what the brits find funny on tv (1 Viewer)

[Yee-Ming]

THAT is a work of sheer genius; "Yesterday Mr Greatbighardcock caught Herpes in the corridor..." (or something along those lines). Curiously, I also remember seeing another version of the sketch elsewhere (maybe Secret Policeman?), which seemed an earlier incarnation as it wasn't as funny as the one on Rowan Atkinson Live. I have one of the Secret Policeman's Ball discs from R4, but the video quality is horrendous (worse than VHS, really).

Also the "Welcome to Hell. As you may have guessed, I am the Devil, but you can call me Toby" sketch... and the "This is good... this is better... this is starting to be misguided..."

Aaarrrgh, I need to watch this, but all I've got is a crappy pirate VCD copy :b

 

[LarryDavenport]

Thanks Andrew. I had heard of all of the Top 10, and I guess my surprise is that the differentiate between a sit-com and a "sketch" comedy.

I've grown up with Brit-Coms thanks to PBS and Canadian Television.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Yee-Ming, the version of the schoolmaster sketch you're referring to was a later version. I believe that Rowan Atkinson deliberately made it ruder and ruder in successive stage appearances.

I had a bit of time earlier and did some scouting around some R2 sites for Mr Atkinson. Believe it or not, the Rowan Atkinson in Boston performance is available on a Dutch R2 disc. Try:

http://www.dvdzone2.com/dvd/detail.asp?id=125658

 

[Yee-Ming]

Wow! Thank you sir! I'm going to have to investigate this further -- notice how (typical, really) they feature Atkinson as Mr Bean on the cover, when this stuff has nothing to do with Bean and is so much more intelligent?

Only downside is shipment here is a somewhat hefty 6 euros; maybe I'll wait till the next time my mother goes to Holland to visit family...

 

[Neil White]

I believe all but Porridge and Dad's Army have been on my local PBS (or at least BB America). The Good Life being called Good Neighbors over here of course.

Porridge is flipping hilarious. I just went region free and imported the first season of Porridge. Plan on watching it this weekend.

Also have R1 of the first three seasons of Only Fools... Praying further seasons come out but thinking I may have to switch to R2.

N

 

[andrew markworthy]

Great! A convert! My favourite sitcom by far. There are another two series and a movie (all on DVD). The movie isn't as good, but still enjoyable. There was a sequel series to Porridge called 'Going Straight' following Fletcher and Godber after they were released. I *think* there were two series of this, but: (a) it wasn't as successful (or funny) as Porridge, and (b) it ended after the tragically early death of Richard Beckinsale (who played Godber and also, incidentally, was father of Kate Beckinsale, the actress).

Trivia: the phrases 'nerk' and 'naff off' used very frequently in Porridge, were swear words invented for the series, since frequent use of real swear words was felt to be inappropriate. 'Naff off' is now occasionally used by Brits in 'real' swearing, though 'nerk' never really caught on.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Imagine if hordes of us went around cursing "frack" and "felgercarb"...

I thought "naff" was "standard" Brit slang for something bad, in the useless, or poor standard, sense, e.g. a naff shirt being a really tacky nasty bad taste shirt?

 

[Neil White]

Andrew,

No convert my friend. I'm an ex-pat. I was born in Kennington, near the Oval in jolly old London. Been in the US now since '96.

Check-out that shirt I'm wearing in my signature.

Yee-Ming, I certainly have used 'naff' in the sense you refer to but Andrew is also correct. Lots of double meaning in the British version of the English language (the only true version ).

Speaking of language, one of the funny traits of Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses is his attempt at sounding sophisticated by using foreign phrases. However, he normally screws it up by coming out with something that has absolutely no relevance to the subject in hand. Damn funny.

Take care,

N

 

[Yee-Ming]

So is your allegience black/white stripes, blue/white hoops, white/black, red/white, claret/blue, "nouveau riche" blue, "thuggish" blue, or something even more obscure?

Or worse, an Essex Manc...

Then again, not all Brits are footy fans. I shouldn't assume :b

 

[andrew markworthy]

No way, Pedro.

 

[LanceJ]

Andrew: I am kind of surprized The Simpsons is so popular there, because it seems like a lot of the jokes--and the many innuendos--wouldn't be fully understood by someone living outside the U.S.

And this is a little off-topic but: back in the 80s for years I watched The Benny Hill Show late at night on a UHF station and am still a big fan of his (R.I.P.). How is Mr. Hill's work perceived over there: just cheap, immature humor; "just a dirty old man" as several of my past girlfriends called him; or a talented--if baudy--comedian & entertainer?

LJ

 

[PhilipG]

Don't be such a damned snob, my friend.

Me go back to cave now.

 

[Neil White]

Funny you should make the reference to Footy. I really am not a fan. But it's amazing how many times it's assumed I am just because of my roots .

N

 

[Sami Kallio]

Here in the States, when I say football people assume european football (soccer) since I'm from Europe. I have to explain it to them that we also play am.football in Europe.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Pretty much the former. He was hugely popular in his day, but he became the victim of politically correct criticism. In addition, a new wave of Brit comedians (the so-called 'alternative comedy' brigade of Ben Elton, Alexi Sayle, French and Saunders et al) came along, instituting a radical change in comedic fashion. Benny Hill is at the moment largely seen as an embarrassing anachronism in the UK, and I think there's little chance of his fortunes being resurrected in the near future. In time he will no doubt be revived (which is more than can be said for many of the alternative comedy acts which are unwatchable even a few years later), since amongst the rather sillier pieces of fluff there are some marvellously thought-out pieces of humour.

 

[LarryDavenport]

I'm surprised it's not Sir Benny Hill.

 

[GuyMaren]

Another Brit comedy I liked was Drop the Dead Donkey. I saw it a few years ago when I was still living in Canada. Was it ever shown in the US? And how did it rank in the UK survey?

 

[Yee-Ming]

With respect, I'm not, much as I enjoyed his stuff. I can't see the height of the British establishment honouring his work. I was in England when he passed away and was able to read the obituaries in Brit papers, and most of them noted that he'd fallen out of favour in the UK, only to find renewed success in USA where his brand of humour was still appreciated.

 

[Neil White]

Or Bolton Wanderers or Basingstoke or Hull, makes me laugh just thinking about it. It it still Premier, 1st, 2nd and the dross divisions...

Back on topic... how about Hi-De-Hi for a real classic British comedy then (note, I am being sarcastic). IT did have it's moments though. Ted was kinda funny.

N

 

[Steve Schaffer]

In actuality the Flanders are very much more representative of regular churchgoers in the US than the Simpsons are, at least in recent years.

In the past I have no doubt that church attendance was still much higher here than in the UK, but religion was more of a private matter then than it is now, and there wasn't as much public piety and people didn't have religious bumper stickers or license plate frames pasted on thier cars condemning nonbelievers to the fires of hell as is so common in American society now.