Every Friday I'll be posting about one thing that makes me happy in order to complete goal #82: Identify 100 things that make me happy.
Today's topic is: British comedy
Growing up, I was a big
PBS kid. In addition to
Sesame Street,
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and
Reading Rainbow, I also used to watch
Britcoms with my grandparents. Ever since then I've preferred them over American television shows. The humor is better, the social commentary is more biting and prescient, and the shows are of a higher quality all around. Today, nothing makes me laugh harder or make me feel better than a good Britcom. Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):
1)
As Time Goes By
As Time Goes By follows the story of Jean (the ever-fabulous
Judi Dench) and Lionel (
Geoffrey Palmer), former lovers who reunite decades after they first met. A funny, romantic, and brilliant love story, I grew up watching this with my grandparents. The humor is a huge selling point, but it's really the characters and their interactions that made this one of my favorite Britcoms. Jean and Lionel are really sweet together and the working relationship between the somewhat-uptight Lionel and the mildly-annoying-but-eager-to-please Alistair is hilarious.
2)
Monty Python's Flying Circus
I discovered Monty Python my freshman year of high school, but it wasn't until college that I actually watched
Flying Circus. While the fourth season is, frankly, awful, the first three seasons of this show are incredible. Whether they're learning
how to defend themselves against fresh fruit,
having an argument, or just
taking a walk, Monty Python's humor is smart, surreal, and, often, sexy (
nudge, nudge, wink, wink).
3)
Black Books
This show is actually brand-spanking new to me. As in, I discovered it earlier this week.
Black Books follows the strange day-to-day adventures of Bernard Black (
Dylan Moran), a misanthropic drunk of bookseller; his hapless shop assistant, Manny (
Bill Bailey); and their friend Fran (
Tamsin Greig), a woman who can hold her liquor about as well as she can hold onto a man (sorry, love, but it's true). The show is hysterical, which is all thanks to snappy dialogue, an ingenious cast, and the wacky situations that the brilliant writers (Moran among them) put these strangely lovable characters into.
4)
Waiting for God
Tom (
Graham Crowden), who often seems a few sausages short of an English breakfast, and Diana (
Stephanie Cole), who hates everything and everyone, are living in a retirement village run by a complete nincompoop and his too-cheerful assistant. The two form an odd friendship/romantic relationship that allows them to survive the absurdity of life while they wait for the end of it all. Insanely funny and featuring two of the greatest characters ever to suffer inside an old folks' home,
Waiting for God is one of those shows that makes you wish American television would realize that actors don't need to be young and "hip" to bring in an audience.
5)
Russell Howard's Good News
I know there are going to be people out there who are thinking, "Wait, really? There are
way better topical news shows out there." My response is, "Yeah, don't care. I love this guy." Known to many as a former panelist on
Mock the Week (which is also one of my favorites, but I'm limiting myself to five),
Russell Howard's very own show on the telly combines his childish humor with news of the week and internet clips. Why I find this to be an effective way to run a show is beyond me, but I think it's hilarious. I think a huge part of it is that he points out the genuine stupidity of the human race while still reminding us that there are great people out there doing amazing things (the "Mystery Guest" and "It's Not All Doom and Gloom" segments of his show). Plus, and I feel really shallow saying this, I can't help but think he's the most ridiculously adorable thing in the world.
What are some of your favorite Britcoms? Share them in the comments section.
-J
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