Are British Sitcoms Really Better Than American Sitcoms?

[TMC]

http://whatculture.com/tv/are-britis...an-sitcoms.php

Play-along-at-home-time. What is the distinguishing trait of the six characters in Friends? And why are they different to British characters? Answer? We know them. Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE REAL PEOPLE. Secret is out. Friends is based on you and me. Everyone at some point has said “He’s like the Ross in our group,” or “she’s so Rachel”. (Alas, as I have very few friends, I am both Ross and Rachel.) Sex and the City took the unnerving sight of a gossiping gaggle of girls and put individuals into it. Everyone is like one of the Sex and the City girls. (I’d be the ginger one if you’re asking.) HIMYM has got the exact same idea. Who is the ‘playa’ in your group? You are Barney. Who is in the relationship? Marshall and Lily. Who is the Canadian news reporter?… You get the picture.

This is the strength/weakness of the American sitcom. Rarely do you get a sitcom from that side of the world where it is solely about one character and one character only. Ensemble casts rule the waves. What’s that I hear you ask? Curb Your Enthusiasm is about one character, isn’t it? Correct. It is. And it is incredibly funny? Damn straight. But doesn’t it seem a bit… I don’t know… British?

There is a gigantic difference between the creation of American and British television. Quite often, American television has a whole team of writers who can create a system, colour it in and give it a title. Episode one, two, three, four… done and dusted. Every episode of Friends is the exact same in terms of plot and story (believe me, I have worked it out.) Sex and the City mirrors each that came before and sure as hell will be pretty similar to the next one. They shake it up by throwing tits in at different stages. The Simpsons is notorious for starting an episode with something, then totally shifting it about three minutes in. Thus creating an episode. Every episode. And how many episodes does SATC, Friends and The Simpsons total? 3 million… ish…

The UK has a different view to writing. Rather than the actors being key to the show, the writers are key. It is their baby, their beautifully crafted machine that churns out very poignant and timeless and sweet and thoughtful episodes. If you get a series which is more than 12 episodes it is a rarity. Six episode series, seven with a Christmas special.

[UMFaninMD]

I think the one major beauty of a lot of British sitcoms (and most British series in general) is the shorter amount of episodes in a season and that many of them don't keep trying to stay on the air year after year and they end up going stale. But the UK has had their share of clunkers just like here.

[EmoJoe]

I...really don't think so.

[robyrob]

its like comparing apples and Studebakers - and completely subjective.

[Willbo]

I enjoy most to the British Comedies. Keeping Up Appearances and Are You Being Served? are my favorites. None of the comedies currently on American TV are ones that I enjoy right now. I think people have just forgotten about how to write good, funny comedy without being crude.

[LeeBlue]

I love Sitcoms and Britcoms!! .. The American ones (like Barney Miller and Perfect Strangers) have characters that are funny but that I feel I know.
..
However the Britcoms (like Keeping Up Appearances and Are You Being Served?) have characters that are just outrageous!
.. At a book sale recently I bought a video with three episodes of Fawlty Towers -- I laughed so hard that I almost fell off the chair!! .. ..

[zachattack12]

I find that there are both good and bad shows in Britain and America. But people who argue that American shows are to crude are wrong. They are comparing traditional British shows and modern American shows. While British shows back then are good clean humor, so were American ones. Now, British ones are usually raunchier. Also, I find that British shows with laugh tracks are a lot harder to watch than American ones with them. It seems in England, if a show is filmed before a live audience, there is no attempt at making the characters realistic. In America, basically every show tries to make it's characters as believable as possible. There are exception to the rule in both cases though.

[comedyfreak]

I like some of the Britcoms and their other shows like Being Human and Primevil.

[snortrumble]

First, they don't gouge the market place with 22+ episodes at a time. That waters down the product considerably in most cases.

They are not as relentless mean and glib as their US counterparts.

They don't have such ridiculous aesthetic standards for their performers, as a result the characters the UK actors inhabit appear more every day like as opposed to the pretty people in the neighborhood you can only afford to drive past.

[robyrob]

i think that British shows are generally better at wordplay and more finely crafted plot lines, while American shows tend to focus more on character and situation -driven comedy.

[Hebburn]

I think the more we analyze the more confused we get. Whether Britt or American, we watch what appeals to us. It's simply entertainment.

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by Hebburn

I think the more we analyze the more confused we get. Whether Britt or American, we watch what appeals to us. It's simply entertainment.

[Mr. Television]

No

[Hebburn]

A question that may never be answered.

But, I WOULD like to present an angle on how Britcoms might have become so popular in the US. Possibly, purely by accident, PBS stumbled across an almost captive audience. The Saturday Night stay at home crowd. They have very little competition!

All of which is fine by me, as I very much enjoy them. But, I had no idea of them, or how bad Saturday Night TV was, until I "settled down".

[HHorseman]

Big Britcom fan,Only Fools And Horse,Are You Being Served, Young Ones. So many classics.

I dont mind some of the American Sitcoms like Frasier and King Of Queen,but there are so many that are to similar.