The state of British sitcoms

Is it just me or is there a real lack of funny sitcoms at the moment? I can't think of anything that has that unmissable quality?

No Heroics was okay but didn't really have that "unmissable" quality, and the BBC appear to have gone mental by commissioning anything for BBC Three that resembles the dire Two Pints Of Lager (or anything by its writers/producer/runner), or for BBC One, still clinging on to the house based sitcom format that was briefly funny in the early 1990s (2point4 Children) or anything featuring people wanting to become famous. I guess they feel life in the UK 2009 is made up of chavs and wannabes and the ideal family unit with "zany" parents. Channel 4 appear to have given up making good comedy leaving the mighty Peep Show to keep them in the game. Plus One looks awful and if that was the "winner" of their 2007 Comedy Showcase then I'll give up TV now and stick to DVD box sets of old comedy series.

Theres a few scarce gems, Pulling was hilariously funny (so they Pulled it) as was The Inbetweeners (which hopefully should be back soon) but that's two examples in a long list of unfunny ideas that someone really should have stopped in pre-production.

Considering how fierce the sitcom industry is to break into, you'd think TV companies would have the pick of the crop and not just settle for the idea that's the same as the last idea but very slightly different.

I just miss the old days of Spaced, Black Books, Red Dwarf, Alan Partridge etc.

Wow. That turned into a rant. But what does everyone else think?

Quote: ADuck @ January 9 2009, 10:45 AM GMT

But what does everyone else think?

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I disagree.

I would class The IT Crowd as unmissable.

Outnumbered and Not Going Out as well.

I like Outnumbered, but them kids turn into a pain in the arse after a bit. But them two are great young actors, which is a rare thing, as most child actors are a bit poor.

I remember the days when you would drop everything to watch sitcoms like Ab Fab, Blackadder, Bottom, The Young Ones, Red Dwarf and the ilk. Nothing would get in the way of you getting your fix of your favourite characters and then you would eagerly rush to school/college or whatever the next day to eagerly share the jokes and lines with everyone.

I sometimes wonder about all this. Were comedies much better 'back in the day' or does a person simply identify with the period of time they watched them in? So for example, as a teenager of the 1980s I identify with the 1980s shows but perhaps if I was a teenager of the 2000s I might be singing the praises of more modern sitcoms? But if that is the case, I only discovered Yes Minister in 2007 and found it to be amazingly fantastic even though it was over 20 years old.

For me anyway, I have found nothing in the modern era that compares to the comedies I enjoy from the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s. The nearest would be The Office or Extras but this does not necessarily mean modern era sitcoms are bad I don't think. I'm not sure. I don't know.

I'm starting to ramble so I'll stop now.

Def.

Yes Minister is just timelessly fantastic.

I don't think it's a question of there being a lack of decent sitcoms, it's more a point of there being fewer sitcoms aimed at a 'general' audience and more being aimed at very specific demographics. eg. BBC Three and their often appalling output.

Quote: Deferenz @ January 9 2009, 2:25 PM GMT

I remember the days when you would drop everything to watch sitcoms like Ab Fab, Blackadder, Bottom, The Young Ones, Red Dwarf and the ilk. Nothing would get in the way of you getting your fix of your favourite characters and then you would eagerly rush to school/college or whatever the next day to eagerly share the jokes and lines with everyone.

I sometimes wonder about all this. Were comedies much better 'back in the day' or does a person simply identify with the period of time they watched them in? So for example, as a teenager of the 1980s I identify with the 1980s shows but perhaps if I was a teenager of the 2000s I might be singing the praises of more modern sitcoms? But if that is the case, I only discovered Yes Minister in 2007 and found it to be amazingly fantastic even though it was over 20 years old.

For me anyway, I have found nothing in the modern era that compares to the comedies I enjoy from the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s. The nearest would be The Office or Extras but this does not necessarily mean modern era sitcoms are bad I don't think. I'm not sure. I don't know.

I'm starting to ramble so I'll stop now.

Def.

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I think as you grow up you just become naturally more critical as well.

Apart from the golden years in the early seventies decent sitcoms have always been in short supply. I think the current crop is the strongest there has been in a while.

Remember seeing the pilot of Plus One and thinking it was rough round the edges but had potential.

Not criticising specifically, but to pick a list at random:

Ab Fab, Blackadder, Bottom, The Young Ones, Red Dwarf

That's a list which spans 23 years (according to Wikipedia - I'm not sure about its dates for Ab Fab since I've never really watched it).

Applying the same time scale to modern sitcoms - Blackadder, Bottom, Ab Fab and Red Dwarf are still on the list of the current crop. Even if you ignore the second batch of Ab Fab episodes (2001 - 2005 according to Wikipedia - still going according to the guide here) then we're talking a 14 year period meaning Ab Fab and Bottom still feature and Red Dwarf misses out by one year.

I'm not really sure if I'm pro or anti 'sitcoms aren't as good as when I was a lad' but I do think there's a tendency to lump years an years of sitcoms into a golden age and then compare it against one or two years past.

Outnumbered and Not Going Out are as good as anything from yesteryear. It's just that good sitcoms nowadays are always aired late at night, cutting down on potential ratings, whereas the 'good old sitcoms' often had a chance to be aired mid evening. The really 'great' sitcoms that transcend generations and feature heavily in those 100 best ever programmes all had mid evening slot times, (Steptoe and Son, Only Fools & Horses, Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers, Black Adder). True some that ADuck mention had late night slots, but good as they are, (and I agree they are) - they're not as universally held in as high esteem by the viewing public as the those sitcoms with grey whiskers on them - which used to be aired mid evening.

I remember when Friends was fresh and young and aired about 8pm on terrestial TV. Will we ever see a sitcom go out at 8pm again?

Quote: Danny K @ January 9 2009, 3:22 PM GMT

Will we ever see a sitcom go out at 8pm again?

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What, like Life Of Riley on BBC One last night?

Quote: Phill @ January 9 2009, 3:05 PM GMT

Not criticising specifically, but to pick a list at random:

Ab Fab, Blackadder, Bottom, The Young Ones, Red Dwarf

That's a list which spans 23 years (according to Wikipedia - I'm not sure about its dates for Ab Fab since I've never really watched it).

Applying the same time scale to modern sitcoms - Blackadder, Bottom, Ab Fab and Red Dwarf are still on the list of the current crop. Even if you ignore the second batch of Ab Fab episodes (2001 - 2005 according to Wikipedia - still going according to the guide here) then we're talking a 14 year period meaning Ab Fab and Bottom still feature and Red Dwarf misses out by one year.

I'm not really sure if I'm pro or anti 'sitcoms aren't as good as when I was a lad' but I do think there's a tendency to lump years an years of sitcoms into a golden age and then compare it against one or two years past.

View original

The five shows mentioned were not random but the main favourites of my youth. I was really talking in terms of the need those shows seemed to generate in me to run home and not miss them and how that desire no longer exists, as opposed to them necessarily being a specific group from a certain age. However, since that's been mentioned, some of them may have run on for many series, but their introduction on our screens all began in a 10 year period 1982 to 1992, which incidently pretty much spanned my teen years. so for me personally I remember those shows from that time period.

Regarding the debate on 'were sitcoms better in yonder time'. As you can see from my post I'm sort of on the fence too and I am all too aware of the rose tinted spectacles that come free with reminiscing about the past. I also think we need to consider other criteria; such as how our needs change over time, the amount of choice we have today and the level of responsibility we had compared to years ago. I think that these as well as other critera can play a big part in how we view or remember something. Err, I'm going off on one again...

Def.

Quote: Deferenz @ January 9 2009, 4:30 PM GMT

The five shows mentioned were not random but the main favourites of my youth. I was really talking in terms of the need those shows seemed to generate in me to run home and not miss them and how that desire no longer exists, as opposed to them necessarily being a specific group from a certain age. However, since that's been mentioned, some of them may have run on for many series, but their introduction on our screens all began in a 10 year period 1982 to 1992, which incidently pretty much spanned my teen years. so for me personally I remember those shows from that time period.

Regarding the debate on 'were sitcoms better in yonder time'. As you can see from my post I'm sort of on the fence too and I am all too aware of the rose tinted spectacles that come free with reminiscing about the past. I also think we need to consider other criteria; such as how our needs change over time, the amount of choice we have today and the level of responsibility we had compared to years ago. I think that these as well as other critera can play a big part in how we view or remember something. Err, I'm going off on one again...

Def.

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I meant I picked your list randomly as opposed to the other list higher up the thread - didn't mean to suggest it was a random choice on your behalf, sorry! And yes, they all overlap and I tend to lump them in as being shows of my youth too. I wasn't criticising you at all and I think we're actually in agreement.

The week before Red Dwarf started (in my memory at least) Clarance was in the same time slot and back then I thought it was bloody awful. I might think differently now, but it's a sitcom I can barely remember. Which again backs up your rose tinted glasses argument - two shows from exactly the same period. One I loved, one I hated (or was at least indifferent about) yet I can only really remember the one I liked.