# Let's talk about the funniest British comedy of the last decade **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413 "2013-07-24T20:30:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/81 "2014-12-05T21:42:14Z")
with zurich being aired at 6:30 on the 23rd and 24th, some people have been doing an advent calendar thingy (yep, even i can join in the advent calendar fun this time). mr finnemore has joined in with a post a day on his blog! [http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.com/](http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.com/) enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/82 "2014-12-23T14:02:32Z")
get dressed you merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay! for today is zurich, zurich, zurich, day! toblerones at the ready, 1:30pm eastern! ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/83 "2014-12-23T14:59:58Z")
Phoenix Nights seems to have been forgotten fairly quickly. It contains a bit more localised Northern humour than many of the shows mentioned so may not travel well. The 2nd series was good, the 1st series was as funny as any comedy series I have watched before or since. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xkRSuAPDdw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xkRSuAPDdw) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/84 "2014-12-23T17:07:01Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > get dressed you merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay! for today is zurich, zurich, zurich, day! > > toblerones at the ready, 1:30pm eastern! So excited! ---
**Author:** ![alted315](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cc9497/32.png) [@alted315](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alted315)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/85 "2014-12-23T18:10:23Z")
agree with you with the IT Crowd but at close second would be the League of Gentlemen, funny and disturbing at the same time with a healthy dose of the old British comedy fallback, men in drag ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/86 "2014-12-23T19:45:44Z")
This thread has turned out to have an impressive amount of two simultaneous but unrelated conversations. ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/87 "2014-12-23T19:47:39Z")
I agree about The IT Crowd and Peep Show so far - I love both of these. I really enjoy The Inbetweeners. I also enjoyed the movie, but it is a fun show. Along with it, I enjoyed Friday Night Dinner (and thought Simon Bird was pretty funny in both). I’ve only seen the first series though. One of my all time favorite shows is Outnumbered. The use of improv with the kids’ lines makes it really funny to me. I could watch these over and over (actually, since we are without cable, I do). ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/88 "2014-12-23T20:36:25Z")
Ohhhhh please please please nobody spoiler Zurich in this thread!!! I know it just aired, but I can’t listen till I get home from work - 7:30 PST at the earliest. I’ve been re-listening to the whole show the past week. The last two series, especially, are just phenomenal. Gdansk! Ottery St. Mary! Qikiqtarjuaq! St. Petersburg! Uskerty! Verduz! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/89 "2014-12-23T21:34:50Z")
> [@brendon\_small](#): > > I really enjoy The Inbetweeners. I also enjoyed the movie, but it is a fun show. Agreed, it snuck under my radar for some time but my wife and I binge-watched this over the summer. We met when I was 17 and she was 18. We are in our mid-forties now but as she quite rightly pointed out…teenagers are timeless, and that she could see me and my friends of that age doing exactly the same sort of crap. Sex, booze and angsty desperation. All good stuff. Anyhow…I’m just about to retire to bed and podcast the first episode of “Zurich” I shall let the soothing tones of Roger Allam and Benedict Cumberbatch easy my weary mind. ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/90 "2014-12-24T04:53:32Z")
Ahhh, already listened to Zurich part 1. Three times. Excellent accompaniment to Christmas cooking and baking. John Finnemore has been running thru the old episodes all month on his blog as a daily Advent calendar, with new comments and deleted scenes: [http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.com/](http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.com/) ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/91 "2014-12-24T12:22:43Z")
get dressed you merry gentlepeople!!! i’m clutching my tobelrone trying to figure what is going on with gerti. what could gordon possibly know? what does douglas think he knows? will martin end up with a crown to wear? i’m so glad they went with an hour of zurich. i don’t know how they could have finished it off in 45 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/92 "2014-12-24T19:01:50Z")
Awwww, very satisfying finale. Even if John Finnemore never wrote another thing in his life, this show would still be a worthy legacy. He should be very proud. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/93 "2014-12-24T20:25:18Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#): > > Awwww, very satisfying finale. Even if John Finnemore never wrote another thing in his life, this show would still be a worthy legacy. He should be very proud. Indeed. I’d put Zurich up there with the very best of the series, especially part 2. Bravi, Messrs Finnemore, Cumberbatch, Allam and Head, and brava, Madam Cole! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/94 "2014-12-24T21:27:27Z")
wow! john finnemore is beyond brilliant! i never would have guessed gerti’s secret. now how do i get out of the human village and join in the jungle fun? ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/95 "2014-12-25T06:00:07Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Agreed, it snuck under my radar for some time but my wife and I binge-watched this over the summer. We met when I was 17 and she was 18. We are in our mid-forties now but as she quite rightly pointed out…teenagers are timeless, and that she could see me and my friends of that age doing exactly the same sort of crap. Sex, booze and angsty desperation. All good stuff. > > Anyhow…I’m just about to retire to bed and podcast the first episode of “Zurich” I shall let the soothing tones of Roger Allam and Benedict Cumberbatch easy my weary mind. I first saw it when BBC America said it was new. It was actually not new, but new to BBCA, so I ended up watching them all very quickly as soon as I knew there were more. I would have been in my mid-20s when I first saw it, I’m sure, but now I’m almost 30. I still can’t get enough of it. It does remind me of a lot of old friends at times. When I first watched it, I showed it to a coworker. Now we both work elsewhere, but she and I can call each other “Briefcase Wanker” at any given time, making calls between businesses fun. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/96 "2014-12-25T09:39:55Z")
> [@brendon\_small](#): > > I first saw it when BBC America said it was new. It was actually not new, but new to BBCA, so I ended up watching them all very quickly as soon as I knew there were more. > > I would have been in my mid-20s when I first saw it, I’m sure, but now I’m almost 30. I still can’t get enough of it. It does remind me of a lot of old friends at times. When I first watched it, I showed it to a coworker. Now we both work elsewhere, but she and I can call each other “Briefcase Wanker” at any given time, making calls between businesses fun. My wife just pointed out to me that there was a USA remake of “The Inbetweeners”. Are you talking about that or the UK original? Has anyone seen the US remake? did it get watered down at all? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2014, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/97 "2014-12-25T09:45:08Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Indeed. I’d put Zurich up there with the very best of the series, especially part 2. > > Bravi, Messrs Finnemore, Cumberbatch, Allam and Head, and brava, Madam Cole! Very satisfying. I loved the “buying Gertie back” scene with Cumberbatch, Allam and Finnemore all trying out their very best impressions. Every series should end on a classic line and “The lemon is in play” was perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/98 "2014-12-27T22:13:23Z")
> [@brendon\_small](#): > > One of my all time favorite shows is Outnumbered. The use of improv with the kids’ lines makes it really funny to me. I could watch these over and over (actually, since we are without cable, I do). Another vote, here, for _Outnumbered_. It’s really well done (and funny in repeated viewings, as you say. Casting was key, obviously). I tend to like absurdist stuff and _Outnumbered_ is anything but–yet it never disappoints. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/99 "2014-12-27T22:44:18Z")
> [@alted315](#): > > agree with you with the IT Crowd but at close second would be the League of Gentlemen, funny and disturbing at the same time with a healthy dose of the old British comedy fallback, men in drag I love the series, but the film adaptation is apocalypsticly terrible though. Maybe I don’t find sitcom characters entering the real world to be funny, I felt the same about way about Red Dwarf “Back to Earth”. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413/100 "2014-12-31T12:27:16Z")
I finally got to hear the finale. Ah, what a great show. Quotable and hilarious right up until the end. “Would you mind telling me what you have in the back of your van, sir?” “Sure!” “Arthur, no…” “One thousand strawberry lollies and the Princess of Liechtenstein!” I just about lost it there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-the-funniest-british-comedy-of-the-last-decade/664413.md?page=6)