British humour

[bob_the_bomb]

Hey - you might have an idea for a song there!

Country and western walt

 

[putteesinmyhands]

Möhnesee is correct. I also raced there.

I spent 10 days there, not sailing though. Nevertheless, I managed to blag a fleece.

 

[Kinch]

Hey - you might have an idea for a song there!

I'll talk to Adele......she might have an idea or two.

 

[Mike Barton]

Correct, Irish, you work it out!

Whilst I would agree with the assessment of Mrs Brown I don't think anyone for one minute would believe that Irish humour does not translate to British audiences (or vice versa), that would be absurd.

Quite apart from the old-style Irish stand ups that did the circuit with the legends of the 1970s even today Irish comedians, or at least first generation British comedians have a huge influence on what would be regarded as quintessentially British humour.

Mrs Merton, Alan Partridge and someone like Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights are classic examples of very wittily observed, wry, British, I would go as far as to say English, comedy characters and yet they are the creations of the children of Irish immigrants.

Irish humour (and I don't just mean "there were this Paddy" jokes) has always been an integral part of British humour

 

[Kinch]

Whilst I would agree with the assessment of Mrs Brown I don't think anyone for one minute would believe that Irish humour does not translate to British audiences (or vice versa), that would be absurd.

Quite apart from the old-style Irish stand ups that did the circuit with the legends of the 1970s even today Irish comedians, or at least first generation British comedians have a huge influence on what would be regarded as quintessentially British humour.

Mrs Merton, Alan Partridge and someone like Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights are classic examples of very wittily observed, wry, British, I would go as far as to say English, comedy characters and yet they are the creations of the children of Irish immigrants.

Irish humour (and I don't just mean "there were this Paddy" jokes) has always been an integral part of British humour

the best Dublin humour as told by a Welshman

 

[Mike Barton]

Looking back on British Sitcom humour, we seem to have moved away from the clever, witty, well timed sitcoms of the 70's into a situation where someone will rant on for a couple of minutes, add a couple of expletives and pause for the laugh track.

As someone pointed out earlier, the "straight man" was most often a very talented actor and the timing of the response was crucial. Compare Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby and Anything Ronnie Barker did, all three could lead you down the path into a situation where a single line delivered at just the right point would leave you corpsing yourself. "Don't tell him Pike!' is a classic example.

The likes of Ben Elton and Alexi Sayle started a movement away from that sort of comedy. While many laud "The Young Ones" as edgy comedy, it was mostly based around Rik Mayall going off on a rant about Thatcher and Ade Edmonson hitting something. We lost the art of subtlety in comedy around 1984.

And apparently the latest old guard to be shuffled off are allegedly Merton and Hyslop from HIGNFY. I saw something yesterday that reported they were to follow Sue Barker into the "we don't do that sort of thing at the BBC anymore" pile. Hopefully we can see a spin off series (such as Top Gear did) on a different channel

I wonder about that, I mean I don't disagree about Ben Elton and his unfunny "Fatcha" jokes that seemed to set the mould for a generation of British 'comedians' but I just wonder about our mysty-eyed perception of a golden age of British comedies in the 1970s.

Put a gun to my head and I could maybe count on the fingers of one hand the number of 70s sitcoms that would still make me laugh today, Dad's Army, certainly, Porridge, of course, Fawlty Towers, without a doubt, Rising Damp for sure, and er, then I am genuinely struggling.

Benny Hill wasn't funny, neither was the Goodies. Ain't Half Hot Mum, well, it might have raised a wry grin once in a while but after the first couple of episodes the jokes were played out, ditto Are You Being Served. Then there are the nice comfy middle class sitcoms, The Good Life, Terry and June, oh dear, we're not even going to go there.

Into the 80s you get Yes Minister, superb, Black Adder (a Ben Elton creation, pbuh) yup laugh out loud, as was Only Fools and Horses and then the well starts running dry again

So in 20 years of the so-called Golden Era of British comedy we've roughly half a dozen that stand the test of time and a lot of the rest that were pretty grim.

 

[bob_the_bomb]

I wonder about that, I mean I don't disagree about Ben Elton and his unfunny "Fatcha" jokes that seemed to set the mould for a generation of British 'comedians' but I just wonder about our mysty-eyed perception of a golden age of British comedies in the 1970s.

Put a gun to my head and I could maybe count on the fingers of one hand the number of 70s sitcoms that would still make me laugh today, Dad's Army, certainly, Porridge, of course, Fawlty Towers, without a doubt, Rising Damp for sure, and er, then I am genuinely struggling.

Benny Hill wasn't funny, neither was the Goodies. Ain't Half Hot Mum, well, it might have raised a wry grin once in a while but after the first couple of episodes the jokes were played out, ditto Are You Being Served. Then there are the nice comfy middle class sitcoms, The Good Life, Terry and June, oh dear, we're not even going to go there.

Into the 80s you get Yes Minister, superb, Black Adder (a Ben Elton creation, pbuh) yup laugh out loud, as was Only Fools and Horses and then the well starts running dry again

So in 20 years of the so-called Golden Era of British comedy we've roughly half a dozen that stand the test of time and a lot of the rest that were pretty grim.

Not forgetting Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson were creatures that reached their zenith in the 70s.

 

[Glasgow_Jock]

My idea of British humour

 

[historicus]

Before Still Game, the same crew did Chewin' the Fat. Different sketches, and just as funny. You had to wait until the credits rolled, as they put another punch line to one of them.

Always loved the Big Man on Chewin' the Fat!

 

[lokiuk]

Whilst I would agree with the assessment of Mrs Brown I don't think anyone for one minute would believe that Irish humour does not translate to British audiences (or vice versa), that would be absurd.

Quite apart from the old-style Irish stand ups that did the circuit with the legends of the 1970s even today Irish comedians, or at least first generation British comedians have a huge influence on what would be regarded as quintessentially British humour.

Mrs Merton, Alan Partridge and someone like Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights are classic examples of very wittily observed, wry, British, I would go as far as to say English, comedy characters and yet they are the creations of the children of Irish immigrants.

Irish humour (and I don't just mean "there were this Paddy" jokes) has always been an integral part of British humour

Father Ted being one example, where one doesn't have to be Irish or a Priest to find it funny

 

[Dredd]

Whilst I would agree with the assessment of Mrs Brown I don't think anyone for one minute would believe that Irish humour does not translate to British audiences (or vice versa), that would be absurd.

Quite apart from the old-style Irish stand ups that did the circuit with the legends of the 1970s even today Irish comedians, or at least first generation British comedians have a huge influence on what would be regarded as quintessentially British humour.

Mrs Merton, Alan Partridge and someone like Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights are classic examples of very wittily observed, wry, British, I would go as far as to say English, comedy characters and yet they are the creations of the children of Irish immigrants.

Irish humour (and I don't just mean "there were this Paddy" jokes) has always been an integral part of British humour

Agreed. In fact, without making the mistake of saying it is the first, Father Ted is certainly in the top 5 of sit-coms. At least for me. Absolute genius.

There are certain lines in comedic films or programmes that resonate with me. Life of Brian has one where Brian tells all the followers that they are all individuals, they are all unique, and one voice shouts out "I'm not!". So in Father Ted, Dougal comes out with the classic line "Like I said the last time Ted, it won't happen again". It's often the throwaway lines that I think are the ones that confer greatness, as they are keeping up the overall humour as it runs along rather than being forced towards a single punchline.

Some have it, many don't. But humour, like many things, is subjective and in the eye of the beholder.

 

[A signaller]

I wonder about that, I mean I don't disagree about Ben Elton and his unfunny "Fatcha" jokes that seemed to set the mould for a generation of British 'comedians' but I just wonder about our mysty-eyed perception of a golden age of British comedies in the 1970s.

Put a gun to my head and I could maybe count on the fingers of one hand the number of 70s sitcoms that would still make me laugh today, Dad's Army, certainly, Porridge, of course, Fawlty Towers, without a doubt, Rising Damp for sure, and er, then I am genuinely struggling.

Benny Hill wasn't funny, neither was the Goodies. Ain't Half Hot Mum, well, it might have raised a wry grin once in a while but after the first couple of episodes the jokes were played out, ditto Are You Being Served. Then there are the nice comfy middle class sitcoms, The Good Life, Terry and June, oh dear, we're not even going to go there.

Into the 80s you get Yes Minister, superb, Black Adder (a Ben Elton creation, pbuh) yup laugh out loud, as was Only Fools and Horses and then the well starts running dry again

So in 20 years of the so-called Golden Era of British comedy we've roughly half a dozen that stand the test of time and a lot of the rest that were pretty grim.

Please do not forget the all British steam wireless comedy's of the 50's - 70's, The navy lark, The news Hudlines, Hancock's half hour, Round the Horn and its predecessor, Beyond our ken, and the one and only Goon show, which gave you TV Milligan's Q series, The Clithero kid was somewhat of a acquired taste, the modern reincarnation is the appalling "Krankies" how far back do you want to go? how about ITMA, and Tommy Handley, or even further back to music hall, and Florrie ford, Vesta Tilly and Gus Elan , all in their own way superb comedian- song- dance practitioners. Comedy is very subjective.

 

[gorillaguts981]

Black Books. Still watch it.

 

[lastwalt]

Please do not forget the all British steam wireless comedy's of the 50's - 70's, The navy lark, The news Hudlines, Hancock's half hour, Round the Horn and its predecessor, Beyond our ken, and the one and only Goon show, which gave you TV Milligan's Q series, The Clithero kid was somewhat of a acquired taste, the modern reincarnation is the appalling "Krankies" how far back do you want to go? how about ITMA, and Tommy Handley, or even further back to music hall, and Florrie ford and Gus Elan , all in their own way superb comedian- song- dance practitioners. Comedy is very subjective.

The Krankies haven’t been around since the mid-1980’s ya auld dafty.

The did the odd on-off about 20 years ago, maybe that’s what you’re remembering.

 

[gorillaguts981]

Isn't there a Krankies spinoff from Holyrood?

 

[A signaller]

Isn't there a Krankies spinoff from Holyrood?

Please god no no no !

 

[civvy]

Looking back on British Sitcom humour, we seem to have moved away from the clever, witty, well timed sitcoms of the 70's into a situation where someone will rant on for a couple of minutes, add a couple of expletives and pause for the laugh track.

As someone pointed out earlier, the "straight man" was most often a very talented actor and the timing of the response was crucial. Compare Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby and Anything Ronnie Barker did, all three could lead you down the path into a situation where a single line delivered at just the right point would leave you corpsing yourself. "Don't tell him Pike!' is a classic example.

The likes of Ben Elton and Alexi Sayle started a movement away from that sort of comedy. While many laud "The Young Ones" as edgy comedy, it was mostly based around Rik Mayall going off on a rant about Thatcher and Ade Edmonson hitting something. We lost the art of subtlety in comedy around 1984.

And apparently the latest old guard to be shuffled off are allegedly Merton and Hyslop from HIGNFY. I saw something yesterday that reported they were to follow Sue Barker into the "we don't do that sort of thing at the BBC anymore" pile. Hopefully we can see a spin off series (such as Top Gear did) on a different channel

I hadn't thought of The Young Ones like that. But on reflection I must agree.

 

[beefer]

Country and western walt

 

[Berlin_104s]

I heard Lenny Henry on R4 a few nights ago in the evening comedy slot. I haven’t really heard anything from him since the late 1970s.

Gave up after 10 minutes (the time it took to do the washing up). Didn’t hear a single funny thing and struggled to follow the sense of it.

God help us if that’s what new British comedy is like.

Personally, I think he's gone a bit downhill since Tiswas.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

 

[Ned_Seagoon]

Apologies @AlienFTM, if para 3 is serious. My comments were only a reflection of very occasional grumpiness on the part of the Senior Service at the Army's rugby successes......

I do remember visiting the British Kiel Yacht Club in the early 80s, but not sailing there. Contessas?
There was also a British sailing club on the River Weser.

Amongst others, I may have spent a fair proportion of my early years at:

BKYC for big stuff with beds.
British Berlin Yacht Club,
Moenesee Sailing Club,
Dummersee SailingClub,
British Roermond Sailing Club.

I skied in the winters and (very) occasionally I wore green and worked.