My feeling is British is best and American sitcoms are awful. That sums it up for me.
I'm a New Zealander. If anyone's at all interested, British comedy has always been prefered here. When they discuss TV comedy on talkback radio here it's always the British shows the people love and remember. However, it may be different with the much younger generation. As British comedy certainly isn't what it used to be and I suppose American comedy might have changed too.
"Are you free?" - 
Quote: Steve Charlie @ November 22 2009, 5:51 AM GMTBritish comedy certainly isn't what it used to be
There have been great comedies in the past, but I think we're living through a golden age now.
Quote: Pete @ November 20 2009, 11:50 PM GMTBritish people ... view anyone better off than themselves with jealousy and hatred.
Very true, and evidenced by the mass's reaction to the Royals and the upper classes. Particularly when apparent republicans, socialists and other such forms of nutters almost all jump at the chance to receive an honour from the Queen when offered.
Quote: Nogget @ November 22 2009, 7:00 AM GMTThere have been great comedies in the past, but I think we're living through a golden age now.
Not if you're into the mass-appeal mainstream stuff that does well internationally and is incredibly long-lasting.
As evidenced by the continued repeats and international purchases of shows like Are You Being Served?, 'Allo 'Allo! and the like, over ... well, almost anything in the last 15 years save Mr Bean.
Quote: Tim Walker @ November 21 2009, 12:10 AM GMTImagine you were going to make a comedy about a supermarket checkout girl, working in a run down town, who one day wins millions on the lottery. In the US, you would follow this girl as she suddenly escapes poverty and moves away from her shitty home town. In the UK, however, you would make your comedy about the best friend she leaves behind, the one stuck on the tills forever.
Nah I think the UK one would be 'At Home With the Braithwaites', how the money changes the girl for the worse and turns her life to shit. The US one would have nasty folk trying to get their hands on the money, whilst the girl unintentionally thwarts them and remains innocent and pure . . .
Yes, American sitcoms have traditionally been keen on moralising, which marks them out as very different to Britcoms - for us British, sitcoms are purely for humour, for the Yanks, they can also be a kind of public sermonising opportunity. I think you see much less of this moralising on peaktime US sitcoms now but you see a lot of it still on the youth centred sitcoms - Fresh Prince etc.
That's just the way the Americans are, I think they feel uneasy about giving wrong messages to people, and for me this has often spoiled an otherwise good sitcom episode. I prefer the outwardly irreverent US sitcoms like Roseanne - which some uptight groups in the US hated. So that is a very big difference between their's and ours. (Although you get a little bit in some Britcoms such as Porridge, but it's much more subtle than in US shows).
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ November 23 2009, 12:09 AM GMTI prefer the outwardly irreverent US sitcoms like Roseanne -
Before Roseanne was broadcast, a lot of Brits thought that Americans didn't understand irony. The example set by Roseanne disabused us of that notion.
Quote: Aaron @ November 22 2009, 2:19 PM GMTVery true, and evidenced by the mass's reaction to the Royals and the upper classes. Particularly when apparent republicans, socialists and other such forms of nutters almost all jump at the chance to receive an honour from the Queen when offered.
