Britain's best sitcoms (according to me)

so, yesterday meeg drew my attention to this list on wikipedia that has a list of the 100 greatest sitcoms that britain has ever produced. the list is totally bunk. it's got it alllll wrong. at first we were both aghast that monty python's flying circus and the fast show we're on it, but then we decided to forgive that as they probably don't really qualify as sitcoms. so, in true nicole, 'i'm right and you're wrong' spirit, i have decided to make up my own list of the best british sitcoms (don't worry, mine will be MUCH shorter).
the other thing is that my list is going to be in no particular order (you can't ask me to pick which is better, blackadder or the young ones! that's just not fair!!).
ok, so here we go...


1) the young ones- i'm starting with this one because for many of us (myself included) this was my true entre into the world of the british sitcom. it's sheer genius. rik mayall and adrian edmonson are brilliant and there are just too many classic one-liners to even begin to mention them ("vegetable rights and peace!").












2) black books- i'm opting to put this one so high up on the list (even though it's in no particular order) because i can't get enough of this show. i can watch it over and over again and never tire of it. dylan moran (the star and writer of the show is sheer genius- i have a feeling i'll be using that word a lot in this post- and he's just the funniest guy around. you may know him from all of the simon pegg movies (who, incidentally, does a cameo on black books) like 'shaun of the dead'). it's about this mad, drunk, chain smoking irishman and his two ridiculously messed up cohorts who run this bookshop in london. it has great jokes and one-liners that can be texted back and forth with meeg for years and never lose their comedic appeal ("no, i'm not gay. i thought you were, actually." "yeah, so did i, until i found out about the prohibitive standards of hygene and all that dancing!"). anyone who hasn't seen black books should rush out and see it right away. it's really a new (ish) british sitcom classic.



3) fawlty towers- no list of great british sitcoms would be complete without fawlty towers. it is the original, the best, the funniest. if you doubt this for even one second, go and watch the episode with the germans. when you're done wiping the tears of laughter from your face you can call me and apologize for ever having doubted me. john cleese really uses everything in his bag of tricks in this series. he does his sarcastic and intelligent humo(u)r, he acts like an ass, he does the silly walks, he goes into full blown panic mode in the way that only he can do, and he is just all around hilarious. granted, i would never stay in his hotel, but i love watching what happens when people do.

4) blackadder (all four series)- this show is brilliant on so many levels. firstly, the cast of characters that appear on the show are astounding. you have rowan atkinson, of course, miranda richardson, hugh laurie, rik mayall, stephen fry, and many other fabulous british comedic actors. secondly, each series (there are four) are set in different time periods. the first is set during the reign of richard III, the second is set during the reign of Elizabeth I, the third during the regency of Price George, and the forth is set during WWI (this is the one that is actually the most poigniant and kind of sad as it shows what life would have been like in the trenches. it is, of course, told in a comedic way, but it's underlying theme is quite heartbreaking to watch). the main character, blackadder, is constantly forced to deal with idiots throughout history (presumably, the series follows the blackadder family, which is a bit of mystery as all of the characters always die at the end of each season- so how is blackadder reproducing?). his (or he and his decsendants) are always sharp witted and intelligent (and sarcastic in the extreme), and it is just one of the most fantastic shows that there is.

5) yes, minister/ yes, prime minister- one wouldn't think that this show would work as well as it does. it's such heavy political humor that you'd think it would be dry and almost incomprehensible (unless you have a very clear understanding of the inner workings of british politics), and yet somehow the writers were able to create a funny and engaging show about civil servants, mps, and prime ministers that is very heavy handed in terms of political comedy and make it totally accessible at the same time. you can start watching it without a single iota of knowledge about british politics and still find it extraordinarily funny. nigel hawthorne as sir humfrey appleby is one of the great comedic characters of all time. the show really highlights the ineptitude of government officials (an episode springs to mind in which the prime minister, the right honorable james hacker, played by paul eddington and his principal private secretary, bernard wooley, played by derek fowlds, are searching on a globe for 'st george's island'. one of the foreign secretaries has to point out to them where it is. they speculate that there would be trouble if the russians ever tried to invade st george's island and the foreign secretary points out that they wouldn't as the americans have a permanent fleet stationed in the big blue patch the surrounds the island. as hacker and wooley glare at the globe in a vain attempt to figure out what the big blue patch is the foreign secretary says in a very snide voice, "it's the indian ocean"). the shows political insight is fabulous and the insanity that always insues is fabulous. i would highly recommend the episode, 'the key'. it is one of the best.

6) father ted- what is there to say about father ted? it's one of the best shows ever (i suppose all of these shows are). it's the story of three priests who live on an island off the coast of ireland and have ridiculous madcap adventures. there's ted, the main priest, who is sensible and intelligent, if not a little ridiculous. there's dougal, who's just a complete idiot, and then there's father jack, who is and has been drunk for as long as anyone can remember (there's one episode in which he actually sobers up. as soon as sobriety hits he looks around and exclaims, "am i still on this fecking island?!?"). it is a constant barrage of criticism of organized religion, and the catholic church especially. there are classic lines like when dougal says, "you're not meant to take it seriously are you, ted?" "you're not meant to take what seriously, dougal?" "you know, heaven and hell and everlasting life." "you are SO meant to take it seriously, dougal!!" and then with a dumbfounded look on his face dougal replies with a, "NO!!". it's sheer comic genius. if it weren't for the sad passing of dermot morgan, who played father ted, i'm sure that we would have many more seasons of this fabulous show to enjoy. as a footnote, i would like to mention that one of the writers of father ted was graham lineham, who also co-wrote black books with dylan moran. obviously the man's got talent.

i think that's about enough for now, although i would like to give out some honorable mentions to some shows that really do deserve a place on this list and that i would write about if i weren't bored of this subject already.

7) bottom- with the same guys who did the young ones

8) red dwarf- sci-fi show meets comedy. can't beat it.

9) men behaving badly- ok, can be totally ridiculous sometimes, but all in all it's a funny show.

10) coupling- british audiences hated this show. i LOVE LOVE LOVE it (as does meeg). jeff is maybe the best comedic character ever in the history of comedy (maybe that's overstating it a bit). it's friends meets seinfeld meets sex in the city meets something you've never seen. watch it!! it's a must!

11) i'm alan partridge- takes a bit of getting used to, but when you warm up to it, it really is a funny show.

12) the office- need i say more?

13) spaced- the show by simon pegg (of 'shaun of the dead' fame). really funny, and if you like his movies, you'll like the show.

14) still game- the best of the scottish sitcoms. it's really one of my favorite shows of all times. if you can learn to understand the think glaswegian accents, you'll be laughing your ass off.

15) only fools and horses- one of the most popular british sitcoms of all time (i don't know one single brit who doesn't love it).