# What's your favorite Britcom? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2001, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298 "2001-01-29T19:03:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/61 "2001-02-01T15:20:56Z")
Well, I started this thread, OEDIPUS, and I thought maybe I’d get 10 or so replies. I’m gratified. And I find that there are many Britcoms that I have never heard of, much less seen. The Fast Show is another one. I don’t think anyone but me has mentioned Knowing Me, Knowing You. It has come around a few times on BBCA and I find it hilarious. Now I’m starting to question my own sense of humo(u)r. Can everyone else hate this show so much that they refuse to even mention it? It’a certainly true that I’ve been told I have a sick sense of humor… ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/62 "2001-02-01T16:11:58Z")
oedipus, I’m over here;) ---
**Author:** ![fenrir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/43a26b/32.png) [@fenrir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fenrir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/63 "2001-02-02T02:29:50Z")
Well fawlty Towers and Monty Python are my favorited.I’m not sure about this one but i found a tape with a couple shows of The Dangerous Brothers on it , if they count as a true show. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2001, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/64 "2001-02-02T04:27:50Z")
Dangerous Brothers, huh? I reckon that’s Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson. You’d like Young Ones, Bottom, Filthy Rich and Catflap, Five Go Mad, and Mr Jolly Lives Next Door, then. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/65 "2001-02-02T06:53:56Z")
My favorites are Waiting for God, As Time Goes By, and of course, Red Dwarf. ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/66 "2001-02-02T08:45:25Z")
Here in Oz we get to see many Brit shows and one brilliant one that nobody’s mentioned so far is **The Brittas Empire** starring the man who plays Crichton in Red Dwarf as Mr Brittas. He’s an appalling, inept control-freak who runs a “leisure centre” (ie swimming pool and gym). An eccentric supporting cast, well worth watching. An aussie comedy that is first-rate is **FrontLine** , although I feel it won’t travel well. It’s a cynical look at our shallow current affairs industry where (for example) a story on breast cancer is only worth running if it involves lots of close-ups of tits. The makers, Working Dog Productions went on to make the films **The Castle** and **The Dish**. If I don’t get home on the dot of six my pussy goes absolutely out of control. I’m free! ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/67 "2001-02-02T09:17:25Z")
Reply to Redboss: The star of the sitcom The Brittas Empire is Chris Barrie as in Rimmer in Red Dwarf. Kryten is played by Robert Llewellyn. This reminds me that many people in Britain think that US Drama and comedy is good because we get only the best generally, and vice versa, the US gets mostly the best of UK TV. You don’t see painful comedies like Chris Barrie’s comedy about an ex soccer player Gary Prince, called ‘Prince Among Men’; IMHO it never really worked. What is also interesting is how some English Drama and Comedy series which are admired in the US, are less admired here (Benny Hill among others) and vice versa (some US series have, I believe received a year or so reprieve because of UK guarantees to buy a further year ( I think Murder One was one although I could be wrong). ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/68 "2001-02-02T12:20:03Z")
Have you had **‘Strangerers’** over in the USA yet? it was written (or maybe co-written) by Rob Grant. Unusually, it had a very high budget for a Britcom and first aired on Cable/Satellite early last year. Still hasn’t been seen on terrestrial. Concerns vegetable-based aliens visiting earth to study humans and is indescribably weird and IMHO hysterically funny. Official website : [http://www.thestrangerers.co.uk/](http://www.thestrangerers.co.uk/) ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/69 "2001-02-02T13:51:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ageless6 \* > … And I find that there are many Britcoms that I have never heard of, much less seen. The Fast Show is another one. I’m glad you’re pleased with the response **ageless6**. The Fast Show is sketch-based rather than a sitcom and the characters build over time. Stick with it if you get the chance, I think it’ll grow on you (of course there’s always the risk that you don’t get it over there - Mr Depp may have seen it on his travels). > [@](#): > > I don’t think anyone but me has mentioned Knowing Me, Knowing You. It has come around a few times on BBCA and I find it hilarious. Now I’m starting to question my own sense of humo(u)r. Can everyone else hate this show so much that they refuse to even mention it? > It’a certainly true that I’ve been told I have a sick sense of humor… _Very_ funny show. There was also a follow-up series in which Alan got fired from his TV show and had to work as an early morning DJ on a tiny radio station in our equivalent of Wyoming (?). The episode where he meets his No.1 Fan must not be missed. ```auto android -- 'scuse me mate, I should've used that Profile button first eh? ``` ---
**Author:** ![Medievalist2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@Medievalist2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medievalist2)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2001, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/70 "2001-02-03T09:51:01Z")
I like Fawlty Towers. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/71 "2001-02-04T03:38:43Z")
Someone was asking about Australian comedies. I just saw an episode of [The Games](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0165024). It’s sort of a cross between _Sports Night_, _This is Spinal Tap_ and C-SPAN. May have to keep an eye on this one. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/72 "2001-02-04T05:23:18Z")
I was surfing while watching _As Time Goes By_, and came across this thread. I’ve become slightly obsessed with that show, although not as obsessed as the people at [this](http://www.atgbcentral.com/) site, 58 of whom flew from the U.S. to England to watch it being taped. The most recent (eighth) series was produced last year, and there’s talk about a ninth series coming soon. _Yes, Minister_ was brilliant, _Fawlty Towers_ was hysterical, and I really enjoyed _May to December_ (like everyone else, I preferred red-headed Zoe). I also like anything with Penelope Keith. ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/73 "2001-02-04T08:45:52Z")
I love The Good Neighbors, Hitchhikers Guide, Red Dwarf, Yes Minister, Yes Prime Minister, Are You Being Served? (esp. the earlier episodes with the original cast). I don’t like Faulty Towers or Brittas Empire. In the Good Neighbors, I particularly like the episode where both couples get plastered on homemade wine, and Mrs. Ledbetter (I’ve forgotten her first name)gets weepy about not having a sence of humor. It wasn’t a series, but a British import I saw on public tv years ago and really liked was a set of three stage plays, The Norman Conquests, involving a guy named Norman (played by Tom Conti). Each play covers the same events on the same day, but in a different location: living room, yard, and kitchen (I think it was). ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2001, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/74 "2001-02-04T08:47:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pjen \* > \*\*Reply to Redboss: > > The star of the sitcom The Brittas Empire is Chris Barrie as in Rimmer in Red Dwarf. Kryten is played by Robert Llewellyn.\*\* Thanks for putting me right Pjen ---
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/75 "2001-02-05T02:14:05Z")
For me: Mr. Bean without a doubt. Unfortunatly, PBS stopped showing it (here in NY at least). Runner up: The Thin Blue Line (PBS stopped showing this too.) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/76 "2001-02-05T03:00:42Z")
Well, **Fawlty Towers** is the funniest sitcom **EVER**. Forget Lucy, MASH, Seinfeld, Roseanne, Friends etc. Nothing even comes close. After that: **The Young Ones Monty Python Ab-Fab** The **Hitchhiker’s Guide** mini-series was ok, but the original radio play was much better. I’d heard alot about **Red Dwarf** but after seeing it on BBC-A it’s, well, lame. Not nearly in the same category as the above shows. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/77 "2001-02-05T12:08:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Robot Arm \* > \*\*Someone was asking about Australian comedies. I just saw an episode of [The Games](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0165024). It’s sort of a cross between _Sports Night_, _This is Spinal Tap_ and C-SPAN. May have to keep an eye on this one. \*\* I just saw this the other night. They just started putting it on after “Black Adder”. It’s great. And if it’s not too much a hijack to mention something from my own continent, “Games” was followed by “The Industry” from Canada. Fucking hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/78 "2001-02-05T14:10:06Z")
It’s cold outside There’s no kind of atmosphere We’re all alone More or less Let me fly far away from here Fun, fun, fun In the sun, sun, sun I want to go Shipwrecked and comatose Sipping fresh mango juice Goldfish go nubbling at my toes Fun, fun, fun In the sun, sun, sun Red Dwarf-Star Trek connection In the Star Trek Encyclopedia there is a small graphic representing the state of San Fransisco about 25 years from now(One of Star Trek’s jaunts into the “past”). On this graphic, in small print, it reads: \*\*HON. DAVID LISTER, MAYOR CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO HON. ARNOLD J. RIMMER, GOVERNOR STATE OF CALIFORNIA\*\* God help us all. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/79 "2001-02-05T14:57:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Admiral Borg \* > \*\* > Goldfish go nubbling at my toes > > \*\* It’s, “Goldfish shoals nibbling at my toes!” Shoals being like a school of fish. It is clearer when the Elvis impersonator sings it. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298/80 "2001-02-06T11:35:55Z")
Um, sort of hijack. Not a Britcom, but I thought it might amuse people to know that the Queen has just appointed a “Personal Painter” named **Blackadder** 🙂 [EBlackadder](http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=44774) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-britcom/52298.md?page=5)