Pistols at dawn!
Ooh, gosh. I loved Cheers, but to compare the two. :mad: :eek:
Agree mostly.
Which denies the history of British humour greatly; either that or you’ve missed most of the good stuff. I agree that the really superb humour these days is out of the States, but taken in context, we did lead the field for a couple of decades. Granted, most of it is and always will be shit - Benny Hill et al - but when it’s good, it’s superb. The point of Python is firstly the time in which it occurred, where there was simply nothing like it on earth, secondly the quality and intelligence of the subject matter - the juxtaposition of the esoteric and the mundane - and thirdly, where it comes to silly voices and walks, the humour of the absurd. To explain it would take forever. Think Ionesco.
Agreed. Mike McShane & Greg Proops in particular. I’ve still got a crush on Josie Lawrence, though.
I still like Fawlty Towers, but I have a really hard time watching Cheers. Not aged well at all, IMO.
-Joe
Well, as much as I like British comedies (well, some of them), they all pale to the genius that is Seinfeld, so its hard to say Brit comedies are better than American ones, since we’ve got the champ. 
I am nearly speechless at the utterance of this foul Blasphemy! :eek:
Just you wait till the Spanish Inquisition gets here! Then you’ll have to spend hours in The Comfy Chair- with only a cup of tea at 11 o 'clock or so- because no one expects The Spanish Inquisition!
Seriously though, I didn’t think Cheers was that great. As someone else said, it hasn’t aged all that well… and that’s true of a lot of American sitcoms, IMO.
I’ve long had this theory that British Humour is something you either “Get” or you don’t- and you’ll find it a LOT easier to “Get” if you’re from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and even South Africa.
Naturally, people from other places can “Get” it, but members of the Commonwealth/Former British Empire get a +3 bonus to their BritCom Appreciation Proficiency. 
And yes, there are people in the Commonwealth who don’t “Get” British humour, but they are sad, lonely people, whose lives know no joy because they cannot appreciate the sublime wit of Blackadder, nor the hilarious absurdity which is The Colonel warning the viewer that the film is getting Silly (and a bit suspect), nor be entertained by The Goodies starting their own Pirate Radio Station & Post Office, or becoming Scouts and extorting money from people NOT to do “jobs”… I pity those people.
He didn’t ‘get’ Harold and Maude, Blue Velvet or Fight Club, either, three dark comedies (some may disagree, but I definitely think they fit there) which are some of my all-time favorite movies. So, no, I don’t listen to his advice on comedies much.
That said, BBC’s The Office fits squarely in my comedy sweet spot. I absolutely adore it, and after renting the 2-season-plus-finale set and watching the whole thing, I ran out and bought it and watched it all again. Twice. IMO it’s one of the top situation comedies ever made - Arrested Development is a contender as well.
I agree that Office Space is highly amusing if not among the greats. It’s one I would always enjoy watching, but don’t feel a great need to own. If I got it as a gift, for example, I’d be happy.
I’ve mostly avoided the US version of The Office just because I heard the verbatim pilot was just horrendous. But then I started hearing good things about it. I’ve caught a couple of episodes since (including “the Dundies” twice, for some reason) and thought they were pretty funny. The cast (especially Steve Carrell, duh) does a great job, though I find “Pam and Jim” much less entrancing than “Dawn and Tim.” But I agree with above sentiments that the humor is much closer to The Office (BBC) than that of Office Space.
This is a weird phenomenom. I’m not going to say that all American women suck at improv but the English women on Whose Line are actually funny, wheras the American (and Canadian) women on seem to be around so that they’ve got the occasional woman on, and not because they’re as funny as the men.
With respect fellow, how can you be so literate yet so ignorant? It’s freakin’ won a Golden Globe and has had tons of pub heaped on it! Almost like saying “There’s a show on TV called CSI?”
Golden what?
It’s worth mentioning that The US version of the Office lasted 3 episodes in Australia.
It rated so poorly Channel Ten pulled it, and AFAIK it’s never been on again… so yeah, there are heaps of people in Australia who could, in all honestly, ask the same question as the OP.
Just sayin’…
Out of curiousity do those people who dont get The Office or Office Space actually work in an office? Part of the appeal of these shows and movies is that people actually relate to the characters and plots. I can personally relate to Peter sitting idle at his desk 90% of the time while avoiding bullshit from 8 different managers. I know how Ryan the Temp feels as a B-school intern working for some imbecilic boss who doesn’t appear to know the first thing about running a bussiness. I also recognize in Michael Scott a pathetic incompetent boss who thinks drinks and parties is the best way to inspire leadership.
In general, I’m not a huge fan of Britcoms. Holly Grail and Shaun of the Dead were funny and I´ve chuckled at episodes of Red Dwarf. In general the basic formula for Brittish comedy is some guy dryly keeping a stiff upper lip as his world or situation gets more and more outrageous and bizarre and then he finally flips out.
D’oh! Strike my previous post in that case, didn’t catch that he was located in Oz. Damn my ignorance. :smack:
No, the OP’s located in Los Angeles- which, unless there’s been a major change in the global geopolitical situation whilst I was off watching Lawrence Of Arabia, means he’s in the US.
The point I was making was that it’s entirely possible for people to be completely unaware of “amazing” or “great” TV shows simply because they don’t watch much TV, or the shows aren’t on in their area/country.
People on the SDMB quite frequently mention TV shows I’ve never heard of, which usually sends me off to TV.com or the IMDB to work out what the hell they’re talking about.
To put it another way: My friends think I’m some sort of TV guru because I’ve seen (and am a big fan of!) My Name Is Earl, which isn’t even on Pay TV here yet. Similarly, when I’m doing my “Mentok, The Mind Taker” impression, you’d have to have been watching SBS on a Thursday Night last year to know I was referring to Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law, and even fewer are aware of the televisual brilliance that is Duckman.
I’d never heard of Everybody Loves Raymond until I moved to Australia (and the show’s title is clearly wrong- I can’t stand the show), The West Wing didn’t end up on TV here until 4 seasons after it started, Arrested Development has never been on free to air TV here (AFAIK), and I’ve never once seen an episode of Saturday Night Live on TV in either Australia or NZ. (Disclaimer: I don’t have Pay TV, so I don’t keep up with what’s on Austar/Foxtel unless I’m at my parent’s place.)
It’s amazing how something as “Universal” as Television can still be surprisingly “local” at the same time…
oh man I don’t think I can even begin to respond to the OP. The degree to which the sarcastic narrative is overdone tells me right away that me and this guy are NOT going to agree on what’s funny.
I hate to be a predictable bitch but can we all focus on writing threads that are more concerned with the subject matter and less with being cute and clever?
aaahhhhh :mad:
No, no I don’t think so sargeant.
I like when people actually listen to (well… here, read) what I have to say and I’ve found that presentation makes a hell of a difference. I’m still trying to find my preferred style, so thanks for the feedback. But I won’t water myself down for you (or anyone for that matter) so hate it or love it, but at least you READ it. 
From IMDB:
Wow.
The thought of Gareth and Dwight having a conversation. . .just wow.
This is exactly what I was going to say. I think both The Office and Office Space are laugh-out-loud funny, but my husband doesn’t care for either of them. He sees the humor, but just doesn’t quite get it on the same level that I do. He’s never worked in an regular office setting - and that’s the sticking point, IMO.