Classic American comedies on the early Sky TV

I was thinking with how many programmes seem quite limited on the Sky channels now, how around 20 years ago Sky One showed a number of classic American comedies (and some ones that weren't so good...) and many were also on the short-lived Comedy Channel.

There doesn't seem to be any channel on Sky or Virgin now that shows 60s and 70s American shows (the only exception is the continual re-running of MASH on what used to be Paramount - I can't think what the channel is called now).

Would many of these series, like The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and F-Troop still appeal to many audiences now? Certainly, Green Acres has very off the wall humour not typical of Amercian comedies of the time. Matt Groening was apparently influenced by some of the Green Acres jokes when he created The Simpsons.

I didn't have Sky in those early days, but wished that I did because they were always showing The Lucy Show, Lucille Ball's second sitcom. I have a budget priced boxed set of the show, it is in no way a classic like I Love Lucy but I get a warm glow of nostalgia whenever I see it. Gale Gordon as Lucy's banker boss Mr Mooney can get very irritating after a bit, he is forever shouting at Lucy.

Gale Gordon went on to play a similar role in Lucy's follow up series, "Here's Lucy", but he was a bit more restrained.

Quote: Matt79 @ May 8 2012, 3:31 PM BST

There doesn't seem to be any channel on Sky or Virgin now that shows 60s and 70s American shows (the only exception is the continual re-running of MASH on what used to be Paramount - I can't think what the channel is called now).

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Comedy Central. They still show the occasional older programme, but it's certainly not what it was in the mid to late 1990s.

Of course, you can say the same of GOLD with its British line-up. UK Gold's 1990s schedules were infinitely more interesting and varied than the continual loop of about a dozen particularly popular show that they repeat today.