British Comedy Guide

"Top 50 British Sitcoms" Page 2

Am I allowed to question how genuine the results might be? With it probably being partly a marketting gimmick, I'm wondering how likely it is that the results aren't somehow rigged to some extent. Although this might be a totally incorrect idea.

I was looking at the list the other day and thinking how there seems a good representation of a lot of writers, actors etc. Yet not an extreme overdose of anyone. I think some gems had been forgotten, but 'the age of copious DVDs releases of old stuff and anniversary celebrations' might jog people's memories of more of the older stuff if they did the survey today.

If they do it again then some of the stuff that made it merely because it was recent but not particularly great will probably go. And some stuff that has been returned to the forefront of people's minds might make the list or move higher up the list (like 'Fawlty Towers'). I was suspicious when I saw no 'Brush Strokes' on the list - which was a big hit in its day. Also, I was amazed in a way that 'Ever Decreasing Circles' (also big in its day) didn't make the list - which I think was Richard Briers' best sitcom performance and as a sitcom was up there with Fawlty Towers and One Foot In The Grave in terms of brilliance and quality. And yet some less quality old stuff seem to be better remembered.

I'm just wondering if they wanted 50 that represented a balance - Brush Strokes and Ever D C might have been too much Richard Briers and too much Esmonde and Larbey on the list.

Ever Decreasing Circles made it in at number 52.

I really don't recall how the list of 100 was arrived at - anyone?

wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain's_Best_Sitcom

By every means of opinion delivery available... except regular old mail.

I think it was a fair vote. There was lots of ways of the public casting a vote. The big flaw of course was that, as is always a case with a public vote, more recent things are more likely to be voted for.

However, that said, it did look suspiciously convenient that a lot of the top sitcoms that made the final countdown were BBC shows with cheap repeat rights!

So far I haven't watched all of those 50 comedies in the list to be fair, but personally I would like it to be including two of my personal favourites, Ideal and Shameless.

Not to forget Psychoville, although maybe not as good as League of Gentlemen it is a good one as well.

I think Miranda, Outnumbered, Gavin and Stacey would get it.

Sorry!, Home To Roost, Terry and June, On the Buses should get it and things like Rab C Nesbitt should be removed as well as Till Death Us Do Part and Goodnight Sweetheart, which I thought was extremely lacklustre and I'm surprised Nicholas Lynd carried on with it

Quote: Snork @ September 3 2011, 11:15 AM BST

Goodnight Sweetheart, which I thought was extremely lacklustre and I'm surprised Nicholas Lynd carried on with it

I think Goodnight Sweetheart was very good. I watched it all from start to finish some months ago and often when you do that I think you get more out of it. It is sort of a sitcom, drama, soap, scifi thing all rolled into one. Overall the quality was maintained to the end. I'd rank it fairly highly. The lacklustre might just have been that the style wasn't your taste.

Quote: Snork @ September 3 2011, 11:15 AM BST

I think Miranda, Outnumbered, Gavin and Stacey would get it.

Sorry!, Home To Roost, Terry and June, On the Buses should get it and things like Rab C Nesbitt should be removed as well as Till Death Us Do Part and Goodnight Sweetheart, which I thought was extremely lacklustre and I'm surprised Nicholas Lynd carried on with it

The trouble is it's only a top 50, and that means some really good sitcoms will not make it, including most of those above, which I like. But a top 50 is a fiercely competitive, select list.

Quote: Snork @ September 3 2011, 11:15 AM BST

Till Death Us Do Part

:O

How many have you watched?

What about 'In Sickness and in Health'? How many of those?

Goodnight Sweetheart is an excellent sitcom. I do know people who were put off by the 1940s side to it which they found to be a bit theatrical at times. But being mainly set in the past it still works today, better than some of the others from the same period.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ January 29 2011, 8:10 PM BST

Well I'm not betting money on that. I'd give it top 500, but top 50? Come on!

Of course it would get into the top 50, maybe even the top 25

Of course. Things are underway.

Given that the original list was made in 2004, I wouldn't be surprised if the BBC did the whole thing again in 2014.

Ben700, why so eager and so pessimistic?

Quote: Ian Wolf @ January 3 2012, 6:06 PM GMT

Given that the original list was made in 2004, I wouldn't be surprised if the BBC did the whole thing again in 2014.

Well that will be before the BCG's list comes out, at least. :)

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