By asking this question you're basically insinuating that you have more of a clue about comedy than the 15-20m of the population who tuned in to watch the specials on a regular basis. Slightly arrogant if I may say so.
I'd say it's more a case of you being the odd one out.
By asking this question you're basically insinuating that you have more of a clue about comedy than the 15-20m of the population who tuned in to watch the specials on a regular basis. Slightly arrogant if I may say so.
I'd say it's more a case of you being the odd one out.
The OP is very clear that this is his/her personal opinion. That's hardly arrogance. We don't all like the same things.
The early series were very good, the later ones were so-so, but the last three that were produced were a complete and utter emabarrassment.
I think that is a slight exaggeration, the later ones might not have been as good as the earlier ones (a common problem) but still way outclass the vast majority of new comedy on TV today.
It's just the usual issue of subjectivity, but mass viewing figures on a consistent basis usually indicate the writers hit the sweet spot. You can say you personally didn't like it, but to use the word "overrated" is to assume a position of superiority.
It only makes sense to talk about something being overrated if the rating comes from somewhere other than whole audience opinion (typically simple viewing figures for TV).
If a programme gets an average of 10M viewers per episode over six series, it is obviously rated very highly by that audience. You can't say it's overrated simply because you, personally, don't get it or find the quality poor.
The only way you can really make a case for something being overrated is where some small group (e.g. critics or award judges) acclaim it but a large, general, audience find it poor.
But, in general, saying something is over or under rated is simply saying that one group rates it differently than another.
The classic case being cerebral 'art house' movies which the vast majority of people simply don't understand. (Not necessarily because they couldn't understand them - it may be they do not have the interest in the genre to gain the experience necessary to appreciate examples of it.) The majority will always consider the aficionado's rating to be overly generous,
It only makes sense to talk about something being overrated if the rating comes from somewhere other than whole audience opinion (typically simple viewing figures for TV).
If a programme gets an average of 10M viewers per episode over six series, it is obviously rated very highly by that audience. You can't say it's overrated simply because you, personally, don't get it or find the quality poor.
The only way you can really make a case for something being overrated is where some small group (e.g. critics or award judges) acclaim it but a large, general, audience find it poor.
But, in general, saying something is over or under rated is simply saying that one group rates it differently than another.
The classic case being cerebral 'art house' movies which the vast majority of people simply don't understand. (Not necessarily because they couldn't understand them - it may be they do not have the interest in the genre to gain the experience necessary to appreciate examples of it.) The majority will always consider the aficionado's rating to be overly generous,
Football is the most popular sport in the world , and some people dislike it and find it overrated . So by your argument these people who say so don't have a valid argument ?
Football is the most popular sport in the world , and some people dislike it and find it overrated . So by your argument these people who say so don't have a valid argument ?
Correct. Well done.
I don't have any interest in football but all I can say is that a hell of a lot of people rate it a hell of a lot higher than I do.
So, from my perspective, I suppose I could say that I find it overrated but it would be very arrogant and egocentric to say the it was overrated as some absolute fact.
I suppose there are instances where you could make a case for something being overrated as a matter of absolute fact if people were rating it based on some fallacy.
I initially found OFAH funny, but only the early ones. The episodes where they got married off and became 'serious thinking' adults, I found boring and quite embarrassing really.
I also must be the only person in the UK never to find their Batman and Robin Christmas stunt funny.
Also, the part where Del Boy falls down at the bar, must be the most overrated stunt in British comedy.
My parents liked Only Fools and Horses too, so I saw a few episodes and they didn't get why I didn't find it all that funny, but I just didn't, even the earlier ones, though I agree that they were better than the later ones. Even my parents didn't find the Batman and Robin bit funny though, so you're not the only one.
I agree with you entirely about the "Del Boy falls down the bar" has to be the most overrated British comedy moment ever.
Only Fools and Horses had moments which I found funny here and there, but it never made me laugh all that much. It's obviously very popular, but I never quite got what was supposed to be so great about it.
There was an excellent book about it that noted how the sitcom slowly turned into more of a soap once the wife and girlfriend were introduced. All of the Rodney-Cassandra stuff was much more soap-like than sitcom, and personally I didn't care at all about that relationship.
Now I will probably get shot for even suggesting this , but am I the only person here who think the show was always very overrated . Obviously I'm not counting last nights episode which was dire , I just think even in its heyday it was never that funny. Sure there were funny scenes (the chandelier ) . But for the most part I always found the humour rather forced .
I think there were programmes around that time that were consistently better such as Fawlty Towers , black adder , hell even One Foot in the Grave was funnier I think. Anyway just my opinion.
The other shows you list stopped while they were very funny. OFAH made the mistake of at least one series too many and too many specials. So my memory of it is tainted. At its peak it was very good TV.
I love Only Fools, but there are moments in there which are often regarded as the best bits, that I'm not so keen on. Everyone bangs on about hilarious the bar scene is, but when you've seen that bit played a thousand times (usually on "funniest comedy moments" type programmes) it wears a bit thin. The same with chandelier scene.
That's not to say that either of those scenes are without merit, I just think they're overrated. Out of my entire box set the episodes in question are amongst the least likely I am to stick on.
Highlights are subjective. Blackadder packed a lot of brilliant one liners into an episode. OFAH was more watered down with 'highlights' as you say. Some of them were funny, e.g. the chandeliers, some weren't, e.g. the blow up dolls (an episode which I found the humour really, well, silly. More akin to the last of the summer wine or keeping up appearances)
I do like OFAH and it's very watchable but in terms of sheer comedy, it was outclassed by shows like Blackadder.
They should also have pulled the plug before Cassandra/Raquel/Damian. It started to resemble a mildy humorous soap opera/drama by this stage
I guess it is just a matter of personal taste. I have never been a fan of Rowan Atkinson. My grandson used to put Mr Bean on just to annoy me sometimes (only in a jokey way), when I was doing my Granny thing..
I think I have laughed more just watching the repeats of OFAH than any other sitcom, even The Good Life and Keeping Up Appearances.
The blow up dolls episode may be silly but my goodness how funny was it. The dolls popping up behind the sofa and especially when they were walking out of Mandela House with the two dolls.
Regarding Raquel, the 'cwying' episode was just priceless...
Of course it is. It ran on for far too long and even now they cant just stop doing charity specials or spinoffs over the years.
It should have been ended in the 1980s!
Whether you like it or not is totally irrevelant. Viewing figures are still good for the repeats. Millions of people only tuned in to Sport Relief just to see Only Fools. The fact we are still talking about it shows how popular the show still is.
I really don't understand when people say they have gone off something because it gets repeated a lot. As far as I know you don't have to keep watching them.
Just another odd thing said on here.
Seems like bbc have stopped repeating it during the afternoons now. It's only repeated on uk gold. If you don't have uk gold like I don't then you'll hardly see it atall
I have only saw parts of episodes but while i don't like the show and think it's funny i respect the fact many people love it & it's success shows that.
To be honest i am not keen on any of the 'greats' - black adder , faulty towers etc but i wasn't around and they are from a different era so not my cup of tea but again very successful. All the shows are still mentioned years down the line.
John Sullivan never really had the courage to let the characters move on. At the end of Series 6, Rodney had got married, moved out of the flat and landed an office job. Yet in the next series, a series of contrivances saw him back in the flat and working on the market again.
At the end of the 1996 specials, the Trotters finally became millionaires. Yet just 5 years later, a series of contrivances saw them back in the flat, back in the Reliant Robin van and back working on the market again.
It's as if Sullivan could only ever do a reset to the "classic" formula. When the concept of the Trotters as vulgar millionaires would have been much more interesting.
The early episodes were good, then it got great around series 4/5/6. The characters are really likeable, the plots were funny and it was just a fun watch.
The 1996 trilogy would have been the perfect ending, making them millionaires, living happily ever after.
Since then, the episodes haven't been anywhere near as good, they've felt recycled and seem to be more gag related than having the balance of humour and real life emotions it had in its heyday.
The Sport Relief special was naff, just as I expected it to be. Del looks ridiculous still trading in the market as a 70+ year old man.
Comments
I'd say it's more a case of you being the odd one out.
The OP is very clear that this is his/her personal opinion. That's hardly arrogance. We don't all like the same things.
What about the other 35-40 million who didn't tune in on a regular basis?;-)
I think that is a slight exaggeration, the later ones might not have been as good as the earlier ones (a common problem) but still way outclass the vast majority of new comedy on TV today.
If a programme gets an average of 10M viewers per episode over six series, it is obviously rated very highly by that audience. You can't say it's overrated simply because you, personally, don't get it or find the quality poor.
The only way you can really make a case for something being overrated is where some small group (e.g. critics or award judges) acclaim it but a large, general, audience find it poor.
But, in general, saying something is over or under rated is simply saying that one group rates it differently than another.
The classic case being cerebral 'art house' movies which the vast majority of people simply don't understand. (Not necessarily because they couldn't understand them - it may be they do not have the interest in the genre to gain the experience necessary to appreciate examples of it.) The majority will always consider the aficionado's rating to be overly generous,
Correct. Well done.
I don't have any interest in football but all I can say is that a hell of a lot of people rate it a hell of a lot higher than I do.
So, from my perspective, I suppose I could say that I find it overrated but it would be very arrogant and egocentric to say the it was overrated as some absolute fact.
I suppose there are instances where you could make a case for something being overrated as a matter of absolute fact if people were rating it based on some fallacy.
My parents liked Only Fools and Horses too, so I saw a few episodes and they didn't get why I didn't find it all that funny, but I just didn't, even the earlier ones, though I agree that they were better than the later ones. Even my parents didn't find the Batman and Robin bit funny though, so you're not the only one.
I agree with you entirely about the "Del Boy falls down the bar" has to be the most overrated British comedy moment ever.
Only Fools and Horses had moments which I found funny here and there, but it never made me laugh all that much. It's obviously very popular, but I never quite got what was supposed to be so great about it.
The other shows you list stopped while they were very funny. OFAH made the mistake of at least one series too many and too many specials. So my memory of it is tainted. At its peak it was very good TV.
'Father Ted' is ridiculously overrated imo.
Of course it is. It ran on for far too long and even now they cant just stop doing charity specials or spinoffs over the years.
It should have been ended in the 1980s!
That's not to say that either of those scenes are without merit, I just think they're overrated. Out of my entire box set the episodes in question are amongst the least likely I am to stick on.
But for the most part, I thoroughly enjoy it.
I guess it is just a matter of personal taste. I have never been a fan of Rowan Atkinson. My grandson used to put Mr Bean on just to annoy me sometimes (only in a jokey way), when I was doing my Granny thing..
I think I have laughed more just watching the repeats of OFAH than any other sitcom, even The Good Life and Keeping Up Appearances.
The blow up dolls episode may be silly but my goodness how funny was it. The dolls popping up behind the sofa and especially when they were walking out of Mandela House with the two dolls.
Regarding Raquel, the 'cwying' episode was just priceless...
Seems like bbc have stopped repeating it during the afternoons now. It's only repeated on uk gold. If you don't have uk gold like I don't then you'll hardly see it atall
And I was one of them...
To be honest i am not keen on any of the 'greats' - black adder , faulty towers etc but i wasn't around and they are from a different era so not my cup of tea but again very successful. All the shows are still mentioned years down the line.
At the end of the 1996 specials, the Trotters finally became millionaires. Yet just 5 years later, a series of contrivances saw them back in the flat, back in the Reliant Robin van and back working on the market again.
It's as if Sullivan could only ever do a reset to the "classic" formula. When the concept of the Trotters as vulgar millionaires would have been much more interesting.
The 1996 trilogy would have been the perfect ending, making them millionaires, living happily ever after.
Since then, the episodes haven't been anywhere near as good, they've felt recycled and seem to be more gag related than having the balance of humour and real life emotions it had in its heyday.
The Sport Relief special was naff, just as I expected it to be. Del looks ridiculous still trading in the market as a 70+ year old man.