very otm, that show was superb. Gotta get it on dvd, I imagine there are plenty of unsold copies.

Of the ones I've seen (remembering of course that my opinion is fact yes that's right fact):

Black Books - never gripped me although I don't mind it when it's happening
Extras - brilliant in a literary way but not particularly memorable or hilarious
Gavin & Stacey - first series is nice; second series is dull; third series is pointless
Green Wing - just 100% brilliant and imaginative and hilarious and original (again, remember, FACTS)
The Inbetweeners - saw one ep, meh
The IT Crowd - would be better if it didn't dwell on every episode's Awkward Moment for like 20 minutes
Marion and Geoff - as much enjoyment as one can get from a series of monologues
The Mighty Boosh - better on paper than in practice
Nighty Night - first series was properly brilliant, never saw the second due to abysmal reviews
The Office - great obviously (although I think the US version eclipses it)
Psychoville - really good but the s1 ending is so rubbish that I don't think I'll go back to it

mind you Brass Eye would win this in a second for me.

― Simon H., Wednesday, 19 January 2011 08:32 (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

'cept of course it was made in the wrong decade.

― Simon H., Wednesday, 19 January 2011 08:32 (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Also not a sitcom

Green Wing - just 100% brilliant and imaginative and hilarious and original (again, remember, FACTS)

Might give you that, it was extremely good. That new one with Grieg and Mangan gave me no lols last week though.

ah but the category here is "britcom" not sitcom...

exactly.

I will try my best to check out Green Wing despite my major handicap of being outside the UK

you are on the internet

y'know what makes sitcoms funnier? stretching the episodes out to an hour.

and then shooting it on that weird film-esque video that makes everything look like it's slightly slowed down and underwater.

true. I will have to exploit my work internet to dodge the d/l cap, which is not such a cost for personal development. xxp

kinda surprised that people are so "meh" about Extras, which i thought was pretty great even though i was unfamiliar with many of the british references/guest stars

The first series of Extras is pretty good, the second is ropey as hell, Gervais just lazy most of the time, meta-sitcom bit disastrous. Half an hour of Stephen Merchant and Barry from Eastenders alone would have been better.

I think the Patrick Stewart ep is so good its rosey glow makes the rest of it look better than it is. Gervais needs to extend his shtick tho no joke.

xpost weird, i thought the second season was better!

Was the Robert Lindsay episode series 2? I seem to recall that being the best episode of all, it's been a while since I watched it though.

yeah, that was the very last one, in fact

er, not including the christmas one

Comedy threads on ilx are even more baffling to me than film and music threads, where I am just totally flummoxed by other people's takes on things I like ("Nathan Barley" as a "cockney Jackass" = utterly baffling to me!)

Interest in further discussion of "Nighty Night" is likely very limited here as far as I can tell so far, but it's a curious case to me: Series 1 is one of my favorite things ever, but Series 2 is unwatchable. One of those examples where the creators seemed to completely misinterpret what people responded to in the first series and then took it in the completely wrong direction.

Anyway, voted "Nighty Night," with "Saxondale" and "Nathan Barley" both close potential seconds.

I'm up for Nighty Night discussion but not now because I'm going to bed.

Ironically.

or not.

I really didn't like Nathan Barley first time I watched it. It felt clunky, crude and sort of dated for Morris. It gets better with subsequent viewings, small nuances and details making themselves more prominent. The entire narrative arc and the interaction of the individual characters (particularly the Ashcroft vs Barley showdown) is perfectly studied.

I really like Nathan Barley. Its depiction of the pretentious Hoxtonite lifestyle is often painfully accurate. I'm sure it helps if you have first hand experience of that kind of person, the satire is maybe a little too specific.

started rewatching nathan barley the other day, been planning to do this for months. watched the first episode and surprised at how poor it was. main guy, the boosh guy, is such an unlikeable miserable arse, have no inclination to identify with him at all. the bullying-pingu things and online raised a smile, though they seem real dated now, but it seemed little more than a not-very-well-written sitcom with minimal lols.

i do remember thinking the dame when i first saw it, and that later episodes picked up but not sure i can be bothered watching the rest.

my vote on here goes for 15 storeys as because its fairly obscure it hasn't been ripped off or torn apart by comedy sneerists. but discounting that last point i'd also give it up for marion & geoff (totally agree with whoever upthread described it as 'moving'), peep show (apart from s4 it's damn good, not flawless but v watchable) and the office. TTOI has steadily dipped in quality despite all the hoo-hah and psychoville is good but the relentless darkness gets draining. as for the rest im either not fussed or i haven't seen, though IT crowd deserves a mention for the one episode i've seen being some embarrassing Duty Free level laughless slog.

Human Remains is probably better than all the above, esp "All Over My Glasses".

oops: ...the same...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Good call on Human Remains NI. Really underrated

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Peep Show 18

r m d e

I'm generally in favour of these results.

way to braek saxondale hart

peep show voters should be outed and effing shot

Peep Show, is just one or the other repeating what the other has done in a sardonic voice. "You ate a Pizza?" and then slower, "You actually ate a pizza?"

slightly modified, now more true.

Absolute Power also better than half of these btw

surprised by lack of Inbetweeners love

Peep Show, is just one or the other repeating what the other has done in a sardonic voice. "You ate a Pizza?" and then slower, "You actually ate a pizza?"

I'm still baffled by this

Aye. I mean, they occasionally do this, but it's not *all* they do. Unless you have only watched one clip ever of Peep Show and think that's all they do.

I suspect lack of Inbetweeners love means it was second choice for lots of people. But I'm just extrapolating wildly from my own opinions, so probably completely wrong.

Oh, you know what I'm meaning, but hey let's expand.

It's like how "Last of the summer wine" is not always "Compo in a bathtub on wheels over a hill going "AAAAAARHHHHHH", but that's how it gets remembered.

Poor Saxondale. Not my favourite on the list but so underrated.

The difference is that everyone recognises that version of Last of the Summer Wine.

apart from (presumably) the people that like it a lot.

I saw Roy Clarke (the writer) got a lifetime achievement award, particularly for writing 260 odd episodes of LOTSW, which is something, fair play, etc...

apart from (presumably) the people that like it a lot.

No I would include the fans in that.

Fair enough.

Maybe it's too soon for Peep Show to have entered the national consciousness...

Would have tilted this for TTOI if I wasn't on a self-imposed ILE ban (broken when at a loose end)

I think TTOI would walk it in a play-off.

A play-off could be arranged.

gfi

In order of like

The Thick of It - absolutely fucking amazing. not really even satire, which is its great success - it's half-slapstick, half-documentary in tone, and the funniest, most important thing to hit our screens all decade
Nathan Barley - like this more in retrospect with each passing year - it's wormed its way in and stayed there, the mark of any successful comedy - and its thrust remains dismally relevant to London's culture - but there's also a buoyant and playful streak of humanity lurking just beneath
(Phoenix Nights is my #3 - what a blast)

there follows a large gap

Green Wing - aw, I was young once. gimme this one. as a character ensemble it's really got its moments, plus it's stupid enough not to take itself too seriously
Black Books - has its moments, will watch when someone's actively showing it to me, occasionally finds the comedic sublime
Peep Show - this was also great when I was younger but no compulsion to see it now. plenty of quotable lines, but the overall vibe is a bit too pathetic and miserable - no desire whatsoever to watch beyond iirc the start of the 4th series
The Office - ditto except not as sublime - more sledgehammer, more pathetic

another big gap

The Mighty Boosh - hmmmmmm.
Extras - hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

haven't rly seen

The IT Crowd
The Inbetweeners
Gavin & Stacey
Psychoville
15 Stories High
Marion and Geoff
Nighty Night
Saxondale

haha the office's ditto was to black books but then I swapped black books and peep show

Peep Show, is just one or the other repeating what the other has done in a sardonic voice. "You ate a Pizza?" and then slower, "You actually ate a pizza?"

i disagree, but this is really making me lol

Me too, I can totally picture Jez's face as he says 'You ACTUALLY ate a pizza?"

See, I read it with David Mitchell's voice saying "you ACTUALLY did it, didn't you? You actually ATE a pizza" sort of thing.

OK, I will concede that it is totally a thing.

It's not a thing, it's not the tone of the voice, it's that eating pizza isn't interesting enough to provoke disbelief. It's the wrong kind of mundane.

People ITT need to give Psychoville more of a chance. Episodes 4 and 5 are exactly what I love about comedy, for completely different reasons. 4 is perhaps the best ever example of a single-shot (okay, they did cheat and made it a two-shot) one-room piece - hilariously effective and well though-out. Episode 5 is pull-out-all-the-stops bonkers horror-comedy. It was the first episode I caught, and by the time midgets were throwing knives at each other with only their minds, I was sold.

xpost - they never actually said "You actually ate a pizza", you know this right?

I find it strange that people now see Peep Show as this way-back thing. Maybe it's younger people saying this, but you are aware that they're still making this show and that it's still as good, if not better than the first three series, right? The tawdry season 4 really alienated its audience it seems.

Wrong kind of mundanity in the example, yes, but it's absolutely a recognisable character trait nonetheless (possibly overused if it's a thing that both characters do). It's totally not THE thing though.

i just picked a random one, I'm sure they never said "ate a pizza", it was more 'substitute anything here'

"You picked up the rice where a wedding has been, You actually picked up the rice where a wedding has been" e.g.

I find it strange that people now see Peep Show as this way-back thing. Maybe it's younger people saying this, but you are aware that they're still making this show and that it's still as good, if not better than the first three series, right? The tawdry season 4 really alienated its audience it seems.

Gonna have to disagree on that one. It has settled into a sort of amiable middle-age but it's a long way from the heights of the early seasons.

it's inevitably more predictable -- dunno if it's less funny (because i gave up a year or two ago). my impression is that (as matt says) they haven't brought enough new stuff into it. they need more megastar guests, like in 'friends'.

Probably not as good as series 1-3, but still essential viewing IMO. I don't really see how anyone who ever liked it could watch an episode now and not enjoy it at all.

I'm re-watching PS first couple of series and it's actually changed a little bit, grown up with us or something - I've always thought of s1 & 2 as "classic" but there's a couple of weird things like flashbacks and joke reveals and Jeremy actually has vaguely semi-informed opinions on things even though in later episodes he can't even read a book.
I do think of the series with the dog eating as the worst one but I think it's just because of that terrible bit. IIRC the rest of that series was pretty spot-on. I could be wrong though.

Dog Latin otm re Psychoville.

Missed this! Gotta be TTOI, although another write-in for snuffbox, that thing is boosh thru the absurd-Morris filter.

Speaking of which, Jam?

Not really a sitcom I guess?

the only morris sitcom got a total of 3 votes

Psychoville was excellent until the final episode. What the fuck were they thinking.

It was only the cliffhanger that let it down really.

Point upthread about Dan Ashcroft being unlikeable - true, but as the series goes on, his hypocrisy and capitulation to the machine he claims to oppose was brought out really well. Indeed, nobody really comes off all that well in the series, even Dan's sister, who is set up as the nice, sane and talented one, but tolerates all the bullshit in order to get ahead. Perhaps that's all she can do. Jonathan Yeah? was a really interesting character too, particularly the darks hints that he was well aware of how idiotic the whole Sugar Ape enterprise was, but is only too happy to milk the cash cow. Barley wasn't entirely successful, but I thought the way it developed the characters was really well done, especially considering how most sitcoms establish who their characters are from the get go.

I'd agree with most of that - particularly that Claire Ashcroft is revealed to be as much of a self-interested chancer as everyone else in due course.

what's with the low votes for office and extras? they're not that popular in the uk?

Office got ten votes.

what's with the low votes for office and extras? they're not that popular in the uk?

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr), Wednesday, January 26, 2011 6:50 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Massively popular, but there has been backlash. Also there are other good shows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Do_You_Want_Me%3F

Depressing, evil, realistic portrayal of rural England.

― I thought I lived in England (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, January 18, 2011 12:27 PM (8 months ago) Bookmark

I thought of this tonight for some reason and I'm watching it on YouTube right now. I like it a lot so far. So many faces I recognize. His wife is the actress that died of asthma, right? She was in 4 weddings, I think. Anyway - thanks for the rec. Enjoying it a lot.

I think the guy playing her brother was in Shaun of the Dead.

correct on both counts

Peep Show, is just one or the other repeating what the other has done in a sardonic voice. "You ate a Pizza?" and then slower, "You actually ate a pizza?"

i disagree, but this is really making me lol

― chev rivera (stevie), Tuesday, 25 January 2011 14:37 (8 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Me too, I can totally picture Jez's face as he says 'You ACTUALLY ate a pizza?"

― Rejoice that you weren't eaten (chap), Tuesday, 25 January 2011 14:55 (8 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
See, I read it with David Mitchell's voice saying "you ACTUALLY did it, didn't you? You actually ATE a pizza" sort of thing.

OK, I will concede that it is totally a thing.

― ailsa, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 17:19 (8 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Is this a thing yet?

The IT Crowd was alright, but forever tainted by the awful U.S. pilot.

OMG I've gotta see this! Had no idea there was a US pilot floating around.

Bad American adaptations of British shows should have their own thread....

hate it crowd and black books. Never a laugh yet, and ppl insist on them.

yeah his wife (Charlotte Coleman) died young and she was already a massive hero to me and my sis by the time she was about 13, because she was also Marmalade Atkins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PmHr1f2s1Q

I am really enjoying How Not to Live Your Life, it has a sweetness to it.

Didn't know about Charlotte Coleman dying. Bummer.

haven't rly seen

The Inbetweeners

― I've been dancing since 9 and I'm tired and hungry (acoleuthic), Wednesday, 26 January 2011 00:17 (1 year ago)

damn homie

No Coupling? I know, it's terrible, but it was entertaining in a way and I'd always rather watch it than The Office.