British "humour"?

[Dave_n]

Ooooooooo!

That's what you get when you offend an ex-pat

But to add to what the OP missed, I'd add Beyond the Fringe (from the 60's)The Two Ronnies, The Goon Show - even older than Beyond the Fringe, from the 50's, but one of the inspirations for Monty Python, Black Adder (as already mentioned), Only Fools and Horses, and a couple of BBC radio games (alas now gone): I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, and The News Quiz.

But it's a matter of taste (or lack thereof, in the case of Benny Hill, IMHO). Having some British blood in my veins, I like a lot of that stuff.

Grew up with the15 minute sessions on the BBC Radio of the Goon Show in
1949 (at almost 11 years old), and continued through with them and their spin-offs (remember Michael Bentine anyone!!) for many years until I "migrated West in 1968". Yes British humour is quite different and relies on words not slapstick. My US born wife of 55 years has still yet to understand my humour at times. Dave_n

 

[john17427]

To these, I'll add Fawlty Towers.

I recently saw an interview with John Cleese where he said that his Basil Fawlty was based on a real person he interacted with while filming a movie.

 

[johngalt]

Some movies that you have really missed out if you haven't watched them:

Saving Grace
Waking Ned Devine
The Castle

 

[oldbrownhat]

I recently saw an interview with John Cleese where he said that his Basil Fawlty was based on a real person he interacted with while filming a movie.

Yes! The fellow's name was Donald Sinclair. Lots of articles on this online, like this one. Another splendid example of "art imitates life"!

 

[DWalt]

Sorry to say I have never seen any British comedy shows, and most of the names mentioned previously are people unknown to me. Peter Sellers Is about the only British comic I am familiar with. Or at least most of his movie appearances were in comic roles. I have attempted to watch several old British comedy movies on TCM, never made it much past 10 minutes.

 

[UncleEd]

In the WWI Blackadder series, Atkinson laments
the waste of troops in the trenches and says
something to this effect: "Why send them all
to France; just execute them here."

 

[31FordA]

Most of my favorite Britcom’s have already been mentioned, but I’ll also add “Waiting for God”, “Father Ted” and “Yes, Minister” to the list of favorites. Our local PBS used to run a different Britcom every night at 7:30, it was a great way to end the day. Now they only run them on Saturdays, but I have “Are You Being Served” on DVD for weekdays.

One of the things I like about British shows is their ability to do really risqué humor while still being classy. The other thing is the timeless quality of a lot of the shows. Some of these shows are 40 or 50 years old and just as funny now as when new.

 

[Jack Flash]

Yes, yes, "As Time Goes By."

And for anyone who knows pretentious
people, there's Mrs. Bucket (pronounced
Boo-kay) in "Keeping Up Appearances."

My parents loved those. Me, not so much.

I did really like Are You Being Served.

 

[smoothshooter]

Yes. A working limbic system.

LOL !!!
Great response !!! What a Hoot !

 

[ACORN]

Who doesn’t like Onslow?
FWIW Freevee has Father Ted and Last of the Summer Wine among others

 

[robvious]

Oh... I forgot... Red Dwarf... so goofy funny...

 

[Rustyt1953]

My children and grandchildren can quote MP, Blackadder, The Young Ones and 'Allo 'Allo.

God luv 'em.

 

[Eltioloco]

Philomena Cunk confronting old cowboys guns part 1 #bbc #cunkonearth - YouTube

And then there is Philomena Cunk, played by Diane Morgan. Great history lessons.

 

[soFlaNative]

Philomena Cunk confronting old cowboys guns part 1 #bbc #cunkonearth - YouTube

And then there is Philomena Cunk, played by Diane Morgan. Great history lessons.

Embodiment of some Congress Critters.

 

[CalifEd]

Which contained a lot of "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" lines, as I recall. Just enough to keep the censors' brows furrowed without invoking an actual infraction and howls of outrage from Mary Whitehouse.

Not British, but Rowen & Martin's Laugh In and The Smothers Brothers were always trying to slip something past the "Keepers of the American Morals".

 

[oldbrownhat]

Not British, but Rowen & Martin's Laugh In and The Smothers Brothers were always trying to slip something past the "Keepers of the American Morals".

True. I'd forgotten about them

 

[robvious]

the Fickle Finger... Rowen and Martin... and that's the truth... pffft

 

[snowman]

Like DWalt, I'm not famiiar with any of the people or productions mentioned here. I gather many of them were/are featured on PBS, but when I had TV I used to tune in on a semi-regular basis and don't recall seeing any British comedies.

The humor I've come to love far more than anything else over the years has been generated not by professional writers, humorists, comedians, etc. but by the most ordinary folks during the course of everyday life; never planned, just spur of the moment stuff featuring brilliant, hilarious use of the language in just the right circumstances. I've had a number of such moments with friends, family, acquaintances -even with total strangers at Walmart or other public establishments. The British I'm sure do this quite well, but I tend to think to some degree it's a universal phenomenon, part of just being human beings.

Regards,
Andy

 

[LVSteve]

I have attempted to watch several old British comedy movies on TCM, never made it much past 10 minutes.

If you are unfamiliar with the geography of England, and some of the word plays, double-entendres, and innuendoes that the Brits love, then it is easy to miss a lot of the humour.

 

[Beemerguy53]

U.S. humour is more slapstick and in your face, whereas British is more nuanced or subtle.

Back in the 1990s, American audiences were hooked on Seinfeld, while British viewers were watching "As Time Goes By", with Judy Dench and Geoffrey Palmer.

ATGB is about a late middle-aged couple who meet in London by coincidence...and realize that 38 years previously they'd been lovers. The humor is poignant and romantic, hysterically funny at times, and always gentle...never crude or mean. It's the polar opposite of Jerry, Elayne, George, and Kramer, in other words.

If you haven't seen ATGB, I highly recommend it...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSYsXE14aMU[/ame]