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Stuart M
15th-January-2004, 06:45 PM
First great mystery of the 21st Century, in the BBC all-time Greatest sitcom (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sitcom/) poll:


at number 11, just missing the final vote - Father Ted...


and at number 10 - The Vicar of Dibley...

:confused:

Right up there alongside Lord Lucan that one...I mean, even in a poll of comedies based on religous figures, Vicar of Dibley wouldn't get to 2nd place - some of the old "with Derek Nimmo as the vicar" tosh is better...IMHO of course.

Anyway, I gather the final voting is this weekend, with only the top ten allowed. Register your protest by ignoring it all...:grin:

Dreadful Scathe
15th-January-2004, 07:05 PM
ill forget you even said anything to prevent any possible frustration ? Vicar of Dibley funnier than Father Ted - this must be one of these Star Trek parrallel Universe things. :)

Paul F
15th-January-2004, 07:25 PM
I really wanted to watch those awards but havnt seen anything of them.

Do i take it Only Fools and Horses is still there for the vote.


Would anyone disagree that this is the greatest comedy series of all time?

Lynn
15th-January-2004, 08:00 PM
Saw a bit of this and even the presenter seemed a little bit surprised that the Vicar of Dibley made it into the top ten. Definitely not in the same league IMO as Father Ted. I suppose everyone’s sense of humour is different and Father Ted seems to fit with mine :grin: (all together now for the chorus of ‘My lovely horse’…)

bobgadjet
15th-January-2004, 09:43 PM
Originally posted by Paul F

Would anyone disagree that this is the greatest comedy series of all time?


OH come on now......... Fawlty Towers forever, surely ?

Paul F
15th-January-2004, 10:00 PM
Originally posted by bobgadjet
OH come on now......... Fawlty Towers forever, surely ?

Yeah, as i typed that, Fawlty Towers was THE only other one I was thinking of.

:grin:

:cheers:

fruitcake
15th-January-2004, 10:41 PM
:confused:
Vicar of dibley???
Watched it once for about 30 seconds , what a load of drivel,
but my friends,
that is the great british public for ya!
My own favoutite is of course RED DWARF, I like the Young Ones(I'm ashamed to say) and of course Basil and his cronies.then Monty python.
Dads army.
Not the nine o'clock news.
I love Father Ted too.
Anyone else a Red Dwarfer?
Fruity:cheers:

bobgadjet
15th-January-2004, 10:51 PM
Originally posted by fruitcake

Monty python.
Dads army.
Not the nine o'clock news.

Fruity:cheers:

looks to me like somebody showing their age ! !

Dad's Army, now come on ! ! !

fruitcake
15th-January-2004, 10:58 PM
:confused:
Vicar of dibley???
Watched it once for about 30 seconds , what a load of drivel,
but my friends,
that is the great british public for ya!
My own favoutite is of course RED DWARF, I like the Young Ones(I'm ashamed to say) and of course Basil and his cronies.then Monty python.
Dads army.
Not the nine o'clock news.
I love Father Ted too.
Anyone else a Red Dwarfer?
Fruity:cheers:

fruitcake
15th-January-2004, 11:06 PM
OOps, done it twice- and why not- makes my point-I think Captain Mainwaring is SOOOOO cute!
Of course I am not old, i have just been watching the repeats-of course!

bobgadjet
15th-January-2004, 11:32 PM
Originally posted by fruitcake
OOps, done it twice- and why not- makes my point-I think Captain Mainwaring is SOOOOO cute!
Of course I am not old, i have just been watching the repeats-of course!

OF COURSE you have

year, right ! ! !

So there is somebody out there as old as me then !

Tazmanian Devil
15th-January-2004, 11:57 PM
gimme gimmie gimmie, Only fools and horses and the young ones get my vote :wink:

TheTramp
16th-January-2004, 01:09 AM
Have to say that my vote is tied between Yes Minister/Prime Minister, Monty Python and Fawlty Towers.

Close behind, is Red Dwarf, the Young Ones, and Not the Nine O'Clock News.

Only Fools and Horses really didn't do that much for me.

Steve

fruitcake
16th-January-2004, 02:04 AM
Originally posted by bobgadjet
OF COURSE you have

year, right ! ! !

So there is somebody out there as old as me then !

I am young at heart mate! Though I still could take Captain Mainwaring home.Though it would be illegal, as I'm so young. My age IS on my profile but I notice yours isnt Bobgadget, do we have to guess??

I forgot about gimme gimme gimme, that is outrageously funny, wot with Beryls 'gavina'and the rest!:devil: That takes my 2nd vote actually.
Fruity

Jon L
16th-January-2004, 02:36 AM
Porridge with Ronnie Barker still makes me laugh, Only fools and horses still does although it's a bit out of date now.

In fact anything with Ronnie Barker is good - he was a genious, and quit at the right time when he was at the top.

The two Ronnie's was good family entertainment on Saturday's - you could sit the family down on Saturday evening on BBC1 and not have to worry about being offended or bad language.

Andy McGregor
16th-January-2004, 03:03 AM
It's got to be Red Dwarf for me.

Fawlty Towers - too contrived:devil:

Father Ted - too many catch-phrases:confused:

Only Fools and Horses - too cosy:innocent:

Monty Python - funny at the time...

Yes Prime Minister - very funny but too accurate:devil:

Vicar of Dibley - too much chocolate:sick:

The Young Ones - very, very funny - but I was busy having a family and working on my career when it was at it's peak - probably would have appealed when I was a student:wink:

Not the Nine O'Clock News - wasn't that pornography? With Pamela Stevenson showing her underwear at every opportunity I know that was why I watched it in my teens:devil:

Dad's Army - don't even think about it.

So, yes, Red Dwarf get my vote:D

Chris
16th-January-2004, 04:41 AM
There's only about four I would ever watch:

Faulty Towers
Superb - but maybe just for nostalgia fans nowadays. At the time I think it was a spin off of the Monty Python type humour wasn't it? Breaking taboos and combining different types of comedy in one show.

Men Behaving Badly
Not as funny now as it was at the time, but quite groundbreaking in those days on the taboo-breaking issues - and almost providing insight and social comment on the locker-room mentality of 'respectable' lager-drinking males. Still worth the odd watch if there's nothing else on.

Red Dwarf
Mostly rubbish but it's consistent and very watchable - the only one I'd circle (except for the final of The Office). Sci-fi and humour is a didfficult combination. I think you have to warm to 'Dwarf' otherwise it's all too easy to expect something as cereberal as Douglas Adams.

The Office
Groundbreaking because it took a new direction in comedy, very much geared to the times, and often unsettling rather than funny.

One way of looking at the value of sitcoms is that the situations portrayed enable us to think how we would react in such circumstances, which enlarges our understanding and ability to deal with situations. This is not really the intention, but MBB and the Office touch on it perhaps.

American sitcom is so much more predictable and relaxing - Cheers, Friends (I don't suppose South Park counts!)

Martin
16th-January-2004, 06:35 AM
Well Blackadder has to come fairly near the top for me - followed by men behaving badly

Both well written and include those things we would "oh so like to say sometimes"

bobgadjet
16th-January-2004, 09:31 AM
Originally posted by fruitcake
My age IS on my profile but I notice yours isnt Bobgadget, do we have to guess??

Fruity

Lets just say I want to be a teenager when I grow up ! ! !

Best leave it there for now. (PLEASE)

Stuart M
16th-January-2004, 09:48 AM
I'll not count Python or Not the Nine O'Clock News as the BBC poll is for sitcoms only...

Main reason I think Father Ted is brill, is because the writing is so reminiscent of my favourite Irish writer, Flann O'Brien. There's a surreal edge (like the time Mrs.Doyle tells the Bishop he can't leave Craggy Island "because they've taken the roads in") which is pure Flann.

I grew up watching Rising Damp, Reggie Perrin (Leonard Rossiter - best comic actor of his time?), Porridge... then the Young Ones came along and pretty much did to sitcom what punk did to music! I've never been able to watch University Challenge with a straight face :grin: Red Dwarf and Gimme Gimme Gimme were good too, and I'd throw in Spaced and League of Gentlemen as well.

I think Only Fools should have quit while they were ahead. By all accounts the recent Xmas specials have been rubbish (didn't watch any myself).

Stubob
16th-January-2004, 11:22 AM
The best comedy I have seen in recent years is 'Still Game'.

For the record I think 'Only Fools' is the worst comedy ever :devil:

Stubob

Lynn
16th-January-2004, 12:05 PM
I guess it does depend on your sense of humour – eg The Office – some people love it, laugh (and wince!) at it, others just think its stupid and don’t see the point. (Personally I like it and thought the Christmas final episodes were great). I don’t find Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie that funny, but clearly others do. I do like the surreal humour in Father Ted, and also enjoyed Faulty Towers (who didn’t?). Any sitcom, even if its not your favourite, will probably make you chuckle a bit. Anyone else start to laugh almost in anticipation when watching an old favourite?

Andy McGregor
16th-January-2004, 12:41 PM
I think that it's pointless asking us dance addicts about TV programmes - I hardly ever see TV any more, and often it's to watch MJ videos. All we can give our opinion on is what was on TV before we got addicted, what's on late at night or what's on a Sunday afternoon.

They've been repeating Red Dwarf well after midnight so I've been watching many episodes for the first time - at least I've kicked the Robot Wars habit:wink:

bobgadjet
16th-January-2004, 12:56 PM
Originally posted by Andy McGregor
All we can give our opinion on is what was on TV before we got addicted, what's on late at night or what's on a Sunday afternoon.
Call yourself a dance "addict" and don't dance on a Sunday afternoon ?

Shame on you, what about The Royal Fest Hall then?

bobgadjet
16th-January-2004, 12:59 PM
Originally posted by Lynn
Anyone else start to laugh almost in anticipation when watching an old favourite?

Depends what you call OLD favourites?

Hancocks half hour
Up Pompii

I can't remember any others (or don't want to !)

fruitcake
16th-January-2004, 01:42 PM
Originally posted by bobgadjet
Depends what you call OLD favourites?

Hancocks half hour
Up Pompii

I can't remember any others (or don't want to !)

Well Bobgadget, what's Up pompeii and who's half hour?

You must be waaaaayy older than me!

But of course age IS a state of mind, (until you really are old and decrepid) and if you are a Cerocer you must be young at heart eh?

Fruity

bobgadjet
16th-January-2004, 02:03 PM
Originally posted by fruitcake
Well Bobgadget, what's Up pompeii and who's half hour?

You must be waaaaayy older than me!

But of course age IS a state of mind, (until you really are old and decrepid) and if you are a Cerocer you must be young at heart eh?

Fruity
As I posted before, I want to be a teenager when I grow up.

BTW I see you corrected my spelling of Up Pompeii, so at least you DID know what I was on about ! ! ! :rolleyes:

Boomer
17th-January-2004, 06:13 AM
Originally posted by Chris
...
The Office
Groundbreaking because it took a new direction in comedy, very much geared to the times, and often unsettling rather than funny.
...
That's the description I've been looking for! Somewhat akin to watching a film related to an experienced trauma and trying to view it as entertainment:tears:

Originally posted by Martin
Well Blackadder has to come fairly near the top for me...
I'll go with that, only starting from the 2nd series, the 1st was a bit naff IMHO.

Slightly off tangent (well it is late :blush: ) ITV's old comedy 'Night Owls' always tickled my fancy as did Aussie's 'Let the Blood run cold', quite weird but strangly appealing.

Stuart M
28th-March-2004, 11:10 AM
Well, anyone who had any lingering faith in the taste of the Great British public, probably shouldn't look at the final result (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3575689.stm) of this BBC poll.

The result's one of the biggest jokes linked to sitcom I've seen in a long time.
:rofl:

Bill
28th-March-2004, 06:22 PM
And ab Fab was at 17 ..way behind Vicar of Dibley????????

I've enjoyed Fools and Horses but for impact and originality I htink I'd give it to Blackadder..and as somebody mentioned - I think the closing scene from the last episode was one of the most powerful images from any TV programme for many years.

Love The Good LIfe when it was on and Yes Minister - some brilliant lines in both.

Well..........no accounting for taste eh.....:D :na:

Mary
28th-March-2004, 06:30 PM
Well I wasn't going to admit to this, but I used to rather like the Good Life, and Blackadder Goes Forth (Fourth) has to be my favourite, and that final scene in the final ep. really pulls you up a bit sharp - OK, I cried!:blush:

And favourite sketch has to be "Got any 'ose" (2 Rons) - beats the Dead Parrot hands down I reckon.

M

Bill
28th-March-2004, 06:55 PM
Originally posted by Mary
Well I wasn't going to admit to this, but I used to rather like the Good Life, and Blackadder Goes Forth (Fourth) has to be my favourite, and that final scene in the final ep. really pulls you up a bit sharp - OK, I cried!:blush:

And favourite sketch has to be "Got any 'ose" (2 Rons) - beats the Dead Parrot hands down I reckon.

M

Didn't cry ( well I am a boy !!!) but remember being stunned and just staring at thew screen for ages asfter the programme finished :what:

also remember being at the Webley arena to see Yes ( I liked them for a wee while) and after the support ( Donovan) finished several folk staretd on the Parrot sketch when people started going off for ice creams ....... was funny for a few minutes but soon became tedious. Was a while ago and one of the first concerts I saw. :blush:

Mary
28th-March-2004, 07:03 PM
Originally posted by Bill
Didn't cry ( well I am a boy !!!) but remember being stunned and just staring at thew screen for ages asfter the programme finished :what:

also remember being at the Webley arena to see Yes ( I liked them for a wee while) and after the support ( Donovan) finished several folk staretd on the Parrot sketch when people started going off for ice creams ....... was funny for a few minutes but soon became tedious. Was a while ago and one of the first concerts I saw. :blush:

OK Bill, how many glasses of wine?:wink:

End of Blackadder 4 has to be one of the most powerful moments in TV (or film maybe) - straight from comedy into reality (historically) in one fell swoop. Brilliant! (IMO that is).

M

Paul F
28th-March-2004, 08:50 PM
I have to admit I think the results are probably what I expected as a true reflection of how things should be.

A lot of people say that Fools and Horses is not original anymore and 'dated' but considering the award is for the best sit-com 'of all time' I must agree.
You only have to look at the viewing figures (which i guess correlates to the votes). Even the recent years' Xmas specials, although people didnt expect classics, still pulled in more than any other programme over xmas. In fact in 2002 it blew everything away if I remember rightly.
There are some moments in fools and horses that even thinking about it make me giggle :grin: :grin: (groovy gang??)

:rofl:

I love blackadder. Fantastically written and I think the whole cast are absolutely brilliant comedy actors. Got to agree with that last scene 'fighting to flowers' was a classic. A deserved second place.
Not too sure how the viewing figures for blackadder stacked up. Was it really really popular. Im guessing not as much so as Fools and Horses??

Bill
28th-March-2004, 09:22 PM
Originally posted by Mary
OK Bill, how many glasses of wine?:wink:


M

was it that obvious..................... only just over half a bottle - under 3 glasses. Makes the reading of my notes much easier :D

Divissima
29th-March-2004, 12:44 PM
I'm a Blackadder girl myself.

Bill
29th-March-2004, 04:42 PM
Originally posted by Divissima
I'm a Blackadder girl myself.

rather than a Del Boy or Rodney girl :D :whistle:

Barry Shnikov
30th-March-2004, 08:16 AM
to Old Harry's Game, a fabulous comedy on Radio 4, which is the only thing in recent years that made me laugh as hard as Fawlty Towers .

The latter remains the only sitcom around which I used to arrange my diary (even though I was just a teenager).

Bill
30th-March-2004, 12:40 PM
Originally posted by Barry Shnikov
to Old Harry's Game, a fabulous comedy on Radio 4, which is the only thing in recent years that made me laugh as hard as Fawlty Towers .

The latter remains the only sitcom around which I used to arrange my diary (even though I was just a teenager).

I loved Fawlty Towers when it was first shown but strangely I now find it more 'dated' than many of the older sit coms. Seeing some of the physical humour and 'accidents' appear to be a little contrived although the dialogue is still very funny.

What about sit coms/comedies form USA ???? Friends/Frazier/Cheers/Golden Girls/ Seinfled/ Larry Sadler/ Taxi/ Rosanne/Will & Grace etc................... :clap:

Barry Shnikov
31st-March-2004, 05:27 PM
Originally posted by Bill
some of the physical humour and 'accidents' appear to be a little contrived

Oh, yeah, it's very slapstick. But if you look carefully it all stems from Basil's manic character and his inability to exercise self-restraint.

US sitcoms, yeah, but that's off-topic as far as the TV poll is concerned...