Why do you (seriously and / or humorously) think or don't think, that British tv and film humor is much better or more unique (or isn't) than other English speaking humor.

well i think its becuz in britain a different type of humour exsists and sometimes americans etc dont "get it" and dont realise the joke etc. with british films etc the jokes are a little more acsessable and i dunno, just different from other types as the humour varies. alot also is based on real life so thats always good, u ever seen The Royale Family, thats so funny cuz its just a normal family, with only 2 settings used.
i hope thats not a stupid answer!
iz:crazy:

I think a lot of it has to do with the writing.
A show like "Blackadder" is loaded with quips and insults, not to mention Blackadder's use of metaphors.
Example -
"He's the most overrated human being since Judas Escariot won the AD 31 Best Disciple contest."

The jokes are very literate and intelligent. It's a shame that shows on this side of the pond do not try to be a little smarter in their writing. I'm not putting down American shows mind you.

'Frasier" probably is the only show on TV that comes close to the dry wit of the Britcoms.

A bit from column A and a bit from column B,but I think also they're
more class conscious in especially the older Britcoms like AYBS
and that is something that you don't see too often on our sitcoms
over here,so it could also be a culture thing,that is we are from a
less class conscious society and the Brits have a more class conscious one.
Besides Are You Being Served another example of what I mean is
Keeping Up Appearances.

I believe it is because they are odd looking (right words ???) their humor is funny and we don't watch them because they are just another pretty face. Does this make sense???? It seems in america that apperance is everything espically in LA and it does not seem like that in Britcoms

:) it has to be the sophistication of the scripts or the lunacy of the actors (like Benny Hill or the Python bunch). over in England or wherever else besides the USA, i see it that attention isn't focused too much on a person's appearance. over here our TV headquarters (New York and L.A.) are so consumed with looks and as a result we've become an image conscience society. a perfect example is an actor over here named Andy Griffith. by society's standards he's not good looking and therefore the networks feel that nobody will watch him anymore. he had "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1960-1968 and "Matlock" from 1986-1995. well, if he came out with a show today he would not have hardly any support from the networks because of his age. that's the way the USA works. it's unfair and our country has proven that it'll only serve the young, good looking people. thank god for PBS!

The Brits are so willing to laugh at themselves, and so you find them getting into situations that are hilarious, but you Americans are not wiling to laught at such things. I'm a Canadian and would much rather watch most Britcoms than most American sitcoms anyday. We here in the Great White North are willing to laugh at ourselves, too, but our sitcoms haven't been all that great, for the most part. Also, I don't find the Brits nearly as PC as many Americans. I'm not saying that people should be mean or offensive, and the Brits aren't as a rule, but they tend to go where other English speakers fear to tread. I also agree that there tends to be a certain intelligence in Britcoms that are lacking in a lot of North American shows, although it isn't really beyond the intelligence of the average person to understand it. Overall, Brits have fun with things and just seem to be a little crazy with it all. Way to go, Brits! :talk:

Hey All

:happyface I love British tv, do n e of u like Brittas Empire??
I watch it evey night and can't help to laugh:rotflmao:

I also love drama's that come out like Prime Suspect.....

British TV Rocks...

:dance: :eek2:

Maybe it's more about the characters than some American shows. They seem to write the characters first and then give them funny lines that they would actually say. This is true of the best American sitcoms, too. It doesn't work to try and go for the laugh without paying attention to your characters and who they are. The British comedies seem to pay a lot of attention to their characters. All the ones I have seen are really about the people. Sometimes the lines are subtle in a way you don't usually find in American comedies. I don't think that makes them hard to get. It just makes them funnier.

The way Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder) tells the jokes, making fun of the dumb Baldwick, he sounds much more sarcastic. I'm from Ireland though, but English actors (John Cleese) act as characters who seem very smart and clever, but bad things always happen to them, and they're actually very daft. It's funny seeing English actors being the butt of the jokes, which is probably why Fawlty Towers Worked.

oops

re: "Overall, Brits have fun with things and just seem to be a little crazy with it all. "
I agree FVchickadee! I arrived in the UK as a rather boring US teenager in the 60s, having somehow missed the insertion of a Sense-O-Humour gene. By the time I left a decade later, I was bitten by the infectious British Sense-O-Humour bug. Problem solved! I think Benny Hill triggered the "infection", and I never l@@ked back . Living in rural Suffolk, many of my friends resembled the Vicar of Dibley cast, and I think it rubbed off on me. Of course, on this side of the pond I often draw blank stares (or worse :eek: ) when I expose my Pythonic style wit.
Still, AYBS and other Britcoms are making inroads I never thought I'd see over hEre. Blimey! The roads hEre are even filled with Minis these days! EastEnders is on tele! It makes me feel like flying the Union Jack again! (sob...sob) Long live BritComs!

I think one thing that has helped British sitcoms over the years is the relative lack of funding from the BBC and ITV. Over in the States, your television business is huge and your broadcasters have millions to splash around on TV series. Over here, it is quite different -- especially with the BBC. The BBC is funded by the licence fee (a tax on every household that contains a TV set) so they are much more accountable to the public. They can't be seen to be splashing money around. Over the years, that has meant sitcoms (and dramas) have only had around 6-10 episodes per year. I think that has helped a lot. Some of the American shows I watch have so many episodes per season that some are very weak and the format and running gags become a bit tiresome after a while. With there being so few episodes of British sitcoms, the humour is appreciated more and every episode (on the whole) is top class.

Maybe it's more about the characters than some American shows. They seem to write the characters first and then give them funny lines that they would actually say. This is true of the best American sitcoms, too. It doesn't work to try and go for the laugh without paying attention to your characters and who they are. The British comedies seem to pay a lot of attention to their characters. All the ones I have seen are really about the people. Sometimes the lines are subtle in a way you don't usually find in American comedies. I don't think that makes them hard to get. It just makes them funnier.

i totally agree with this statement. Next time you watch a Brit show, notice that each character no matter how small the role is, plays a key part in the overall story line. The story is filled with rich characters, which makes the story better. If watch tv here, its more based on one or two main characters and the rest are just extras. Only the really good sitcoms like Seinfied, Simpsons, had good characters (every character palys an important role in the story) i actually remember most of the characters from these two shows lol

I saw a British comedian on an American talk show and the interviewer asked him: What is the difference between British and American comedy.

The comedian said that British humor/comedy is more "quick to deliver the joke". American humor/comedy has to "set up the joke, then deliver the punchline", which makes it "flow" more slowly.

I think all of you are making good points. I did not think there was much of a difference between American and British TV, until I spoke with a nurse I met who was born in the U.S., then moved to England as a small child, then came back to the U.S. as an adult. She told me when she first came back, she couldn't believe how many TV shows and networks we had here, compared to England.

Tyrone, that's so true. Every character should be developed in every kind of writing. Otherwise, they might as well not be there. Also, in more recent years, a lot of the characters on the American shows are kind of mean. I care more about the characters on the British shows because I like them.

adreed, I think that is because there is a bad tendency in America to treat us like we aren't going to get the joke so they have to draw it out.

I think an important factor is that the best British comedy worked off of their societal rules and the class system. I've got a feeling that the farther away they get from their old class system, and the less formal they get, the less funny they are.

I think an important factor is that the best British comedy worked off of their societal rules and the class system. I've got a feeling that the farther away they get from their old class system, and the less formal they get, the less funny they are.

Disagree. I get your point, but most of the great UK sitcoms either don't deal with class at all or deal with it much less, as the class system had started to unloosen by the 60s/70s and onwards.

The best Britcoms deal with well rounded characters, usually in restrictive circumstances (think Steptoe), but don't necessarily use class as THE crux. It may be part, without being the basis. Harold Steptoe may have been a frustrated social climber, but the crux of that immortal sitcom was about how two people needed/hated each other. His pretentions were a funny and repeating part of the sitcom, but it wasn't the crux.

Many second-rate American shows have been very popular in the UK - much more popular than any UK sitcom has ever been in the US. The best UK sitcoms match, but don't exceed, the best US shows in quality, and for quantity it's a mismatch - there are many more funny shows from the US, and they might churn out 150 episodes while the UK competitor ran out of steam at 20.

The fact that some US sitcoms have had UK success is no guide to quality. As we know, crap sells. Hyped crap even more so. American football was big here 30 yrs ago, but it was just a cultural fad. CH4 here used and still does top-load its comedy output with US imports. And if some UK sitcoms haven't broken the US, well that's America's loss. They remain classics even if Joe Public in Poughkeepsie or Idaho has never seen them.

Run out of steam?. No, its that the creators/writers/channels know when to stop. I far prefer the UK way of 6 episodes a series, with usually 3-4 series and 20-30 episodes. 150?. Even the best US sitcoms run out of steam long before 150. Usually long before 100. Give me 12 of Fawlty or 24 of Blackadder anyday. Or even 40-odd Steptoe.

Its not sheer luck that the greatest Britcoms of all time were 20/30/40 episodes. 12 in one famous case. Its ensured that they are classics because every episode was a timeless gem. When the writers/cast started to repeat, they stopped. Its not running out of steam, its knowing when the well is starting to run dry.

Many second-rate American shows have been very popular in the UK - much more popular than any UK sitcom has ever been in the US. The best UK sitcoms match, but don't exceed, the best US shows in quality, and for quantity it's a mismatch - there are many more funny shows from the US, and they might churn out 150 episodes while the UK competitor ran out of steam at 20.

Actually, several big US sitcoms have flopped in the UK. Or done very average ratings. Seinfeld was a flop, Everybody Loves Raymond is used to fill morning schedule gaps on CH4. Others like Ellen did very average ratings and disappeared with no fanfare.

I am old enough to remember Carson bombing here and in the 90s, Letterman bombed on BBC2.

Actually, several big US sitcoms have flopped in the UK. Or done very average ratings. Seinfeld was a flop, Everybody Loves Raymond is used to fill morning schedule gaps on CH4. Others like Ellen did very average ratings and disappeared with no fanfare.

I am old enough to remember Carson bombing here and in the 90s, Letterman bombed on BBC2.

Johnny Carson was only aired once a week in England - I believe it was in the 80's - and Johnny wasn't happy about it. He thought the show had to air every night to be successful. There is some humor that's universal and some isn't. I loved Johnny Carson. I thought he was the best ever, but i can see why other countries wouldn't necessarily get it.

I once saw a clip from an Egyptian Candid Camera kind of show and you know what they did? They had someone walk up to strangers at a public place like an airport and suddenly drop a suitcase they were carrying and run away as if there were a bomb in it. They thought it was funny. I think it's insane.

Why British sitcoms and films are so unique in their own way is that each British sitcom is written in it's own style and leaves a mark of humor in the world. Starting with the fun humor of Fawlty Towers it showed that British sitcoms really could work for all audiences in all the world that soon America would soon catch on. And with British comedians such as the late Benny Hill and Ronan Akinson it's no secret that shows like The Benny Hill Show and Mr. Bean have captured the attention of American audiences everywhere and introduced a whole new line of British actors and comedians to be superstars in the UK and America. Take for example talk show host James Corden got his start acting in Britcoms before becoming well known in the movie Into The Woods and even played singer Paul Potts in the movie One Chance and now James Corden is now bigger than ever in America. A second star to do this was Bradley Walsh and he was well known as a comedian and many people thought he would be a one hit wonder in the UK due to him moving on to being a game show star but then returned to act in Law And Order UK and now Bradley Walsh will be well known in America for his role in Doctor Who. But if you look at the general picture new American versions of Britcoms such as Are You Being Served? and Absolutely Fabulous will probably be made and still attract audiences all around the world
Bestie