Well I know it's Cleese's favourite, but I've always been most fond of The Kipper And The Corpse. But I love all twelve episodes.Originally Posted by Jerjo
Yes, and this applies to many other shows as well.
Well I know it's Cleese's favourite, but I've always been most fond of The Kipper And The Corpse. But I love all twelve episodes.
Yes, and this applies to many other shows as well.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
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Some of the UK sitcoms of the late 60s to early 80s that I really disliked then and still dislike:
Monty Python
Fawlty Towers
Steptoe and Son
On The Buses
Are You Being Served?
Till Death Us Do Part
Love Thy Neighbour
'Allo 'Allo
Bless This House
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some of the UK sitcoms of the late 60s to early 80s that I really liked then and still like:
Only Fools and Horses
The Goodies
Please Sir! (and its spin-off The Fenn Street Gang)
Catweazle
The Rag Trade
Never Mind The Quality Feel The Width
To The Manor Born
Rising Damp
Porridge
Open All Hours
The Good Life
Man About The House
Robin's Nest
Doctor In The House
Dad's Army (the only good military UK TV sitcom ever made in my view)
Butterflies
Yes Minister
The Likely Lads
A Fine Romance (Dench & Williams)
Only When I Laugh
Fresh Fields
Never miss an episode of "As Time Goes By". Probably watched every episode at least 10 times. Just got into "Vicious" and "Vicar of Dibley".
Yeah, you're definitely right that it was better to end early than turn bad.
IMO, EVERY episode is fantastically funny. Too many funny moments to start mentioning them, but just one: when Basil's listening to classical music and Sybil refers to the music as a racket, and he says something like "That's Brahms! Brahms' Third Racket!"
Also love when the Major thinks the moose head is talking to him. "I speak English. I learned it from a book." Also when Sybil's in the hospital, and the black doctor comes up and starts talking to Basil, and Basil cringes and jumps away because he's surprised the doctor is speaking with an English accent and addressing him as a doctor would.
He's said 'The Anniversary' is another favourite...that is actually my least favourite by far. I don't think it's that funny.Well I know it's Cleese's favourite, but I've always been most fond of The Kipper And The Corpse. But I love all twelve episodes.
Yes, and this applies to many other shows as well.
I nearly died laughing at 'The Germans' when I first saw the whole thing. There's the famous climax to the episode with the Germans, but the Major's confused, rambling anecdotes and the bungled fire drill are also the dictionary definition of comedy IMHO.
Oh man, the Germans. When Basil has the argument with them in the dining room:
"Well you started it."
"You started it when you invaded Poland!"
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I also love the one where Basil hires that cheap builder to make changes to the hotel, and of course he gets what he pays for.
Another fave is the one with the American guest who wants a Waldorf Salad.
One show which I felt really slipped between the tracks was Fairly Secret Army a modified spin-off of the Reggie Perrin series. It was about a bunch of misfits trying to form a secret right-wing army to take over or rescue Britain from Communism. Absolutely stellar performances from Geoffrey Palmer - not sure if it was BBC or ITV but I thought it was fantastic. The origins of the show are to be found in this exchange with Reggie
I think the entire two series are on YouTube.
That's an odd one. I'd say it's as well-constructed as the others in terms of farce and comic pacing, but the ideas Basil scrambles to spin out are just too outlandish. I mean, that's weird to say considering it's always outlandish stuff, but somehow that one's farfetched in a way that doesn't feel right the way other episodes do, if that makes any sense at all. Plus the premise depends on him wanting to make Sybil happy, which is... pretty out of character compared to every other episode.
No mention of Communications Problems yet--that's another big favorite of mine. It has that same comic/slapstick sensibility as Anniversary, but it's based around having to deal with someone awful you just want to strangle instead. Now that's something we can all relate to much better.
Probably my 2nd favourite. I think the sequences with the Major again are sheer perfection, and Basil's exasperation and yelling at Mrs Richards are brilliant.
We've sometimes talked about how much we'd enjoy staying at Fawlty Towers. I like the one with the bratty kid who want's "proper salad cream" and not the chef's freshly made mayonnaise, when Basil "accidentally" knocks him in the head.
"He not rat, he hamster!"
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Yeshead, sounds like you're more attracted to the detective type shows. You might try David Tennant's Broadchurch series.
Sherlock with Cumberbatch or the early Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett are worthwhile.
Wallender takes place in Sweden, but sounds down your alley.
I also like the Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. They are light, but fun episodes.
You might also enjoy the Hercule Poirot mysterious as well as any Agatha Christie.
A lot of people like the newer series, Ripper Street.
Thanks for the suggestions. Watched Broadchurch. It was excellent. Think I'm gonna check out ripper street. It's on Netflix.
Last edited by YESHEAD777; 05-05-2016 at 09:17 PM.
Doctor Who
I loved Couples when BBC America showed it years ago. I always thought it kind of 'inspired' Friends.
A great drama was Life on Mars, kind of a police drama with a science fiction (time travel) bend. It later evolved into Ashes to Ashes.
A program I've never seen but remember being invoked in the Life on Mars reviews is The Sweeney, which lasted for five years and more than 50 episodes.
I love The Sweeney but it's ITV, not BBC. It's one of those things that I don't think would have translated so well in the US- it's a very British take on the cop show, and of course the US market had many of their own.
Regarding The Sweeney, from what I've read it was also extremely violent for American television, and had another unacceptable quality: occasional nudity!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Not really. The 2nd film has both qualities, but the series itself? No more than, say, Starsky and Hutch!
Excellent. I used to love episodes that started with Regan leaving some bird in the morning, 'cos you always knew there was going to be a flash of boob, always a nipple, and some bum.
Nudity yes, but it was no more violent than US shows of the time. Most of the violence came from Regan and Carter shouting and making angry faces at villains and throwing them up against walls or across the bonnets of cars.
Exactly.
Of course, the greatest TV show EVER!
Yes, it WAS. Until it came back with a weak start. Series One of the return with Chris Ecclestone was rubbish due to poor writing and CE simply not being able to play the Doctor convincingly. Shame they didn't have a better storyline. The only thing that saved S1 was Rose (Billie Piper). Then David Tennant, the master of overacting and extreme facial expressions, they kept him on as the Doctor for far too long, a terrible actor. "Acting" i.e. pretending that what you are doing is real, is clearly not something he understands, he overacts and overreacts to every event in every scene in every programme he's been in.
But the return finally came good with better stories and a great eccentric Doctor in Matt Smith.
And then out of the blue, and the entire UK cheered, Peter Capaldi, Wow! The best Doctor since Sylvester McCoy in my opinion. Others say the best Doctor since Tom Baker and others say the best Doctor since Jon Pertwee. Whoever your fav classic Doctor was, it was clear that Peter Capaldi had now replaced them.
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