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’ films if you haven’t seen those yet, and the old Ealing comedy 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 very funny, in an on-the-nose sort of way.
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.
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 .
