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

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.