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britain wins it for me easily...uve got only fools and horses, fawlty towers, mr bean, monty python, benny hill, men behaving badly, the office, little britain, bo selecta, porridge, steptoe and son, the royle family, blackadder.

america has the simpsons which i love and i think is genius and could knock most of the uk comedys to smitherines but uk has always produced the best comedy tv while america produce the best movies.

What about All in the Family, the Mary Tyler Moore Show, the Andy Griffith Show, the Dick Van Dyke Show, I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, Cheers, Frasier, South Park, Futurama, Family Guy, King of the Hill, Curb your Enthusiasm, Strangers with Candy, Mr. Show, Chappelle's Show, Insomniac and the Man Show? These are but a few of the really, consistently good American comedies.

Of the Britcoms you listed, I've only seen (and intensely enjoyed) Python, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Mr. Bean and Benny Hill. I also like AbFab, the Young Ones and Yes, Prime Minister.

The Office is available on DVD here now...is it worth the investment? What is it comparable to?

just watch Nick at Nite. there used to be hilarious sitcoms and such.

American!

the onli amazing brit comedy i can think of is the office... definately one of the best shows eva made... but right up there with the office is malcolm in the middle, southpark, jackass...

I think we all know the answer to this ... U.S.A.

I mean GOD havn't the British seen Chappelle's Show or Seinfield there's no match against U.S.A.'S comedies...

You do have great taste though Monty Python, Mr. Bean, and The Office but y'know you'd have to see the British Conedies to Love 'em is what I'm guessing.

the office and mr bean is nothin compared to men behaving badly and only fools and horses which was voted best british sitcom eva which says a lot about the sitcom..the best episode is when they go to america and the main character del boy looks identical to a mafia boss who is set to go to prison foreva...the mafia family plan to kill del so it seems like the mafia boss is dead........its extremly funny and i think people from the states will love this sitcom

the american comedies u mentioned are not all that good and ive seen most of em....most americans say that there comedy is better without seeing all the comedys britain has to offer...
...the tom green show is the best...funniest guy in the world
does america have a show called men behaving badly???

The office cant really be compared to anything else on TV. It's done in such an original way, I cant think of anything that is similar to it.

I thought of the Tom Green Show later...it is (was) another groundbreaker. I also forgot to mention another Brit classic...Ripping Yarns!

i've only watched ab fab and mr. bean, so my judgement would not be fair 'cause i'm biased.

No, I think they have some gay @$$ show called Women Behaving Badly on some women channell here.

British comedies are more original and funny than American, they just produce so much more, there are some great ones too!

2pints of lager and a packet of crisps
coupling

errr its pretty obvious whats happening here, UK ppl voting british... US ppl voting american

ever thought that maybe we have different humour?

lol yeh but i appreciate american humour and luv it...im british...i think friends, cheers, will and grace, especially scrubs i think are amazing, but i'll always love britain more...im very patriotic . blackadder, coupling, mr bean, love actually (yeh sure its not tv but ya know!!), fawlty towers, peter kay. britain will always have better humour!

I like both.

Theres only a few Brit comedy tv shows I've actually got into, but I love them. The Office, Bo Selecta, Ali G and Fawlty Towers (that Basil guy is freakin psycho) are just as funny as Seinfeld, Spin City, Frasier and South Park

But my two fave comedy shows are Scrubs and The Simpsons which are both American so......

i forgot that bottom is also a great brit sitcom......anyone like it?

does tom green still do shows now?

bottom, i loved that programme!!

British comedy by far is the best One thing that bugs me about american shows is that they edit in laughs like on will and grace and friends. Whats the point of that?

Thats why Scrubs kicks ass. No laugh track.

American:

South Park
Family Guy
Simpsons
Friends
Malcolm In The Middle
Futurama
Cheers
Taxi

Britain:

Little Britain
Red Dwarf
Fool an' Horses
The Office
Alan Partridge
Mr Bean
Dads Army

I love Family Guy, Alan Partrdige and The Office and Red Dwarf I watch religiosly and endlessly. My little brother is MENTAL on Mr.Bean.

I'm British and I think it's a close tie. I think Britain edges it out.

You Americans are lucky you have Family Guy and Malcolm in The Middle - if it weren't for those shows you'd be in trouble. There's only so many times before six coffee drinking over-acting friends can swap bed partners before it gets tedious.

Also, Family Guy has all teh right in the world to constantly rib Dharma and Greg.

Lol I didnt notice that. I guess it would kind of suck with a laugh track though.

Scrubs rox

i also used to love spitting image which was a british satire show involving extremely funny puppets who portray real life famous people, mostly people in the uk such as the royal family and most political people such as john major who was prime minister at the time the show was out...and the show was about taking the piss out of them which obviously annoyed them ....i think the show got axed because of the piss taking of certain people....bastards ...i loved those latex puppets

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=spitting+image/v=2/l=IVI/*-http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/arts/2003/01/24/spitting1.jpg
PUPPETS FROM SPITTING IMAGE

I think the problem is that British life and American life are so different that comedy just does not translate well... for example very few people in Britain can relate to the characters in Friends, and therefore don't find it funny... its popular over here, but mainly peopkle like it because they're supposed to... likewise, something like "open all Hours" doesn't go down very well in the states, as the Americans don't tend to have old fashioned corner shops... the humour is very place specific. The Office goes down well everywhere, because everywhere has Offices; likewise french comedy isn't very funny to a german audience. Stand up suffers as well; in most british comedy clubs, the typical American "Insult comic" would not go down very well, while I daresay the average British one-liner merchant would fail in NY... Look at jasper Carrott... after his sojourn in America, he changed his style to become more like the USA comics he'd seen, and his act stpped appealing quite so much over here... I do stand up, and I'm sure what has them rolling in the aisles at Birstall WMc wouldn't raise many titters in LA

Also look at Pantomime and Camp... only the British really appreciate them...

very true indeed

Graham Norton, the campest of camp, seems to be doing great in America at the moment does he not? I guess it takes someone to break the mould over there to make you all REALISE that you like it. Again, that's why I prefer British comedy, because it's far more diverse. In America is either crazy madcap misadventures (Scrubs, Malcolm In The Middle) or your typical 'apartment' sitcom (Freinds, Ellen, Frasier, Dharma and Greg etc etc). But you guys have Family Guy - which definitely makes up for the lack originality elsewhere I think.

I remember Spitting Image - that was a quality show.

I like British comedies, but I also like American, although American ones tend to be stereotypical at times.

i would have to say
brittish

american shows like fraisier etc etc are good...really good

but nobody beats basil when he snaps
or blackadders dry sharp humour
or delboys.....delboyishness

although the thing is

we dont make em like we used too

sure the office but before that...nothing since only fools and horses was really...really good

i like...


British:
The Office, Bo Selecta, Ali G, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Monty Python, Black Books, Pheonix Nights, Bottom, Mr Bean, Alan Partridge, Red Dwarf, Little Britain, Only Fools And Horses, My Family...

American:
Friends, Cheers, Fraiser, Scrubs, Family Guy, Simpsons, Futurama, Southpark, Malcom In The Middle...

lol why does everybody love Mr. Bean

havent a clue, he is funny but not hilarious....i prefered rowan atkinson when he is in blackadder...

MEN BEHAVING BADLY RULES!!!!!!!!

Mr. Bean rules. It can be quite disturbing at times.

yes its definetly disturbing

yeah, thats one of the best things about it! but maybe thats also one of the reasons why its unpopular...stupid people are so used to watching stuff like friends and will and grace that shows you where to laugh, they dont understand where the funny parts are...*sigh*
if little britain didnt have a laughter track it would be the number 1 funniest thing on tv...right now thats scrubs

p.s. WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS?????? LMAO...sorry just had to get it off my chest

whats so funny??they are a quality football team

who watches dirty sanchez?

uuuh yeh!! .... hang on , r u serious???

as serious as i will eva be

who thinks the simpsons as gone crap??

yeah sorry to knock whoever created this thread, but if you think that The Simpsons is the only comedy worth mentioning from America...then your knowledge of our country is horrible.

Monty Python's good, but he's got nothing on Al Bundy and Married with Children.

and anyone who says the Simpsons has gone to crap is just ignorant. Their shows continue to get funnier and funnier as they go along. That's because they make fun of real world issues. So once the world stops doing stupid things...then the Simpsons will stop being funny.

al bundy is unlikely to have anything on only fools and horses or fawlty towers or any other british comedy for that matter...neither married with children will eva be as good as any of the brit sitcoms......have u seen only fools and horses or men behaving badly??????probably not so u cant say anything....as for the simpsons, i merely think that it is not as good as it used to be...maybe crap was a bit harsh...and i dont think the only good show in america is simpsons, i like plenty of other shows but they arnt as good as british shows...thats my opinion

Seinfield. Frasier. Simpsons. Jackass. Scrubs. Friends. All good shows. Eveybody Loves Raymond. * That won like 3 emmys.

i watch all of them shows apart from scrubs and everybody loves raymond

Oh yeah The Simpsons is still funny alright, just not as funny as Family Guy IMO. Both are awesome.

Men behaving badly? How can you even try to put it up in the same category as Married with Children??? That show is meager in comparison.

im not referin to the usa version of men behaving badly...im referin to the british one....the usa verison is a cheap copy.....married with children isnt even in the same league as brit men behaving badly
u will probably knock the brit mbb and u probably have never wathced it

They made a US version of men behaving badly?

Add that to the US version of Fawlty Towers as one of the dumbest ideas ever concieved by an American.

they made a us version of fawlty towers??!! that is dumb

Married With Children = 9/10.

Men Behaving Badly = 7/10.

Only Fools & Horses = 12/10.

Still Game 12/10.

The Simpsons = 9/10.

Faulty Towers = 6/10.

Father Ted = 12/10.

Red Dwarf = 10/10.

Friends = 9/10.

Fraiser = 9/10, Roz .

i agree with u on only fools and horses being 12/10
but not men behaving badly..that deserves 12/10
the simpsons also deserves to be 12/10

comments anyone?

OMG!!! really??? lol that must've been shit...no offence or anything!
but i've heard a lot of people talking about my wife and kids, and i don't see how anyone can even contemplate putting that in the same category as fawlty towers or only fools and horses. compared to them it's completely crap!

well said son well said

lol, thanks hun...but i'm telling the truth.

American is better.

we have aqua teen hunger force. no contest. usa

I think the big problem is the United Kingdom probably mostly get our main stream shows and visa-versa..

honestly I haven't heard of half of the shows our British folks are talking about and most the shows they are saying is American humor are main stream quasi funny from American

I can't stand friends or fraiser (fraiser has it's moments but I'd never go out of my way to it)

heres some British shows I've watched and loved:
the goodies
the young ones
Monty python
Benny hill
absolutely fabulous(my fav)

see I have never even heard of fools and horses or behaving badly till I read this thread(I bet i'd love them)..has anyone from Britain seen the dave chapelle show? what do you think of it? allot of people in the us love that show.

all those u named are great..especially benny hill and absolutely fabulous...if u like them then u will love only fools and horses and men behaving badly.....ofah is officially number one british sitcom eva....damn right
never heard of dave chappelle
ali g is also great comedy show which is now showin in the states

never heard of ofah?? i mean, men behaving badly i can understand, it's not amazingly mainstream, but ofah? i thought everyone had heard of that!!! you should DEFINATELY check it out!!

best comedy around...nothin will eva beat it..EVA

yeah black adder is funny, python is classic comedy history, but usually it seems to me that english sitcoms are dry,slow or mere slapstick. As of right now british sitcoms are funnier than american, but america has the funniest sitcoms ever. I mean these are just two shows out of a horde of classics, but england has never had comedies that can compare to seinfeld or south park.

only fools and horses is way better than seinfield...seinfeld is great but no where near better than ofah....just wonderin if u have eva seen ofah ragesremorse? if not then i strongly suggest u do...and south park...its funny but u could of at least chose the simpsons to support your case...the simpsons is genious and on par with ofah..probably even better

I love the british and I wish was british .....(dont ask me why) but honestly I think that American comedy is the best! there are soo many hilarious shows for exampleeeeeeeeeeeeee

fresh prince of bel air, friends, seinfield, simpsons, who's line is it anyway?, everybody loves raymond, king of the hill, king of queens, will and grace, george lopez, reba, 8 simple rules........

the list goes on and onnnn
british comedy is good too, i've seen one or two...lol
is Frasier british? it is right? it's good.
other than that American comedy really cracks me up
british comedy just makes me giggle

or perhaps if i saw more british comedy shows I would know. I dunno.

tc
goodbyee!

athf rules

i think you're just one of the american people that don't get british humour. believe me, there are a lot of them lol

I think your one of those english people who just don't understand american humour, dont worry there are alot of them.

lol...i wasn't being offensive, it's just that us british people have a different kinda humour to you guys...

ali g seems to be making a hit in the states...even johnny depp loves british comedy...he begged producers of the fast show if he could appear in the last eva episode...he did nd it was pretty funny

yeah, i saw that
ooh, suits you sir!

Oh yeah i know, i wsant either. I love english comedy, always have and always will. My girlfriend (a little english girl) makes me watch her shows over here in the states, seeing how i get bbc, bbc gold. I just think humour has been fleeting over the past few years, not only shows but movies as well have been totally redundant when it comes to comedies. I mean da ali g show is one of the funniest shows i have ever seen, as well as black adder. It is hard to find a good sitcom anywhere, i always have to turn to cable like showtime and HBO, because it seems they are the new mediums for finding humour. Most of these new shos on theses channels blow most all of sitcoms, past and present out of the water

ohh suits you sir
do u like it sir
do you
oh oh oh oh

lol...the fast show is class!!!!
have u eva watched only fools and horses rages remorse?
DO IT NOW!! lol

I used to get the bbc(only one British station) now my cable cut that off on me...I have no idea how I'm gonna get to watch these shows you all talking about...the rave reviews has really sparked my interest!

You'll miss out on Little Britain

I just watched series 1 of The Office again and I'm watching 2 later

little britain is hilarious...u have to see it to believe it

Can't wait for the DVD to come out, and series 2 this autumn

yeah im definetly gettin that.....after i collect all the only fools and horses of course

i say british is the best at comedys

i agree....so dean, patriotic much?

a bit

lol

best american programs - simpsons, tom green, jackass,
best uk - only fools and horses, dirty sanchez, men behaving badly
lots more to choose from both countrys

imo

american - scrubs
british - father ted

but only fools and horses is great

come on most of the things america has done is because of the uk ... i mean yes freinds will and grace are good but the try and tryed to copy our comedys and failed because the uk comedy scene ist unique... u cant do red dwarf in american ,... or nething else they will just fail sorry...

I like both actually. But I prefer British comedy (mainly because I get bored easily). I really loved Couplings, the UK version (even waaaaaaaaaaaaaay before the ---was it ABC or CBS American TV ripped it off).. heh.

yeah, coupling is great!

American comedy shows are hard to beat when done well.

South Park, Family Guy, Married with Children, The Simpsons, Mr. Show, SNL, Mad TV, The Critic, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Upright Citizens Brigade, are all great great shows.

MR SHOW!

Thats some ****ed up shit right there.

Yep, great stuff though. Just found out their fourth season is coming to dvd this tuesday, I nearly jizzed myself.

anyone like the sitcom the royal family..quality

indeedy .. best show on ..

my arse!!!!!

um!

And to the very first question my answer is......brit tv.....coz maybe Im a brit! Taa daa!

British comedy was good in the 70's and 80's with shows like faulty towers, the goodies, monty python, steptoe and son, but do they really compare with the likes of friends and will and grace?

I'm American and I'm going to have to vote British here just because American humor is so, well American. British humor is more my style.

yes

u have also missed out tons of better brit comedys than the ones u mentioned

Well im gunna have to say British 4 obvious reasons but I love Will and Grace...

i hate it when people mention blackadder and fawlty towers (which are both great)but they dont mention only fools and horses!!
ofah is the best sitcom in the world...its not even big in the states as blackadder and fawlty towers is.....ofah is officially no 1 comedy in britain..and imo the world....what more proof so u need!!

i love blackadder a LOT...rowan atkinson is brilliant

but i have to agree that ofah is superior to...well...everything!

maybe the reason that americans don't like it as much is they don't understand the whole thing about peckham and the markets and british culture, if ya understand me

yeah i get ya...thats there problem really...its not too hard to understand
anyone like men behaving badly(uk sitcom)

In fact OFAH is utter shite. Thats why it appeals to so many people - it's a lowest common denominator brain-dead pile of nothing. Ask people whats so great about it and they mention "del falling through the bar" as the finest moment of Uk comedy. It keeps coming up as the funniest moment ever on UK Tv.

A man falls over. Funny.

The mob is always wrong.

it aint the offical number 1 british sitcom for nothin
and i can think hundreds of more funny things than just del fallin through the bar..which was hilarious..anyone who dont laugh at this scene is crazy...
sayin ofah is shite is just the same as me sayin the simpsons is shite..
total craziness!!

tis tis

British comedy easy we a have a more perverted view on comedy like the new series called green wing on C4 it is funnier than Scrubs is. Also the Americans try to copy our comedy shows like Men behaving badly the made an american version which got scrapped after a few weeks i heard anyway.

men behaving badly is quality

indeed... very kewl

NO. Green Wing is NOT funny! Its stupid, it makes no sense and they try so hard to be funny it just turns out to be utter bs. It is not better than Scrubs. Tbh i am not a huge fan of brittish comedy. It just... seems to be.... I dunno wat im lookin for im just not a huge fan. However i am a fan of the office, Pheonix Nights why has nobody mentioned it? Well i skiped 5 pages so maybe they have lol, fuk thats it realy. Im not in to classic comedy so.... For American comedy i like, Friends, Scrubs, Everybody loves raymond lol its funny!, Sienfeld, cheers, will and grace and more.
So i guess wat im saying is, American comedy is better than brittish.

green wing omg i watched the first minute and had an opinion on late piece of crap

never saw it..dont intend to

British Comedy. However, Canadian Comedy is god!

Both have great shows and shite shows. My favourite English comedies are Ali G, Blackadder, Only fools and horses, The young ones, Hale and Pace (the early years), Red Dwarf and Monty Python. Favourite US ones are Scrubs (classic), Simpsons, That 70s show, Ed, South Park and Malcom in the middle.

I think that sometimes american humour can be abit over the top

me too ... and can get quite repative

the only american shows i like are....tom green, jackass, simpsons, south park..friends is ok i suppose

I have to say i prefere British comedy, but i do like American comedy.
The only reason British comedy wins for me, is that Phoenix nights by Peter kay is so funny.

OH my gosh!You forgot AB FAB!How you not put that on your list of English shows?Anyway I think AB Fab is the best tv of all time.And The Simspons and
and Family Guy and Futurama is great cartoon tv shows!Either way they are both great!
A question for a ny of you guys who live in England!What are the names of the channels that you have there?Are they fox five and all that stuff like we have here in america?JM

The only British comedies I've seen are Mr. Bean and Monty Python....I must say that Britain beats America by far! And, yes, I am American. Brits just have a way with comedy, you know? And, God, I used to love Mr. Bean! I don't know if it airs on BBC or not...I don't catch it...As for Monty Python, I just rent the movies or borrow recorded episodes from my friend. I really want to get BBC, though. I used to have it, and I loved it! Eh. Being poor sucks....



But, yeah, as for American comedy...The Simpsons, of course, have to be the best American comedy ever created. Most things on TV Land...Futurama...Family Guy...There are a few others, but yeah...I still think it's pretty sad that I've only seen two British comedies and I picked Britain over the US. Kinda sad. But, what can I say? I love the Brits.

young ones is funny.

Some people say that Americans sometimes don't get the British sense of humour but I don't know. You all seem to like it.

The thing is with stuff like The Office. You either love it or hate it. And an awful lot of British people don't get it. So I think Americans have grown to love British comedy!

Although I'm leaning towards British, i can't deny how funny you yanks can be.

Malcolm In The Middle, South Park and Family Guy regularly have me in stitches. Friends was watchable too.

There's a common theme with TV in both regions, and that is the good stuff is always overshadowed with the crap. Why does Will and Grace still pollute our ears? Dharma and Greg? Anything with those Wayans tw*ts??

British comedy can be equally as dire. Have you seen the BBC Friday night line-ups as of late? There's a god-awful, unfunny show with Neil Morrisey which is torture to watch and just goes on and on about sex, and the jokes are really forced and fake. There's that rubbish thing with Paul O Grady about a bingo hall. There's that horrible Jasper Carrot TV show which is nowhere near funny.

We had My Family for a while which was ace, but that went wierd and unfunny when Nick left because he's such a damn good actor.

UK Gold also shows things like Dinnerladies, which is a show I'd rather forget. And the Kumars and Goodness Gracious Me are one trick ponies "oh look, we are funny because we talk Indian" who suck the big one.

Then again, those new shows of Absolutely Fabulous were the best yet, plus UK Gold makes up for the garbage by showing classics like Red Dwarf, The Office, Alan Partridge and so on. It's a brilliant channel.

Only Fools and Horses isn't really side-splitting, but it's definitely classic comedy, same goes for Dads Army.
But it is depressing to see crap like Will and Grace stinking up perfectly good airtime when brilliance such as South Park is relegated into the twilight hours.

In General I would say British, because they have generally the best stuff, and alot of classic comedy, whereas alot of the old american stuff is cheese. Although good american shows are 3rd rock from the sun, and malcolm in the middle, they can't compete with stuff like little britain, french and saunders' stuff, never mind the buzzcocks, have I got news for you, graham norton etc.
(In my opinion.)

Little Britain is awesome. Have you seen the 2nd series? My fave character is the old women eating jam, and one keeps throwing up.

I missed it, but for a week in Cornwall - so it was worth it. It's a beautiful part of Britain.
When is it on again?
Do you know if the first episode will be repeated?

ordinary terrestrial channels are
BBC1
BBC2
ITV
channel 4
channel 5

but then there's also BBC3 and ITV2 and all that crap..

my fave british shows are men behaving badly, only fools and horses, the royal family...i like all the others such as the office and little britain... but these ar my favs..
my fav american shows are the simpsons, tom green, jackass...dont really like friends or will and grace
and i love the carry on films from the 60's and 70's!! pure class..im collectin them all at the moment..u may have noticed that they are in most newaagents

Oh my god! Yeah, dean is right.

British comedy rocks!

I don't believe it, he likes everything I like....Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, my mum watches Little Britain, Mr. Bean, Steptoe and Son was great but not showed on tv for ages...... others ok or I don't like and watch....

I used to watch Young Ones but not on tv either.....

i try my best

lol...im tryin to get hold of some little britain dvds...ive started watchin them at the moment

im also collecting the carry on films from newsagents..i think they are terrific comedy......anyone like carry on films????

British, with the exception of The Simpsons, Futurama and Beavis & Butthead, American comedies are awful and v.unfunny. But its just a matter of 'comedy taste buds'. Although in having said that there are some Brit comedies i don't like (The Office being the prime suspect), but the large majority i like and many of which i hold dear to my heart:

The Young Ones
Red Dwarf
Father Ted
Bottom
Goodnight Sweetheart
Only Fools & Horses
My Family
My Hero
Monty Pythons Flying Circus
Men Behaving Badly
Desmonds
The Goodies
Only When I Laugh
Next of Kin
2 Point For Children
Blackadder
Peep Show
The Brittas Empire
Rab C Nesbit
Mr Bean
& Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)

I could go on forever.

Yeh Deano man i like 'em. I own every single one on video (including the Christmas specials and Columbus).

sweet

i never classed columbus as part as the carry on films...theres only jim dale in it

my fav carry on films are cleo, khyber, at your convenience, screaming and abroad

I'd have to go for Convenience, Screaming & Cleo also but i love Carry On Loving & Dick as well.

i dont like carry on dick that much... i think the carry on films got worse after carry on abroad....

My mum likes the Carry On Films...

why dont you?

I'm not in to them really...I've watched them before and I remember some funny moments (like when one of the ladies bra flew off when they were exercising at the camp), but I'm not that much a fan....

britain is the best we invented TV

Well said me ol' chap.

^ditto

British comedy all the way

whats everyones opinion on steve coogan of alan partridge fame's new comedy, saxondale?

I go for British comedy over American. This is speaking generally. American comedies are usually quantity over quality while British comedies are quality over quantity. Though I do like more American sitcoms than British.

No competition. British.

we have Dave chappelle, Jim carry and the Wayans brothers.......... and Madea

British is so awesome we have blackadder, gavin and stacey, black books, fawlty towers, only fools and horses, mr bean the list is endless