British Comedy Guide

Who are the best sitcom writers of all time? Page 2

Quote: A Horseradish @ 21st August 2016, 12:18 AM

Here are some of mine in no particular order:

Galton and Simpson

Maybe but at least you put the best ones first. :D

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"Stone me what a life"

Well I suppose you could get an almost objective answer by counting on IMDB the total number of episodes produced.

Quote: A Horseradish @ 21st August 2016, 12:18 AM

Cleese and Booth
Elton, Mayall, Mayer

Any particular shows in mind for these? Cleese and Booth just knocked 'em out.
I can't really answer this question (no one cares what I think anyway) cos I usually go for shows rather than writers. The Young Ones is my favourite ever, but Blackadder quotes make me cringe. I never got into OFAH but enjoyed Dear John; I love Porridge but can't watch The Likely Lads.
At the moment I'll say Galton and Simpson but it may change.

Quote: beaky @ 21st August 2016, 9:46 AM

Perhaps we've learned humility?

We don't exhibit such behaviour, and they all flounced off.

Quote: Michael Monkhouse @ 22nd August 2016, 8:43 AM

Any particular shows in mind for these? Cleese and Booth just knocked 'em out.
I can't really answer this question (no one cares what I think anyway) cos I usually go for shows rather than writers. The Young Ones is my favourite ever, but Blackadder quotes make me cringe. I never got into OFAH but enjoyed Dear John; I love Porridge but can't watch The Likely Lads.
At the moment I'll say Galton and Simpson but it may change.

Hello Michael - I was thinking in terms of Fawlty Towers for Cleese and Booth and The Young Ones for Elton, Mayall and Mayer. There are a lot of greats not on my list because they aren't principally associated with sitcoms - eg Feldman and Took.

Roy Clarke would be on my list - "Keeping up Appearances", "Open All Hours", "Last of the Summer Wine". His humour isn't to everyone's taste but it's an impressive CV. And still writing aged 86!
I would also say Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, Graham Linehan, John Sullivan. The writing teams behind "Frasier" and "Cheers", too.

Quote: A Horseradish @ 22nd August 2016, 3:11 PM

I was thinking in terms of Fawlty Towers for Cleese and Booth and The Young Ones for Elton, Mayall and Mayer.

Yet again Bob's bastard (in both senses) son tries to be amusing and fails miserably. The Young Ones and Fawlty Towers are amongst my favourites, and that sentence also works without the word 'amongst'.
Been rediscovering Rising Damp and Till Death... recently. Awesome.

Top 5 is:
Galton and Simpson
Galton and Simpson
Galton and Simpson
Galton and Simpson
Galton and Simpson

The next best are:
Perry and Croft
Herring and Murray
Curtis, Elton

Quote: Michael Monkhouse @ 22nd August 2016, 6:27 PM

Yet again Bob's bastard (in both senses) son tries to be amusing and fails miserably. The Young Ones and Fawlty Towers are amongst my favourites, and that sentence also works without the word 'amongst'.
Been rediscovering Rising Damp and Till Death... recently. Awesome.

I got it but I was just dotting the i's and crossing the t's. :D

TDUDP, yes............we can now add Johnny Speight to the list.

Muir and Norden.
Should be mentioned in despatches. More famous for panel games but they did write some sit com in the early days and were a mainstay of the BBC, particularly the wireless.

Quote: wigwam willy @ 23rd August 2016, 5:27 AM

Muir and Norden.
Should be mentioned in despatches. More famous for panel games but they did write some sit com in the early days and were a mainstay of the BBC, particularly the wireless.

Yes - Take It From Here, a must listen from my childhood, which included the very funny Glums. :D

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"Stone me what a life"

In no particular order, my 10 British (or Irish) writers would be:

David Nobbs
John Sullivan
Roy Clarke
David Renwick
Galton and Simpson
Clement and Le Frenais
Grant and Naylor
Linehan and Matthews
Gervais and Merchant
Croft and Perry

Clement and La Frenais are my tops. Porridge, Likely Lads and Auf Weidersehen Pet are some of the best and most varied scripts I can think of.

PPs have already stated most of my faves, but I'd like to include:

Gervais and Merchant
Seranifowicz and Popper
The League Of Gentlemen

Quote: TheBlueNun @ 26th August 2016, 7:55 AM

PPs have already stated most of my faves, but I'd like to include:

Gervais and Merchant
Seranifowicz and Popper
The League Of Gentlemen

Seranifowicz and Popper are an interesting nomination. Anybody interested in hearing about the challenges of writing a series, should listen to their commentary for Look Around You Series 2. One of the best commentaries that I've heard.

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