Best British Sitcom

[Dibbie]

Currently the BBC are running The Best British Sitcom. We are now being asked to vote, from a shortlist of ten, which sitcom is the greatest of all time.

In the spirit of research I think we should see what you guys think.

Please try not to just vote - I want to hear your reasons for making your choice.

[Gohan]

its goota be only fools n horses bcause they must have dunn more things than the simpsons.
hard choice though

[prodigy69]

I'd have to say Blackadder..but Only fools and horses is a very close second

[mr jones]

black adder, no competion. its well thought out and very funny. the characters are great and the way they change from seris to seris is brillant. woo to black adder

[Cjw]

Only fools and horses for me..seconded by blackadder.

[MissMoo]

Faulty Towers for me, although Only fools and horses is a very close second, had to think a long time for that one!!

faulty Towers is the best, it rocks, and it is just so funny! the fact that they only made one series is magical, any way, thats just it, i think its the best!

[Rogue]

for me

fawlty towers
blackadder
and one foot in the grave

are the pinnacles of suberb funny.

but my vote went to Blackadder

[Dibbie]

I'm the one who voted for Porridge. My reasons are pretty simple:

Porridge is the only one in the list who's situation CANNOT change and yet it remains fresh and funny. It amazes me that Clement and La Frenais were able to draw so much humour from something that the majority of us are frightened of - the monotony of prison.

Porridge was, as far as I am concerned, the only sit-com listed that had the balls to drop any element of comedy if it was required and left you wondering about the comedic value of the thing you were watching. The writing style is astounding with throw-away one-liners littering the script like bullets in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

For me, despite it's age, Porridge will ALWAYS be the pinnacle of comedy writing and Ronnie Barker will ALWAYS be "The Governor".

I would probably have to say however that Blackadder is the funniest out of the 10 but funny doesn't always make a comedy great.

[sack the chimp]

Well, I would have said fawlty towers, but I watched the programme about yes, minister the other week, and it reminded me just how damn good it is.

Maybe not the funniest, but a hell of a lot of what I know about politics comes from this show. And a lot of the show is based on fact, stories coming from pretty high up people in british government. An some of the stories not just based, they're practically just writing what happened.

To blow british politics and the workings of government open like this and still be that funny is a remarkable achievement.
Genius.

[Dr M]

My vote went to Black Adder, cause it's funny and was also related to the history of England, also it was thought out well, and the series ended perfectly.

[djnrrd]

I'd have to go with Fawlty Towers myself. The fact that there was only ever 2 Seasons possibly helps as on occasions the BBC can keep things going past their prime (Dad's Army and to a degree Fools and Horses)

Plus its the simple things that work best. Essentially Fawlty Towers is Basil Fawlty. A stupid man with a low patience threshold, married to a nagging wife who is of course the more intelligent of the two. But he would never admit to that of course.

And the fact that it was an Ex Python behind it helps. :)

[moog]

i voted for the good life. I like blackadder a lot but i always felt like it was just trying to churn out one cathphrase after another.

and i always liked what margo was wearing. And the way barbara said 'oh tom'

[spongmonkey]

Blackadder rocks. OF&H's annoys the crap outta me.

[Panto]

Fawlty Towers....every episode is hilarious

[Piedude]

Im going only fools and horses. Blackadder did have some duff episodes i dont watch if i see their on. Only fools and horses has great tv moments init, where blackadder just has jokes for the episode (par the finale).
Id say vicar of dibley will be tenth, with open all hours 9th, despite being very good...

[RamblinYeti]

blacckadder me thinks-great show-watched it since i was really young and like the style of humour although my all time fave sit com(not on the list is red dwarf(fawlty towers=2nd-porridge=3rd and only fools+horses=4th) By the way this thread has been done before in da debates section-i expect better from a mod

[darkling]

Blackadder for me.. especially Blackadder II but i love Fawlty Towers and Porridge too.. we have some great sitcoms dont we.

[Monkeyboy]

Only fools n horses for me...one of the few sitcoms that has laugh out loud moments everytime...although why is LoG not in there???it realy should be....

[Dibbie]

It was in the top 100 but it just missed the top ten. I don't think it fits into the public psyche in the way that the top ten do.

[Beef Magic]

people on here obvisiously haven't watched Porriage then.

[PoofBird]

1. I love british comedy
2. dutch television has always broadcasted a lot of english shows.

3. i hardly know half of the show mentioned.

disregarding the latter, I say Fawlty Towers.

like a dutch reviewer once said, summarizing:

good things about FT: all 12 episodes.
bad things about FT: there are only 12 episodes.

[lellykelly]

Only fools and horses must win! come on...that or vicar of dibley! thats os funny.

[sack the chimp]

no offence, but WHAT THE HELL WAS VICAR OF DIBLEY THERE FOR??!!?

Pretty much everyone i've spoken too was baffled by that choice for the top ten.

It's not that funny.

It's not had to stand the test of time (the office should have been up there otherwise).

It's not even dawn french's best stuff.

BBC just wanted to give recent comedy a boost or something. Please argue your case if you disagree, but thats what I think.

[elliekinz]

Blackadder! if not blackadder fawlty towers. wtf is yes minister? if its so good how come ive never heard of it!?!

[Rogue]

Originally posted by sack the chimp
no offence, but WHAT THE HELL WAS VICAR OF DIBLEY THERE FOR??!!?

Pretty much everyone i've spoken too was baffled by that choice for the top ten.

It's not that funny.


the vicar is teh suck. glaringly unfunny. I think it is written by either richard curtis or ben elton (the blackadder writers).

but that did not save it

[Dibbie]

It's Richard Curtis which is why I am not surprised it is only good in places. I think the reason it is there is that it is a popular choice amongst ladies and gentlemen of a certain age and the joke at the end is always guaranteed a laugh despite the actual joke being that the girl is thick... (Bit of a one-trick pony really)

[AngloSaxon]

Although I voted Blackadder, mainly because every line of dialogue is just so perfect, I am very surprised Dad´s Army isn´t doing well. That would be a very close second for me.

Why so much criticism of the Vicar of Dibley? I´ll admit it´s not in the same league as Blackadder, only fools, fawlty towers etc (I happen to like all the top 10 except the good life), but there are some class moments, alice and hugo´s choice of hymns at their wedding for example, and you always get a laugh with jim, owen and frank.

[PoofBird]

you're 6 months late, dickface


don't bump old threads, certainly not when you have nothing of importance to add.

[Hannisburg]

where's red dwarf? clearly the greatest but I voted for blackadder as edmund blackadder is fairly legendary!

edit: i always thought that the vicar of dibley was quite funny :nana: i suppose it depends on your sense of humour. For example, I am convinced that Bill Bailey is the funniest man alive and yet my ex, my dad and half my friends can't stand him so go figure I guess.

[Awesome Man]

Out of the choices, I had to go with Black Adder. I can't get enough of Rowan Atkinson. But has anyone seen The Office?

[Ferg]

Well I voted for black adder because of its wittyness (dont care if its not a word). However I really think Father Ted should have made top 10. That show was brilliant and I could relate to alot of the characters. Unfortunatly mostly I could relate to Doogle. It was great though and I'll never forget the moment with the magic road.... As for Blackadder I think the second series was the best. I suppose it was great because he had alot of dignity which was always well and truly crushed.

[Bisyss]

Out of the list, I'd choose FT or Blackadder. But one of the best comedy shows I've seen is I Am Not An Animal. That was hilarious.

[Nuclear Spoon]

I'll say Fawlty Towers, simply because I love John Cleese. Wish they made more episodes though.

[Flack]

For the record, father ted was 11th.

And for me, it's GOT to be porridge/going straight.

Nuff said.

[Curlz]

I voted Vicar of Dibley, purely because i like Dawn French. Although they've rerun them sooo many times, theyre getting a bit old. One of my fave english comedies is the Royle Family, but I'm not sure if thats a sitcom, and it isn't on the list :p

[Soapie]

I voted Vicar of Dibley, purely because i like Dawn French. Although they've rerun them sooo many times, theyre getting a bit old. One of my fave english comedies is the Royle Family, but I'm not sure if thats a sitcom, and it isn't on the list :p
it was on the show, I can't remember where it was.
This thread should be dead...why isn't it?

[pebble_rebel]

oh i thought this was new until i actually voted on it

[Bungee Koala]

Blackadder - just purely great comedy, not on t.v every week like only fools and horses which has become boring, therefore making it great

[Spacemonkey]

Fawlty Towers. British comedy in all its brilliance. Just whatever you do - DONT MENTION THE WAR!! Genius. :notworthy

[C T M]

I went Dad's Army - not entirely sure why, Fawlty Towers is genius, and BlackAdder has its moments, quite regularly. Dad's Army just seems to be the daddeh, so to speak :D

If Allo Allo was on this list I wouldnt hesitate to put it to number 1, used to LOVE that as a kid (while only recently seen a few BlackAdders and unfortunately not seen Fawlty Towers for a while either)

[Beef Magic]

What about Spaced?

[Ambassador]

I second that. Spaced is masterful and would be my first pick.
Also Young Ones seems to be missing. I blame Thatcher.

[princess gecko]

I cannot vote. I see no spot for Red Dwarf. Hands down the greatest. :notworthy

[DangerMouse]

nothing will ever beat Fawlty Towers and the way it just made you breathless with laughter every episode.

What about Spaced?

what about it? This is the top ten, not the top 100. Spaced shouldnt be mentioned in the same breath as Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Dads Army or Porridge

[Dr S]

OMG what is going on here ... this was a TV poll 6 MONTHS AGO its ended, finished ... and so had this thread until it was bumped.

I cry

[maxxy_p]

Still interesting though.

Blackadder. THE best comedy ever. Fawlty Towers, well, hmm, as it didn't have so many episodes I suppose they could cram more in to them. John Cleese specifically wanted only 12 so that it didn't become boring in the future. If they had made more I don't think it would have been as good. But it's still pure genius. After that I'd say Only Fools & Horses.

*Sigh* timeless classics... timeless.