British Comedy Guide

Has there ever been a sitcom set in a zoo?

Just curious.

There was a cartoon series of Doctor Dolittle years ago. Probably a bit too expensive to set a sitcom in a zoo with loads of real animals, unless filmed at an impoverished zoo in a third-world country.

1st TV series of The Mighty Boosh was in a zoo.

Though not really a sitcom, I suppose.

It's very much a sitcom.

Yeah, but sitcoms are meant to be funny.

ZING!!!

I'll zing you in a minute!

The Boosh is a sitcom and a superb one.

As for sitcoms in Zoo's, I would say there have been about 14 and a 1/2.

The problem with a zoo-based sitcom is that unless it's very silly (such as Boosh) then you need real animals. Which adds a whole layer of complication when making it, especially if it's a studio show.

I never saw Big Top, did that have actual animals in?

I thought they might have been able to put Gordon Brittas in charge of a zoo. Or make him a school principal or a supermarket manager. Or in charge of a home guard. I thought Gordon was very funny.

You might be able to do it without ever seeing the animals. But then again maybe that wouldn't work. There's a time of humour you 'see' in sitcoms where the watcher is left to draw some absurd conclusion or create some absurd mental picture conjured up by dialogue. Maybe this could be milked to the limit. In Brittas Empire most of the action and activity is behind the scenes - less actually takes place when and where the leisure activity is actually. Also when they had the emu in Brittas Empire you mostly just saw 'parts' of the bird which was quite funny. Heck, I'm babbling sorry.

Quote: Steve Charlie @ July 25 2010, 11:12 AM BST

I thought they might have been able to put Gordon Brittas in charge of a zoo. Or make him a school principal or a supermarket manager. Or in charge of a home guard. I thought Gordon was very funny.

It might be funny, but it would be expensive and fraught with logistical problems.

What is Chris Barrie doing these days anyway? aven't seen him on telly for ages.

Quote: Lee Henman @ July 25 2010, 11:24 AM BST

What is Chris Barrie doing these days anyway? aven't seen him on telly for ages.

He presents documentaries on big engines and machines on Five, I think. And did those Red Dwarf Specials last year; I think there's more of that to come. But yeah, he should be in a new sitcom.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ July 25 2010, 11:26 AM BST

He presents documentaries on big engines and machines on Five, I think. And did those Red Dwarf Specials last year; I think there's more of that to come. But yeah, he should be in a new sitcom.

He really should. He's enormously talented.

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