I hate British Comedy (1 Viewer)

[MattBu]

Am I the only one that is completely lost while watching the comedy? I understand what's supposed to be funny, I just don't find it funny whatsoever. Not one thing. I hate the Monty Python TV show as well as the skits, I REALLY hate Absolutely Fabulous, Men Behaving Badly, etc. etc. I REALLY hate British Coupling. I don't know if it's their accents, or the facts that it's so slapstick. British comedy has a reputation as being dry, but god to me it seems SO obvious.

 

[CharlesD]

Ni!

 

[Eman_Ramos]

Lemon curry?

 

[Steve Christou]

Nu!

Well I suppose it helps if you're British, I have the same problem with US comedy.
Will & Grace? I watch a few minutes before I frantically reach for the remote, I have to assume it has a laugh track to point out what is meant to be funny, otherwise people will just stare at the telly in silence.
All someone has to do is raise an eyebrow on US comedy shows and there's about 5 mins of loud continuous laughter, WTF?

 

[John Gates]

Your sentence: You must cut down the largest tree in the forest wiiiiiiiiiittthhh: A HERRING!

 

[Andrew Pratt]

I couldn't agree more Steve

 

[John_Berger]

To that I say "Ecky ecky ecky p-TANG zip-boing rowr-r-r"!

I don't know that you're in the minority or majority, but it does take a certain mindset to enjoy and appreciate British humor, no more so than it take a certain mindset to enjoy a specific genre of movies.

You hate British comedy. I loathe horror films. We're just not of the mindsets to enjoy those particular kinds of entertainment. That's just the way it is. It's no big deal either way.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

"Look, it's people like you whut cause unrest!"

"Ni!"

 

[Eman_Ramos]

My hovercraft is full of eels...

 

[MattBu]

I cant BELIEVE Im the only person that hates British Comedy. Well...this forum DOES skew towards the nerdy

 

[BrianB]

What the hell is nerdy about Men Behaving Badly, one of your examples?

If you think British comedy is all slapstick, you're really in need of a comedy education

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Obvious? Obviously you've never noticed the obviously obvious humor (sic) from American comedy. Obviously. Brit comedy tends to be more subtle and not as forced. The Office or The Fast Show are perfect examples.

 

[Malcolm R]

If you'd stopped at "Monty Python" and "Absolutely Fabulous," I might have agreed that perhaps they might be an acquired taste. But when you don't even like the British "Coupling," then you have deeper humor issues to deal with.

I guess I'm just lucky that I can find the humor in most all US and UK comedies (except maybe "My Hero"). And I LOVE British comedy! (except maybe "My Hero")

EDIT: Per Rob's obvious observations, I think British comedy is much more subtle. US comedies are pretty transparent and in-your-face.

 

[MattBu]

I suppose it depends on what you think of as subtle and in your face. What's subtle about patsy's wanton drunkeness in absolutely fabulous? Or about ANY of the skits in Monty Python, or about the wanton sex talk in coupling?

Furthermore I'm not really sure that American Sitcoms are the best example of American comedy. They are truly pandering to the masses. I mean how many people here find MOST shows on TV funny?

I find NOTHING obvious about the comedy of Curb your enthusiasm, everybody loves raymond, seinfeld, friends, scrubs, or the west wing.

Most of it is unspoken and doesn't REQUIRE a laugh track unlike the crap festival that is most other TV.

Meanwhile I've never laughed ONCE at the bad dental procession that is british comedy. I will watch an episode of the office but most british comedy is pretty damned identical - It's either broad slapstick or humor found in class diferentiation.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

What is it with americans and teeth?

 

[CharlesD]

Its that famous subtle American humor... a foreigner like you wouldn't get it

 

[Patrick Sun]

I like British comedy. I like the delivery of the punchlines, and the setup as well. Plus, there's different euphenisms that I find very funny as well. Sure, perhaps the sensibilities might be different, but the inherent humor is pretty universal, just expressed a bit differently, and sometimes more cerebrally (or conversely, extremely neanderthally to really make the point of the absurdity).

 

[John Thomas]

I think we're off on the wrong foot here; obvious humor does not equal bad humor. Also, there is obvious humor in Friends most definitely. For example, the steoreotypical Monica who obsesses over cleanliness = obvious.

For the most part, I'll agree with your opinion about British humor just not being "it"; for me at least, it just doesn't translate well.

However, I've laughed my arse off at Benny Hill but only smirked or chuckled at Monty Python skits.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Count me in as a nerdy member who finds British humor to be more subtle than that found here (an overall observation, of course—just as the Brits have the Pythons, we have your SNLs (especially from the era of the Pythons).

I would note the very many times that some of our UK HTF members have made (what I thought were) very obvious, tongue-in-cheek comments that have been completely missed by our American members.

I’m sure that you would not find this funny, but The Royle Family is about as subtle as humor can get—an incredibly complex show that has almost perfect cinematography and editing. And with no laugh track, I might add.

Probably just a definitional issue, but I don’t think that Friends could be classed as subtle. As early as the second season they trotted out a pet monkey to increase the humor. Funny no doubt—but not exactly subtle. I could go on, but just as there is plenty of broad humor in British TV, so too is there plenty in series here (and a good point has already been made about the use of laugh tracks here—subtle is contraindicated in every case of a laugh track).

I would agree that many of our dramas such as The West Wing use humor effectively—but so too do many in the UK.

Finally, I think that Fawlty Towers is the funniest series to ever appear on TV—on either side of the Atlantic. Based on your posts, I’m sure that you would look at it as way too broad—but then so is Sid Caesar.

 

[george kaplan]

I think there's good and bad comedy on both sides of the Pond. While I enjoy a lot of British humor, I still miss a lot of it because I'm not British. I love A Hard Day's Night, but I'm sure that there are parts I'm not getting. Of course most of the British comedy I watch is older (e.g., The Good Life, Reginald Perrin, etc.). I've never seen Coupling, but then again I've never seen Will & Grace.

There's certainly British comedy I don't like, but it all reminds me of American comedy I don't like, of which there's lots.