- This topic has 77 replies, 38 voices, and was last updated 6 months ago by
.
- Posts
What was your favourite American or British television comedy show?
Wasn’t really into American shows, but M.A.S.H was definitely my American favourite followed by I love Lucy.
Of the British television Comedy shows there’s so manyYes minister/Yes Prime Minister, I’ve the full box set
Only fools and horses
Steptoe and Son
Open all hours/Still open all hours
Porridge/Going Straight
“Allo Allo”
To the manner born
Keeping up Appearances
The Good Life
Dad’s Army
Riding Damp,
The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin
Faulty Towers
Are you being served
Love Thy neighbour
Bless this House
Get some in
One foot in the grave
Ever decreasing circles
Man about the house
Terry and June
George and Mildred
Agony
There are others like Citizen Smith, Monty Python’s flying circus, Tripper’s Day, Blackadder.
I’m sure there’s many more.Out of these I loved M.A.S.H Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce, Gary Burghoff as Radar, Loretta Swift as “Hotlips”, Jamie Farr as Klinger ,Harry Morgan as Colonel Potter. Why I loved this although it came under comedy there was also a serious side to it. While these weren’t real characters, it was based on what an Mobile Army Surgical Hospital would have faced during the Korean War in the 1950’s. Although it was American it didn’t take any side where injuries where concerned. It really showed the horrors of this war. It should very much the human side of these people. Brilliant, thought the television series was better than the film.
On the British side, Yes Minister /Yes Prime Minister. I worked for my Local Council for 42 years and I could identify with it. I know this was very much tongue in cheek, but I believe broadly is how the British Civil Service works. I’ve the complete box set. Only fools and horses what can one say? I identify with Trigger. I began my job in the Council as a road sweeper and we had characters like Trigger. For me Only Fools and Horses exemplified a lot of ordinary working class trying to make their way in life by ducking and diving.
I could write so much more, but in closing I don’t think there’s any really good comedy series now. Most of the above mentioned wouldn’t be PC now unfortunately.
I’m sorry for this long rant
Love
Liz
Elizabeth,
Do yourself a favor and seek out
“Green Acres”
An American sitcom from the sixties with roots in radio comedy (see Wikipedia for more details).
Totally whacked.
A gut-busting, snot-bubble funny show that’s still crazy after all these years.You/we deserve a good laugh and “Green Acres” delivers. Enjoy!
Thanks for asking.
-joanneWhat a classic “allo allo’ was! I used to dream of being one of the girls in Renee’s cafe. They were so stylish and were ladies after my own heart ❤ not scared to show a bit of leg and be totally hilarious too. 😆
aaaaaaaaaagh…Rene!!!!!
Hi Elizabeth, I watch porridge all the time on the yesterday channel, I watch dinner ladies with Victoria Wood that’s another good comedy show , only fools and horses too ,
I like a lot of the older shows some of these new ones are not funny in my opinion,
Open all hours,
I’m not sure if anyone knows this but Harry H Corbett who played Harold Steptoe in Steptoe and Son was a Shakespeareian actor before he took up comedy acting ,
Hugs Roz X
Rozelyn thank you for your post. I knew that about Harry H Corbett he also appeared in Carry on Screaming.I agree with Wendy the comedy shows today don’t hold a candle to the old ones.
Your also right about Dinnerladies and Absolutely Fabulous.
Liz
Three’s Company tops the list. Growing up, I watched every episode; it as absolutely hilarious watching Jack’s antics and how he tried to hit on his room mates from time to time. As well, I adored Janet’s clothing style in the later episodes, as that is the style I am wearing now (tight black pencil skirt, not the poofy blouses but more modern tops).
Others on the list include Jeffersons, all in the family, benson, sandford and son, and silver spoons. There are probably a who slew of others I used to watch back in the day.
More modern ones include Friends, King of Queens.
Hate to say it, but sitcoms today just aren’t that funny.
You are so right.. I loved those comedies too..
However, I do have to add M.A.S.H. and Hogan’s Heroes…loved those 2 shows specially with klinger dressing as a woman trying to get out of service.
Hi Elizabeth,
Absolutely, I love comedies.
I’ve got the three volume box set of Faulty Towers dvds. And along those lines, Monty Python is another favourite.
Over on the west side of the Atlantic, I really enjoyed the Beverly Hillbillies, Get Smart, Mork & Mindy. Oh and I totally forgot about Frazier. I love the intelligent comedy and repartee between cast members.
I put MASH into its own special category – it could be a comedy, a drama, or a heart lifting inspiration.
Thanks for the question, Have a lovely rest of the week, Hugs, Krista.
Another American one is Get Smart. I think Liara would be brilliant as Agent 99, played by Barbara Feldon. I wouldn’t like to cross you girl.😂😂😂
Liz
Get Smart was a good show. I had forgotten about that one. Thanks for the vote of confidence Liz. Of course I would have to have darker hair, LOL.
Hugs, Liara
I love sitcoms, my favourite American shows would be Cheers and Frasier, both incredibly well done and the casts just play off each other so well but a special note to WKRP in Cincinnati, what a bunch. From the sleepy salesman Herb to the quiet and sultry Bailey Quarters, hilarious.
From the English side Monty Python the topper for sure and of course On the Busses, classic.
Loved the movies, saw them at the drive in. I’ve got my eye on you Butler, Insp. Blakey, he was keen on Stan’s mom.
Now that got me thinking. As I am U.K based and getting on in years there are a lot of the U.K comedies mentioned already. So what were the U.S. comedies aired in the sixties on U.K. T.V I liked?
My first recollection was a comedy I had to think hard about. The reason for remembering it was that I was allowed to stay up a bit later to watch it and that programme was ‘My three sons’. I recall the three sets of legs at the start and not much else!
The Lucy show, My favorite martian, The aptly named ‘Petticoat Junction’, Car 54, Beverley Hillbillies, I dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, F troop, Munsters , Adams family and the Andy Williams show – The cookie monster and the Osmonds!
Aaah memories…..
Liz…..
This is mission impossible…I could name 20….and miss out 20 more….
I could not possibly pick a favourite….at the moment I’m enjoying Victoria woods wonderful ” dinner ladies “….how I miss her!!!
but next week it could be Dibley…or Peckham…..and Victor Meldrew is my god….as I said…it’s just not possible….enjoy them all…
Laughs, grace xx
Love the lists – so much classic humour. It would be unkind to choose. My own
Involves those unforgettable moments with” Only Fools And Horses”.
May I make a plea for the wireless( sorry transistor- sorry radio) the thing with no pictures!!
“ISIHAC” I’m sorry I haven’t a clue “.
If you have ever been to a live recording you will know the pain of aching side.
Tears of laughter. Oh the memories.
I miss Humph. ( tear in eye).
What a delightfully upbeat article- thank you( hahahahahahaha I’m laughing still)
An ( ha)xox
Too many to mention!
A few I didn’t see on your list just for starters:
Not The Nine o’clock News
The Young Ones
The Mary Whitehouse Experience
Love Laura
Yes. That was an hilarious show.
Ladies there are so many I could name. There where I forgot or others that I wasn’t overly keen on, but it wasn’t my intention to deliberately leave one that some girl would like.
Another one that came into my mind Hi di hi.
Now among our ladies who’d be Peggy played by Sue Pollard and who’d be Gladys Pugh played by Ruth Maddoc ?
Any suggestions girls?Liz
Dear Elizabeth ,
British comedy :
Fawlty Towers , Dad’s Army , Keeping up Appearences , Man about the house ( George and Mildred ) , It ain’t half hot mum , come to mind.
No contemporary ones that I can think of i’m afraid , do like some of the stand up performers from “Live at the Apollo”.
I also remember a very funny short comedy movie called “The Plank” ( tv version ) with Arthur Lowe , and the Pink Panther movies of course with Peter Sellers ( who can forget his movie Dr. Strangelove , briljant ).
American comedy :
All in the Family , MASH , Cheers/Frasier , The Nanny ( loved those outfits from Fran Fine , one of my role models as a beginning Crossdresser I’m afraid ) ,
also Mork and Mindy with the great late Robin Williams .
Movies :
Airplane ! , National Lampoons Christmas Vacation , The Blues Brothers 1980 (epic).
French comedy : Louis de Funes / Bourville movies.
And a lot more from the past that I have forgotten.
Not enough comedy being made today sadly , we could use it in these covid-times.
Love Sylvia.
love seinfield best 2nd is southpark
Hugs
DonnaI guess for now my favorite is the big bang theory. I guess i love how even though Sheldon is the smartest person where ever he goes ( just ask him) he is totally clueless on any kind of relationships at all. Actually all these smart guys are somewhat clueless.
In the past have loved Mash,Get Smart and many other shows also.
At one time we used to stay up late to watch Monty Python, in the late 70’s it was often run late at night on public television here.
Every nce in a while will come across an old tv show flipping through the cable channels like one day at a time, with Valery Bertinelli. Loved that show.. . .Cassie
CBC News!
No! No!
Just kidding!
That’s just my fourth or fifth favourite comedy show.
Actually I liked Ernie Kovacs.
Araminta.
British –
Doc Martin/Kenny Everett TV Show/Red Dwarf/Bless This House/Faulty Towers/Young Ones/Blackadder
American –
Frasier/MASH
Hi Liz,
I agree with Julia about Father Ted, particularly the kicking Bishop Brennan up the arse episode.
I also like The League of Gentlemen and Rab C Nesbitt.
Love,
Tara x
Forgot Father Ted! Brilliant.
Connie
Blackadder, Porridge, MASH, Red Dwarf, Golden Girls, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Dinnerladies (Love Victoria Wood), Frasier.
I love QI on the odd occasion the BBC decide to screen it.
Connie
M*A*S*H is certainly a classic among many, myself included, though I loved the earlier ones best – how can you you not love Henry Blake??
Two other favs for me are Frasier, and Home Improvement, which I thought portrayed men quite hilariously! “Lovable idiot” sums Tim Taylor best, lol.
One other one for us girls…… Hot in Cleveland. Great cast!!! Betty Whites favorite roll! If you havent checked it out, do so. 😄
Stevie
Loved several that showed up on PBS – Monty Python of course, Are You Being Served, and at only 13 episodes No Honestly whuch i atill like to rewatch. On American TV there are lots but the Mary Tyler Moore stands out because it was funny and that every other character (except Georgia Engles) went on to star or costar in successful spinoffs or another show (Lou Grant , Phyllis, Rhoda, Love Boat , Golden Girls, even Ted Knight in Too Close for Comfort. Few if any other shows have shown that much success for ensemble cast members.
“Happy Days” was one of my favorites as well, though that had as much to do with the actress who portrayed Joanie than anything else. Just about everyone has an adolescent crush on a star they see on screen, and growing up in my turbulent teens mine happened to be Erin Moran. I remember pouring my soul into carefully written fan letters to her and on a couple of occasions an autographed picture of her was sent to me. You may recall that the pop culture phrase “jumped the shark”, which marks a point when a series has passed its prime, originated with this show…specifically the two-part episode where Fonzie goes to California for a screen test and the Cunningham family and friends follow him there for a holiday. While on the beach he gets challenged by the local king of the strand to a waterskiing duel, and then later they up the ante by attempting to jump over an enclosure containing a great white shark. The best thing I remember from that is how hot Erin looked in a ’60s era bikini. Sadly she faded from public view soon after the show left the air and eventually succumbed to cancer a few years ago.
“M*A*S*H” belongs in its own category, in my opinion, as it was alternately a comedy, a drama and a social commentary. You may notice that when they’re in the operating room there’s no laugh track, even when they’re cracking jokes to break the tension, given the reason why they’re in that particular room to begin with. On the polar opposite side of the spectrum from this I also remember “Hogan’s Heroes”, and try to picture the absurdity of operating a sabotage and espionage unit out of a prisoner of war camp in the middle of Nazi Germany. Like “Happy Days” was to Erin Moran this show was a one-hit wonder for its star, the late Bob Crane. There was a movie that came out documenting his brief career and what became of him after this show left the air…his passion for self-produced snuff films features prominently, as does his gruesome murder. The two actors who portrayed the main German characters of Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz, Werner Klemperer and Robert Banner, both fled their homeland before the war, while Robert Clary, who played Corporal Lebeau, the French POW who was part of the unit headed by Colonel Hogan, actually survived the Holocaust. You may also remember Richard Dawson, who played the British Corporal Newkirk, as he later went on to become the original host of “Family Feud”.
Christine
The One and Only “Family Guy”!! They will leave no stone unturned, be it Religions, politics, Transgenders, and anything imaginable.. Genius Writing!! Always an OMG did they really say that!! Brilliant!!
Hi Elizabeth
My favorite comedies are
It ain’t arf hot mum & Nearest and Dearest both British comedies from the seventies.
Love Sarah
xx
I have two:
TV series – Green Acres
Movie – Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles, one of the top five funniest movies ever made, I have seen it hundreds of times, “What in the wide wide world of sports is a going on?”
Green Acres, just darn funny. Back then, and even to this day I enjoy the humor and well as seeing Ms. Douglas’s (Eva Gabor) beautiful “farm” dresses hair style and accessories. As a kid I saw her beautiful dresses and thought they would be fun to wear. Now I can, smile. Staci…
My favorite comedy of all time? Well I grew up on “the Dick Van Dyke show”. later it became “All in the Family”. Great 1970s satire, Which was based on the British TV show. Finally my all-time favorite – “Cheers”
If you like MASH make sure you see the movie “Battle Circus” with Humphrey Bogart and June Allyson. It shows a truer MASH unit at work, just no comedy.
Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In , hands down. The Farkel family, all the children looked exactly like the neighbor , Ferd Berfel. Sammy Davis, “ Here come da judge.” All In The Family, second. Smothers Brothers , third.
If you count movies being on tv. Best, Dr. Strangelove, George C Scott doing comedy with Peter Sellers, priceless. 2. A Shot InThe Dark, best Clouseau movie. 3. Young Frankenstein, best movie for quotes, “ he would have an enormous schwanstucker “ but Hackman doing 3 minute scene of comedy is the highlight of the movie.MASH, the movie was light years ahead of the tv show. For those of you who were fans of the tv version and have not seen the movie, please do. Screenplay top drawer, Altman direction the best . Released right in the middle of Nam.
you hit a subject I could go forever.
I’m now partial to animated comedy shows like South Park, Family Guy, and Rick & Morty, or as my wife likes to call them, “cartoons.”
Their comedy is irreverent and no subject is off limits.
Growing up, and in young adulthood, I watched and enjoyed everything from MASH to Will and Grace to Seinfeld.
This really dates me, but when i was a kid i really loved the Carol Burnett show. she and her cast were really funny.
- The forum ‘General Chat “Life as it Goes On”’ is closed to new topics and replies.
Recent Comments