The British sitcom that swept through the Balkans (2023)
blog.samizdata.co
blog.samizdata.co
Or maybe both?
Those truly tuned in to popular culture will indeed refer to The Sugarbabes, a UK Girl Group who presented a similar situation when all their original members were replaced one by one. This is the superior reference because eventually all the original members returned, elevating the situation to new levels of paradox.
(Peep Show, I would argue is some of the best recent comedy from us)
I forget the exact quote, but:
We specifically made something called “Harry Potter” and beat it to absolute death to show you we pronounce the letter ‘T’ in the majority of our accents.
I’ve watched both the original british “Ghosts” sitcom and the still running american one. And to be honest this is the american quirk that i found the most odd.
I’ve actually like the fact they have created different characters to make more sense to be stuck in an american manor, but the main ones dont hide the beautifull actors appeal, which is weird.
Also, the american ghosts chatecters seem to have less depht, or at least their deph is rarely shown, ie, deph is there, but ignored or forgotten in most eps.
I miss the “cavern ghost” that while he had very primitive behaviours, he was actually smart, but more than that, he showed the pain, experience and how he grow detatched from partimgs and the lime due to the millenia he has been stuck, his mirror “thor” also has noce things, but doesn’t compare, or at least they dont play to them enough.
The english boy scout is a more mature and melancolic as well, and acts as a father feature to the female lead occasionally, while the american younger seems much more steriotipical.
I really like the american finance bro, it is no way similar to his british politic counterpart, and they do show his nice guy side often, I think the fact that they made them so opposite made me enjoy it more.
I guess that the difference in episode count per season might also justify why in most eps the americans are just steriotypes.
But the “beauty” of the american ghosts is just silly american obsession.
Red Dwarf usa suffered such a fate.
Consequently, the only British comedy that is popular in the US is satire, like Monty Python and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
British comedy runs on kicking its protagonists in the nuts. Ideally, they bring it upon themselves, but cosmic irony will do in a pinch.
It's practically unheard of for a British protagonist to end an episode in a better place than they started unless it's the Christmas special.
Brits don't do Bugs Bunny, only Wile E. Coyote.
Why do they need 100 episodes to run something?
Maybe four.
Even the funniest American show of the current decade, Succession, was written by an Englishman.
Now I feel old.
We could do this forever, I’m sure there’s a load still missing!
*The sketch show, not Ab Fab. Alright, Ab Fab too.
The Tory Party, that was the biggest long running joke ever, I never thought that they'd be able to top the hilarious Boris Johnson but then Liz Truss came out of nowhere and PORK MARKETS'd her way into infamy!
I think that is comes from the fact that Americans take themselves too seriously and have a very strong and an even stronger censorship model than the British (thanks to well-funded religious organisations who make fun illegal).
I agree that British sitcoms (not comedy generally) were superior for a couple of decades, but think we need to give modern American comedy much more credit; Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry Sanders, various animation series, etc, etc have established them back at the top. I can't see the UK as that competitive these days.
That's not considering American standup, movies etc which leave us in the dust.
Seinfeld, Curb, Arrested Development, Modern Family, The Office (US), South Park, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Frasier, Fresh Prince, Friends, How I Met Your Month, Futurama, Simpsons (OG) and then there's not a lot more on the bench unless you include the lesser remakes of British shows.
A lot of them aren't funny or aren't satire.. just look at the Shameless remake - they turned that into a character drama when it was a sitcom.
America has more of a stand-up culture I feel.
I wonder if it's because the news in America is pretty much fiction that they basically don't have political satire as a genre outside of the topical news shows (Daily Show / John Oliver) which are honestly more like real news shows than comedy at this point.
"So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?" she asked Debbie McGee.
Let's not forget that the Alan Partridge character was borne on Chris Morris' absolutely genius radio show "On The Hour", and made it onto tv on Morris' televised successor "The Day Today".
Which reminds me of the actual high water mark of British comedy, which was Chris Morris' third and final series "Brass Eye". He rustled too many feathers with that one.
It's a damn shame that those shows have been wiped from YouTube. For my money, Chris Morris is the most unappreciated creator of the 90s/00s, limey or not.
Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci are national treasures.
All I remember is that it had a pony-tailed detective called Nick Slaughter, who was solving cases with a red haired woman called Sylvia. The show was very 90s...
How about The X-files? The show was popular everywhere, although it had very un-even writing. Could have a 10/10 episode followed by a 1/10 episode.
Maybe outside London, but it wasn't well-liked in much of the capital. OF&H was seen as mocking and stereotyping the Cockney trader, whereas Minder ( which inspired it ) paid much more respect.
The difference between laughing at and laughing with.
The feeling lingers up to present - many still associate the word "entrepreneur" with at least slightly shady dealings.
If you work in tech in the valley, imagine how easily you could relate to Sillicon Valley (the show). It's the same for Only Fools and Horses for the 90s-00s Balkans.