| Banquo 11.01.2004 09:52 |
What a load of bollocks Vicar Of Dibley in the top ten?? What's that all about? link Mine would be 10. 2 Point 4 Children (v. underrated) 9. Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads 8. The Royal Family 7. Early Doors 6. Porridge 5. I'm Alan Partridge 4. Father Ted 3. Only Fools and Horses 2. Phoenix Nights 1. Fawlty Towers Again the British public know sod all. |
| deleted user 11.01.2004 10:13 |
That is shit really. "My Family" beating The Office, The Young Ones, I'm Alan Partridge and Bottom?! Nice to see Phoenix Nights made it onto the BBC's top sitcoms |
| Flashman 11.01.2004 11:13 |
Seeing as 'Rising Damp' didn't make the Top 10, it's between 'Fawlty Towers' and 'Yes Minister' for me. 'Only Fools And Horses' will win, even though it's been fairly shit for 10 years. 'Vicar Of Dibley' but not 'Steptoe & Son'? My arse! |
| Mayboy 11.01.2004 11:15 |
Toss up between Fawlty towers and Only fools for me |
| Catgoddess 11.01.2004 11:33 |
There should be a Queenzone sitcom |
| deleted user 11.01.2004 11:35 |
lol, that would be about as funny as a kick in the pants |
| Peter Moffatt 11.01.2004 12:56 |
There was a soap opera once, many moons ago. I still have the episodes of it I co-wrote somewhere, but the other ones are lost to the ether. |
| Taylor-Mayed 11.01.2004 12:58 |
I really should stop accidentally posting with the test account I set up when the board crashed. |
| Catgoddess 11.01.2004 13:12 |
It's nice to have an alter ego. Someone to talk to one the long dark nights. |
| Sir Archie 'Tiffany' Leach 11.01.2004 15:30 |
Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping Up Appearances and (only in this country) Allo Allo in the top 20. The ten people who voted for them must have large phone bills. |
| Taylor-Mayed 11.01.2004 18:01 |
I got to thinking about other genres they could do such a list for, and decided sci-fi would be a good one... What's that, you cry, there aren't 50 British TV sci-fi shows? Well that's what I thought until I sat down and thought about it. I'm quite pleased with myself for filling the number without looking at any books or websites, even if a few are one-offs and adaptations... So here, for nobody else's interest, is the list I came up with (not in order, obviously!). 1. Doctor Who 2. Blake’s 7 3. Quatermass 4. Sapphire & Steel 5. Doomwatch 6. Edge of Darkness 7. The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 8. Survivors 9. Out of the Unknown 10. Invasion: Earth 11. Bugs 12. Crime Traveller 13. The Last Train 14. The Tomorrow People 15. Timeslip 16. Star Maidens 17. A for Andromeda 18. Pathfinders in Space 19. Out of this World 20. Virtual Murder 21. Star Cops 22. UFO 23. Space: 1999 24. Thunderbirds 25. Stingray 26. Captain Scarlet 27. Fireball XL5 28. Counterstrike 29. The Vanishing Man 30. Day of the Triffids 31. Tripods 32. The Nightmare Man 33. Dark Season 34. Century Falls 35. Jupiter Moon 36. The Uninvited 37. 1990 38. Moonbase 3 39. The Flipside of Dominick Hide 40. Red Dwarf 41. Journey into Space 42. The Monsters 43. K9 & Company 44. The Omega Factor 45. Nineteen Eighty-Four 46. The Stone Tape 47. Year of the Sex Olympics 48. R.U.R. 49. Threads 50. Supercar |
| Brian_Mays_Wig 12.01.2004 02:49 |
Taylor_Mayed, you need to get out more!! On the subject though, The Office?? I was dumbfounded when I saw where it came in at. That top 10 is a load of bollocks. Phoenix Nights, The Office and My Family without doubt should be in the top 10. |
| iGSM 12.01.2004 02:55 |
Peh, that 'My Family' ain't that funny anyway. |
| Killer Queen .45 13.01.2004 06:27 |
I was fucking gutted when Father Ted (the greatest sitcom ever) came in at 11. I was sure Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em would be in the top 10 (probably should have been instead of The Good Life, which I hate). I reckon, like this year's Premiership, it's going to be a three horse race between Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea. Man Utd are always going to do well and the style that Arsenal play is so exceptional that when on a good day they can beat even Brazil. Chelsea are a tough one, they've got all the money in the world but if you've got no teamwork then you've got nothing. Maybe Liverpool could catch them up. Sorry, drifted off there for a minute. The three horse race'll probably be between Dad's Army, Only Fools and Horses and Fawlty Towers with Fawlty Towers being the Man Utd. I can see OFAH winning, when you look back at the old episodes they really were exceptional, especially the '96 region with Heroes and Villains, Modern Man and Time On Our Hands. Unfortunately it's kinda gone down from then on. I really hope Dad's Army or One Foot in the Grave win though, although (most of) the top 10 is exceptional in itself. What a pity David Dickinson is backing Only Fools and Horses. There's a high chance it won't win now. If there's anyone who can persuade someone to vote for something else, it's David Dickheadson. But really it's just a case of the British (yes, us) showing off saying "Look at these great sitcoms!". But do we really want to be remembered for creating a sitcom about a fat vicar in a rather dumb village? |
| Mrs.Taylor 18.01.2004 09:37 |
I know it wasn't an "official" Top Ten but it should have been called The Ronnie Barker/David Jason Show. For me, it's a toss-up between Porridge and Only Fools and Horses. Open All Hours was filmed in South Yorkshire as well so I'm partial to that, but only certain episodes. And Ronnie Barker looks SO like my dad in Porridge - at around the same time - it's scary! Mind you, Yes Minister totally rocks as well - Nigel Hawthorne was fantastic in that. |
| Saffron Caribou 18.01.2004 22:41 |
I agree with Dave (KQ 45) Father Ted should've been in the top ten. I dont know why Vicar of Dibley is on that list. It isnt funny at all. For #1? Blackadder or Fawlty Towers. I'd chose Fawlty Towers. |
| Banquo 19.01.2004 12:09 |
All of the programmes are BBC productions and after each "celeb" has done their bit for the show a classic episode of the sit-com is shown straight after. Can't see BBC getting the rights to show Father Ted so it obviously a fix. That's why Open All Hours is in it and The Vicar of Dibley. Its a complete farce. |
| Penetration_Guru 20.01.2004 05:31 |
M*A*S*H? Cheers? Roseanne? Red Dwarf? Only Fools And Horses isn't a sitcom. |
| Taylor-Mayed 20.01.2004 06:57 |
It's the Top 10 UK Sitcoms, PG, so three of the ones you mentioned wouldn't even be eligible. |
| iGSM 20.01.2004 09:44 |
heh, and we alllll know and love Red Dwarf. Lister: Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Funny stuff that. Cheers? Funny? No way..well..maybe a little funny. |
| Penetration_Guru 20.01.2004 09:54 |
ah, being parochial are we? ok |
| Ian R 20.01.2004 10:00 |
Bottom should be in the Top Ten, surely. |
| Ian R 20.01.2004 10:02 |
"situation comedy" (sitcom) Function: noun Date: 1946 : a radio or television comedy series that involves a continuing cast of characters in a succession of episodes. -*-*-*- PG, how does OFAH not qualify as a sitcom based on this definition? |
| Taylor-Mayed 20.01.2004 11:33 |
I think the suggestion was that it's not funny. Me, I quite like it, up until 1996 anyway. |
| Penetration_Guru 21.01.2004 05:43 |
It ceased to be funny a long time ago, and is more often referred to as a "comedy drama". It may be technically a sitcom, but I'd argue that the definition needs changing to allow for a strict "30 minute episode" rule. Anything longer than 30 minutes is not a "pure" sitcom. Or something. |
| Taylor-Mayed 21.01.2004 08:26 |
I have to say I've never heard it referred to as a comedy drama. Certainly there's been no debate as to the validity of its inclusion on the TV boards I knock around. Not that this is a definitive verdict, of course. |
| Mcm 29.01.2004 11:27 |
Forget all the others. The Winner should be YES MINISTER. Alas, i fear the Great British public will go for OFAH or FT. That's because they're too stupid to recognise the difference between what's the most popular and what's the best. |
| Billie 29.01.2004 12:02 |
Mr Belvedere |
| Billie 29.01.2004 12:08 |
And don't forget Sledge Hammer |
| Banquo 29.01.2004 13:37 |
I watched a very good comedy last night. Director's Commentary with Rob Brydon was very good. The most suprising thing that it was on ITV home of "When Celebrity Tramps attack in the Jungle" |
| Mrs.Taylor 06.02.2004 17:35 |
Only Fools & Horses - Batman & Robin episode, BBC1 Saturday 6.35pm. In spite of repeated viewings, I will still cry laughing. The thing about OFAH is that although it's essentially about the Trotters, the supporting cast also feature strongly and can hold their own on-screen without the lead characters whereas Fawlty Towers, as funny as it is, is only really funny when John Cleese is on-screen. Admittedly, the last three specials of OFAH weren't AS funny - the first one was the funniest, when they were declared bankrupt - but they were still funnier than most of what passes for British "comedy" today - "Mad About Alice" anyone??. Laugh? I almost started. |
| Mrs.Taylor 07.02.2004 17:27 |
*wipes away tears* LOL |
| Killer Queen .45 07.02.2004 17:41 |
I've got the 1996 OFAH Christmas specials on video (proper BBC video, not dodgily recorded) and love them all. I expect they'll be shown over the next two weeks because they can't just show Heroes and Villains then not show Modern Men or Time on our Hands. Best bits from those episodes: Mike: Ladies and Gentlemen, could you all please raise your glasses to our future mum and dad - Casandra and Rodney! All: Casandra and Rodney! Trigger: ....Dave! and: Casandra: Why didn't they mention Rodney? Rodney: Eh? C: They say 'man', but Rodney was there too. Albert: They do mention him, here : [reads from the paper] Derek Trotter was assisted in the capture of the muggers by his younger brother, Rooney. R: You see, it's bloody Rooney! LOL, great stuff. But I think Fawlty Towers should win. The sheer quality of the episodes compared to, say, OFAH, which is very good but because there's so many it kind of looses it's quality after a while. The sheer quality of the writing of Fawlty Towers as well shows through - just watch the episode 'Communication Problems', with the deaf Mrs Richards in. The plot is so in-depth and quality that it's a wonder they wrote it. It really is a work of genius. But to be honest, nothing comes close to Fawlty Towers and OFAH, they're really the only two ones that should win. |
| Ian R 07.02.2004 23:03 |
Er, Blackadder is right up with those two, Dave. Rowan Atkinson is a funnier comedic actor than John Cleese, IMHO and the ending of "...Goes Forth" is truly sublime. BLACKADDER: "This is a crisis. In fact, if you've got a moment Baldrick; it's a ten-storey crisis, with carpeting throughout, 24-hour porterage and a large sign on the roof saying: 'This is a crisis." Brilliant! |
| Banquo 08.02.2004 06:21 |
Nice sig KQ. Best thing ever is either I'll have a Waldorf Salad, We're fresh out of Waldorfs. Or The Batman and Robin scene I've seen it countless times but it still makes me laugh. |
| Fenderek 08.02.2004 10:29 |
"Don't say anything about war..." Good old cleese... |
| Mrs.Taylor 08.02.2004 17:28 |
True Dave. I love the "Mrs Richards" episode of Fawlty Towers; Joan Sanderson was brilliant in that and had that wonderful voice. My other fave is "The Builders" with David Kelly. |
| Banquo 28.03.2004 06:22 |
link Well it was obvious it was going to win, my favourites Fawtly Towers and the flawless Porridge finished disappointingly low. Blackadder is funny but number two? |
| Bob The Shrek 28.03.2004 06:59 |
Being a saddo, I voted for Blackadder. |
| Bohardy 28.03.2004 08:10 |
Nothing sad about that Bob. It was an absolute disgrace though. When Jonathan Ross said Fawlty Towers was going out at number 5, I was waiting for him to say "Only joking", as he did earlier on with Dad's Army. How the fuck people can find The Vicar Of Dibley funnier than Fawlty Towers is completely beyond me. My top 3 would have been FT, Blackadder and The Office, although I'm not sure in what order. |
| Killer Queen .45 28.03.2004 09:10 |
By the same logic used last night that voted The Vicar of Dibley above One Foot in the Grave, Fawlty Towers, Open all Hours, Porridge AND Dad's Army, it must also be that Busted are better than The Beatles, Timberlake is a better music writer than Mozart and that the BBC can't even fix their polls correctly. The fact that the top 10 were all BBC sitcoms when anybody in the world can see that Father Ted and Pheonix Nights are WAAAAAY better than Vicar of Dibley and The Good Life, along with the fact that The Vicar of Dibley finished NUMBER 3!!! prove that the BBC couldn't rig anything properly even if they were given a very large sheet of instructions on how to rig things, given a special type of rigging hammer and special anti-rigging bodyguards were hired to stop all types of anti-rigging terrorists (probably from channel 4) who may well have wanted to stop the rigging from taking place in the first place. (A bit of Blackadder humour) How though?! How?? It beggars belief how The Vicar of Dibley got over 30,000 more votes than Dad's Army and Fawlty Towers, and about 150,000 more than One Foot in the Grave. I mean what??! How? Bloody hell...who are these people!? I'll tell you - they're the same people who rated Lord of the Rings over 1984, rated Imagine over BoRhap and rated the Star Wars trilogy as the best ever film - didn't they even read the title?! Best ever FILM - not best trilogy of films, not best collection of a space-related films, it was best film. Personally I think the voting public should be locked up. Incidentally, that wouldn't include me as I voted for Fawlty Towers. Incidentally, as soon as Fawlty Towers went (at a very sad number 5), it was show over. I like Only Fools and Horses but it doesn't deliver the jokes as well as Fawlty Towers or as cleverly. And btw, I'm not sure if I've said this but the falling through the bar joke was done in Fawlty Towers in the episode 'The Pychiatrist' - watch it, you'll see - it's about 27 or so minutes in. Yes, I am quite furious about it - and also my laptop had to be restarted too. Bloody Windows - what a piece of shit that is. Or, as Basil would say: YOU BASTARD! Thank you so much. My pleasure. |
| Mrs.Taylor 28.03.2004 14:05 |
I wanted OF&H to win but I began to think that Blackadder might sneak it on the poignant ending of "Goodbyeeeee" so I was quite surprised it didn't win in the end. I don't dislike the Vicar of Dibley but I can't believe Porridge, Yes Minister and Open All Hours got voted off before it. |
| Killer Queen .45 28.03.2004 14:49 |
It's madness, isn't it! Mad! Absolutely mad! *tch* I say to her you go up the ladder to see the girl - and she go crazy! *tch* What? *tch* I say to her you go up ladder - you want to see the girl, you crazy about this girl - and Mrs Fawlty - she go crazy. |
| nil 28.03.2004 14:52 |
Ah you've shown your self |
| Penetration_Guru 28.03.2004 16:32 |
"This, Basil's wife. This, slap on head" "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky" "Ever seen my wife make toast?" "Don't mention the war. I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it" "You have rats in Barcelona don't you, or did Franco have them all shot?" "Washed down with lashings of hot screwdriver" "Racket? That's Brahms! Brahms fifth racket!" "Duck's off. Sorry" Now, harmless entertainment though the Vicar of Dibley may be, can it really compete with writing like that? No. SO this poll is now officially shite, and only representative of the short term-ism of the collective UK memory. |
| missikay78 28.03.2004 18:02 |
The Vicar of Dibley is a great show, but I don't think it's the best. My pick would have to be Are You Being Served? or Keeping Up Appearances. |
| Killer Queen .45 28.03.2004 18:05 |
Totally agree - off hand I could probably list about 10 clever, witty and funny lines from Fawlty Towers and, when pushed, probably 1 from The Vicar of Dibley....no, scratch that - make that 0. "Where's Sybil?" "Huh...where's the bill?" "I meant that awful man...Harold Robinson! God, it's awful!" "How about Waldorf Salad?" "Is that one, yes, you're quite right - awful!" "Anywhere which does French food?" "Yes, France I believe -they seem to like it there - you'll have to leave quick though, the tide leaves in six minutes." "Is this a piece of your brain?" "Do you want plain ones or ones with our address on it?" "Oh, we don't have any this week - no...no germans this week, Major." "Well deduct half now, and if my wife brings up the other half during the night, we'll claim the balance in the morning!" "Alright, we'll put an add in the paper - 'Wanted, kind home for enormous savage rodent.' Answers to the name of Sybil." "No, no - I can't abide cruelty to living creatures!" "Well I'm a creature, you can abide it to me." "You're not living." "I tell you - if the Good Lord..." "...is mentioned once more I shall move you closer to him!" Classic stuff there. Of course, the co-writer of this is the same person who played the joint-best role in 'MP and the Holy Grail' (along with the Knights who say Ni...ni! ni! ni!) - the French Knight! "You don't frighten us, English pig-dogs! Go and boil your bottoms, sons of a silly person! I'll blow my nose at you so-called Arthur King - you and all your silly English kerniggets!" What an eccentric performance. |
| fairy_mercury 29.03.2004 06:44 |
Dads army should've one hands down "your name will also go on the list..what is your name?" "Don't tell him Pike" I'm telling you that whole scene has me crying with laughter everytime i see it, and trust me i see it alot! The Good life is not funny in my opinion and fawlty towers should've come higher and i love blackadder....you can't beat the classics for comedy now can you...anyways i was still upset from the bloody rugby...a disgrace! ;D |
| Killer Queen .45 29.03.2004 20:03 |
Old woman! Man. Man, sorry. Which knight lives in that castle over there? I'm 37. What? I'm 37 - I'm not old. Well I couldn't just call you 'man'. You could have called me Dennis. I didn't know you were called Dennis. Well you didn't bother to find out, did you. I did say sorry about the old woman but from behind you looked like... What I object to is you automatically treat me like an inferior. Well I am King. Oh King, eh? Very nice - and how did you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers - by hanging onto outdated, imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society. If there's ever going to be any progress... Dennis, there's some lovely mud down here! Oh, how do you do? How do you do, good lady - I am Arthur, King of the Britons. Whose castle is that? King of the who? The Britons. Who are the Britons? We all are, we are all Britons. And I am your King. I didn't know we had a King - I thought we were an automitouse collective. You're fooling yourself - we're living in a dictactorship, a self perpectuating autocracy in which the working classes.. Oh, there you go, bringing class into it again... Well that's what it's all about, if only people would listen... Please, please, good people, I am in haste. Who lives in that castle? No one lives there. Then who is your Lord? We don't have a Lord. What? I told you - we're an anarcho-sinicist commune. We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week... Yes.... ...But all the decisions for that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting... ...Yes I see.... ...By a civil majority in the case of purely internal affairs... ...Be quiet! ...But by a two thirds majority in the case of... ...Be quiet, I order you to be quiet! Order, eh! Who does he think he is? I am your King. Well I didn't vote for you. You don't vote for Kings. Well how do you become King then? The lady of the lake - her arm clad in the purest shimmering cemite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by devine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. That is why I am your King! Listen, strange woman lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony! ...Be quiet! You can't expect to yeild supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you! ...Shut up! I mean, if I went round saying I was an Emporer just because some moistened bint lobbed a semitire at me, they'd put me away! Shut up, will you shut up! Ah, now you see the voilence inherited in the system! Shut up! Come and see the voilence inherited in the system! Help, help, I'm being repressed! Bloody peasant! Oh, what a giveaway! Did you hear that? Did you hear that, eh - that's what I'm on about - did you see him repressing me, you saw it didn't you! |