# British comedy - recommend me some **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351 "2011-07-17T15:23:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/1 "2011-07-17T15:23:01Z")
Difficulty level: I’ve already seen them all. No, really. I’ve been a fan of British comedy for going on 20 years now. When Napster came out and people were using it to fill out their Metallica collection, I was downloading episodes of Saturday Night Fry, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie’s short-lived radio sketch comedy from the 80s. That’s a great show, by the way, and well worth seeking out. I’ve got terabytes of British comedy (and other stuff too, I suppose) cluttering up my basement. I’m predicting that I will have already tried 90%+ of the shows that pop up in this thread. But I want you to recommend them anyway, because I’m looking for those few gems that I somehow missed. So there’s your challenge. Find me a good show or ten of any kind - sketch comedy, sitcom, panel shows, whatever - that I haven’t seen, as long as it’s funny. I won’t bother trying to list all the ones I’ve already tried, because that would take forever. But I will respond to what gets suggested here. I’ll even go so far as to allow Canadian or Australian shows, although I have dipped into those now and then, and have yet to find any winners. Have at it! ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/2 "2011-07-17T15:24:10Z")
Red Dwarf 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/3 "2011-07-17T15:30:17Z")
HA! I should have expected that. I’ve had this name for so long, I often forget about it. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/4 "2011-07-17T15:36:43Z")
Wodehouse Playhouse – a pretty decent adaptation of the Mulliner stories. Got that one yet gimboid? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/5 "2011-07-17T15:40:41Z")
Since I believe it would be a bit pointless to point out Ricky Gervais and all his projects or Little Britain, might I suggest “Summer Heights High”, an Australian mockumentary by comedian Chris Lilley about two students (one troubled Islander boy and a stuck-up private school princess) and an overambitious drama teacher, all three played by Lilley. Especially the drama teacher is hysterical. This show manages to be both physically and very subtly funny - it’s not all in the crazy accents. He also did two other series, We Can Be Heroes and Angry Boys. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/6 "2011-07-17T16:01:03Z")
Chef! Fawlty Towers Monty Python’s Flying Circus The Vicar of Dibley ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/7 "2011-07-17T16:05:42Z")
Among current shows, I think that Not Going Out is the best sitcom on British TV. Possibly not a fashionable view, because it is quite mainstream, and we tend to be better at edgy or whimsical comedy. Maybe it’s just the zeal of a new convert - I initially overlooked this show because I found Lee Mack a bit end-of-the-pier/Butlins redcoat. But I’ve really changed my mind about him. The show has a high gags-per-minute rate, and the gags are actually funny. I also like The IT Crowd (from one of the guys who wrote Father Ted, and quite similar in feel), except I don’t like the more recent seasons as much as the first. There’s also the Armstrong and Miller show, a pretty good sketch show, especially the RAF pilots bits. [edit] Nearly forgot - Peep Show! In fact, most things involving David Mitchell are worth watching. He makes a great panel show guest. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/8 "2011-07-17T16:09:18Z")
**Monarch of the Glen** , I don’t know if it counts as comedy, more like a British Northern Exposure. **Doc Martin** , ditto ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/9 "2011-07-17T16:10:12Z")
**Murder Most Horrid** - An anthology series starring Dawn French. I’ve only seen a couple episodes so I don’t know how well the quality holds up from show to show, but _Overkill_ is one of the funniest half hours I’ve ever seen. **The Games** - Australian mockumentary about the organizing of the Sydney Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/10 "2011-07-17T16:12:32Z")
Black Adder ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/11 "2011-07-17T16:22:08Z")
With all that Fry, why not **QI**? If you don’t mind some drama which happens to be funny, I found **Misfits** to be amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/12 "2011-07-17T16:50:10Z")
**The Catherine Tate Show** : sketch comedy, mostly but not entirely based on recurring characters. Actress/writer Catherine Tate plays a wide variety of roles, ranging from an insolent teen girl to a sleep-deprived young mother to a critical granny. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/13 "2011-07-17T16:56:16Z")
I expect you’ve seen Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and QI, but how about Would I Lie to You, The Bubble, 8 Out of 10 Cats (hosted by the odious Jimmy Carr, so I avoid it, but it’s probably otherwise good)? ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/14 "2011-07-17T18:08:30Z")
That Mitchell and Webb Look The Might Boosh Chewin’ the Fat Still Game ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/15 "2011-07-17T18:16:24Z")
Fawlty Towers Monty Python’s Flying Circus The Two Ronnies [early seasons of] Only Fools And Horses Black Adder (there are 4 seasons of that) Anything with Harry Enfield and/or Paul Whitehouse Vic Reeves [may be more of an acquired taste] ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/16 "2011-07-17T18:18:42Z")
Limmy’s Show has so far only been broadcast on BBC Scotland, but I think it’s due to go nationwide shortly. I think it’s one of the better new sketch shows - quite dark in places. ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/17 "2011-07-17T18:23:53Z")
The Inbetweeners ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/18 "2011-07-17T18:26:45Z")
Smack the Pony If you’re willing to go Canadian, how about Corner Gas or Butch Patterson, Private Dick? ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/19 "2011-07-17T18:55:25Z")
It’s not a proper comedy, more a dram-edy sort of thing, but the canadian show Republic of Doyle is a good and very entertaining show. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/20 "2011-07-17T18:56:04Z")
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