British Sitcoms: do you get it?

[Garnie]

This is a thread mainly for all you non British people wafting around EOFF!







As a young English whippersnapper, i love our sitcoms and think they are hilariously funny! but sometimes i think our humor could be a little hard to get if you don't hail the queen! Whats your favorite comedy (film/series) from the UK and do you find it to hard to get?

[I Don't Need A Name]

The League Of Gentlemen is an...aquired taste which very few seem to get other than the majority of Northern England. But it is beautiful

[trancekuja]

As a non British, therefore intelligent,sexy and imaginative person, I actually like their humor. My personal favorites are Only Fools and Horses,Red Dwarf, Monty Python & Black Adder. But there are lots of other quirky British shows out there. The only comedy I don't quite get is their National Football Team.

[rubah]

red dwarf and are you being served were imperative in my formative years. Since then I haven't seen much britcom.

[Namelessfengir]

so far the best you had was dr who, monty python, and are you being served...... that one on the bottom top fuzz???? that looks like a british reno 911

[blackmage_nuke]

The Sketch Show use to be one of my favourite shows... All the leaves are brown

[demondude]

As a non British, therefore intelligent,sexy and imaginative person,

[Garnie]

As a non British, therefore intelligent,sexy and imaginative person, I actually like their humor. My personal favorites are Only Fools and Horses,Red Dwarf, Monty Python & Black Adder. But there are lots of other quirky British shows out there. The only comedy I don't quite get is their National Football Team.

ready the pitchforks boys!! trancekuja is taking away our obsession for 1966

I forgot Red dwarf which is odd, because i practically know every episode and is an encyclopedia for it I cried aloud with mirth and merriment!

EDIT: Mirth and merryment?? I meant to L.ol

[Psychotic]

The only comedy I don't quite get is their National Football Team.

This link might explain it a bit better to you.

[trancekuja]

The only comedy I don't quite get is their National Football Team.

This link might explain it a bit better to you.

Counter attack!
England 2-3 Croatia, England not going to Euro 2008

[Heath]

I think if people don't 'get' it then it's often a cultural thing. Comedies are largely written for the home audience to their tastes and based upon those cultures. I'm not really a big fan of American comedies and the likes of Friends that people always raved about I always thought was terribly overrated and unfunny. I would say I think British comedies are better though that's probably coloured largely by my preference for them, but there are a lot of non-British comedies I like such as South Park, Futurama, Police Squad!, Frasier and even Flight of the Concords in an odd way. After all, there are a lot of terrible British sitcoms out there. For every The Thick of It there's a My Family, for every Fawlty Towers there's a Horne & Corden and so on.

[The Space Pope]

While I can appreciate the dry wit of the Brits, I often find them remarkably unfunny in every other aspect. But as Heath said, it's a cultural thing.

[I Don't Need A Name]

Personally, I've never understood any American comedy.
Anything that I've seen just lacks any...creativeness. It seems to lack any interlectual comedy, and relies on slapstick or stupidity.
Thats where most Britcoms differ, in the sense that most (barring e like Little Britain) consist of sarcasm or long winded insults.

[The Space Pope]

True that American comedies by and large are stale and generic, but British comedies seem to have an air of pretentiousness to them imo. And don't even get me started on the whole "hey wouldn't it be hilarious if...A MAN DRESSED LIKE A WOMAN!?!??!" spiel.

[charliepanayi]

Why argue about UK vs US comedies. Both countries have produced some fantastic comedies, whatever the difference in styles. Heath said it best.