Reply With QuoteFawlty Towers must make this list surely.
A lot of terrible sitcoms mentioned in the worst sitcom thread. How about the good ones?
I'd have to pick Porridge and Still Game as my favourites.
Last edited by Batteries Not Included; 10th August 2015 at 11:11.
Fawlty Towers must make this list surely.
Steptoe and Son for me.
The characterisations were perfect and believable in their day. I remember the Rag and Bone men with their horse and carts in my youth.
Yes Minister for me, especially the 3rd series. Porridge runs it very close though!
Steve
Frasier for superb quality writing over a long period. The Thick of It - which I think can be called a sitcom - the best ever single series, the last. Best single character; Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation. 'Crying: acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon.'
And of course, today, Reggie Perin. A sitcom with a soul, and still as relevant as ever.....
Porridge
Blackadder (especially series 2 and 4)
Reggie Perrin
Fawlty Towers
Isn't Only Fools a Sitcom?
Two recent(ish) shows that have made me laugh:
Father Ted
Phoenix Nights
I agree with many of the above, but would also add Arrested Development, The Office (US version), Big Bang Theory, Community, How I Met Your Mother, and Friends (yes, definitely).
Blackadder II for me. Although depending on preference I could easily go with III or IV as well. I didn't get on with the first series as it was a totally different format until they changed the writing team.
Porridge was/is very very good however and for me a close second.
Agree with many of the above.
Also, One foot in the grave.
I'm not a Ricky Gervais fan, but The Office and Phoenix Nights were genius IMO
Modern Family
Trailer Park boys probably deserves a mention. So many great characters in there.
Mind your language...good in its day when the world was a lot less PC...
Personal #1 is Father Ted.
Old but wonderful = Dads Army
Originally Posted by Martin123
Oh oh yes, that should have been in my list also. Sublime.
US sitcoms are far superior to British now, and have been for the past twenty years IMO.
IT Crowd is an exception.
Probably has to be Only Fools and Horses for me.
Other great ones, some mentioned above:
-Red Dwarf
-Still Game
-Father Ted
Is the League of Gentlement a Sitcom? Or is it a Comedy sketch show?
Last edited by Dazzler; 10th August 2015 at 11:56.
I cannot decide between the following, so in no particular order:
-Fawlty Towers
-Still Game
-Only Fools and Horses
-Father Ted
-The Phil Silvers Show
I still watch them regularly and for the umpteenth time. A cheeky edit as I just had to add the Phil Silvers Show. Pure genius.
Last edited by j111dja; 11th August 2015 at 00:29.
I loved Royle Family.
Red Dwarf.
Does spaced fit the bill? - loved that show.
no mention of mash yet?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Agreed I love Dads Army and Only Fools and Horses but the current crop compared to the U.S. is generally*pitiful.
Parks and Recreation and Veep should be mentioned in dispatches.
*Edit. For balance I'll include The Thick of it, and Car Share as good recent British sitcoms.
Last edited by Martin123; 10th August 2015 at 12:32. Reason: Balance
The Simpsons?
Another vote for Dad's Army.
In Sickness and in Health has to be up there.
Peep show
Arrested development
Parks & recreation
Peep show especially is side splitting at times
Of those already mentioned, Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister are faultless. Porridge and Blackadder Goes Forth are close.
I'll add Curb Your Enthusiasm to the list.
Till Death us Do Part. Most of you aren't old enough to remember it in its heyday. The later iterations weren't as sharply funny.
The two I was going to mention already up there: Frasier, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
3rd Rock From The Sun
and the 1st series of My Name Is Earl.
Rising Damp had its moments as well.
Black Books. Having grown up as a fairly bookish teenager in Dublin it reminds me of a number of bookshops that I frequented on Saturdays in town.
I love Larry David so both curb your enthusiasm and of course Seinfeld.
Father Ted....Go on, go on, go on!
Curb is incredible. My fave at the moment has to be It's always sunny in Philadelphia.
Mrs Doyle "what do you say to a nice cup of tea Father"
Father Jack: "Feck off cup"
Still one of my all time favourite lines.
As well as most of those listed I still love Ab Fab, my daughter when she was around 3 had Ab Fab on VHS rewind all day long.
I watched it just for Françoise Pascal.
Gorgeous.
No Good life?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Not the best ever, but if you haven't watched Worst Week of My Life with Ben Miller, then give it a go. It's a really well put-together farce of the first order.
Agree with most of the above. Others I also really enjoy:
Two and a Half Men (with Mr Sheen)
Rising Damp,
Some Mothers do Have em
Some Mothers do 'Ave 'Em
A lot of the better, more thoughtful sitcoms are the older ones, and even they haven't aged all that well.
Red Dwarf is one of my favourites along with Only Fools & Horses, but some of the gags in the former are very poor set-ups, and some of the acting in the latter belongs in an am-dram school. You can't tell me the actress who played Cassandra would get a lead role with that wooden performance these days?
Anyway, Red Dwarf, Only Fools & Horses, The Likely Lads and Porridge (and by extension Auf Wiedersehen Pet from the same writers of the last two, not a sit-com though) make my top 5 list, topped off by what I think is one of the funniest sit-coms of recent years, The IT Crowd. That 'Countdown' episode had me in stitches.
Last edited by kevkojak; 14th August 2015 at 19:36.
I've still to watch the IT crowd. Will need to get on it ASAP as it seems to be very popular.
Definately not the best ever, but how about Phoneshop and Nathan Barley? Love 'em.
Possibly because all the comedians and comedy writers are too busy appearing on panel shows these days.
has to be right up there imo
The office. UK version.
I can, horrible admission, probably quote you almost all of the Black Adder episodes from series two onwards (as with a comment above I'm also not a big fan of series one).
However, from old to modern, I would have to nominate Orange is the New Black. Enough humour in there to qualify as a sit com in my opinion - and enough girl on girl action to raise a smile too
Frasier has got to be one of the best written sitcoms ever. Still watch it today and still makes me laugh.
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