Foreign Comedy (Not US) Page 2

I presume H.B.O. would pay a writer a lot more than any of our channels would. Would this be the case?

Isn't HBO American?

What's the title of this thread?

Quote: catskillz @ October 22, 2007, 7:28 PM

I presume H.B.O. would pay a writer a lot more than any of our channels would. Would this be the case?

View original

Probably, yes.

Hello!

There's an excellent German show called "Dittsche".

It's live and completely improvised, inspired by the week's topics as extracted
from the BILD-Zeitung (German yellow press). It's set in a real "Grill-Imbiss" in Hamburg,
where every Sunday at half past ten Dittsche, 40 yrs old, unemployed and thriftily educated,
arrives to exchange empty beer bottles for full ones and to talk about and explain the week's events to
Ingo, the Imbiss' owner. In a corner sits Schildkröte, drinking his beer in silence,
listening to Dittsche's stories, who, while making his points about how things really
are in the world, is getting more and more enthusiastic about his views and inventions
with every bottle of beer he empties.

It is really great but, I fear, impossible to translate.

You may not be able to see the videos linked below (because you're suspiciously foreign and
therefore not likely to be paying German license fees), but I post it anyway:

http://www.wdr.de/comedy/popup/videopopup_dittsche_flash.phtml

Apart from Dittsche and some classics like Loriot (whose sketch partner, the fabulous Evelyn
Hamann, died today) it's mostly UK and US comedy on German TV, disfiguringly translated and dubbed.
Most people I know improve their English by watching the originals (only the UK shows for that
purpose, obviously). That way one also gets to see new shows up to three years before they
are broadcast in Germany.

So thanks to all you BBC license fee payers and Channel 4 with ads watchers!

°Finck

cheers finck, and welcome to the threads.

Does anyone know if any german sitcoms have been translated for the english market?

That sounds like a great programme. I'd really like to see a British version.

(And yes, welcome indeed! )

Quote: jacparov @ October 29, 2007, 8:29 PM

Does anyone know if any german sitcoms have been translated for the english market?

View original

As far as I know, no.

Actually the sitcom format hardly exists in Germany. But I have found some early adaptations of English sitcoms that are seen as classics here and are really good.

And I've found another little gem for those of you who are in possession of the rare ability of at least passively mastering the German language seasoned with an unidentifiable eastern European accent. Or for those who like Stanislav Lem:

Ijon Tichy - Raumpilot:

Trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=iJjqnAheMDc
Episode: http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/content/49500

The episodes are only 15 minutes long and have all been filmed in the director's flat.

Thank God You're Here is a rather good improvisational comedy from Australia, which is being adapted for the UK with Paul Merton as host. I believe tickets are currently on sale.

I finally remembered.
There is a Spanish sitcom "Farmacia de guardia", it was shown on some Russian TV channels in the 1990s (and I understand Russian well enough). Apparently it was quite popular in Russia, and it is still shown there.
All in all, it was fairly clean family fun, with some slapstick elements (and senile chemist's clients) - nothing groundbreaking, but interesting to see a sitcom with non-US/UK mentality. I remember the first season was pretty great, but I didn't care for what I saw from the rest.

some info here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098794/

OK so it seems no one has seen any Canadian Sitcoms so I will list a few. I'll just state now that Canada does have a lot of sitcoms specifically because of Cancon regulations (which states that all channels must play a minimum amount of Canadian Content per day, to rival the massive US market). This is why i'm breaking it up into stations. Also I'm not including past great shows that are no longer around, really crappy ones, skit comedy (because we have tons of that), or game show comedies or anything done by the Channel Global (which has yet to produce any comedies worth watching). OH YEA and I'm not including Quebec comedies...because no matter how funny they are I don't speak French.

CTV television
-Corner Gas: This has been the most popular comedy in Canada for a few years now. It takes place in an very small town called Dog River of the very flat prairie province of Saskatchewan. It is very character based and plays off the boredom that comes from living in these isolated small towns in Canada (and believe me with a huge country with a small population like Canada there are a lot). It's sort of Seinfeld like in a way minus the laugh track. It 4th season (I can say season because i'm talking Canadian shows hahaha) I believe. It has also won a lot of Canadian television awards (Gemini Award). You can get a pretty good feel of the show by checking out some of the clips on YouTube. http://youtube.com/results?search_query=corner+gas&search=Search
Official Website: http://www.cornergas.com/

-Robson's Arms: This is more of a comedy/drama. And is in its 3rd season right now. It's not the most popular show in Canada but it's still very good. It follows the twisted lives of the tenants of an apartment building in Vancouver British Columbia. A major highlight to the show is that the very funny and talented Lesley Nealson (of the Naked Gun movies) joins the cast in the 2nd season and one of the guys from Kids in the Hall is in it. The show is funny but also has some pretty moving moments.

-Puppets Who Kill: This is a messed up sitcom (without a laugh track) that follows the lives of recently released from prison murderers who have to live in a group home...oh yea and they're all puppets. My girlfriend can't watch the show because the puppets scare her to much. They are vile, perverted and angry puppets. Amazingly the crude show has won a lot of awards. The show is in it's 5th season.
Here is a link to a few clips on Youtube: http://youtube.com/results?search_query=Puppets+Who+kill&search=Search

CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (same thing as your BBC)
NOTE: With the success of Little Mosque and the US writers strike the CBC has gone into overdrive in creating new shows in the hopes of luring Canadians back to the CBC. Thus I may have a few more to name in the coming months.

Little Mosque On The Prairie: This is the comedy hit CBC has been trying for, for the past few years. The sitcom (again with no laugh track) follows the lives of a small group of Muslims living in rural Canada and how they try to deal with it. The show has been picked up for syndication in several other countries including France and several Muslim countries. The show is funny and gets funnier as the show progresses into it's second season. It's clean family comedy too for those of you with kids.
Here is the official website: http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/
Here is a link to a few clips: http://youtube.com/results?search_query=little+mosque+&search=Search

JPOD: Based on the best selling book by the same name JPOD is a comedy/drama about a bunch of folks who work at a ridiculously and bureaucratically run computer gaming company. It also looks at the main characters parents (the dad played by Allen Thicke known for being the dad on the 80's sitcom Growing Pains) who are pretty out there (involved in Grow Ops and Biker gangs and stuff).
I've only seen one episode but I thought it was pretty good and I hope it sticks around for a bit.
Official site: http://www.cbc.ca/jpod/
Here is a preview: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Av19KlsTM5Y

Showcase Canada (one of the few channels in Canada that plays nudity and swearing): It is also adding a new line up of shows soon so I may have more for you soon.

-Trailer Park Boys: If you don't have access to Canadian television this is the one show I feel bad that you are missing. Before the Office was even conceived this moc-cumentary about a couple of trailer trash ex-con bad asses on the east cost of Canada were raising hell, drinking and smoking up. This show is gold! It's going for it's 7th season and also has a movie that hit #1 in Canada. The show spawned from a black and white moc-cumentry about the characters who at the time were pet assassins. Download the episodes and enjoy. No other Canadian show has had the same success in a cult following. Here is my favorite quote about the show from TV Guide "It’s as if The Dukes of Hazzard boys got drunk on Cooter’s moonshine and Uncle Jesse whipped out his handycam."
Official Site: http://www.trailerparkboys.com/

Kenny vs Spenny: This is a documentary comedy about two guys who have different contest each week. The show is also pretty popular in the States as the South Park guys saw it one day in Canada, loved it and purchased the show (and now produce it). It's hard to explain except that the show has two guys (Kenny and Spenny) each weak trying to out do each other in the most disgusting and ridiculous challenges with the reward of not having to embarrass themselves.

Hope you guys like the list and check out some of these shows as itt took a while to make.

Perhaps I'll also make a list of some of the greatest Canadian comedies in general. But for now...I should really do some homework.

Wow, quite an impressive run-down there!

For my benefit, list your top three, just by name, and I'll try and check them out.

I'm always hearing things about Trailer Park Boys.

Corner Gas and Kenny vs Spenny look the most interesting to me.

I will watch some of those clips. Thanks Curt, you lovely Canadian, you.

No problem I enjoyed sharing.

OK here is my list for you Aaaron
#1 Trailer Park Boys
#2 Corner Gas
#3 Kenny vs Spenny

Note: if you are a sensitive person Kenny Vs Spenny can be a little much at times (puking, nudity, sexual content). Also Trailer Park Boys swears every two seconds and they are constantly talking about drugs BUT I have to say that my very conservative parents have started watching the show and think it's funny.

Joox has some very nice looking videos for Trailer Park Boys: http://joox.net/cat/192
let me know what you think

Quote: Curt @ January 17, 2008, 7:00 PM

-Puppets Who Kill: This is a messed up sitcom (without a laugh track) that follows the lives of recently released from prison murderers who have to live in a group home...oh yea and they're all puppets. My girlfriend can't watch the show because the puppets scare her to much. They are vile, perverted and angry puppets. Amazingly the crude show has won a lot of awards. The show is in it's 5th season.
Here is a link to a few clips on Youtube: http://youtube.com/results?search_query=Puppets+Who+kill&search=Search

View original

Haven't had a chance to watch this yet but the synopsis alone is inspired.

Maybe you could help me out, Curt. I was in a motel in Canada last summer and I caught some dreadful sketch show. Do you watch Wondershowzen at all? It was sort of like the 'Horse Apples' episode. It was a redneck, lowest common denominator kind of thing made up of an ensemble of old men. Jokes about fishing and tractors and that sort of guff. Any ideas what it was called?

HAHA Yes that is called the "Red Green Show". http://www.redgreen.com/
It was a cross between sketch show and sitcom. It was an off shoot of the popular Canadian skit show Smith and Smith (popular in Canada at least). There is even a movie titled "Red Green: Duct Tape Forever".The show ended a few years ago after 10 years (or something like that). The show was actually a hit in the US.
I like the show for one reason really: it reminds me of the people back home (i'm from a small northern Ontario city) and that's pretty close to how they act.