UK sitcoms v's US sitcoms.

fonecrusher1

Following on from the best/worst sitcom threads is it becoming obvious that Uk sitcoms are just generally better than american sitcoms. Seriously i can name at least 10 excellent uk sitcoms off the top of my head but i struggle to think of 5 USA ones.

Seinfeld (its been gone for years)
Arrested Development
Cheers
Simpsons
.....??

Friends? C'mon about 20% of the entire series is funny.

I'l get off the fence & say i think most american sitcoms are sh!te. Look at amount of rubbish that they call humour on irish/uk tv. Example; How i met your mother, the big bang theory, Two & a half men... utter garbage. Ok maybe its that i just don't get their humour because im not american but really if something is funny its funny for everyone regardless of where they're from.

Conor108

I think Community is an excellent US sitcom! In its second season now

dr.bollocko

Moved from After hours.

kfallon

US comedy series are generally rubbish unless in animated form!
Seinfeld is ok I suppose!

boobar

British Sitcoms are great....Peep Show has to be the best sitcom on TV in years.

However, US have some great stuff among all the dross.

Early Curb Your Enthusiasm
30 Rock is a stand out show

Dman001

In the last 10-20 years, the UK hasn't produced a Sitcom that would be considered in the same league as Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder. Any Sitcom that the BBC produce these days are terrible, even the later seasons of Only Fools were much funnier than the current sitcoms coming from the BBC.

Channel 4/E4 though have a few hits in their hands with Fr. Ted, The Inbetweeners, The IT Crowd, Peep Show, Misfits etc., while funny, are still not in the same league as OFAH or Fawlty.

I always found UK Sitcoms much funnier than US Sitcoms. When UK sitcoms are done right, they can be brilliant. But the standard of comedy has declined so much in the last 20 years, when we consider Two And A Half Men and How I Met Your Mother (which I watch but still wouldn't consider it to be a brilliant Sitcom) the two highest rated Sitcoms on TV these days.

Edit:
But the US has given us many great Sitcoms, such as:
Arrested Development,
Fraiser (possible one of the most clever shows ever, which never got old after 11 seasons)
Friends
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Modern Family (the best current Sitcom from the US)

Basq

OP,

You're missing so many great US sitcoms to be honest.. to name just 5 that are currently airing:

Community
30 Rock
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Modern Family
Raising Hope

The UK has it's fair amount of sh*te too.. in fact, pound for pound, I'd say the UK is producing a larger amount of terrible comedies these days. Especially as terrible UK sitcoms tend to survive longer than terrible US sitcoms ('2 And A Half Men' excluded).

How a show like 'Not Going Out' is still going is beyond me!

Syferus

Dman001 wrote: »

In the last 10-20 years, the UK hasn't produced a Sitcom that would be considered in the same league as Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder. Any Sitcom that the BBC produce these days are terrible, even the later seasons of Only Fools were much funnier than the current sitcoms coming from the BBC.

Channel 4/E4 though have a few hits in their hands with Fr. Ted, The Inbetweeners, The IT Crowd, Peep Show, Misfits etc., while funny, are still not in the same league as OFAH or Fawlty.

Peep Show in my opinion is as hilarious and as exciting as the first time I Fawlty Towers or Father Ted, and indeed at times even more so. There wasn't a thousand good British sitcoms back in the 'good old days', just a couple exceptional ones. Peep Show is firmly in that bracket for the present and indeed the critical reaction and public continuially has reflected that over the lest seven years.

The other ones you mentioned are either something very different from a sitcom (Misfits), very much unashamedly primarily for a certain generation and indeed utterly brilliant in its way (The Inbetweeners) or in Father Ted's case is already generally accepted to be in the top tier of sitcoms ever to be produced.

Most of what were percieved to be great sitcoms in 1960s, 1970s and 1980s have aged badly and can seem far too hokey to consider watching at length, the few exceptions, like Fawlty Towers, becoming all the more obviously brilliant by the passage of time. We can't fully judge any sitcom today by those shows without some perspective, but Peep Show has a good a chance as anything produced in the past decade at being as well-remembered. Great writing and acting are ethernal.

fonecrusher1

basquille wrote: »

OP,

You're missing so many great US sitcoms to be honest.. to name just 5 that are currently airing:

Community
30 Rock
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Modern Family
Raising Hope

The UK has it's fair amount of sh*te too.. in fact, pound for pound, I'd say the UK is producing a larger amount of terrible comedies these days. Especially as terrible UK sitcoms tend to survive longer than terrible US sitcoms ('2 And A Half Men' excluded).

How a show like 'Not Going Out' is still going is beyond me!

Each to their own but i just don't find anything particularly funny about any of the comedies you have listed. I haven't seen Community so i'l hold fire on that. Its always sunny in philadelphia in particular is poor in my opinion. 30 rock is a big expensive production & i think it relies heavily on costly quest appearrances rather than plain humour. Hey i guess we just have different ideas on whats funny.

The Office (the original) is a prime example of what the americans just could never do. Sure they were so in awe of it they did a us version of it & we all know its just nowhere near as good as the uk production.

Peep show is another example. Its completely unique, clever & just outright hilarious. Black Books, Father Ted, Red Dwarf, The League of Gentleman, Alan Partridge i could go on.

I agree decent uk sitcoms are rare these days but when they're good, they're very good. There are dozens of mediocre US sitcoms cranked out year after year. Quality over quantity i say.

irishh_bob

american comedy is more contrived , americans are in general not funny where as british people have a good sense of humour , its quite similar to irish humour

Basq

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

30 rock is a big expensive production & i think it relies heavily on costly quest appearrances rather than plain humour. Hey i guess we just have different ideas on whats funny.

We definitely have different ideas on what's funny.. I really think you need to sit down and watch some of these shows.

'30 Rock' is a "big expensive production & i think it relies heavily on costly quest appearrances rather than plain humour"? It's guest stars aren't flaunted in for no reason - they're use to their full capabilities and for ridicule (take James Franco and his japanese body pillow) akin to 'Extras'. And while it's not a rating winner in the States, it's widely respected among audiences and critics. Some of the humour can be razor sharp.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Its always sunny in philadelphia in particular is poor in my opinion.

Your opinion of 'It's Always Sunny' is odd.. because I love 'Peep Show' and it's humour is probably closer to that than anything. When it's writing is good, it can absolutely gut-busting funny.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

The Office (the original) is a prime example of what the americans just could never do. Sure they were so in awe of it they did a us version of it & we all know its just nowhere near as good as the uk production.

To be fair, 'The Office US' was absolutely NOTHING like the UK version.

I'm a fan of both.. but the US version became unwatchable. It was, however, for a few seasons one of the the funniest shows in the US.

They should have ended it on a high (like the UK version) - but if sit down and watch seasons 2 - 4, there's a lot to appreciate.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Peep show is another example. Its completely unique, clever & just outright hilarious. Black Books, Father Ted, Red Dwarf, The League of Gentleman, Alan Partridge i could go on.

I agree decent uk sitcoms are rare these days but when they're good, they're very good.

But the same could be said for US sitcoms.. I'm not here to change your mind, but what I am saying is that you appear to be dismissing US comedies before giving them a chance.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

There are dozens of mediocre US sitcoms cranked out year after year. Quality over quantity i say.

Quality over quantity? Agreed!

But let's think about this - the US has about half a dozen mainstream network stations (CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, ABC, AMC etc) and another 40 or so cable stations (Showtime, HBO, FX, TNT, SyFy) with original productions.

They're cranking out probably a hundred new comedies a year. Over here? We have Channel 4 and the BBC.. and that's where original comedy stops.

Probably 5% - 10% of the productions from both UK and US are worthwhile.. but the quantity the US produce has clouded your views.

irishh_bob wrote: »

american comedy is more contrived , americans are in general not funny where as british people have a good sense of humour , its quite similar to irish humour

I don't agree at all.. there's plenty of intelligent US sitcoms out there.

And for each dumbed-down US sitcom.. you can bet the UK have an equivalent:

"'Two And A Half Men' is moronically unfunny.. yeah, but so is '2 Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps'."
"'Accidentally On Purpose' isn't funny in the slightest.. yeah, turn on E4's 'Phone Shop' there?"

It's all too easy to generalize!

Also Starring LeVar Burton

basquille wrote: »

OP,

You're missing so many great US sitcoms to be honest.. to name just 5 that are currently airing:

Community
30 Rock
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Modern Family
Raising Hope

The exact same 5 I would've mentioned. Would've also thrown The Middle, Outsourced, HIMYM and The Big Bang Theory (although I may be crucified for mentioning it) into that list of current sitcoms. Thats 9 there and I'm sure I've left some out.
In 2010 the UK gave us The IT Crowd (which has dropped in quality) and The Inbetweeners - probably left 1 or 2 out there too, but you get my point. Misfits is not a sitcom, its a dramedy, so that doesn't count.

Overall I think the UK and the US have had an equal amount of hits and misses over the years.

fonecrusher1

basquille wrote: »

But let's think about this - the US has about half a dozen mainstream network stations (CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, ABC, AMC etc) and another 40 or so cable stations (Showtime, HBO, FX, TNT, SyFy) with original productions.

They're cranking out probably a hundred new comedies a year. Over here? We have Channel 4 and the BBC.. and that's where original comedy stops.

CaptainNegative wrote: »

Overall I think the UK and the US have had an equal amount of hits and misses over the years.

Wait this doesn't make sense. If there are 12/13 american tv channels producing comedies every year doesn't that mean they produce a lot more rubbish.

As has already been said Uk comedy is pretty much just channel 4 & bbc. If the uk is producing 2 or 3 decent sitcoms out of maybe 5 per year it means they're doing a hell of a lot better than the usa producing 2 or 3 decent sitcoms out 12 or 13 being produced. Thats why i speak of quality over quantity.

Why is it that american networks have cloned a good few Uk comedies but never the other way round? Have bbc or channel 4 ever done that? It seems to be one way traffic.:)

Fawlty Towers - Payne (US)
Red Dwarf - US Red Dwarf
IT crowd - US version (pilot)
The Office - US version
Men Behaving Badly - Us version
Porridge - On the Rocks
Shameless - Us Version on the way
and on
and on....

Take a look at all the sitcoms out of this list of US programs based on UK programs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_television_series_based_on_British_television_series

Make no mistake, UK sitcoms/humour throughout the years are/is the bedrock of modern english-speaking US sitcoms/humour. Not the other way round. Why do you think they keep copying Uk programs?

Basq

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Wait this doesn't make sense. If there are 12/13 american tv channels producing comedies every year doesn't that mean they produce a lot more rubbish.

As has already been said Uk comedy is pretty much just channel 4 & bbc. If the uk is producing 2 or 3 decent sitcoms out of maybe 5 per year it means they're doing a hell of a lot better than the usa producing 2 or 3 decent sitcoms out 12 or 13 being produced. Thats why i speak of quality over quantity.

But what myself and CaptainNegative have said is that ratio-wise (5% - 10% I quoted), they're probably producing the same amount of worthwhile comedy each year.

If the Beeb / Channel 4 were producing the same number of comedies as the US, it'd be easier to compare.

I don't think either the US or UK have a better track record at the moment with comedy.. they're both very hit and miss.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Why is it that american networks have cloned a good few Uk comedies but never the other way round? Have bbc or channel 4 ever done that? It seems to be one way traffic.:)

Fawlty Towers - Payne (US)
Red Dwarf - US Red Dwarf
IT crowd - US version (pilot)
The Office - US version
Men Behaving Badly - Us version
Porridge - On the Rocks
Shameless - Us Version on the way
and on
and on....

Believe me.. it does happen but's more common for game-shows (The Apprentice, Blockbusters, Family Fortunes etc) but here's some UK remakes of US shows:

The Upper Hand (based on Who's The Boss)
Married For Life (based on Married With Children)
Brighton Belles (based on The Golden Girls)
The Fosters (based on Good Times)
Loved By You (based on Mad About You)
Days Like These (based on The 70's Show)
All In The Family (based on Till Death)

I'll get to why US remakes of UK shows are more common now.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Make no mistake, UK sitcoms/humour throughout the years are/is the bedrock of modern english-speaking US sitcoms/humour. Not the other way round. Why do you think they keep copying Uk programs?

There's a couple of reasons which are probable here - for example:

a) Build on a winning formula. This formula is working in the UK, so with an all new US backdrop and actors - it SURELY will work here, right?
b) Expense. It's a lot cheaper to buy out the rights to a UK series than for BBC to go to Fox and say "listen, we want to make a British remake of 'Friends'?". Fox would just see $$$ signs and charge whatever they want.
c) US audiences may not understand all the nuances of British series. Take 'Shameless'.. that's been dramatically reworked in it's style for US. I know what you're thinking - "humour is universal.." - but aren't you also dismissing US sitcoms are being poor? The US could say the same about UK sitcoms, and they often do.

The reasons they keep copying "UK programs" isn't because they're necessarily of a higher quality.. if you read as much about US programming as I do, there's so much politics and "the almighty dollar" involved here.

Wasn't "Coupling" based on "friends"?

fonecrusher1

basquille wrote: »

But what myself and CaptainNegative have said is that ratio-wise (5% - 10% I quoted), they're probably producing the same amount of worthwhile comedy each year.

If the Beeb / Channel 4 were producing the same number of comedies as the US, it'd be easier to compare.

I don't think either the US or UK have a better track record at the moment with comedy.. they're both very hit and miss.


Believe me.. it does happen but's more common for game-shows (The Apprentice, Blockbusters, Family Fortunes etc) but here's some UK remakes of US shows:

The Upper Hand (based on Who's The Boss)
Married For Life (based on Married With Children)
Brighton Belles (based on The Golden Girls)
The Fosters (based on Good Times)
Loved By You (based on Mad About You)
Days Like These (based on The 70's Show)
All In The Family (based on Till Death)

I'll get to why US remakes of UK shows are more common now.


There's a couple of reasons which are probable here - for example:

a) Build on a winning formula. This formula is working in the UK, so with an all new US backdrop and actors - it SURELY will work here, right?
b) Expense. It's a lot cheaper to buy out the rights to a UK series than for BBC to go to Fox and say "listen, we want to make a British remake of 'Friends'?". Fox would just see $$$ signs and charge whatever they want.
c) US audiences may not understand all the nuances of British series. Take 'Shameless'.. that's been dramatically reworked in it's style for US. I know what you're thinking - "humour is universal.." - but aren't you also dismissing US sitcoms are being poor? The US could say the same about UK sitcoms, and they often do.

The reasons they keep copying "UK programs" isn't because they're necessarily of a higher quality.. if you read as much about US programming as I do, there's so much politics and "the almighty dollar" involved here.

Exactly!!!^

Haha i see where your getting your info.:D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_television_programmes_based_on_American_television_series

Which list is bigger? The UK to US one or the US to UK one? I hate to bring things to such basic terms but its the unavoidable truth & we could go round & round all night.

I think personally Uk sitcoms are mostly better than US sitcoms. I have given the reasons why i think this. Now you won't even concede that us tv networks have cloned uk sitcoms by the bucketload over the years & to be honest thats almost....deluded. An excuse for everything! You provided a fairly small list compared to the list in the link i provided.

I have given many US sitcoms a try in the last few years & honestly i find them not funny, inferior to uk stuff. Thats not to say ive never enjoyed some comedies from there. Cheers, Curb your enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Arrested D to name a few.

Its just down to personal taste at the end of the day.

2 words. Monty Python.;)

tvercetti

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Why is it that american networks have cloned a good few Uk comedies but never the other way round? Have bbc or channel 4 ever done that? It seems to be one way traffic.:)

that 70s show
In 1999, the show was remade by the British ITV network as Days Like These using almost verbatim scripts with minor changes to cultural references

would like to have seen the british one but dont remember it



eidt: beatin to it

fonecrusher1

tvercetti wrote: »

that 70s show
In 1999, the show was remade by the British ITV network as Days Like These using almost verbatim scripts with minor changes to cultural references

would like to have seen the british one but dont remember it



eidt: beatin to it

Ok thats one. Fair enough. How many UK to US conversions has there been? Dozens?

Mr.Nice Guy

It's difficult to comment on this without generalising. I think there are a lot of terrible sitcoms out there at the moment on both sides of the Atlantic. In my view the classic British sitcoms beat anything the Americans have but that's just my take on it.

Anyone have any ideas on what other English speaking parts of the world make of the age old US/British sitcoms debate? I'd be curious to know what Australia, New Zealand think since they have a significant British influence, as well as Canada which would be another interesting one since they are also linked with the British, but are presumably more influenced by American TV than the Aussies, Kiwis would be due to their location.

S.M.B.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Ok thats one. Fair enough. How many UK to US conversions has there been? Dozens?

Basquille gave plenty of valid reasons as to why there's not as many UK remakes yet you chose to ignore them and harp on about 'quality not quantity'.

It simply doesn't make financial sense for a UK production company to remake a US sitcom whereas the opposite isn't the case.

TheGodBen

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Which list is bigger? The UK to US one or the US to UK one? I hate to bring things to such basic terms but its the unavoidable truth & we could go round & round all night.

You've made things too simplistic by looking at it in those terms.

On this side of the Atlantic, we are dominated by American culture; we watch their TV shows, we watch their movies, and we listen to their music. We know about the differences between Texans, New Yorkers, Californians, Iowans, Hawaiians, Alabamans and so on. Most Americans don't even know about the difference between people from northern and southern England, let alone the other regional variances. If you were to ask me to describe Las Vegas I'd say it's a gambling Mecca with bright lights and a dodgy reputation for long-lasting marriages. If you were to ask an American to describe Blackpool, they're unlikely to even know about the tower. If you were to ask me to describe Baltimore I'd say that it's a bit of a hole with a reputation for gang violence. If you were to ask an American to describe Birmingham, they'd probably look at you a little funny.

I'm not saying that Americans are stupid, most of them aren't, but they're not exposed to British culture in the same way that British people are exposed to American culture. A successful American show doesn't need to be "translated" for a British audience to get it, but the same can't be said the other way around.

Looking though my DVDs here and i have far more truly great us sitcoms than uk. There really is no comparison and while there are many great British sitcoms they are few and far between. In recent years only the inbetweeners pops out while the list of dreadful british sitcoms from the past three years is rather long. In fact the hit to miss ratio in the uk is substantially lower than in the us, as bad as two and a half men is it's nowhere near as dreadful as not going out.

MaceFace

What is interesting is that when people harp on about UK sitcoms, they are almost all programs that have very few episodes (not including specials).

Take 15 top shows from each side at random:

Fawlty Towers: 12
Father Ted: 25
The Inbetweeners: 18
Peep Show: 42
The Office: 14
Extras: 16
Blackadder: 24
One foot in the grave: 42
Red Dwarf: 55
The IT Crowd: 24
Only Fools and Horses: 64
The Royle Family: 24
Men Behaving Badly: 42
Porridge: 20
Dads Army: 80

Subtotal: 502 episodes

US:
Cheers: 270
Seinfeld: 180
Friends: 236
Mash: 251
Frasier: 264
Married With Children: 262
The Golden Girls: 180
Scrubs: 181
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: 148
Two and a Half Men: 174 and counting
The Simpsons: 473 and counting
Family Guy:154 and counting
The Office: 138 and counting
How I met your mother: 125 and counting
The Big Bang Theory: 74 and counting

Sutotal: 3110

If there were only 20-50 episodes of each of the US Sitcoms, we would all be universally be raving how good they were. The problem has been that:
1. The US shows tend to get old and tired due to so many episodes whereas British shows tend not to last for whatever reason.
2. Because they can rely on shows like Friends to top the ratings for 10 years, the US don't (or can't) invest in new shows.

Try make 400 episodes of Father Ted and see what you would think of it.

Basq

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Which list is bigger? The UK to US one or the US to UK one? I hate to bring things to such basic terms but its the unavoidable truth & we could go round & round all night.

I think personally Uk sitcoms are mostly better than US sitcoms. I have given the reasons why i think this. Now you won't even concede that us tv networks have cloned uk sitcoms by the bucketload over the years & to be honest thats almost....deluded. An excuse for everything! You provided a fairly small list compared to the list in the link i provided.

Deluded? Jesus.. are you even reading my posts?

I addressed the various US -> UK remakes and why the opposite way around is more common here:

Believe me.. it does happen but's more common for game-shows (The Apprentice, Blockbusters, Family Fortunes etc) but here's some UK remakes of US shows:

The Upper Hand (based on Who's The Boss)
Married For Life (based on Married With Children)
Brighton Belles (based on The Golden Girls)
The Fosters (based on Good Times)
Loved By You (based on Mad About You)
Days Like These (based on The 70's Show)
All In The Family (based on Till Death)

I'll get to why US remakes of UK shows are more common now.

There's a couple of reasons which are probable here - for example:

a) Build on a winning formula. This formula is working in the UK, so with an all new US backdrop and actors - it SURELY will work here, right?
b) Expense. It's a lot cheaper to buy out the rights to a UK series than for BBC to go to Fox and say "listen, we want to make a British remake of 'Friends'?". Fox would just see $$$ signs and charge whatever they want.
c) US audiences may not understand all the nuances of British series. Take 'Shameless'.. that's been dramatically reworked in it's style for US. I know what you're thinking - "humour is universal.." - but aren't you also dismissing US sitcoms are being poor? The US could say the same about UK sitcoms, and they often do.

The reasons they keep copying "UK programs" isn't because they're necessarily of a higher quality.. if you read as much about US programming as I do, there's so much politics and "the almighty dollar" involved here.

I'd addressing what you're saying.. you're just refusing to acknowledge it! And I'm the one that's deluded? :rolleyes:

Shane10

overall the US have way better sitcoms. the old british ones like blackadder, fawlty towers, allo allo, only fools and horses were classics but thats decades ago. recently i can only think of the royle family and extras that were really good. (obvisouly father ted but im claiming that as irish)!

compare the US and there is countless great stuff. at the moment you have curb your enthusiam(which i think is one of the greatest comedies of all time), 30 Rock, Modern Family, you had arrested development, malcolm in the middle, scrubs, friends, king of queens...................the US easily beats the UK right now. then again they would be putting out way more programmes than the UK.

Has anyone seen "How not to live your life"? Brilliant BBC sitcom

pickarooney

Papa Smut wrote: »

Has anyone seen "How not to live your life"? Brilliant BBC sitcom

I thought I was the only one who watched it, but I see it's been added to the list in the stocky. More people should watch it, and Pulling, anotehr excellent series nobody seems to have watched.

I think everyone should be aware by now that the way you approach a US or UK sit-com needs to be very different. It's rare for an American comedy to come out of the traps swinging a hat-trick; it takes 4-5 episodes for them to establish themselves. This is equal to almost an entire season on UK TV, during which British writers pack oodles more subtle, obliquely referenced humour - humour that you understand because it's bascially your culture but won't register with someone from North America.

US shows need to be relatable to a far wider and more diverse audience, both at home and internationally, hence the need for more verbal gags-per-minute and fewer nuanced head-movements. American writers could easily write hilariously subtle comedy shows that would send a small niche market into hysterics, but you wouldn't get the references and you'd think it was ****. Just like your best mate can have you in tears laughing down the pub but would die on his feet at the Edinburgh festival.

dolphin city

the UK is miles ahead of the US when it comes to comedy and sitcoms.

the US sitcoms are all the same - same jokes, same "sarcasm" (if you could call it that - personally I don't think they know what sarcasm is). the only thing that changes is the faces depending on the sitcom/actor they want to promote at any given time. You nearly know the catchphrases off by heart now.

the UK sitcomes are genuinely funny - they are sarcastic, witty, racey, on the edge and extremely funny.

Also the UK don't tend to ram them down your throat for years on end. The do a sitcom, they do it extremely well, and they know when to end it. The US ones go on forever and as well as being non-funny become v. irritating (does anyone know for how many years more "Friends" re-run contract runs for - 20? 30? 40?). Surely this should be binned now (and no, it was not overly funny).

You would never get the likes of "gimme, gimme, gimme" or other sitcoms like that in the states - they would be run out of town by the PC brigade, whereas the UK know how to do tongue in cheek, they know how to take humour, and they know what makes for a funny sitcom.

dolphin city

Shane10 wrote: »

overall the US have way better sitcoms. the old british ones like blackadder, fawlty towers, allo allo, only fools and horses were classics but thats decades ago. recently i can only think of the royle family and extras that were really good. (obvisouly father ted but im claiming that as irish)!

compare the US and there is countless great stuff. at the moment you have curb your enthusiam(which i think is one of the greatest comedies of all time), 30 Rock, Modern Family, you had arrested development, malcolm in the middle, scrubs, friends, king of queens...................the US easily beats the UK right now. then again they would be putting out way more programmes than the UK.

out of those the only one that I feel is remotely funny is curb your enthusiasm. The rest are all typical fodder for US television. You know the punchlines and what is going to happen and what is going to be said within five minutes of the show coming on. You also must remember that in the US they are not able to do humour properly - they have very strict guidlines and can't say "boo" in case of offending any particular group at any one time.

compare that with the UK = they know they can push the boundaries for their humour - their audiences know it too - they can see the funny side of things - they don't have to worry as much about various groups boycotting a show because somebody looked crooked at somebody else.

Shane10

dolphin city wrote: »

out of those the only one that I feel is remotely funny is curb your enthusiasm. The rest are all typical fodder for US television. You know the punchlines and what is going to happen and what is going to be said within five minutes of the show coming on.

im not doubting your judgement but have you watched these shows at length apart from Curb? 30 rock, modern family, arrested development,scrubs these are/were great creative shows. there is no punchline to these. apart from a few, comedy is going in this direction of almost funny drama. funny ha-ha comedy shows like friends or father ted are almost gone. as ive said larry david and Curb is brilliant tv, every episode is classic stuff.

dolphin city

shane
yes I know where you are coming from and that post is only my personal opinion. I have watched the US recent sitcoms and I have also lived there so I am talking from both perspectives. Maybe its just me that has a warped sense of humour but I find the UK sitcoms way more original, and extremely funny than the US.

I do agree with tho that the sitcom'y type of comedy show is dying away but I think the new comedy is the more reality based shows now, i.e. a panel commenting on current affairs, etc. and I do think the more classic type comedy sitcoms will be a thing of the past.

on one last note - its not a sitcom but there are some real laugh out loud moments on TV Burp - compare that with a US equivalent, and the US doesn't even come close (that would be the US types that we get on the Irish/UK channels here - that Us politician observer programme comes to mind - just doesn't hit the funny mark for me).

mike65

basquille wrote: »

How a show like 'Not Going Out' is still going is beyond me!

Hey!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7tQskKcrz8

Sorry I like it

BBC2 has had a great year of low-key/off-kilter comedies Rev, Grandmas House, Great Outdoors, Roger and Val have just Got In. Stuff that your average viewer might not rate cos they don't do an obvious joke every 30 seconds but reward those who stay with them.

Both countries have loads of crap and a small % of good/greats.

The main difference is the way they are comissioned and produced with the US networks always looking for long running shows usually led by a "star" name written by a large group of gag writers/story drafters. In the UK its about an idea from one maybe two writers for 6 or so episodes and maybe lasting 24 in total ie one US series length. My Family which is modeled on the US approach (bar series length) and which keeps coming back year after year is one of the worst.

Shane10

dolphin city wrote: »

shane
yes I know where you are coming from and that post is only my personal opinion. I have watched the US recent sitcoms and I have also lived there so I am talking from both perspectives. Maybe its just me that has a warped sense of humour but I find the UK sitcoms way more original, and extremely funny than the US.

I do agree with tho that the sitcom'y type of comedy show is dying away but I think the new comedy is the more reality based shows now, i.e. a panel commenting on current affairs, etc. and I do think the more classic type comedy sitcoms will be a thing of the past.

on one last note - its not a sitcom but there are some real laugh out loud moments on TV Burp - compare that with a US equivalent, and the US doesn't even come close (that would be the US types that we get on the Irish/UK channels here - that Us politician observer programme comes to mind - just doesn't hit the funny mark for me).

dont get me wrong i love some of the UK sitcoms, i love Allo Allo, Fawlty Towers, Royle Family, Only Fools And Horses. But recently i think the US has been putting out some really good stuff. Extra's was really good from Gervais in fairness, really funny.

fonecrusher1

MaceFace wrote: »

What is interesting is that when people harp on about UK sitcoms, they are almost all programs that have very few episodes (not including specials).

Take 15 top shows from each side at random:

Fawlty Towers: 12
Father Ted: 25
The Inbetweeners: 18
Peep Show: 42
The Office: 14
Extras: 16
Blackadder: 24
One foot in the grave: 42
Red Dwarf: 55
The IT Crowd: 24
Only Fools and Horses: 64
The Royle Family: 24
Men Behaving Badly: 42
Porridge: 20
Dads Army: 80

Subtotal: 502 episodes

US:
Cheers: 270
Seinfeld: 180
Friends: 236 75% RUBBISH
Mash: 251 CANNED LAUGHTER!!! AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Frasier: 264
Married With Children: 262 RUBBISH
The Golden Girls: 180 RUBBISH
Scrubs: 181 RUBBISH
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: 148
Two and a Half Men: 174 and counting COMPLETE RUBBISH
The Simpsons: 473 and counting
Family Guy:154 and counting
The Office: 138 and counting AVERAGE
The Big Bang Theory; 125 and counting COMPLETE RUBBISH
How I met your mother : 74 and counting COMPLETE RUBBISH

Jesus some of the complete & utter sh!te your harping on about there^ pretty much makes your opinion void. In my opinion. I really don't give a sh!t how many episodes of this or that have been made. If you make 150 episodes of something its pretty much gauranteed at least a third of them are going to be average or even poor. A sitcom can't be consistently good for 150 episodes. Talk about screwing something till everyone is sick of the sight of it. Friends for example, should have ended years before it did. But no lets dilute the quality & squeeze another 100 episodes out of it, sure the suckers will lap it up. And your actually championing this method of sitcom production? I'd rather have 10 episodes of comedy gold over 100 episodes of mediocrity.

Friends & Fresh Prince of Belair - should have ended years before it did. It was rubbish in the last few years.
Simpsons - its a shadow of its former glory. Its now there for guest appearrances from famous people.
The US Office - again its been very average in the last 3 or 4 series. Leave it die.
Mash??!! that brilliant american comedy that was accompanied with recorded laughter! Dear oh dear....:D

Shane10 wrote: »

overall the US have way better sitcoms.

:rolleyes:^ /sigh...

dolphin city wrote: »

the UK is miles ahead of the US when it comes to comedy and sitcoms.

the US sitcoms are all the same - same jokes, same "sarcasm" (if you could call it that - personally I don't think they know what sarcasm is). the only thing that changes is the faces depending on the sitcom/actor they want to promote at any given time. You nearly know the catchphrases off by heart now.

the UK sitcomes are genuinely funny - they are sarcastic, witty, racey, on the edge and extremely funny.

Also the UK don't tend to ram them down your throat for years on end. The do a sitcom, they do it extremely well, and they know when to end it. The US ones go on forever and as well as being non-funny become v. irritating (does anyone know for how many years more "Friends" re-run contract runs for - 20? 30? 40?). Surely this should be binned now (and no, it was not overly funny).

You would never get the likes of "gimme, gimme, gimme" or other sitcoms like that in the states - they would be run out of town by the PC brigade, whereas the UK know how to do tongue in cheek, they know how to take humour, and they know what makes for a funny sitcom.

Couldn't agree more. UK sitcoms push boundaries, poke fun at taboo subjects & it works. A lot of US sitcoms are so cliche laden, predictable & conservative its painful to watch. As ive already said i have given a lot of american sitcoms a go & found myself almost embarrassed at how basic & formulaic they are.
I used to like Cheers, Seinfeld was worth a watch, Curb Your Enthusiasm is very good. Like the older Simpsons (its now terrible, quality over quantity;)). I enjoy Family guy. Arrested Developement is good. Thats it, can't think of anything else. I'l give this show Community a watch to see what its like.

pickarooney

Give The Boondocks a shot. It's not strictly a sitcom but if you like animation tackling taboos while being very funny it's worth a go.

phasers

Jesus OP, humour is subjective. You may think something is rubbish but that's no reason to dismiss it completely.


Also The Golden Girls is awesome, and so is Married With Children.

...You're dismissing MASH because it has canned laughter? Firstly, I suggest you rewatch some of your precious old British comedy. Secondly, it was aired in the UK without the canned laughter and it was still just as funny (according to my brother anyway, I think it's crap :pac:)

Rjd2

mike65 wrote: »

Hey!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7tQskKcrz8

Sorry I like it

BBC2 has had a great year of low-key/off-kilter comedies Rev, Grandmas House, Great Outdoors, Roger and Val have just Got In. Stuff that your average viewer might not rate cos they don't do an obvious joke every 30 seconds but reward those who stay with them.

you can add Bellamy's People to that list as well.

Blisterman

Yeah, there's been some awful rubbish on both sides. I especially hate the British "Catchphrase" based comedies. The fake comedy "When the Whistle Blows" from extras, got it spot on.

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

There's also the fact that British comedy is more free to include sex, drugs and bad language than American network shows. So they will inevitably seem "edgier".