Rad British Shows

[superosh]

Hey all,

I just visited London with my friend to see his sister, and was reminded of what I think are some pretty rad British shows that I used to watch while I was over there. Thoughts?

Peep Show
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere (mini-series i think)
Phoenix Nights
Little Britain
The Office (obviously)

[masherscf]

Hey all,

I just visited London with my friend to see his sister, and was reminded of what I think are some pretty rad British shows that I used to watch while I was over there. Thoughts?

Peep Show
Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere (mini-series i think)
Phoenix Nights
Little Britain
The Office (obviously)

What?

Doctor Who
Torchwood
Red Dwarf

[sugarsickness]

Peep Show. Nothing is nearly as incredibly hilarious as Peep Show. I'm about to watch the last episode of Series 4 :[

Thank god they already have a fifth series commissioned.

[doug16]

What?

Red Dwarf



I'm glad someone has mentioned RD which is by far one of the best British comedy series there has ever been. I'm sure that the guys would love it. But you have forgot the likes of Black Books, The Mighty Boosh and Spaced.

[mormonrage]

Extras
The Robinsons

[masherscf]

Extras

"Extras" is nearly unwatchable. Is that funny?

[stopikingonme]

Is Spoons still on over there? I loved that show!
"I want.........A ****ING BABY!!!"

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/S/spoons/images/spoons_1_153.jpg



I forced myself to watch Hyperdrive, but that's just because it had Nick Frost in it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/hyperdrive/images/gallery/1/1024/hyperdrive_main_1024.jpg


I kinda got into the show Jam and Jerusalem (In the states it's called Clatterford, it's written by Jennifer Saunders)...(Interesting fact, the opening song from Hot Fuzz, when he goes to the village, is also the theme song from Clatterford)...(why am I typing in all parenthesis?)
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/tv/jeru460.jpg

[superosh]

Extras
The Robinsons

Extras.....obviously. That was just stupid of me.


This most recent episode of Peep Show in my opinion wasn't as funny as others (Remember the Johnson.....) but still a nice season finale

[rabidbadger]

becoming a big fan of little britain, but only seen 3 eps, and some you tube clips...

Red Dwarf was tons of fun for it's time, and the PBS hitchhikers guide was great.

And of course, Fawlty Towers, which leads us to the king of Brit comedy, that which all is and shall be measured against.

Python.

[jagtar]

hustle??????????????

[rabidbadger]

What? Are we not posting fast enough?




:)

[johnnysix]

The Young Ones still makes me laugh more than any other comedy series since.
It gets better every time I watch it, so much so that by the time the DVD's came out my VHS tapes were held together by scotch tape. These days, I am amazed at how much character Ben Elton and co. squeezed in to only 12 episodes. Which brings me to my next pick...
The Office is my second favorite. I know that they're essentially different shows, but the British office is a bona fide classic. I'll be getting out the DVD's long after the American series finishes (as much as I have come to appreciate it in it's own right). Ricky Gervais is a genuine comedy genius. Guys like him come along twice a generation (a certain Sacha Baron Cohen is the another).

[rabidbadger]

Yep loved both of those, also.

[doug16]

Also you shouldn't be forgetting The IT Crowd.
It protaries many truths about IT techies but adds that extra twist on them.
The cast is brilliant too and the line that is one of the best is "don't google that moss!".
I have a thing about The Office & Extras, I find that it really isn't that funny, yes maybe clever, but Ricky just isn't that funny.

[stopikingonme]

IMHO I think The Office, especially the BBC version wasn't about making you laugh out loud at cheap comedy bits. It was more about giving you that feeling in your stomach, you know the one you get when you hang out with someone you don't know or like too much, and he's making an absolute fool of himself and he doesn't know it. You just sit there and listen to him dribble on and on about how he doesn't think he's a racist, but he doesn't have any black friends so he can't really be sure. You just want him to shut up but he's like a walking train wreck that keeps happening over and over and you just can't stop listening out of sheer morbid curiosity. The Office takes that feeling shoots it up with amphetemine and then unleashes it in the form of Ricky Gervais and Mackenzie Crook.

[tokenuser]

The Young Ones still makes me laugh more than any other comedy series since.If you like The Young Ones, you mght also like "Comic Strip Presents (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/c/comicstrippresen_7771630.shtml)".

Not a storyline, but a series of one off sketch comedy episodes. Personal favourite - A Fist Full of Travellers Cheques <= Note: Proper spelling of cheque ... it IS an English series after all ;)

AbFab was great. All the BlackAdder series, A Little Fry & Laurie (if you like House, check out a Little Fry & Laurie - Hugh Laurie is agreat standup comedian).

And something totally obscure that I used to watch late on a Friday night after going out was "Sticky Moments (http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php/Sticky_Moments)" hosted by Julian Clary. Sort of an adult game show ... late 80's big hair, sexual innuendo, and funny as **** after coming home from the pub.

I could also mention Dr Who, Torchwood, H2G2, Red Dwarf (personal favourite), and even The Brittas Empire (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/brittasempirethe_7771020.shtml) (with Chris Barrie - Rimmer on RD)

[mormonrage]

How could I forget Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ke-LsUwBukM)? Soooooo funny.

[drshalafi]

Black Adder doth be my all-time favourite, followed closely by Spaced, and Red Dwarf.

"And in Genoa, 'tis now the fashion to pin a live frog to the shoulder
braid, stand in a bucket and go "bibble" at passers by."
Lord Edmund Blackadder

[rabidbadger]

Wasn't "Space 1999" a brit show, maybe in combo with US PBS?

[drshalafi]

Wasn't "Space 1999" a brit show, maybe in combo with US PBS?

Space 1999 was created by Gerry Anderson, also creator of the Thunderbirds.

[johnnyswift]

Dr. Who
Faulty Towers
Red Dwarf
The Office (even though I enjoy the American bastardized version a little bit better)
The Young Ones
Are You Being Served?

[tokenuser]

Space 1999 was created by Gerry Anderson, also creator of the Thunderbirds.Wasn't it an ITV production? Not all British TV came out of the BBC.

[wideawakewesley]

Life On Mars
Spooks
Dr. Who
Torchwood
Primeval
Spaced
Game On
Red Dwarf
Dinnerladies
Cadfael
Robin Of Sherwood
Blackadder
Maid Marian & Her Merry Men
This Life
Ultraviolet
The Office
The Young Ones
Bottom
Yes Minister (and Yes Primeminister)
Skins
Sharpe
Cracker
Green Wing
Black Books
The Royle Family
Jeeves & Wooster
The IT Crowd
Absolutely Fabulous
The Vicar Of Dibley
Sherlock Holmes
Poirot
Afterlife

There's probably more...but my brain's just gone for a break.

Wes

[carbon-eclectic]

Jeeves & Wooster



OMG! I thought I was the only one! Did you ever know treacle could be such a cause for hilarity?

Oh, and what about Fawlty Towers?

"Que?"
-Manuel

[wideawakewesley]

I left off Fawlty Towers and Monty Python just because everyone in the world already knows they're great.

;)

Wes

[superosh]

Did they make a second season of The IT Crowd? I love it so i'm hoping it wasn't cancelled.....

[tokenuser]

Did they make a second season of The IT Crowd? I love it so i'm hoping it wasn't cancelled.....FWIW The IT Crowd has been picked up as a US remake next season on NBC. [link (http://www.nbc.com/Fall_Preview/The_IT_Crowd/)]

[johnnysix]

Damn... I can't beleive I left off two of the best:

Spaced and Big Train - If your a fan of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, you HAVE to check out these. A lot of you have seen Spaced, however, I don't hear a lot about Big Train. I regard Big Train as the best sketch shows ever created. It's humour is perfect. It hit's every right note for me. I beg you to check this out, especially those who want to see any Simon Pegg material.
Big Train was certainly a pioneer of the "new breed" of sketch shows. Some sketches may generate more laughs than others but when they hit, they hit hard.
The "Ming the Merciless at home" series of sketches are classics.
I think Big Train would probably go down well among the audience we have here at TRS.

[zombierin]

Black Books and Spaced are my two favourite shows PERIOD, let alone British shows.
From what I've seen of Big Train, it's pretty phenomenal too.

I also love
Little Britain
Doctor Who
Faulty Towers
Monty Python’s Flying Circus

I’ve dabbled in Coupling and I vaguely remember watching Two Pints of Lager when I was living in Africa, but I can’t remember if I liked it or not…

[scoobydiesel]

Spaced. hell yeah...great stuff lol

[nobodysleeps]

Spaced. hell yeah...great stuff lol

Not 2 episodes of spaced went by without there being at least one moment where I would laugh to the point of tears. I freaking love Spaced so much.

Check it out on google video (where I watched it )

[zombierin]

Not 2 episodes of spaced went by without there being at least one moment where I would laugh to the point of tears. I freaking love Spaced so much.

Check it out on google video (where I watched it )

the whole series is also on youtube.

[muled]

Top Gear, there's more but they've already been mentioned. It's a car show but it's like a car show that a 12 year old is the writer for. Just pure fun.