Ever since I was a young boy I always been a fan of British humor. As a matter of fact, I grew up watching Monty Phyton along with the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges and the absurdist movies of the Zucker team. I extremely enjoyed the dry wit, the deadpan one-liners, sharp observations and sarcastic put-downs that sprang from the mouths of the Brits. The humor was so much more brutally honest and unflappably hilarious than the American humor and it still holds to this day.
That’s why I always look forward to Saturday nights on PBS (the first show starts at 8:00 PM San Francisco time) for the Comedy Block of BBC exported comedies from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and today. I don’t see all of them, so I’ll just briefly the ones I watch
Keeping Up Appearences - The show centers around Hyacinth Bucket (who likes to inform people that her last name is actually spelled “bouquet”), a snotty, uppity-clappity woman who tries to climb up the social ladders through all sorts of schemes. Along for the ride is her husband, Richard, a poor fellow who has no other option than to follow his wife’s crazy plans to become part of the cream of society, even though if he tries to reason with her in vain. Other characters include the Bucket’s neighbors (the Hawksworth, a brother and sister that serve as Hyacinth’s object of flaunting) and Hyacinth’s working class sister Daisy, who lives in a small, crappy apartment with her husband Onslow, who by far is the best character in the series, an unemployed slob who spends all his time on bed, but attended the open university and is a walking (more like “resting” really) encyclopedia of universal knowledge. The humor is dry and light, and the major comedic strength comes from the predictability of the characters, which makes them more endearing than mundane. 93/100
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098837/ Rose: Why is Onslow reading the Financial Times?
Onslow: I like to keep an eye on the economy. A bloke in my position has to wonder how long the country can afford him. If we don't get the economy right, people like me are gonna be in trouble!
Are You Being Served? My personal favorite. The story centers around the clothing department store at a London mall, where Men and Lady Intimate’s apparel share only a couple feet of distance due to lack of space. The motley crew of quirky characters include floor supervisor Captain Peacock, a self-important, pompous and delusional former British officer; Mrs. Slocombe, who wears her hair with all sorts of outrageous colors, likes to sing her own praises and, as part of a running joke, talks about her pussycat a lot (often resulting in a double-entendre joke); the sarcastic, disrespectful always tardy junior staffer Mr. Lucas (who was later substituted by Mr. Spooner); the sexy Miss Brahms; the jug-eared, well-intentioned manager Mr. Rumbold; the ancient, clueless, cradle-robbing manager Young Mr. Grace (later substituted by Old Mr. Grace); the Maintenance officer Mr. Mash (later Mr. Harman) who does not fear his superior, enjoys making grand speeches nobody cares about and takes a bigger paycheck that the rest of the staff; the traditional senior staffer of Men’s wear Mr. Grainger and the best of them all: the raucously camp and sexually ambiguous Mr. Humphries, who, with his effeminate accent (which he modulates to sound more masculine when he answers the phone at “MEN’S WEAR” and has the best phrasing of “I’m Free” in history), mannerisms and large arsenal of double entendres, is the biggest strength in the show. This is a character driven show with lots of funny episodes (watch out for the latter seasons. Those are a mixed bag) 96/100
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068040/ (During a speech by Mr. Rumbold)
________________________________________
Mr. Lucas: D'you fancy going to the cinema tonight?
Miss Brahms: What's showing?
Mr. Lucas: Well, there's "Bambi" and then there's "The Unsatisfied Virgin".
[pause]
Mr. Lucas: I've seen "Bambi".
Miss Brahms: Well, by the time Rumbold's finished rabbitting on, the virgin will have been satisfied and everybody will have gone home.
Mr. Rumbold: Let's try to keep it light and gay.
Mr. Lucas: [to Mr. Humphries] I'll handle the "light" part.
(During a fire resuce mission)
Mrs. Slocombe: I hope this isn't going to take long Captain Peacock. The last time I was late a fireman had to climb out of my bedroom window and risk his life on a narrow ledge trying to grab hold of my pussy.
Mr. Lucas: They're very brave these firemen.
My Hero- The most recent of the shows, the plot concerns the superhero Thermoman from planet Ultron, whose alter-ego is healthy-store owner is Irishman George Sunday. George is completely clueless about Earth and this leads to a lot of humorous misunderstanding (although the people around him blame his stupidity because on his supposed Irish blood). He is married to Janet, a pretty nurse of the local clinic ruled by the hilariously arrogant and self-important Dr. Piers Crispin (“I’m Always Here.” Is his catchphrase, which is ironic since he spends most of his time on his morning show trying to get famous) and the nasty, 100% evil Mrs. Raven. George is disliked by his in-laws (particularly his opportunistic mother-in-law Ella, but he is mostly tolerated by father-in-law Stanley, who is more of a reluctant puppet to Ella than a husband) The only ones besides Janet who know George’s secret are cousin Arnie (who used to be Earth’s protector but lost the position when he started charging for his heroism. He is currently in a relationship with Mrs. Raven) and (my favorite) Tyler, a whacked-out Liverpudlian whose “invisible” acquaintances include Gandalf the Gray, Frodo Baggins, Chewbacca and the Anti-Christ. A very funny and surreal situtational series. Unfortunately, lead actor Ardal O’Hanlon is going to be substituted by a cast member of the series reviewed below. He is going to leave hard to fill shoes. 94/100
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0233084/ Tyler: Got any coffee I can borrow?
George: I don't drink coffee.
Tyler: I don't drink coffee either. It's a drug. It messes with your brain.
George: Why do you want some then?
Tyler: I'm flying to Neptune and I need it to fuel the rockets.
George: I've just erased a doctor's entire medical knowledge.
Arnie: Heh! I did that for a bet once. The guy practiced for another 20 years!
Mrs. Raven: I can't go; I'm taking the triplets to see the exorcist.
Dr. Piers Crispin: Aren't they a little young for that film, Mrs. Raven?
Mrs. Raven: What film?
The Thin Blue Line - A short-lived but hysterical and well-written comedy with socio-political undertones, it stars Rowan Atkinson (“The Black Adder”, “Mr. Bean”) as Inspector Fowler, an old-fashioned, by the book chief of a small-city police department who frequently clashes with the CID (the detective department) and its head, Detective Grim, an no-nonsense, hot-headed, Dirty Harry-wannabe who, along with vulgar and surly sidekick (Detective Kray, later Boyle) tries to bust “real” crimes so he can get accepted in the Yard (his standard “oity oity” rants are some of the funniest words you’ll ever hear on TV!). Fowler commands a rather rag-tag group: Sgt. Dawkins (who happens to be his middle-aged, unsatisfied girlfriend), the good-looking and socially conscious Constable Habib; the non-sequitur spouting Trinidad veteran Gladstone and the outrageously camp Const. Goody (the actor is the one substituting O’Hanlon in my hero) who has a crush with Habib despite the fact that he is so effeminate, he makes that gay guy from Will and Grace look like the construction worker of the Village People. This is a very intelligent comedy that was cut short when great writer Ben Elton got tired of the comparisons between this series and his previous. A pity, since it was a truthfully funny and a show that tackled with several of Britain’s, and ironically the USA’s, problems: racism, xenophobia, the role of the Royal Family in today, sexism, etc. 96/100
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112194/ [Inspector Fowler is discussing political correctness with his constabulary and Grim thinks he is wasting his time]
Detective Inspector Derek Grim: What "ism" ever robbed a bank? What "ism" ever mugged anybody? What "ism" ever put a gun to somebody's head?
DC Gary Boyle: [Reading a book] Terrorism?
Detective Inspector Derek Grim: Yeah alright. What "ism" ever threatened the security of the state?
DC Gary Boyle: [Still reading] Marxism?
Detective Inspector Derek Grim: What "ism" ever hurt an old lady?
DC Gary Boyle: Sadism?
Const. Frank Gladstone: We gave our dog a bad name... Colin. Terrible name! You have no idea how many people are called Colin. We'd go to the park - I'd shout, "Come here, Colin!", and fifteen people would turn around. Big people too, sir. I mean for some reason all the big lads get called Colin. I mean - I'd shout, "Colin, you're a bad boy! I just saw you do a caca. And now, I'm going to rub your nose in it." The next thing I knew, I wake up in an ambulance.
Other series I don’t watch: “Last of the Summer Wine” (I see occasionally. 89/100), “As Time Goes By” (dramedy with Judy Dench. 87/100), “The Red Green Show” (Canadian. What I’ve seen I give 91/100) and “Coupling” (at Midnight. Too late. Saw one episode: 88/100)
EB
) the differences and similarities between US sitcoms and British sitcoms in general, and their depiction of gender politics in particular. I compared Friends with Men Behaving Badly.
