We all know the Brits we find funny here, but how about vice versa? Greg Proops?
I’ve been curious about all the exposure Proops gets on BBC radio and “Whose Line Is It Anyway.” Do Brits really think he’s funny, or is the Beeb trying to punish the license payers?
Greg Proops does nothing for me.
Bill Hicks was a genius. Jon Stewart and the Comedy Central team are the current ones that came to mind first.
Some sitcoms have successfully made the transition across the Atlantic, such as Friends, Willl & Grace, and My Name is Earl. The latter is the only one of the three which I like.
Dan Ackroyd, John Candy, Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, but not Tom Green or Martin Short.
Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock, Rich Hall, Sarah Silverman, Ryan Stiles, Jerry Seinfeld.
The writers of Seinfeld, Frasier, Friends, Cheers, The Office, Arrested Development, and Becker
This is off the top of my head. I’d probably be able to think of a lot more.
Judge Judy
Both Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show occupied the graveyard slot when broadcast on BBC2 several years ago. Why, I don’t know. Both very funny in my opinion. In the latter programme Jeffrey Tambor as Hank was excellent.
Steve Carell is top of my list at the moment.
And Seinfeld is the best sitcom ever written IMO.
If you’re talking about stand-up comedians, there’s Steven Wright, Rich Hall (almost an honorary Brit judging by the amount of time he seems to spend over here), Bill Hicks. I haven’t seen Greg Proops for years. Liked him on Whose Line…, not so much as a stand-up.
Apart from stand-ups, it seems to me that the 90s were a golden age for American sitcoms, so there’s all the people responsible for The Simpsons, Futurama, Frasier, Larry Sanders, and I think you have to include Seinfeld and Friends although those last two are not particular favourites of mine.
Oh yeah, forgot him: Rich Hall is one of the funniest stand-up comedians I’ve ever seen.
I saw him once in Dublin and did 15 minutes on Irish politics gleaned from the newspapers that day. An absolute genius. And of course as Otis Lee Crenshaw he floored me with laughter. God he’s funny.
FWIW, Seinfeld always left me cold. Cheers reruns on satellite, however, are always welcome.
And I too forgot Rich Hall!
Wow…I think Americans barely know who Rich Hall is. I couldn’t tell you his brand of stand-up if I tried. He’s the guy responsible for Sniglets, right?
He’s hardly a superstar here, either. He turns up on comedy panel games like QI from time to time, and he has made a couple of series for BBC satellite/cable channels. I loved Rich Hall’s Fishing Show.
One of my favorite Internet Wastes Of Time recently has been to go over to www.amazon.co.uk and read the reviews the Brits give of American TV shows (on DVD), movies, etc.
Rich Hall was moderately big in the U.S. back in the 1980’s.
The US version of The Office airs in Britain? What happened to the Ricky Gervais one?
It only had 14 episodes. The last one was years ago.
A quick note from a Yank:
My wife and I saw Proops’ stand-up act a few years ago. The guy is funny as hell on Whose Line, but dear God, that was the most unfunny stand-up act I’ve ever seen. He came very close to being booed off stage.
Canadian, isn’t he?
A quick note from a different Yank. I disagree 100%. I’ve seen his stand-up 3 times, and it’s been brililant and hilarious every time. So there