# Britcom Ratings--Choose 10 Please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769 "2008-06-04T16:14:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/21 "2008-06-04T20:10:53Z")
**Really great** Monty Python Coupling Fawlty Towers **Very Good to Good** Red Dwarf The Young Ones (Actually I cannot seem to enjoy it the way I did in the 80s when I occasionally used drugs and drank a lot more. Do you think there is a correlation there?) Robin’s Nest (I have not seen it it decades, this was the spin off of the show that Three’s company was based on, I thought it was quite funny when I was teen. Robin’s Nest that is, not “Three’s Company” or “Man About the House” ) **Funny at times** Blackadder Benny Hill (really, not on the list at all?) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/22 "2008-06-04T20:12:45Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Benny Hill (really, not on the list at all?) [/QUOTE] I think the OP meant the list to be limited to sitcoms. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/23 "2008-06-04T20:16:53Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] I think the OP meant the list to be limited to sitcoms. [/QUOTE] Oops, then I am down to only 6 as I noticed no Monty Python on his list either. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/24 "2008-06-04T21:02:16Z")
Fawlty Towers - eternally revisitable Yes (Prime) Minister - ditto, especially as the topics of the flaws of a democratic system will perhaps live on longer than anything else Blackadder - revisitable Only Fools and Horses - feels like you’ve seen too much of it, but then you encounter an episode that’s new to you, and it’s hilarious all over again Father Ted - would be the same if there’d been more of it made (but maybe the Fawlty Towers restraint would have been the right thing anyway?) The best are ones I can watch over and over again. Python - the TV shows were hit-and-miss, the films are the real legacy. Peep Show - genius, to be watched grimacing, cringeing, through gaps between fingers The League of Gentlemen - also genius Brass Eye - ‘totally awesome’ is quite right **Addition:** Drop The Dead Donkey - worth seeing if you can find it, for some brilliant writing and performances, although the topical jokes are obviously dated (set in a TV newsroom, each episode was filmed during the week it was broadcast) **The Hall Of Shame:** These words should not be spoken in this household - Are You Being Served?, Keeping Up Appearances, Dad’s Army, The Vicar of Dibley. The rest are just meh. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/25 "2008-06-04T21:22:09Z")
Well, it seems people are lopping in sketch comedy with sitcoms, so my picks of British comedies in general would be: The Office Coupling (There’s so much about this show I shouldn’t like, but, somehow I do. Except for Season Four, which sucked.) Brass Eye (I adore Chris Morris, especially his radio stuff, like _Blue Jame_) Fawlty Towers (of course) Monty Python (ditto) The Fast Show That Mitchell and Webb Look (I prefer their radio show, but this had its moments.) The Peep Show Eh, that’s all I feel like enumerating at this time. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/26 "2008-06-04T21:27:58Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] Well, it seems people are lopping in sketch comedy with sitcoms… [/QUOTE] We could expand it further, to programmes which don’t know whether they’re comedy, drama or soap opera, with Shameless. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/27 "2008-06-04T22:12:09Z")
Haven’t seen much Brit stuff besides Monty Python, which I love, but the IT Crowd is a hoot. Love it. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/28 "2008-06-04T22:32:48Z")
[QUOTE=griffin1977] The Day Today (precursor to the Daily Show IMO, except all made up news, totally awesome) Brass Eye (Follow up to The Day Today) [/QUOTE] And the precursor to that was **Not the Nine O’clock News**. **Have I Got News For You**. **Never Mind the Buzzcocks**. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/29 "2008-06-05T01:35:04Z")
While presumably skewed by non-UK viewing opportunities, most of the OP’s list strikes me as a weirdly anachronistic selection of candidates. Aside from: _Fawlty Towers Blackadder Father Ted Dad’s Army Only Fools and Horses_ and excluding _Ripping Yarns_ and a few other suggestions as not a sitcom, I’d nominate (not necessarily for the first time in this thread) any of the following 10 as _probably_ better than the rest of the list. In alphabetical order: _Black Books Coupling Hancock The Office Peep Show Porridge Spaced Steptoe and Son The Thick of It Yes Minister/Prime Minister_ Even then that’s probably skewed towards recent hits. A bit of me thinks that _Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads_ and some Johnny Speight ought also to be in there. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/30 "2008-06-05T02:02:27Z")
Fawlty Towers Blackadder Father Ted Red Dwarf The Vicar of Dibley The Young Ones Added: **Spaced Bottom Black Books The Office (UK) The IT Crowd** (Yes, mine goes to 11) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/31 "2008-06-05T02:02:58Z")
[QUOTE=bonzer] Even then that’s probably skewed towards recent hits. [/QUOTE] I wanted to toss in Doctor in the House, but that was so long ago that I don’t really know if I’d still find it as good as I did at the time. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/32 "2008-06-05T02:13:56Z")
Coupling The Vicar of Dibley Are You Being Served? Fawlty Towers Blackadder Red Dwarf Father Ted Monty Python Keeping Up Appearances As Time Goes By ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/33 "2008-06-05T10:03:31Z")
Fawlty Towers Monty Python Keeping Up Appearances The Young Ones As Time Goes By ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/34 "2008-06-05T13:59:50Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] I wanted to toss in Doctor in the House, but that was so long ago that I don’t really know if I’d still find it as good as I did at the time. [/QUOTE] My list was going to start off with: On the Buses Some Mothers do 'Ave 'Em Doctor in the House I enjoyed these shows as a kid, even though I realized they were pretty much god awful. I have a few tapes of On the Buses and Doctor, and man, are they bad. They’re just atrocious. The production values of Doctor are horrendous, the plots are sometimes terrifying, the attitudes of the male characters (apart from Upton) make your eyes water. On the Buses is sometimes worse. The amount of abuse doled out to poor Olive just doesn’t seem very funny anymore. Abuse in comedy is a strange thing, and ages poorly. Watching The Office and seeing Gareth treated poorly because he’s an annoying, pencil-necked toady is funny – for now. But watching Olive get insulted almost relentlessly because she’s a thick, clinging pita isn’t funny anymore – although it was back then. Anyway, my favorites: The Office Farty Towels Father Ted Extras Since everyone added non-sitcoms as well, I’d throw in Little Britain and League of Gentlemen, and some of Ballykissangel and Mapp & Lucia. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/35 "2008-06-05T14:06:06Z")
[QUOTE=Lunar Saltlick] Farty Towels [/QUOTE] You mean Flowery Twats, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![exclamation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/858c86/32.png) [@exclamation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/exclamation)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/36 "2008-06-05T14:19:44Z")
My list (no order): Fawlty Towers Blackadder Keeping Up Appearances Father Ted The Vicar of Dibley **Added:** Black Books The IT Crowd The Office Spaced And I’d like to nominate **Darkplace** (or [Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Marenghi's_Darkplace)). It’s got the actors who play Moss and Douglas from The IT Crowd, and Simon the computer guy from The Office. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/37 "2008-06-05T15:29:11Z")
[QUOTE=Aziraphale] \*\*Black Books \*\*(you haven’t lived until you’ve watched this. Really. I promise. First season also partially co-authored by Linehan.) You should now go and make it your goal to find and watch at least Black Books and Absolute Power if you haven’t seen them. Drop everything else, find 'em. You won’t regret it. [/QUOTE] Seconded (or thirded) on _Black Books_. Not only is Bill Bailey a scream, Dylan Moran has genius comic timing. _Run Fatboy Run_ was uneven, but the best joke in the whole film was Moran’s pause before replying “It’s sterilized”. It’s right up there was Christopher Guest’s Nigel Tufnel pausing before replying “These go to eleven.” ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/38 "2008-06-06T00:42:28Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] You mean Flowery Twats, don’t you? [/QUOTE] I thought it was Fatty Owls. 😉 I’m impressed with the number of comedies “subbed in” on everyone’s lists. I realize I left many out from my original list; most are due to not seeing the shows in question, and a few (like _Yes Minister/Prime Minister_ ) are just forgetfulness on my part. I appreciate the input on the shows I left out; I’ve done some research on them and a lot of them look like something I’d enjoy, especially _One Foot in the Grave_ and _Spaced_ . Do any of them currently run on BBCA? Or are any available on iTunes? I’d like to sample them before making any kind of major financial commitment. Keep 'em coming, guys! You all are awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/39 "2008-06-06T00:49:06Z")
Hmmm. Ruling out the ones I haven’t seen: Coupling – **Gadarene** ’s right. It’s absolutely brilliant! 'Allo, 'Allo Yes (Prime) Minister As Time Goes By The Vicar of Dibley Keeping Up Appearances Blackadder Are You Being Served? Fawlty Towers ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769/40 "2008-06-07T14:36:00Z")
Nobodys mentioned Rising Damp,sheer comic genius. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcom-ratings-choose-10-please/451769.md?page=1)