Waking up at the Crack of Dawn

Everybody rules at something. Germans make great cars. France has the best food. Italy's got art and architecture. The Americans have got, uh...let me see now...erm...well there must be something, let me get back on that later.

Britannia rules humour. Or indeed the other way round. Not just in jokes and comedy shows, in everything, in her entire culture. It's everywhere, all the time. In fact, I've spend many an evening talking to Britons where I suspected them of just taking the piss the entire time. Love it!
Painfully deprived of the presence of pubs or any substantial amount of live Britons, I have to rely a good deal on British television to get my fix of British humour.

:beatnik2: --------> http://matousmileys.free.fr/tele2.gif --------> http://matousmileys.free.fr/rofl.gif

Any fans out there of British comedy? Perhaps of my perennial favourite Blackadder? Any recommendations for other series, programs, books?



I've thrown in a poll simply for the sake of it.

There is no Monty Python at all in the poll. Why is that?:inquisitive:

Anyway, I really enjoy british humour, despite being german. :boxedin:

I can recommend "Bits of Fry and Laurie" (go to youtube for some sort of 'best of') and "Yes, Minister"/"Yes, Prime Minister", and another one with Laurie I keep forgetting the name... Edit: it's Jeeves and Wooster. Youtube also.

anyway, here's a little gem to soothe any withdrawal symptoms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwbB6B0cQs4

Monty Python.

I remember being...shocked to hear that my GF of the time had not seen the holy grail. I made her watch it. She didn't really enjoy it. Its a bit sad to finally admit it, but she is...quite stupid. :sweatdrop:

Anyway, MP or bust.

Others have already mentioned the criminal lack of Monty Python, but I'd like to point out that you're omitting my personal favorite, Spaced. Any series that can create great comedy out of fanboy hatred of Jar-Jar Binks is special in my book.

Quite right, however, that Americans have no concept of comedy.

You've missed "Only Fools and Horses".

Monty Python.

The fruit-based self-defence class is my favorite.

EDIT: Here we go.

well im not british but i love The Office. at least the american version.

The Blackadder, Jeeves and Wooster, Thin Blue Line........when I was younger, Mr Bean too.

And Benny Hill. :2thumbsup:

Peep show.

You might not get it but if you do you'll love it. Trust me.

Alllllllllbatros

nough said.

And how could you forget about Harry Potter, no not the movies but the books are a riot.

The Office Dry Humor at its best. The American version doesn't quite match it.

And this scene

Blackadder
Monty Python
Are you Being Served?
Ruddy Hell, it's Paul and Harry!
A Bit of Fry and Laury.

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

The Office Dry Humor at its best. The American version doesn't quite match it.

And this scene

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meh. i prefer the american version....

The final one - because my favourite is Yes, [Prime] Minister and I am German.

QI, interesting and funny.

I also like the Mighty Boosh, it's odd.

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

Everybody rules at something. Germans make great cars. France has the best food. Italy's got art and architecture. The Americans have got, uh...let me see now...erm...well there must be something, let me get back on that later.

Britannia rules humour. Or indeed the other way round. Not just in jokes and comedy shows, in everything, in her entire culture. It's everywhere, all the time. In fact, I've spend many an evening talking to Britons where I suspected them of just taking the piss the entire time. Love it!
Painfully deprived of the presence of pubs or any substantial amount of live Britons, I have to rely a good deal on British television to get my fix of British humour.

:beatnik2: --------> http://matousmileys.free.fr/tele2.gif --------> http://matousmileys.free.fr/rofl.gif

Any fans out there of British comedy? Perhaps of my perennial favourite Blackadder? Any recommendations for other series, programs, books?



I've thrown in a poll simply for the sake of it.

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We got sports. And France and Italy should be switched, I like Italian a lot more than french cuisine.

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Originally Posted by seireikhaan

Monty Python.

The fruit-based self-defence class is my favorite.

EDIT: Here we go.

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My favorite MP skit as well:balloon3:

I am German and I do like British Humour. OP, are you a Frenchie? Why do you think your food would be the best in the world? You eat little children with rubber boots on, everyone knows this. ;)

Btw my favourite is Blackadder.

Oh, "Coupling" definitely the best sitcom ever. Anyone has seen the scene in which Jeff is so afraid of the beautiful brunette in the train that he invents having only one leg? And upon finding out that she likes one-legged men tries to amputate one of his?

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Originally Posted by seireikhaan

Monty Python.

The fruit-based self-defence class is my favorite.

EDIT: Here we go.

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Love the end joke, but americans* do self defense parodies better...here's jim carrey:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_vvI26NnwE



*north americans :tongue3:

The Goodies. I used to watch this one on a Canadian station after school. They were like Monty Python-low budget.

Louis is a shame to la République for not mentioning Monty Python.

I've been watching Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead lately, and I'm still laughing from it. Even though it's not as funny as classic british humour, it was still vastly better than so-called french/american/whatev comedies.

Black Books is always worth a giggle.

Monty Python, has to be added again. Only something truly great could - simply through recollection of it at an (in)appropriate moment - cause me to giggle through most of the Passion of the Christ.

Or maybe I'm just twisted.

I don't watch any of these :-)

I do like Monty Python, however!

Fawlty Towers was, and will always be, the pinnacle of British Comedy.

Me likey BlackAdder. And SouthPark.

I watch Jack Dee, Live at the Apollo every week.
It is British stand up at its best. Great fun. :2thumbsup:

I have to add The Fast Show (and the most sublime character in it, Rowley Birkin QC).

And astonishingly, no-one has mentioned Father Ted.

If one is a true aficionado of British humour, you really need to get hold of the radio recordings from "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue". Utterly brilliant improvisation and the highest pinnacle of the double entendre and venomous pun. Some snippets here. If you haven't heard this Louis, make every effort - you will adore every second.

:bow:

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Originally Posted by Banquo's Ghost

And astonishingly, no-one has mentioned Father Ted.

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How did I forget. Maybe it's because there are no Maoris on Craggy Island.

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Originally Posted by Asai Nagamasa

You've missed "Only Fools and Horses".

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Beats the listed shows anyday. Do you smell onions?

I voted GAH!!

I don't see monty python.:shame:

Who said Benny Hill? Wash your mouth out with soap that man! :whip:

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Originally Posted by InsaneApache

Who said Benny Hill? Wash your mouth out with soap that man! :whip:

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What do you expect from a crude colonial? :embarassed:

Whoever said coupling... that man has taste!

Amazing show!!

FatherTed as well.... full of laughs.. another great show...

I need to see this Gah! proggramme, must be impressin'.

aahhh **** brits suck at humor i seen that knight thing where he get limbs chopped of. WTF? thank God i dont live in europe dude eating cheese 2/47 must make ur lives crap huh? anyway u want real comedy look at MAD magazine

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Originally Posted by Boyar Son

aahhh **** brits suck at humor i seen that knight thing where he get limbs chopped of. WTF? thank God i dont live in europe dude eating cheese 2/47 must make ur lives crap huh? anyway u want real comedy look at MAD magazine

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Dear God no.

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Originally Posted by Boyar Son

aahhh **** brits suck at humor i seen that knight thing where he get limbs chopped of. WTF? thank God i dont live in europe dude eating cheese 2/47 must make ur lives crap huh? anyway u want real comedy look at MAD magazine

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I imagine eating cheese 2 hours a day, 47 days a week would be rather tiring ~:handball:

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Originally Posted by Strike For The South

Dear God no.

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sfts cmon if anything whatever louie says u would agree on like Europe being #1 that's against everything America stands for and ur American aren't u or Texan. & texans dont like french make fun of a euro once in a while

to much BBC is bad for ur health

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Originally Posted by Boyar Son

sfts cmon if anything whatever louie says u would agree on like Europe being #1 that's against everything America stands for and ur American aren't u or Texan. & texans dont like french make fun of a euro once in a while

to much BBC is bad for ur health

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Texans love the French and vice versa. The schoolyard banter is mere pillow talk. The Frexas alliance rules all.

In fact my dream is to marry a French/Cajun/Italian/Jewish/Southern Belle. In America I just may find her.

Europe is a wonderful place and when I get some money I will go there and indulge in all the culture I envy so much.

There I said it.

Meanwhile, here's another small one for you to enjoy

The Amazing Jesus

You're welcome

Lots of great links and recommendations. I'm checking them all out on YouTube to see which ones deserve a follow up on Amazon. Thanks to you all!

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Originally Posted by Meneldil

Louis is a shame to la République for not mentioning Monty Python.

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Python? Meh. The only British snakes I like are those creepy crawlers Blackadder and Tony Blair.

I liked 'Life of Brian'. But most of the other Monty Python stuff is too old and, more importantly, too geeky for my liking.

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Originally Posted by Centurio Nixalsverdrus

OP, are you a Frenchie? Why do you think your food would be the best in the world?

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Centurio, have you no idea what irony is? It's when something at first sight looks like it is something else but it actually isn't and instead it is something made out of iron. :book:

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Originally Posted by Boyar son

brits suck at humor

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Everything goes over your head, doesn't it, Boyar? You should go to Jamaica and become a limbo dancer.

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Originally Posted by Strike

Texans love the French and vice versa. The schoolyard banter is mere pillow talk. The Frexas alliance rules all.

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I hate you Texans with your admiration for France! With your oversized hats and your shiny toilet paper with pink flowers and your ridiculous preconceptions that Frenchmen are great lovers! Get real for God's sake! I'm French and I'm hung like a baby carrot and a couple of petits pois.



Aaah...to be a vipère noire afficionado means one is never lost for a great quote. :2thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

Aaah...to be a vipère noire afficionado means one is never lost for a great quote. :2thumbsup:

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QFT!

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vipère noire afficionado

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Did you mean Whitesnake? I never had you down as a tight tights and back blown hairdo type of guy. :laugh4:

As a gesture of cross channel entente, my brother had a thing about Jaques Tati when I was a teenager. About as funny as having your nuts scrapped across a cheesegrater.

Which blackadder do you prefer? The first series was dire, absolute rubbish. The second series is my favourite, closely followed by the fourth. Queenie was an inspiration to my wife, also a redhead. :yes:

On another note may I present some of the worst comedy and I use that word lightly, ever presented to UK TV screens.

Bless this house.

Father dear father.

Robins nest.

Love thy neighbour.

Mind your language.

Benny Hill. (sorry Greg)

On the other hand some gems, largely unknown...

Gimme, gimme, gimme.

Thin blue line.

Game on.

Brass eye.

The day today.

Alan Partridge.

Mrs. Merton.

The first series of Men behaving badly.

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Originally Posted by InsaneApache

Which blackadder do you prefer? The first series was dire, absolute rubbish. The second series is my favourite, closely followed by the fourth. Queenie was an inspiration to my wife, also a redhead. :yes:

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'La vipère noire' is Blackadder, what the series was called on French television. Needles to say, the series tanked. The humour relies on a non-stop verbal barrage, it just doesn't translate well. My father still thinks I'm mad for liking it. He doesn't get it, he thinks it's about Englishmen donning on weird costumes and pulling funny faces in historical settings with cheap decors.

I myself never did get into it until I finally got a version with English subtitles. The first time I watch, everything sounds like 'Get out, you'll a bit ness wine!' ~:confused:
With subtitles, the aural fog is lifted and the phrase is now revealed to be 'Get out! You libidinous swine!'
Then I watch it for the third time with a dictionary on my lap. And the fourth time, at last, I get to laugh. It is a lot of hard work. :sweatdrop:


The first series has its moments, but as a whole it simply doesn't work. Rowan Atkinson co-wrote it, and he turned his character into a sort of Mr. Bean. Rubbish. For the second series, they brought in Ben Elton as writer. He polished up the concept and the characters. Now it worked! Just a few characters, set in a small, nearly claustrophobic setting. Edmund Blackadder is stuck in some situation that he can't get out of, and is aided by friends that are even more useless than the people that oppose him.

I can't choose between series two, three or four. I always like the one that I last watched the best. Each of the three is brilliant, each in its own right. If I had to choose, the fourth (WWI) is my favourite. The pigeon and courtroom episode is a complete riot. The Lord Flasheart episode is my favourite of all episodes.
('Ask me why I'm not wearing underpants!'
'Why not, Lord Flasheart?'
'Because the pants that will take the job on haven't been invented yet!')

And they managed a great ending to the entire series. It is so easy to get it wrong if you mix comedy with seriousness, but they got it right perfectly. :2thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

The Americans have got, uh...let me see now...erm...well there must be something, let me get back on that later.

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Sideburns.


Ours are the best.

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

The Americans have got, uh...let me see now...erm...well there must be something, let me get back on that later.

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Americans have Texas :laugh4:

In no particular order - Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder, Monty Python and Coupling... Probably Blackadder is my favourite.

(Blackadder on Germans): However, their Teutonic reputation for brutality is well deserved. Their operas last three or four days and they have no word for "fluffy".

While we're on the subject of Blackadder, I heard there may be a fifth season. Any truth to that or just a rumour?

Never heard of that. I'd be glad though!

My personal favourites include the Vicar of Dibley, Live at the Apollo (they killed Jack Dee off after the 2nd Series replacing him with guest hosts - much more varied) and Mock the Week (sample, but be warned, although this is clean, others are not).

Best comedians include Alan Carr, Michael MacIntyre and Frankie Boyle (the scot on Mock the Week - none of them are really clean enough to post here). Jo Brand is fantastic too - she's also showed her fantastic dancing ability off (compare with the real thing first) lately.

Nice to know foreigners see us Brits as good at something too ~:)

Aussies are fantastic too (an Aussie on Mock the Week) - must have inherited it from us lot (or the other way around).

~:)

Mock the week is quite simply the funniest thing on televsion atm*

*that is currently still running... blackadder father ted ect. don't fall into this category...

Edit: infact you have just convinced me to go watch some right now...

Edit 2: i think people can watch full episodes of mock the week on www.bbc.co.uk on thier 'iplayer' im not so sure about people outside the UK though...

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

Centurio, have you no idea what irony is? It's when something at first sight looks like it is something else but it actually isn't and instead it is something made out of iron. :book:

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Sorry I didn't recognize the irony because you also stated that "Germans build the best cars", and that has absolutely nothing to do with irony, but is instead a fact like the sun rising and setting every day, or gravity or whatever you want...

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Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat

Everything goes over your head, doesn't it, Boyar? You should go to Jamaica and become a limbo dancer.

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thats exactly what i mean, this should've been left alone next to the airline food jokes, disco, and brit humor.

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Originally Posted by Boyar Son

thats exactly what i mean, this should've been left alone next to the airline food jokes, disco, and brit humor.

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God, you're such an outlaw. You're like totally awesome can we hang brah? Like Seriously?

[IMG]https://img22.imageshack.us/img22/79...humb300.th.jpg[/IMG]

Another one just came to my mind:

Dad's army

I'm an American but I grew up watching Keeping Up Appearances and Fawlty Towers on the public channels.

Red Dwarf and One Foot in the Grave haven't been mentioned yet. Some bits of Harry Enfield, such as the Self-Righteous Brothers and Mr Chomondely-Warner. Also, Newman and Baddiel's History Today.

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Originally Posted by Sarmatian

Americans have Texas :laugh4:

In no particular order - Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder, Monty Python and Coupling... Probably Blackadder is my favourite.

(Blackadder on Germans): However, their Teutonic reputation for brutality is well deserved. Their operas last three or four days and they have no word for "fluffy".

While we're on the subject of Blackadder, I heard there may be a fifth season. Any truth to that or just a rumour?

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A few years ago there was a special (appearantly there are others but I've never seen them) called Blackadder goes back and forth. Set with modern versions of all the Blackadder characters. Where Baldrick invents a time machine.....

Blackadder, of course! I've watched these series when I was about ten... It's funny because it's back on the TV and every Saturday I sit, watch and laugh ... :beam:

P.S. I would say the First and Second are my favourite and the Third also has its moments. Well, the last, I did not much like it.

Frasier is really the most hilarious sitcom ever.

Another Harry Enfield sketch.

Women - Keep Your Virtue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCQ4oBcuTBY

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Originally Posted by Centurio Nixalsverdrus

Frasier is really the most hilarious sitcom ever.

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Yes it is, but 'tis hardly a prime example of British humour.

(Though one could argue a lineage to farce).

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Originally Posted by Pannonian

Another Harry Enfield sketch.

Women - Keep Your Virtue

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:beam:

Enfield is my favourite and this series tops everything else he ever made (and he made a lot). I literally fell of the couch laughing when I saw my first installment of Mr Cholmondley-Warner.

GAH! faulty outer that, but seriously, you missed tons of good ones :laugh4: