Underrated, undervalued or forgotten gems Page 6
A Sharp Intake of Breath - Never seen it since but I loved it at the time. And, much better known is the under appreciated Citizen Smith, which had great storylines, and should have been repeated much more than it has been. And lastly, slighty sniffed at sitcom George & Mildred, which could be very funny.
Quote: john lucas 101 @ November 17 2009, 9:22 AM GMTOkay then:
Ever Decreasing Circles - Popular at the time, pretty much ignored ever since, in favour of repeated reruns of The Good Life. Has a fan base now of people who absolutely love the show, but there aren't that many of us. Briers at his anxiety-ridden best...
I agree. It is brilliant and very underrated. It's up there with Fawlty Towers and One Foot in the Grave for me. And Martin is up there with Basil and Victor M. as far as sitcom characters are concerned. Not sure why it hasn't maintained its popularity. Possibly because it's a little more subtle - apart from Howard and Hilda that is (the pantomime element).
Quote: Aaron @ November 17 2009, 11:24 PM GMTI'm not certain I'd have noted it here myself, but An Actor's Life For Me is a pretty decent show, yes.
I'll add in Kiss Me Kate and the criminally, CRIMINALLY treated Trevor's World Of Sport.
Yes, agree with 'Kiss Me Kate'. It was good.
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ November 18 2009, 7:27 AM GMTA Sharp Intake of Breath - Never seen it since but I loved it at the time. And, much better known is the under appreciated Citizen Smith, which had great storylines, and should have been repeated much more than it has been. And lastly, slighty sniffed at sitcom George & Mildred, which could be very funny.
I agree both Citizen Smith and George & Mildred were very good. I think George & Mildred is still quite well remembered and appreciated by those who lived during the era. I'm in New Zealand mind you so maybe it's different here. Citizen Smith is quite similar to Only Fools and H. in mood and style I think. You've got your heavies, your pup, your dreamers your thickies and your struggle to pay the bills. I think the 'young socialist/communist' main theme is so foreign these days that that might have caused people to have forgotten it. Robin's Nest is another underrated gem to me. But it's the kind of 'unsophisticated' humour that you either love or would pass on. But I love it!
Quote: david carmon @ November 18 2009, 12:55 AM GMTUnderrated? 2point4 Children, almost all of the 56 episodes were written by the same person. The jokes were (mostly) funny and the situations that they got themselves into completely ridiculous. Ran for 8 years on primetime but seems to have been buried like nuclear waste by the BBC.
Undervalued? Birds Of A Feather.
Forgotten? Next Of Kin - Genuinely funny, well acted, well scripted and had a premise that shouldn't (but did) work.
Also notable for being forgotten are
Pilgrims Rest
Chalk
Dad
Heartburn Hotel
Dr Willoughby
No offence but I hate Birds of a Feather. I agree on Next of Kin though. It was cut in it's prime when it could have been developed much further. Somebody obviously didn't agree though.
500 Bus Stops
The world needs more John Shuttleworth!
Shuttleworth's excellent, but I fear that he's like Milton Jones in that he'll never make a succseful leap to TV, and therefore wider popularity amongst the great unwashed. 
It's too subtle and gentle an act. Radio 4 is his natural home, I think.
Quote: Tim Walker @ November 18 2009, 10:14 AM GMTIt's too subtle and gentle an act. Radio 4 is his natural home, I think.
You're right. And proof that Radio 4 is a great institution that needs protecting.
John Shuttleworth, is he the bloke who does the tea adverts? I can see him doing a successful sort of niche, anoraky TV sitcom, yes.
Worth noting that Graham Fellows (aka John Shuttleworth) starred as a nightclub manager in an episode of Coogan's Run.
The Armando Iannucci Shows, like many of you already mentioned, and also Wild West - a sitcom starring Dawn French and Catherine Tate, written by Simon Nye. 
Agree with Kiss Me Kate. Again, that will never see the light of day for the same reason as People Like Us, which was brill, but I don't consider it underrated.
Dan
May have been said but always worth saying again 'Colin's Sandwich'. Often considered a forerunner to The Office and well over due for a release on DVD. Mel Smith's finest work imo.
Quote: roscoff @ November 18 2009, 1:17 PM GMTMay have been said but always worth saying again 'Colin's Sandwich'. Often considered a forerunner to The Office and well over due for a release on DVD. Mel Smith's finest work imo.
I would like to see that again and wonder if I would like it as much.
I knew someone who raved about Colin's Sandwich but I never saw it. Will have to wait for it to come out on DVD. Two early C4 sitcoms that intrigued me at the time were A Fairly Secret Army and It Takes a Troubled Man, not sure if either are forgotten gems but both were out of the ordinary and very watchable. The worried man bloke made me laugh with his odd working practices like bringing a sleeping bag in to have a kip in his office.
Quote: Steve Charlie @ November 18 2009, 8:02 AM GMTI think the 'young socialist/communist' main theme is so foreign these days
You haven't met my brother then. >_<