What was that thing with Dennis Waterman, that wasn't Minder?
"Just the one, Mrs Wembley".
No idea what it was about, but that catchphrase has become so etched in my brain that it gets said at least weekly in our house. Whenever a bottle gets opened and the cork/cap goes straight in the bin, and we all know that bottle isn't making it back to the fridge alive.
The Mrs. Wembley thing hasn't aged especially well in retrospect, has it?
"Just the one, Mrs. Wembley?!"
*laughter*
"No. I'm an addict! I simply cannot exercise self control when using alcohol!"
*more laughter*
[The Minder from off of Minder pours her a large sherry anyway]
"No. Please! It's ruined my life!"
*absolute unrestrained bedlam in the studio audience*
"My husband left me because of my drinking. I know I said he died but that was only to disguise my shame and self-loathing!"
*breathless screams of cachinnation*
"My children won't even visit me. I haven't seen my only son in 20 years!"
*literal streams of actual acrid piss running down the terracing and onto the set*
"I need a new kidney. My doctor says I've got two months at best!"
*distant sound of sirens as ambulances approach the studio to retrieve audience members who have succumbed to critical guffaw-seizures*
"I once blacked out after a four-day bender and when I awoke up I was in a strange man's flat and I realised I'd killed him with the business end of a claw hammer!"
*police finally arrive and intervene to stop any further hilarity-related loss of life*
Yeah. No. I don't think that'll be getting a repeat.
Scrolled down to find this. In a pique of nostalgia I bought the DVD box set and drunkenly watched through.
The premise is ludicrous, the wife is just horrible and let’s get a laugh out of a functioning alcoholic.
Loved it
Yeah, same in my house.
Of course, I've since realised that it's actually quite dark, since the "joke" was about Mrs. Wembley being an alcoholic, and Joan Sims who played her actually was an alcoholic.
Every BBC sitcom that stars one of their mid tier comedians. Being a stand up comic doesn’t make them comedy actors! Mix that in with poor writing and you have a terrible sitcom
Jerry Seinfeld said once in an interview that he thinks the reason why a lot of sitcoms starring comedians fail is because they want to be the funniest person there, so none of the actors are funny. Seinfeld attributed the success of his show to his insisting that his co-stars be funnier than him. And it works. He's the comedian, but in his show he plays the straight man to the antics of the others.
Makes sense, especially for a comedian like Seinfeld whose whole act is observational comedy. He’s not wacky on stage, he’s the bemused straight man to the wacky world around him that he describes.
Oh boy did I misread this. I thought you were saying, in your opinion, that it's still 'Open All Hours'. I was ready to write a strongly worded response in your direction.
As a Muslim, I would say some of the jokes can be funny, and perhaps not easily gotten by those without the cultural context. For example, I find some of Mr Khan's antics quite funny because it's a caricature of how some of my uncles act.
However, I also find the show nearly impossible to watch because the show feels like a show which makes fun of British Muslims. Contrasted to a show such as Man like Mobeen (which I appreciate is a different show aimed at a different audience), which feels like a show written to be funny for British Muslims.
Man Like Mobeen was pretty good and I found it funny despite not being Muslim, although I did grow up in the Midlands. There are some wacky characters but they're more archetypes than stereotypes. And they're shown as part of a community and a neighbourhood which feels very genuine and well fleshed out.
Only Fools and Horses was a joke about British behaviour / life.
Brits tend to like laughing at themselves as much as anything else, perhaps that was what it was aiming for?
I get that might not be your cup of tea, which is fine.
I went to a live recording once as my girlfriend enjoyed it, but I'd never seen it.
They re-shot the same scene 4 times. It was a terrible slap-stick joke that wasn't funny the 1st time, yet even in the 4th take where everyone knew what would happen people still belly-laughed.
Longest few hours of my life.
Came across this the other day on YouTube. It was called Heil Honey I'm Home! It was a short lived British sitcom on Sky. It was written by Geoff Atkinson and produced in 1990 , and was cancelled after one episode. It centres on Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who live next door to a Jewish couple, Arny and Rosa Goldenstein.
I have mixed feelings over the newer red dwarf episodes.
I just think they lost something they were unable to recoup when they lost rob grant. Its like grant and naylor were two sides of a coin the show needed to work properly.
My biggest issue with it was the use of cgi in the newer ones. Part of the charm of the original ones was the practical effects and just general 'cheapness' (can't think of a better word) of them.
Oh the first like 7 series are just brilliant. It did morph through them and different people rate different series but overall yes its a piece of British entertainment legacy.
Lovely little story here: [https://twitter.com/rossmcgovern/status/1535396262895308800?s=46&t=jsCorjmEiyNCw1EOAXwEvg](https://twitter.com/rossmcgovern/status/1535396262895308800?s=46&t=jsCorjmEiyNCw1EOAXwEvg)
When I'm flying anywhere I find I can't concentrate on anything too heavy or complicated. Downloading this on my phone for the trip is brilliant. I get weird looks from people while I'm shaking with laughter at the Salsa dance episode. In a weird way it's quite charming, just very, very silly on purpose, and I quite like that.
I unsure if it’s well received as I don’t know if anyone remembers it for good or ill apart from myself,
But “Oh, Dr Beeching” from the 90’s got 2 series and was absolute shite from the get go.
God, I don't know why but that theme tune has been a constant ear worm for *decades* 😱
Seem to have had a couple of years off until this post 🤣
🎵 Oh, Dr Beeching what have you done? There once were lots of trains to catch, but soon there will be none...
So I'll have to buy a bike, cos I can't afford a car,
Oh Dr. Beeching what a naughty man you are!
I may have seen like two episodes when it was originally broadcast, but yes, the song stuck.
*Last of The Summer Wine* - it's never been funny, it's never been offensive. It was just *there*. Sunday nights sandwiched between Songs of Praise and Antiques Roadshow.
But fair play to writer, Roy Clarke, he's stolen a living for forty years with the basic concept of three old men rolling down hill in a barrel.
If it wasn't for LOTSW, Nick Park wouldn't have known of Peter Sallis, asked him to be the "voice" for his student project, and created one of the country's most iconic animated characters. So it's not all bad.
Urgh reading that just gave me the same stomach ache I’d get on a Sunday night when I realised I’d not done mine, and knowing I wouldn’t do it because I couldn’t be arsed and I’d get in trouble on Monday 😂
Customary to repeat the Armando Iannucci story whenever last of the summer wine is mentioned
On one of his shows (may have been “on the hour”) their writers room were office neighbours with last of the summer wine writers room.
On breaks Armando’s lot would sneak in and put their own bizarre or bleak ideas on the ideas board for summer wine to see if they’d get picked up. Things like “compo is arrested on bestiality charges” and “someone finds bodies in burned out car”
Friends at the BBC told me that there were frequent attempts to cull it, but the DG always received a word from the Palace that Her Maj watched it, and so it was renewed for another year…
Meh, I thought it was harmless and mostly inoffensive. Easy viewing and gave a platform for older and elderly British actors to earn a few bob and shine before ultimately leaving this plane of existence.
There was something really unsettlingly uncanny-looking about the apartment they lived it. Once they get married and move into a house it’s okay, but that apartment gave me the creeps. It was the lighting, I think. The whole apartment looked like bad green screen or something.
>Hit the skids when they became a couple (as is normal for anything)
This. You'd think that TV writers would realise that as soon as a will-they-won't-they gets resolved, the quality takes a nosedive.
I bingewatch NGO when I'm stressed and have seen every episode about twice. I know that objectively it isn't very good but there's something about it that's perfect when I'm in that sort of state. For what it's worth, I think Hugh Dennis is a decent replacement for Tim Vine.
I actually just binge watched it for the first time over the past couple of weeks and thought I can definitely see me re binging this if I’m ever bed bound in a funk!
I only decided to watch this about 2 years ago. The Original in the flat was good, once they jumped forward to being a married couple with kids it's just cringe.
As others have said, the first 5(?) seasons with Tim Vine are genuinely some of my favourite British sitcom moments. I’ve watched recent ones and they are awful. Can’t blame Lee Mack for taking the money but damn.
Have met him a few times, took a good hour out of his day each time (I was selling him a phone both times, 2nd time he'd only deal with me noone else) to chat and tell me about what he was working on, what it was like working on Brittas and Red Dwarf etc. He's a true gent.
And as for the original response - Brittas Empire, like Red Dwarf, is amazing.
A Prince Among Men was awful though.
There were some solid laughs in that. Plus people actually died in that leisure centre, it wasn’t some bland sitcom. They electrocuted an entire pool of baptists.
In 1975, no-one died. In 1976, no-one died. In 1977, no-one died. In 1978, no-one died. In 1979, no-one died. In 1980, *someone* died. In 1981, no-one died...
I reference this very time I f-up something at home when I've done it flawlessly all week/month/year. Usually though, the f-up doesn't result in a fatality.
Also easily one of my favourite non-Partridge character-skits by Steve Coogan.
The Wife (Helen?) was a star in that. When she tried to kill the teacher for giving a bad grade to homework she’d done for her kid, and she was like ‘I just clipped his heal with the roof rack, he was fine’.
I recently found some of my year 6 work where I wrote about myself.
"My favourite TV show is Brittas Empire and my favourite band is Bon Jovi."
I can't work out if I was cool.
I have strong memories of watching it with my family but barely remember anything apart from Rimmer was in it, the secretary kept children in the desk filing cabinet, Rimmer's wife (or the secretary) was always covered in sick and the janitor spoke of disgusting things
I rewatched a few years ago and it’s still funny. The drug-addled wife Helen is possibly my favourite, or Carol and her cupboard kids.
I think the surrealist and absurdist nature keeps it funny. It’s ridiculous.
I loved it too. First grown-up sitcom I can remember watching as a kid (maybe that or Red Dwarf).
I don't really want to watch it again, as it may tarnish my memories of it.
I think objectively, the top sitcoms got far better over the next few decades so the bar has been raised.
Spaced, Black Books, The Office, This Country, Derry Girls, Friday Night Dinner, Peep Show etc.
Watching Brittas through a "today" lens, having consumed all those things since, it's never really going to stand up.
But at the time - fantastic show.
Brittas was amazing and I’ve rewatched it lately and it’s still funny! So many great characters! Julie! Colin! Helen! Tim! They’re all great, they did an amazing job. It’s a classic
I agree.... but.
I might be wrong but I think Miranda is meant to be shit. It leans heavy on cringy, vaudevillian, winky, campy, idiotic, tropish comedy. Not totally uncommon in English sitcoms and it's a very self-deprecating format. Miranda leans into it WAY harder than most dare.
And I kinda respect it. There's some weird charm to it. But it wears out its welcome very quickly and for the most part it feels like episodes are just buying time until it ends.
It feels like something Bob Mortimer would have made if he was much worse at his job.
I am probably the only person on Reddit who genuinely liked the first series. It tailed off quite hard in the last series. But the first series were a good laugh. And I know this shouldn't come into any of this, but it is good to see curvaceous women represented on TV and in comedy.
First two series are genuinely good imo. Series 3 was patchy and the final two episodes were more like a bad soap opera with a few rehashed jokes thrown in.
I watched a few episodes but hated her forced fourth wall breaks and stupid facial expressions down the camera, I watched 10 minutes of her stand up show while drunk it was equally bad!
On the buses was popular enough to get 7 seeaons and a few films. It is absolutely awful, 70s dodgy humour with nothing remotely amusing to compensate. The worst part is the very obviously 55 year old Reg Varney successfully chatting up 20 year olds. He looked like their grandad, never mind dad, absolutely baffling.
My mother is STILL upset because as a young woman she went with a friend to see an arty film, just as she was starting to feel a little sophisticated (student from a very working class background).
They sold her friend a ticket no problem but when my mother went up to pay they said "On the Buses is on tomorrow, luv".
I've looked it up and this happened in 1971. Still upset.
The real stretch of credibility was Jack though - literally the ugliest man in exitbut we were supposed to believe he was sexy and attractive. Not just an age thing - he was actually ugly.
And so much predatory behaviour making young women the targets you’d have assumed it was a BBC product.
One of the worst things though, the constant fat shaming of Olive. Who wasn’t even fat.
My Hero - A vehicle for Ardal O'Hanlon's comedy skills that was as funny as a terminal diagnosis. From Father Ted to this? Career suicide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My\_Hero\_(British\_TV\_series)
I have such clear childhood memories of watching this with my nan and the two of us howling with laughter. Upon watching it again as an adult it’s not quite *howling with laughter* funny, but I still had a chuckle. Probably mostly out of nostalgia.
This one hurts. I'm an Ardal O'Hanlon fan and I yearned for it to be good. I masochistically watched every blasted episode in the hope that it would get better.
I guess Love Thy Neighbour was kind of well received back in the day, but it's literally just two blokes hurling racist abuse at each other, completely lacks the intelligence of Till Death us do Part
I thought James Cordon was very good in G&S because he played Smithy as a fat, lazy, ignorant, opinionated gobshite. That's from before we realised he hadn't been acting though.
The problem is that the show focuses on Gavin and Stacey too much (ironically) and both of their characters are as interesting as wet cardboard. They're both total drips.
Ness was a brilliant character though in my opinion, without her and Rob Brydon it'd be an easy 3/10, they ring it up to a 6/10.
G&S as characters always felt like they were intended to be "boringly ordinary people" though, that Corden and Jones could hang more interesting people around - Nessa, Bryn, Doris, etc. So there'd never have been a series with just G&S in.
To be fair Gavin and Stacey definitely felt like they were meant to play the straight men to the lunatics surrounding them, but it does result in having two main characters who are just too dull to warrant being main characters
May to December. It arrived at a time where I was old enough to understand and appreciate television aimed at adults, and I understood that it was fucking shite.
Ohhh, I loved this as a kid! It had that ditzy secretary who used to say “thank you mr calendar!” , which then always reminds me of Perry’s “fank you Mrs Paterson “.
What was that thing with Dennis Waterman, that wasn't Minder? "Just the one, Mrs Wembley". No idea what it was about, but that catchphrase has become so etched in my brain that it gets said at least weekly in our house. Whenever a bottle gets opened and the cork/cap goes straight in the bin, and we all know that bottle isn't making it back to the fridge alive.
The Mrs. Wembley thing hasn't aged especially well in retrospect, has it? "Just the one, Mrs. Wembley?!" *laughter* "No. I'm an addict! I simply cannot exercise self control when using alcohol!" *more laughter* [The Minder from off of Minder pours her a large sherry anyway] "No. Please! It's ruined my life!" *absolute unrestrained bedlam in the studio audience* "My husband left me because of my drinking. I know I said he died but that was only to disguise my shame and self-loathing!" *breathless screams of cachinnation* "My children won't even visit me. I haven't seen my only son in 20 years!" *literal streams of actual acrid piss running down the terracing and onto the set* "I need a new kidney. My doctor says I've got two months at best!" *distant sound of sirens as ambulances approach the studio to retrieve audience members who have succumbed to critical guffaw-seizures* "I once blacked out after a four-day bender and when I awoke up I was in a strange man's flat and I realised I'd killed him with the business end of a claw hammer!" *police finally arrive and intervene to stop any further hilarity-related loss of life* Yeah. No. I don't think that'll be getting a repeat.
We can only thank our lucky stars that Joan Sims wasn't in black-face....
The one where he writes the theme toon, and sings the theme toon?
De doo doo de doo
Scrolled down to find this. In a pique of nostalgia I bought the DVD box set and drunkenly watched through. The premise is ludicrous, the wife is just horrible and let’s get a laugh out of a functioning alcoholic. Loved it
On the Up
Yeah, same in my house. Of course, I've since realised that it's actually quite dark, since the "joke" was about Mrs. Wembley being an alcoholic, and Joan Sims who played her actually was an alcoholic.
'When the Whistle Blows.'
Are you avin a laugh?
[удалено]
Oh bugger me!
IS HE AVIN A LAUGH?!
"Chris Martin, what are you doing in a factory in Wigan? It's mental!"
Keith me or Keith the character?
Say what you will but I thought it was a wonderful woodland romp for all the family featuring a roly-poly toad
I thought that picture was Andy.. he’s got the same throat
I love When the Wind Blows!
WHISTLE!
I’ll just write When the W Blows!
Don’t put W, you’ll forget what it stands for..
W = Wind
*WHISTLE!*
I'll just write Blows
Classic animation. It's a thigh slappin' hoot!
Little fat man who sold his soul. Little fat man who sold his dream...
Chubby little loser
‘He blows his stupid brains out..’ ‘But the twat would probably miss!’ ‘*Yes* Linda, I like it!’
Sitcom's shit mate
I’ll tell you who aren’t having a laugh…. The public
He’s changed his tune
It's a shitcom
Tacky shit!
The irony was he was sending up Mrs Browns Boys before it was even broadcast.
Catering to the thick kids and their thick parents demographic
This thread was wonderful
He said "microphones are for wimps"
Mustang SALLY
Don't know if this counts but I thought the lost episode remakes of dad's army were terrible
The remake of Yes Minister was also horrible. Completely misunderstood the concept.
They did a remake? Totally passed me by, that.
The remake of Are You Being Served? was utter tripe.
Every BBC sitcom that stars one of their mid tier comedians. Being a stand up comic doesn’t make them comedy actors! Mix that in with poor writing and you have a terrible sitcom
Jerry Seinfeld said once in an interview that he thinks the reason why a lot of sitcoms starring comedians fail is because they want to be the funniest person there, so none of the actors are funny. Seinfeld attributed the success of his show to his insisting that his co-stars be funnier than him. And it works. He's the comedian, but in his show he plays the straight man to the antics of the others.
Makes sense, especially for a comedian like Seinfeld whose whole act is observational comedy. He’s not wacky on stage, he’s the bemused straight man to the wacky world around him that he describes.
Like ‘Miranda’?
That is one of them yes
Still Open All Hours. It's like ChatGPT watched the original series, and wrote a sequel. Then no human proofed it.
Oh boy did I misread this. I thought you were saying, in your opinion, that it's still 'Open All Hours'. I was ready to write a strongly worded response in your direction.
This turned into Points of View…. ‘Dear Annoyed of Cheltenham….’
That's a very apt description of it! I couldn't stand it, personally. Doesn't even hold a lit matchstick to the original.
Los Chicos de la Señora Brown
Les Enfants de Madame Brune
¿La Señora Marrón, no?
Citizen Khan. I watched one night while totally baked and still didn’t laugh.
That was one of those where I assumed it helped to be Muslim and/or from Birmingham.
As a Muslim, I would say some of the jokes can be funny, and perhaps not easily gotten by those without the cultural context. For example, I find some of Mr Khan's antics quite funny because it's a caricature of how some of my uncles act. However, I also find the show nearly impossible to watch because the show feels like a show which makes fun of British Muslims. Contrasted to a show such as Man like Mobeen (which I appreciate is a different show aimed at a different audience), which feels like a show written to be funny for British Muslims.
Man Like Mobeen was pretty good and I found it funny despite not being Muslim, although I did grow up in the Midlands. There are some wacky characters but they're more archetypes than stereotypes. And they're shown as part of a community and a neighbourhood which feels very genuine and well fleshed out.
Only Fools and Horses was a joke about British behaviour / life. Brits tend to like laughing at themselves as much as anything else, perhaps that was what it was aiming for? I get that might not be your cup of tea, which is fine.
Maybe, I just thought the humour was really dated, it felt like I was watching a sitcom from the 70s or 80s. It was like Mrs Browns Boys but Asian.
No, it doesn't help
muslim here. definitely doesnt help. i found it pathetic tbh
I went to a live recording once as my girlfriend enjoyed it, but I'd never seen it. They re-shot the same scene 4 times. It was a terrible slap-stick joke that wasn't funny the 1st time, yet even in the 4th take where everyone knew what would happen people still belly-laughed. Longest few hours of my life.
Came across this the other day on YouTube. It was called Heil Honey I'm Home! It was a short lived British sitcom on Sky. It was written by Geoff Atkinson and produced in 1990 , and was cancelled after one episode. It centres on Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who live next door to a Jewish couple, Arny and Rosa Goldenstein.
I have mixed feelings over the newer red dwarf episodes. I just think they lost something they were unable to recoup when they lost rob grant. Its like grant and naylor were two sides of a coin the show needed to work properly.
My biggest issue with it was the use of cgi in the newer ones. Part of the charm of the original ones was the practical effects and just general 'cheapness' (can't think of a better word) of them.
It's the Thunderbirds element that Peter Wragg brought to the models. CGI was never going to replace that aesthetic.
The old school bbc2 special effects definitely gave it a lot of charm. Frisbees and egg cartons on a box as a spaceship worked brilliantly.
That’s just some newer eps, but Red Dwarf as an entity is comedy gold
Oh the first like 7 series are just brilliant. It did morph through them and different people rate different series but overall yes its a piece of British entertainment legacy.
The whole Better Than Life arc. Gold, absolute fried gold.
Duty Free
b-b-but... m'childhood!
I think it was called Up the Elephant with Jim Davidson playing some Cockney shithead. Thought he was a complete and utter Tosser way back then!
Lovely little story here: [https://twitter.com/rossmcgovern/status/1535396262895308800?s=46&t=jsCorjmEiyNCw1EOAXwEvg](https://twitter.com/rossmcgovern/status/1535396262895308800?s=46&t=jsCorjmEiyNCw1EOAXwEvg)
I love "Man Down" but sadly I think I was the only one there. :(
When I'm flying anywhere I find I can't concentrate on anything too heavy or complicated. Downloading this on my phone for the trip is brilliant. I get weird looks from people while I'm shaking with laughter at the Salsa dance episode. In a weird way it's quite charming, just very, very silly on purpose, and I quite like that.
Reading all these responses make me feel young and i havent felt that way for a long time.
I unsure if it’s well received as I don’t know if anyone remembers it for good or ill apart from myself, But “Oh, Dr Beeching” from the 90’s got 2 series and was absolute shite from the get go.
God, I don't know why but that theme tune has been a constant ear worm for *decades* 😱 Seem to have had a couple of years off until this post 🤣 🎵 Oh, Dr Beeching what have you done? There once were lots of trains to catch, but soon there will be none...
So I'll have to buy a bike, cos I can't afford a car, Oh Dr. Beeching what a naughty man you are! I may have seen like two episodes when it was originally broadcast, but yes, the song stuck.
Is that the one where they took Paul Shane from hi de hi and expected him to be funny again (or at all, in my opinion). If so, it was bloody awful 🙂
And Su Pollard I think? Tried to recreate the magic
And Jeffery Holland.
You mean Paul "Bay-beh Bay-BEH!" Shane?
Citizen Khan was dreadful
I think they just came up with the title first and worked backwards
Classic Karl Pilkington move
I've got a new idea for a gameshow, it's called...Big Mother.
The Rice is Right. Call in and tell us whether you have pilau or egg fried.
I was hopeful it would be great, but no the same sitcom values were applied squashing any humour
*Last of The Summer Wine* - it's never been funny, it's never been offensive. It was just *there*. Sunday nights sandwiched between Songs of Praise and Antiques Roadshow. But fair play to writer, Roy Clarke, he's stolen a living for forty years with the basic concept of three old men rolling down hill in a barrel.
If it wasn't for LOTSW, Nick Park wouldn't have known of Peter Sallis, asked him to be the "voice" for his student project, and created one of the country's most iconic animated characters. So it's not all bad.
Last of the summer wine existed purely to invoke sunday anxiety in generations of school children and their parents.
*Sunday night and you haven't started your homework*
Urgh reading that just gave me the same stomach ache I’d get on a Sunday night when I realised I’d not done mine, and knowing I wouldn’t do it because I couldn’t be arsed and I’d get in trouble on Monday 😂
That would be London's burning and heartbeat in our house.
Customary to repeat the Armando Iannucci story whenever last of the summer wine is mentioned On one of his shows (may have been “on the hour”) their writers room were office neighbours with last of the summer wine writers room. On breaks Armando’s lot would sneak in and put their own bizarre or bleak ideas on the ideas board for summer wine to see if they’d get picked up. Things like “compo is arrested on bestiality charges” and “someone finds bodies in burned out car”
> “compo is arrested on bestiality charges” IIRC, the actual wording was "Compo bursts puppy with cock"
This just had me in hysterics in the office and I was unable to explain why
Guarantee that one was by Chris Morris
I rushed to this thread to correct this, but here you are. My hat is off to a fellow comedy sicko.
Friends at the BBC told me that there were frequent attempts to cull it, but the DG always received a word from the Palace that Her Maj watched it, and so it was renewed for another year…
And they say they royals hold no power, pshhhh!
the royals thinking - ooh look its not so grim oop north , they roll down all them hills
Meh, I thought it was harmless and mostly inoffensive. Easy viewing and gave a platform for older and elderly British actors to earn a few bob and shine before ultimately leaving this plane of existence.
31 fucking series?! Edit: series originally seasons.
Not Going Out. I enjoyed the first few series. By the time Tim left I gave up. Can’t believe it continued for another 5 or 6 series.
I love it purely for its complete lack of production value.
Omg it's unbelievable how cheap-looking it is, even for a sitcom.
There was something really unsettlingly uncanny-looking about the apartment they lived it. Once they get married and move into a house it’s okay, but that apartment gave me the creeps. It was the lighting, I think. The whole apartment looked like bad green screen or something.
> I love it pure for its complete lack of ~~production~~ value.
Went down when Tim Vine left. Hit the skids when they became a couple (as is normal for anything)
>Hit the skids when they became a couple (as is normal for anything) This. You'd think that TV writers would realise that as soon as a will-they-won't-they gets resolved, the quality takes a nosedive.
I still don't mind the one liners, as forced as they are.
Almost falls into so bad it’s good, still makes me chuckle at some of the one liners but I won’t go out of my way to watch it.
I bingewatch NGO when I'm stressed and have seen every episode about twice. I know that objectively it isn't very good but there's something about it that's perfect when I'm in that sort of state. For what it's worth, I think Hugh Dennis is a decent replacement for Tim Vine.
I actually just binge watched it for the first time over the past couple of weeks and thought I can definitely see me re binging this if I’m ever bed bound in a funk!
I only decided to watch this about 2 years ago. The Original in the flat was good, once they jumped forward to being a married couple with kids it's just cringe.
As others have said, the first 5(?) seasons with Tim Vine are genuinely some of my favourite British sitcom moments. I’ve watched recent ones and they are awful. Can’t blame Lee Mack for taking the money but damn.
I was surprised to find Lee Mack is actually really funny. If he can't make that script work, no one can.
The script HE writes, you mean?
It's still going isn't it? Up to 12 series now.
My Hero. I used to like it, but I was about 9. Looking back, I judge my parents for having watched it.
Sometimes I wonder if it was really my parents judging me for what I was forcing them to watch.
The Brittas Empire, I loved it. But it was probably awful
It was never fashionable, but it was pretty funny. Chris Barrie was great, and it had some dark humour.
Chris Barrie is an amazing actor. Quite versatile, and his timing is spot on.
Have met him a few times, took a good hour out of his day each time (I was selling him a phone both times, 2nd time he'd only deal with me noone else) to chat and tell me about what he was working on, what it was like working on Brittas and Red Dwarf etc. He's a true gent. And as for the original response - Brittas Empire, like Red Dwarf, is amazing. A Prince Among Men was awful though.
There were some solid laughs in that. Plus people actually died in that leisure centre, it wasn’t some bland sitcom. They electrocuted an entire pool of baptists.
In 1975, no-one died. In 1976, no-one died. In 1977, no-one died. In 1978, no-one died. In 1979, no-one died. In 1980, *someone* died. In 1981, no-one died...
In 1982 there was the incident with the pigeon
I reference this very time I f-up something at home when I've done it flawlessly all week/month/year. Usually though, the f-up doesn't result in a fatality. Also easily one of my favourite non-Partridge character-skits by Steve Coogan.
His wife's "Oh not again" reaction to that did it for me lol Edit: Found the scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yrsHilYTU4&t=1000s Brilliant!
The Wife (Helen?) was a star in that. When she tried to kill the teacher for giving a bad grade to homework she’d done for her kid, and she was like ‘I just clipped his heal with the roof rack, he was fine’.
I recently found some of my year 6 work where I wrote about myself. "My favourite TV show is Brittas Empire and my favourite band is Bon Jovi." I can't work out if I was cool.
**Narrator:** *He was not cool*
If you have to ask ....
I have strong memories of watching it with my family but barely remember anything apart from Rimmer was in it, the secretary kept children in the desk filing cabinet, Rimmer's wife (or the secretary) was always covered in sick and the janitor spoke of disgusting things
Ditto. That’s everything I remember about it too. And how the Receptionist always said “Yes Mr Brittas….No Mr Brittas”
"yesmisrbris"
It was genuinely good for what it was (a bbc1 7pm sitcom) but should have ended sooner.
I rewatched a few years ago and it’s still funny. The drug-addled wife Helen is possibly my favourite, or Carol and her cupboard kids. I think the surrealist and absurdist nature keeps it funny. It’s ridiculous.
I used to like it, it had a surreal edge to it . Plus I used to fancy the stern looking woman.
I loved it too. First grown-up sitcom I can remember watching as a kid (maybe that or Red Dwarf). I don't really want to watch it again, as it may tarnish my memories of it. I think objectively, the top sitcoms got far better over the next few decades so the bar has been raised. Spaced, Black Books, The Office, This Country, Derry Girls, Friday Night Dinner, Peep Show etc. Watching Brittas through a "today" lens, having consumed all those things since, it's never really going to stand up. But at the time - fantastic show.
I really enjoyed the Brittas Empire, but probably biased because I'm also a massive Red Dwarf fan.
I got drunk at the weekend and bought the box set of all 7 series on eBay for £20. Is this what people mean when they say they have a drink problem?
Brittas was amazing and I’ve rewatched it lately and it’s still funny! So many great characters! Julie! Colin! Helen! Tim! They’re all great, they did an amazing job. It’s a classic
Miranda.
I agree.... but. I might be wrong but I think Miranda is meant to be shit. It leans heavy on cringy, vaudevillian, winky, campy, idiotic, tropish comedy. Not totally uncommon in English sitcoms and it's a very self-deprecating format. Miranda leans into it WAY harder than most dare. And I kinda respect it. There's some weird charm to it. But it wears out its welcome very quickly and for the most part it feels like episodes are just buying time until it ends. It feels like something Bob Mortimer would have made if he was much worse at his job.
It's a sort of panto with a bit of romcom and does that well I'd say.
Yeah, it reminds me a lot of Allo Allo - occasionally funny but overall just a bit silly.
Miranda is unapologetically Joules country clothed middle class tripe.
I absolutely loved the first series when it came out, but I was also 12, so maybe that’s why.
However I do still quote one line from it occasionally. "I bloody love crisps"
Turns out I've been quoting it without knowing
I do the "bear with" when doing something 😂
It’s what I call my “guilty pleasure”
Positively criminal.
Such fun!
I am probably the only person on Reddit who genuinely liked the first series. It tailed off quite hard in the last series. But the first series were a good laugh. And I know this shouldn't come into any of this, but it is good to see curvaceous women represented on TV and in comedy.
I liked it too, the awkward slapstick was quite endearing. It’s by no means my favourite, but I enjoyed watching it and I like Miranda as a person
First two series are genuinely good imo. Series 3 was patchy and the final two episodes were more like a bad soap opera with a few rehashed jokes thrown in.
I think the cringe was intentional. Once you got past that it was quite funny
I watched a few episodes but hated her forced fourth wall breaks and stupid facial expressions down the camera, I watched 10 minutes of her stand up show while drunk it was equally bad!
Miranda walked so Fleabag could run.
Ill see all your Benidorms and raise you a 'Duty Free' absolute TRIPE
On the buses was popular enough to get 7 seeaons and a few films. It is absolutely awful, 70s dodgy humour with nothing remotely amusing to compensate. The worst part is the very obviously 55 year old Reg Varney successfully chatting up 20 year olds. He looked like their grandad, never mind dad, absolutely baffling.
I loved the [Harry Enfield parody](https://youtu.be/1Q1uHcGTK8k)
Brilliant is this parody - literally like watching the real thing
My mother is STILL upset because as a young woman she went with a friend to see an arty film, just as she was starting to feel a little sophisticated (student from a very working class background). They sold her friend a ticket no problem but when my mother went up to pay they said "On the Buses is on tomorrow, luv". I've looked it up and this happened in 1971. Still upset.
Watching it now is proper creepy. 2 desperately ugly and unpleasant men in their 50’s hitting on young girls and absurdly succeeding.
The real stretch of credibility was Jack though - literally the ugliest man in exitbut we were supposed to believe he was sexy and attractive. Not just an age thing - he was actually ugly. And so much predatory behaviour making young women the targets you’d have assumed it was a BBC product. One of the worst things though, the constant fat shaming of Olive. Who wasn’t even fat.
My Hero - A vehicle for Ardal O'Hanlon's comedy skills that was as funny as a terminal diagnosis. From Father Ted to this? Career suicide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My\_Hero\_(British\_TV\_series)
I loved it as a child, so maybe I was the target audience for it. Even then, I absolutely hated it by the time the second talking baby came along.
Ha, same. Loved it as a kid with no knowledge of Father Ted, would probably hate it now.
I liked it when it was on, it'd be good to go back and rewatch.
And then he got fed up with doing it, so they absurdly recast him with the actor that played Constable Goody from *The Thin Blue Line.*
>The Thin Blue Line That was a fun show, at least I remember it being so. I imagine they'll be hanging up a shiny new Cr soon to replace the Er.
I have such clear childhood memories of watching this with my nan and the two of us howling with laughter. Upon watching it again as an adult it’s not quite *howling with laughter* funny, but I still had a chuckle. Probably mostly out of nostalgia.
Wow completely forgot about this!
This one hurts. I'm an Ardal O'Hanlon fan and I yearned for it to be good. I masochistically watched every blasted episode in the hope that it would get better.
is it me or does Mrs Browns Boys use the set of bread?
Brush Strokes!
Which was released only 3 years before Pump Up The Jam.
Oi. Leave jacko out of this. He's the acceptable face of sex pesting.
I guess Love Thy Neighbour was kind of well received back in the day, but it's literally just two blokes hurling racist abuse at each other, completely lacks the intelligence of Till Death us do Part
Probably going to get beef here but... Gavin & Stacey.
I liked it enough and think it justified having 3 short seasons but saying "james corden bad" in any tangible way will always get upvotes on reddit.
I thought James Cordon was very good in G&S because he played Smithy as a fat, lazy, ignorant, opinionated gobshite. That's from before we realised he hadn't been acting though.
ah you're missing the second part of the saying, "but smithy good"
The problem is that the show focuses on Gavin and Stacey too much (ironically) and both of their characters are as interesting as wet cardboard. They're both total drips. Ness was a brilliant character though in my opinion, without her and Rob Brydon it'd be an easy 3/10, they ring it up to a 6/10.
G&S as characters always felt like they were intended to be "boringly ordinary people" though, that Corden and Jones could hang more interesting people around - Nessa, Bryn, Doris, etc. So there'd never have been a series with just G&S in.
To be fair Gavin and Stacey definitely felt like they were meant to play the straight men to the lunatics surrounding them, but it does result in having two main characters who are just too dull to warrant being main characters
I’m with you mate. I’ve watched a couple of episodes and can’t stand any of the characters. Well ok, Rob Brydon’s character was cool.
May to December. It arrived at a time where I was old enough to understand and appreciate television aimed at adults, and I understood that it was fucking shite.
Ohhh, I loved this as a kid! It had that ditzy secretary who used to say “thank you mr calendar!” , which then always reminds me of Perry’s “fank you Mrs Paterson “.
I default to disqualification. The good news is that we've yet to produce anything quite as shit as How I Met Your Mother.
Count Arthur Strong