British humour
 

I don't understand British humor. Absolutely Fabulous, Monty Python and some of those other British sitcoms that turn up on Comedy Central and PBS.... I just don't get it.
The laugh track is going crazy but I'm sitting there thinking - what the hell??? Am I supposed to laugh now? Did I miss something?

I think what you are missing is the ulnar nerve, which, among other things, supplies sensation to the inner side of the hand and the little finger, runs along the inside of the elbow: if we bump this it sends the sensation of an electric shock down the inside of the arm, which is why this is sometimes called the funny bone.


;)



It is an acquired taste. and more about in your face sarcasm than anything else

Normally, I'm not a "Foreign is always better" snob but "Brit-coms" are generally better and have more edge,wit, and let us not forget the occasional Boob shot :lol: than most U.S. TV shows.

"Ab Fab" can get a little silly and over the top but I think that's the point.


"Brit-Coms" :up:

I'm with the oversized <B>robo</B> on this one. I'm typically very much in favor of the American way, but much like soccer and the metric system, the Brits have the edge in the comedy department. It's pretty sad the way we keep stealing their stuff and reproducing pale imitations for American television. I could watch Brit-coms all day long. While some of it is a little heavy on the silly and light on the biting comedy, most of it's pretty damn good. I can only imagine how funny it would be if I understood <I>all</I> of the cultural/political references.

das

I don't like every Brit-com I've seen, but all my favorite comedies are British.

tasha

Comedy, thy name is FAWLTY TOWERS !

...and let's not forget the fact that you get more show for your Buck in Brit-coms. No stopping for commercials. Of course, on BBC America they cut 'em up for spots :(

I like them because so few people have heard of them, it makes it easy to one-up folks at parties.

I'm with Jason. I'm at a complete loss when it comes to British humor. The ONLY timeI've ever laughed at a joke is the "it's justa flesh wound" line in the Holy Grail. That's it. Benny Hill, Monty Python, Ab Fab, etc......I get nuttin' from them.

I am the total opposite. Very few of American sit coms make me laugh. Most of the TV shows on DVD I have are from region two, and most of those are Brit Coms. I guess it's an aquired taste, I don't know, nor do I know how I can explain why I find the shows so good.

I was pretty much raised on these things, as the PBS affilate in the area I grew up in aired about 2 hours of Brit Coms a night, and the first show I really got into was Monty Python. After that, it was Are You Being Served?, The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, and Butterflies that really caught my attention. Especially the latter of the two introduced me to comedy TV that wasn't wrapped up in 30 minutes, and had storylines that required watching each episode in order. Many followed, of course, and I think it was the fact that I appreciated the shows didn't seem to pander to the lowest common denominator as so many American shows do, but also that they had a dry sense of humor to them, which matched me perfectly.

I knew somebody once who thought it required more intelligence to get British humor, which I don't know if is true or not, but I think that if you have more of a dry sense of humor, you will like these shows much more.

BTW, does anybody remember the American sitcom that was original and tried to be made more like a Brit Com, in that the story lines were not confined to one episode and used more of a dry sense of humor? It was called the Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and that was one of my favorite American sitcoms of all time.

Basil!

It's funny someone remembering Butterflies, I saw a repeat of that on a cable channel and was astounded by how dated it was now, (and how it dated me. lol).

My fave britcom is probably jointly "The Good Life" and "Porridge". Although I enjoy new comers like "The Office" and "The fast show", it seems as though we've taken a retro step.
TBH I enjoy American comedies more, I'll take an episode of Friends over most Britcoms any day.

Oh, and don't forget Irish humour, I defy anyone not to laugh at Father Ted.

May be dated, but I still like the show! I just picked up season two from the UK!

Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, Mr. Bean, Coupling. Great stuff :thumbsup:

and vice-versa. british tv remade "that 70's show" and called it "days of our lives" it was absolutely awful:( the US version was witty and has class the brit version was tragic and depressing.

i did catch the US remake of "fawlty towers" one night on tv and that was pretty dire, too.

there's great comedy from each country and some total howlers, too. just take your pick from both counties, thats what i do:D

larry sanders, blackadder, sienfeld, alan partridge, etc....

Father Ted looks funny but I've yet to see it.

I remember "The Good Life" and another one called "To the Manor Born" both with Penelope(sp?) Keith. :up:

Does anyone remember a show from -I think- Australia with this crazy old mother and her son Author? She was always doing wild stuff and the son was all uptight?

Guess I'm part of the minority. I feel like I'm missing out on all the fun because I don't understand British comedies. :( I want to. Really I do. Since I've never met a person that didn't find The Holy Grail to be hillarious, I'm wondering if I had a stomach ache or something when I saw it years ago and need to give it another chance.

Is there a British laugh track support group I can attend? Or am I to become like the dull James Bond supervillain Hugo Drax in Moonraker?: "Forgive me, gentlemen. Not being British I sometimes find your sense of humor rather difficult to follow."

Wait a minute... that reminds me of something. I watch Bond films and like Bond's one-liners. HE'S British! I like John Cleese as Q. Liked him in A Fish Called Wanda too. Is there hope - or is that stuff too Americanized?

It's hit and miss for me.

I like Faulty Towers, Python, and most of all THE YOUNG ONES!

However that's about it. Ab Fab is funny at times, it's just that Jennifer Saunders (sp) mumbles so softly I can't hear 3/4 of the jokes.

sho! I love your ninja movies! Where have you been?

haha, in the shadows with Franco Nero and Micheal Dudeakoff (sp)

"FAULTY"? What's wrong with him? ...what?

d'oh!

The only British stuff I like is Benny Hill, cause he was a dirty old man..Hilarious stuff

Father Ted is hilarious

So it is, to be sure.