# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/61 "2011-07-18T12:43:47Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > After you said you hadn’t liked much Australian stuff, I was a bit embarrassed to see Summer Heights High recommended. I think it’s terrible, a cheap cousin of Little Britain or Catherine Tate. This. So much this. I am so sick of seeing Lilley lauded as the next great Australian Thing. I fucking loathe all of his shows, they’re cringeworthy. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/62 "2011-07-18T13:49:25Z")
Citizen Smith Steptoe and Son The Good Life Yes Minister The Likely Lads Man about the House Chelmsford 123 Da Ali G Show Bo Selecta Brass Eye The Day Today Dear John Extras Hi-De-Hi Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy I’m Alan Partridge Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge Open All Hours ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/63 "2011-07-18T14:11:44Z")
Can’t think of anything to add just now. So far as Summer Heights High is concerned, I don’t get it…but my three teenage children who enjoy Monty Python/Blackadder/Catherine Tate etc love it. My pick for additional interest is the Australian comedy “The Games” which is played as dry deadpan satire. The genius behind it is New Zealander John Clarke. If you want a taste of this dry type of humour, check out The Front Fell Off (which actually happened). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8-QNAwUdHUQ/hqdefault.jpg "The Front Fell Off!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-QNAwUdHUQ) ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/64 "2011-07-18T14:26:03Z")
For the radio-minded if someone hasn’t mentioned **The Goon Show** , I wish they wouldn’t. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/65 "2011-07-18T15:14:09Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I found Lee Mack a bit end-of-the-pier/Butlins redcoat. You found what, now? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/66 "2011-07-18T15:54:23Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > I found Lee Mack a bit end-of-the-pier/Butlins redcoat. > > You found what, now? Sorry, Britishism. I mean old-school, downmarket, mass-appeal humour. The type you might encounter at a British seaside resort or holiday camp (such as Butlins, whose entertainers/MCs/general fun-enforcement agents are or were known as redcoats). Often delivered by cheeky chappies from “up north”. ---
**Author:** ![Puff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce73a5/32.png) [@Puff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Puff)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/67 "2011-07-18T15:56:05Z")
Have been watching this list grow and grow and waited to respond because it seems we have fairly similar tastes; here’s my reccos that haven’t been offered up yet: League of Gentlemen - oddball comedy, fairly gross and very very wrong Alan Partridge - both series, lovely stuff. Shooting Stars - awesome madcap panel show with Reeves & Mortimer. Fonejacker - prank call show, but much more. Skins - teenage comedy/drama in Bristol. Drugs/sex/love… but handles some very heavy issues for kids in the best way I’ve ever seen, and remains entertaining. BoSelecta - part real part surreal, guy is a celebrity chaser and does weird impressions with masks on… worth it for the Little Bear and Marilyn Manson sketches alone. And for the record - I agree on GreenWing. Pretty much the best British show I’ve seen from my perspective. Different, engaging and hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/68 "2011-07-18T15:56:41Z")
Holiday camp? Is that like a camping ground? Ours don’t come with entertainers, just wildlife. [edit–] Having done a bit of googling … Wow, we don’t have anything like that here … a fenced-in resort full of drunken vacationers … So a holiday camp is something like a carnival as executed by the Third Reich? ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/69 "2011-07-18T16:27:12Z")
Yep. Exactly that. They became big in the 1950s and in fact one of the comedies I mentioned above - Hi-De-Hi - is set in a 1950s holiday camp and gives a good flavour of one. I never found it particularly funny myself but it was very popular so others may like it. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/70 "2011-07-18T16:29:10Z")
Filthy Rich And Catflap (the spiritual followup of young ones). Q5/6/7/8/9/Theres a lot of it about - Spike Milligans shows, predates Python and Inspired it. Absolutely (please please pick up the dvd for a song, its my favourite) The Comic Strip Presents (Dirt cheap for box set of all episodes). Fist of Fun/This Morning with richard not judy On the Hour (radio version precursor to The Day Today) Spaced Avoid Bottom (Avoid this if you liked Young ones etc, its same joke over and over) Happy Families (First thing Elton did after Young Ones) Bo Selecta, appalling crap ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/71 "2011-07-18T16:31:04Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Having done a bit of googling … Wow, we don’t have anything like that here … a fenced-in resort full of drunken vacationers … So a holiday camp is something like a carnival as executed by the Third Reich? Heh, I think you’ve about got the idea. The traditional holiday camp is very much a thing of the past (although I see Butlins is still going, one would hope in a less regimented style). You are not the first person to see parallels between holiday camps and concentration camps :D. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/72 "2011-07-18T16:35:40Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Heh, I think you’ve about got the idea. The traditional holiday camp is very much a thing of the past (although I see Butlins is still going, one would hope in a less regimented style). You are not the first person to see parallels between holiday camps and concentration camps :D. I don’t like the sound of these 'ere boncentration bamps. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/73 "2011-07-18T18:05:45Z")
You’ve probably seen them, but maybe not, since they’re once-yearly: _ **The Big Fat Quiz of the Year** _. It’s like a celebrity pub quiz night, covering news of the previous year, hosted by Jimmy Carr. It’s fun to see how many things you can answer yourself, since British news often doesn’t make it over here. Plus, the celebrities are all very witty, and make lots of hilarious comments. My favorite of all of them (so far) was 2006, when Russell Brand and Noel Fielding were teamed up. They didn’t get too many answers right, but their wrong answers were very entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/74 "2011-07-18T18:18:00Z")
Berry and Fulcher’s [Snuff Box](http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/snuffbox/). Strangely repetitive. Oddly musical. Just weird. But quite good. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/75 "2011-07-18T22:51:59Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > My favorite of all of them (so far) was 2006, when Russell Brand and Noel Fielding were teamed up. The Goth Detectives. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/76 "2011-07-19T00:27:27Z")
If _In the Loop_ is anything to go by, _The Thick of It_ looks like it would be pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/77 "2011-07-19T00:31:56Z")
Dave Allen At Large. ---
**Author:** ![Jaguars](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaguars/32/5879_2.png) [@Jaguars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaguars)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/78 "2011-07-19T10:45:03Z")
There are worse things to waste your life on than British comedy. _Believe Nothing_, with Rik Mayall as an Oxford Professor. I remember it as having a mixture of highbrow and lowbrow humour. ‘_Are you being served_’ is on comedy central at the moment. I haven’t seen it. _'allo allo_ is the only other one that I can think of at the moment. Haven’t seen much either. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/79 "2011-07-19T11:05:35Z")
Has anyone mentioned **Nighty Night** yet? Just going by what you love (Peep Show, Green Wing and the like) this very dark comedy could be right up your street. It makes me want to hide under the sofa whilst biting on a pillow, but I love it: [Nighty Night (TV Series 2004–2005) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395404/) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351/80 "2011-07-19T11:09:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > If _In the Loop_ is anything to go by, _The Thick of It_ looks like it would be pretty good. It is. it’s marvellous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-comedy-recommend-me-some/589351.md?page=5)