Sitcoms

[Slim]

What are your favourite sitcoms?

I have a lot of affection for some of the classic sitcoms, even the more-than-faintly-ridiculous ones like Are You Being Served? and It Ain't Half Hot, Mum. Some of them have aged badly and were crap in the first place, like Mind Your Language. Some, like Steptoe and Son and Fawlty Towers still hold up as iconic, brilliant telly. I assume. I haven't checked recently.

The first one I can remember was The Likely Lads although I don't remember very much about it now. It was quite different from the comeback series Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? but that was brilliant as well.

Possibly my favourite ever is The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. More on that later.

[Thenop]

Only a few of those ever reached our shores, most notably Fawlty Towers - unversally lauded -  and Are You Being Served?
I think It Ain't Half Hot, Mum was aired here as well, never took to it.

My main issue was (and is): I don't really like comedy. It is often too contrived, canned laughter, terrible punchlines. Bit like the so called funny uncle at a birthday. I have the same with any form of stand up, rarely if ever I truly like something.

I am just a miserable git probably. Black comedies I like though, but only a few.

[Nick]

The Office stands out as probably making me laugh the most. I remember many of the classics and Fawlty Towers would be next on the laugh list.

[Thenop]

Does the Young Ones count? I liked that.

[The Picnic Wasp]

I've watched a lot of sitcoms over the years. For me the older ones which age well are stuff like Steptoe and Son, The Good Life and Fawlty Towers.

Later things like Yes Minister, One Foot In The Grave and Father Ted are still quite watchable, but The Young Ones although massive at the time and frequently discussed at work, has had its day for me.

I don't know how well received they were in other parts but Rab C. Nesbitt and Still Game were the Scottish sitcoms which made me laugh rather than cringe. Rab C is still ok but Still Game is a classic. That might be influenced by how much of the Glasgow scenery I recognise though.

It's amazing to me how much dross I quite enjoyed growing up. The Wendy Craig stuff and Bread spring to mind. Still, different times. Much more innocent. Those were the days of Billy Connolly weighing up whether he should tell the park my bike joke on Parkinson because it was so rude.

Coincidentally I read about Hilda Baker's sad later years just yesterday. I was never allowed to watch Nearest And Dearest back then. It wasn't because of unsuitable content but just that the older members of my family didn't like that kind of "English" comedy.

There were a few like that. I don't think Terry Scott stayed on screen for more than a few seconds in our house  before someone in authority marched across the living room and quickly plunged a channel selector button away from whichever channel had the temerity to broadcast his surburban tripe.

Edit: Remember the controversial racist ones? Love Thy Neighbour springs to mind. I sometimes watch clips on YouTube. Incredible what was acceptable in the 70s.

US sitcoms have been my favourite since Friends though. The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family are excellent.

[Slim]

Does the Young Ones count? I liked that.

That's exactly what I pondered when I was typing that first post. It's just so out there and surreal that I don't really think of it as a sitcom. Something like Red Dwarf though, while it does have surreal and absurdist elements is definitely a sitcom. Just my own view.

I absolutely loved The Young Ones. I was enchanted by Rik Mayall especially. And yet about ten years ago, maybe a bit longer, I sat down and watched one and unfortunately in my 50s, it was, more than anything else, just daft.

Speaking of Rik Mayall, The New Statesman is surely one of the greatest of all sitcoms.

[Slim]

I've watched a lot of sitcoms over the years. For me the older ones which age well are stuff like Steptoe and Son, The Good Life and Fawlty Towers.

Later things like Yes Minister, One Foot In The Grave and Father Ted are still quite watchable, but The Young Ones although massive at the time and frequently discussed at work, has had its day for me.

Some of the best sitcoms have a melancholy element. Reggie Perrin was very funny - a bit surreal - but it was also quite poignant. There was something so melancholy about Reggie's reluctant daily commute to the office and his repetitive, jaded daily grind at Sunshine Desserts. It seemed quite profound to me at the time. The theme music captured that perfectly, as well.

Steptoe and Son as well - they're both trapped in that life, both stuck with each other. Harold yearns for a better life. But he can't have it. His dad is an old man who has no-one else.

By the way there's a Steptoe and Son episode in which it's Albert's 65th birthday.

[Nickslikk2112]

Young Ones is a Sitcom.

Father Ted, is a (Father) stone cold Klassik.

The Office is complete and utter pish.

Leonard Rossiter was in ITV's best sitcom - Rising Damp.

[Nick]

Never got into any American sitcoms like Cheers.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Never got into any American sitcoms like Cheers.

Cheers brings back such happy memories for me. For family reasons I had to stay in on a Friday night so I had this routine. I wouldn't have dinner so I would drive to a really nice kebab shop in the West End having picked up a few bottles of beer on the way. Taking a tangent, a shop called Farmer George opened for a short while. It sold strange beers and I would buy my usual Furstenburg or Labatt and try a mystery bottle each time. Once it was EKU 28 I think. 28% abv and the consistency of ketchup.

Back home, crack open a beer, enjoy the dinner kebab whilst watching Cheers, then headphones on for The Friday Rock Show. The Time Stand Still Friday is etched on my memory forever.

Cheers got a bit slapstick and farcical in later days but I own them on DVD.

Edit: Was going to correct the autofill dinner to donner but both are apt.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Young Ones is a Sitcom.

Father Ted, is a (Father) stone cold Klassik.

The Office is complete and utter pish.

Leonard Rossiter was in ITV's best sitcom - Rising Damp.

Rising Damp was the kind of sitcom which demanded great acting and writing as it was so claustrophobic with few characters. Miss Jones was a catchphrase on its own.

The Young Ones has to qualify as a sitcom because it's set in a house and will always be fondly remembered for the Motörhead in the kitchen performance.

[David L]

Mind Your Language was worth watching if only for Françoise Pascal 🤪

[David L]

Mind Your Language was worth watching if only for Françoise Pascal 🤪

Not forgetting Man About The House, of course 🤪🤪

[Slim]

Terry and June is the absolute archetype of that very middle class, suburban sitcom subgenre, but The Good Life is as well, I think. Reggie Perrin was.

Another one is Don't Wait Up, about a father and son who are both doctors. Tony Britton and Nigel Havers. I didn't particularly like it but I did watch it occasionally, and there's one that's always stuck in my mind. Dad's secretary is away for some reason and the younger doctor arranges a temporary replacement for his dad.

Dad is a bit of a snob - he works on Harley Street - so he's very keen to ensure that she'll fit in with his wealthy clients.

I've just found it on YouTube!

The new girl is called Alison Mackenzie, his son says.

"Did you say Mackenzie.. Scottish is she?"

"No .. I think she was born near Guildford, but her family might be Scottish".

"Guildford .. I wonder if she's related to the Godalming Mackenzies.. charming family, they own a lot of land".

Eventually of course, we meet her. And .. wait for it .. she's black!

It gets a huge laugh from the studio audience.

I've just watched it back, I can't quite believe it.

Audience reaction to previously unseen character turning out to be black at 14:15. Warning: the word "wogs" is used a couple of minutes later.

[Fishy]

Some mothers do ave em
Sorry
Reggie Perrin