The best decade for British Sitcoms?

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  • woot_whoowoot_whoo Posts: 18,030
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    Don't forget the two longest running ones:

    My Family
    Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps

    Some of us would rather. ;)
  • david16david16 Posts: 14,821
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    My own choice is the 70's

    George and Mildred
    Man About The House
    Robin's Nest
    Only When I Laugh
    Rising Damp

    All of the above genuine Classic Comedy from the ITV.
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    david16 wrote: »
    George and Mildred
    Man About The House
    Robin's Nest
    Only When I Laugh
    Rising Damp

    All of the above genuine Classic Comedy from the ITV.

    funny thing humour...i didnt find those sitcoms in the slightest bit funny.

    prefered bbc comedy, dads army, it aint half hot mum, monty python, fawlty towers, spike milligans 'q' seriese, are you being served, etc.
  • Cheap ThrillsCheap Thrills Posts: 242
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    The '70s.

    - The latter episodes of Steptoe and Son
    - Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
    - The Good Life
    - The strongest episodes of Are You Being Served? (1972-1977)
    - The first series of To the Manor Born
    - Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
    - Fawlty Towers
    - Porridge
    - George and Mildred
  • woot_whoowoot_whoo Posts: 18,030
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    I don't think it's possible to identify a 'best' decade. Every decade has had its wheat and chaff - including the present one.
  • redtuxredtux Posts: 1,241
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    Zizu58 wrote: »
    I can't think of many I've enjoyed to be honest .

    The Office , Black Adder and Alan Partridge stand put like a beacons , though .

    The yanks must have produced 97 out of the top 100 sitcoms ever .
    How? - I can think of about a dozen then I struggle and most of those would be good rather than great
  • FuturespectFuturespect Posts: 847
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    Don't forget the two longest running ones:

    My Family
    Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
    woot_whoo wrote: »
    Some of us would rather. ;)
    Hey, c'mon, put some All About Me on! It's that or the My Hero DVD. (Actually, I think My Hero was pretty inoffensive old-school comedy, wasn't it?)

    I did forget about Phoenix Nights and - ALAN!!! - I'm Alan Partridge. I went for a combination of my own favourites and a few well-known, critically-respected ones.

    The 2000s is my choice, but tons of people were happier in their lives in previous decades, and their best TV memories are often claimed by those years. Although, having said that, I was pretty miserable throughout the last decade, so I really appreciated its increase of black humour. I'm not shortsighted enough to claim that bathos is exclusive to latterday comedies, just that I feel that current writers are given more freedom to eschew (possibly outdated) blueprints.

    And there was Marenghi (not a sitcom renegade, but he damn well shoulda been!).

    There's no universal answer. Nuts in May doesn't make the 1970s the greatest decade for comedy films, love it as I do.
  • tsotso Posts: 25,860
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    My Favs from the 70's
    Are you being Served
    The Liver Birds
    The Rag Trade
    Some Mothers Do Ave Em
    George and Mildred
    Bless this House
    Rising Damp
    On the Buses
    Fawlty Towers
    Man about the House
    Citizen Smith
    Shelley
    Dads Army
    The Good Life
    It aint half hot Mum
    The Likely Lads
    Love thy Neighbour
    Open All Hours
    Porridge
    Till Death Do Us Part
    Up Pompeii
    Please Sir
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    Zizu58 wrote: »
    The yanks must have produced 97 out of the top 100 sitcoms ever .

    think youve got that the wrong way around... 3/100 not 97 :p

    batman, police squad... erm... thats it for me!
  • TCD1975TCD1975 Posts: 3,039
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    Most of my favourite comedies are from the late 90s and through the 00s.

    I think there are some rose tinted spectacles at work when people think of comedy from the 70s.
  • doe_a_deerdoe_a_deer Posts: 2,132
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    Zizu58 wrote: »
    I can't think of many I've enjoyed to be honest .

    The Office , Black Adder and Alan Partridge stand put like a beacons , though .

    The yanks must have produced 97 out of the top 100 sitcoms ever .

    The Americans? Are you serious? They've surely produced 97 of the WORST 100 ever, not sure about the best. Just turn on E4 or Comedy Central for wall-to-wall rubbish American sitcoms.

    I've only ever seen five good American sitcoms - Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Modern Family, The Office (An American Workplace) and 30 Rock. I'm not sure there are many more which can compete with the long list of great British sitcoms.
  • ilovewallanderilovewallander Posts: 41,273
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    doe_a_deer wrote: »
    The Americans? Are you serious? They've surely produced 97 of the WORST 100 ever, not sure about the best. Just turn on E4 or Comedy Central for wall-to-wall rubbish American sitcoms.

    I've only ever seen five good American sitcoms - Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Modern Family, The Office (An American Workplace) and 30 Rock. I'm not sure there are many more which can compete with the long list of great British sitcoms.

    I've never seen any of those so I can't comment on them, but the only US sitcoms I found funny were Frasier, Cheers and The Golden Girls.
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    ... plus the american pinch our best, till death us do part, the office, shameless etc etc, what have we copied from them comedywise?

    they are good at cartoons though, we have no simpsons or family guy..
  • woot_whoowoot_whoo Posts: 18,030
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    ... plus the american pinch our best, till death us do part, the office, shameless etc etc, what have we copied from them comedywise?

    they are good at cartoons though, we have no simpsons or family guy..

    We stole the wonderful Golden Girls and tried to remake it as the execrable 'Brighton Belles'. We remade 'That 70s Show' (unsuccessfully) as 'Days Like These'. We attempted to do 'Married With Children' with Russ Abbot in the Ed O'Neill role (it failed). We turned 'Who's the Boss' into the twee 'The Upper Hand'.
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