# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Fourtyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Fourtyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fourtyfold)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/21 "2011-07-17T19:00:36Z")
Some of the older, cultish, or more obscure ones I can think of: Mr Don & Mr George Chance In A Million Vic Reeves Big Night Out Black Books The Gaffer Mapp & Lucia Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em Q (Spike Milligan sketch show) It 'Ain’t Half Hot Mum Absolutely Alas Smith & Jones Shelley And of course there are the [‘Carry On’](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On_%28film_series%29) films if you haven’t seen those yet, and the old [Ealing comedy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ealing_Comedies) films from the 40s & 50s. Or perhaps any of the still earlier Will Hay films - ‘Oh Mr Porter’ for example. All very classic British movies. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/22 "2011-07-17T19:08:48Z")
After Peep Show, David Mitchell co-hosted a news comedy series called 10 O’Clock Live, which I found very good, and hope comes back. Russell Howard started his own show after leaving Mock the Week called “Russell Howard’s Good News”, which is always upbeat and funny. Charlie Brooker is less so, but he’s done some great stuff like ScreenWipe and NewsWipe and a few more I can’t recall right now. How about podcasts? [The Bugle](http://www.thebuglepodcast.com/) is hosted by John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, both of whom are extremely funny. From the BBC, “Friday Night Comedy” is very very good with varying hosts, and if you like science and philosophy, “The Infinite Monkey Cage” with Brian Cox and Robin Ince has the occasional amusing bit. ---
**Author:** ![scruffycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scruffycat/32/200_2.png) [@scruffycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scruffycat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/23 "2011-07-17T19:25:16Z")
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingales](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingales) Nightingales, possibly the best UK sitcom ever and almost completely forgotten now. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/24 "2011-07-17T19:38:06Z")
Monty Python Fawlty Towers Absolutely Fabulous Good Neighbors The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin Anything the Royals do ---
**Author:** ![scruffycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scruffycat/32/200_2.png) [@scruffycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scruffycat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/25 "2011-07-17T19:44:43Z")
Oh and I’d also recommend 15 Storeys High (The episode ‘Blue Rat’ may be my favourite 1/2 hour of a UK sitcom ever) Alexi Sayles Stuff, The All New Alexei Sayle Show, The Likely Lads, Attention Scum!, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Nathan Barley, Early Doors, Jam, Filthy Rich And Catflap (And of course Bottom) Black Books, Chelmsford 123, Phoenix Nights, Citizen Smith, Lead Balloon, Porridge, Swiss Tony and Open All Hours. How many of them you will be able to see anything of these days I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![scruffycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scruffycat/32/200_2.png) [@scruffycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scruffycat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/26 "2011-07-17T19:48:14Z")
Damn, I forgot Catterick! ---
**Author:** ![Acorns.but\_not\_Bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@Acorns.but\_not\_Bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acorns.but_not_Bacon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/27 "2011-07-17T19:58:20Z")
There is a comedy which I adore and is, I think underrated, called Jam and Jerusalem, though it’s called Clatterford in America. Very nice, subtle, gentle understated humour. Jennifer Saunders wrote it and it stars her and Dawn French but they’re not the main characters, it’s a comedy about life in a west country village. Also have you watched Dad’s Army? it’s a classic and it just relaxes me. Father Ted, every episode is hilarious, it’s so funny and watchable, in fact More4 repeated it for years just constantly running through the three series from start to finish and I always watched it, no matter how many times. Butterflies, it’s dated but amusing. Most recently there was a series called How TV Ruined Your Life, it’s not a sitcom, every episode Charlie Brooker tackles a certain subject and analyses how tv broached that subject. It’s wry, it’s satire, an irreverent look if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Fourtyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Fourtyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fourtyfold)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/28 "2011-07-17T19:58:42Z")
> [@scruffycat](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingales](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingales) > > Nightingales, possibly the best UK sitcom ever and almost completely forgotten now. Heh, Agreed. If you can sit through series 1, episode 4 without breaking up, you’ve died. A couple of others: The Goodies, and Spitting Yarns. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/29 "2011-07-17T20:10:23Z")
**Ideal**. Imagine **Weeds** , set in England, but with characters far less ambitious and less well-off financially. ---
**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, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/30 "2011-07-17T20:19:06Z")
> [@scruffycat](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingales](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightingales) > > Nightingales, possibly the best UK sitcom ever and almost completely forgotten now. I was considering suggesting that one too. It was years before I realised ‘there’s no-one in here but us chickens’ wasn’t an original from that series. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/31 "2011-07-17T20:35:54Z")
How about Irish comedy? [Father Ted](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111958/) [Ballykissangel](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115105/) ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/32 "2011-07-17T20:45:40Z")
_Green Wing._ Hilarious and charming! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/33 "2011-07-17T21:05:42Z")
[_The Goodies!_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goodies) ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/34 "2011-07-17T21:08:56Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > _Green Wing._ Hilarious and charming! I wanted to like Green Wing, but found the sped-up camera stuff to be really distracting. Disappointing, because I like the actress in it- the one from Black Books. I really like Charlie Brooker, and found [How TV Ruined Your Life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_TV_Ruined_Your_Life) very funny, in an on-the-nose sort of way. I’ve also been watching [Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Lee%27s_Comedy_Vehicle) lately. I think I like ranty, square-faced men. I’d also like to recommend [Tim Minchin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Minchin), who is a musical stand up comedian, I guess. He’s kind of ranty too, except adorable. ---
**Author:** ![Fourtyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Fourtyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fourtyfold)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/35 "2011-07-17T21:24:08Z")
> [@Fourtyfold](#): > > …and Spitting Yarns. Oops, my bad. I meant _Ripping_ Yarns. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/36 "2011-07-17T22:52:20Z")
I rather think they may be unobtainable, but if you could find them I would strongly recommend _At Last The 1948 Show,_ and _The Complete and Utter History of Britain_, both important precursors to _Monty Python_ (the first had Cleese and Chapman, as well as Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor, and the second was Palin and Jones). In the same vein, there was also _Please Do Not Adjust Your Set_ (with Eric Idle and the _Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band_). This was supposedly a children’s show, but quite surreal. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/37 "2011-07-17T23:13:28Z")
Does it seem POSSIBLE?! (Rams head through door) that none of you have mentioned THE YOUNG ONES?! (THROWS TELEVISION THROUGH WINDOW) Or could it have become some that I have simply missed the post(s) it was mention one? (Bashes self in skull with cricket bat) This could easily be the case, as I am quite stupid. Stares vacantly at empty spot where TV used to be. I’m bored. Seriously, check it out… link may not be safe for work if comic violence sensitivities exist, or if sudden loud noises, such as you laughing out loud would cause unfavourable reactions . [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wk5pO06BdSk/maxresdefault.jpg "The Party | The Young Ones | BBC Studios") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk5pO06BdSk) ---
**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, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/38 "2011-07-17T23:22:22Z")
> [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](#): > > Does it seem POSSIBLE?! (Rams head through door) that none of you have mentioned THE YOUNG ONES?! (THROWS TELEVISION THROUGH WINDOW) > Or could it have become some that I have simply missed the post(s) it was mention one? (Bashes self in skull with cricket bat) This could easily be the case, as I am quite stupid. > Stares vacantly at empty spot where TV used to be. I’m bored. > > Seriously, check it out… > > link may not be safe for work if comic violence sensitivities exist, or if sudden loud noises, such as you laughing out loud would cause unfavourable reactions . > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk5pO06BdSk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk5pO06BdSk) The OP said he’d seen petty much all British comedies, so was asking for obscure ones. Though a few of the recommendations are really not obscure. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/39 "2011-07-17T23:22:55Z")
> **[Beyond the Fringe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Fringe)** > > Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore. It debuted at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival and went on to play in London's West End and then in America, both on tour and on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s. Hugely successful, it is widely regarded as seminal to the "satire boom", the rise of satirical comedy in 1960s Britain. > The idea of bringing together the best of revues by the Cambridge Footlight... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dFoagC5yGY0/hqdefault.jpg "'One Leg Too Few' - Peter Cook & Dudley Moore 1970s") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFoagC5yGY0) ‘One Leg Too Few’ - Peter Cook & Dudley Moore 1970s https://www.youtube.com/embed/lSZ2by7M9NI?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PL28737F8E6E0433D1 ---
**Author:** ![dam0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@dam0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dam0)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/40 "2011-07-17T23:24:07Z")
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