If I ignore series one (I found his obsequious character annoying, much preferred the later arrogant ponce) , BlackAdder swung between excellent to brilliant.
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I agree on Everyone loves Raymond, but I quite liked Big Bang.
Used to love the ABC Tuesdaynight as a young teen. Danger Mouse followed by the Goodies, the news was time to feed the dogs, have dinner, pretend to do homework, then Fawlty Towers, the Young Ones and finally Terry and Arfur in Minder.
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Agreed. Not one I enjoyed.
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Iād agree with that. The last series one of the better things Iāve seen. Beautifully moving final scene.
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Not sure why they went with that style in season 1. In a pilot that predates season 1, they have the typical jerk BA. Not sure why they changed but thank ā ā ā ā they changed back.
It is interesting looking at the generational difference in here.
A lot of the older posters reference British/European comedy. A lot of the younger posters reference American comedy.
Itās cute.
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Yes, pitch perfect final episode.
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Iām in my 30ās, but my parents and grandparents all watched British shows, thatās what I grew up on. Only watched the American ones as an adult.
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Iām trying to come up with an American comedy (other than the Simpsons, which I canāt seriously label underated because itās an all time great) to mention.
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Good shout.
For a show that was really under pressure of expectations given success of The Simpsons, it definitely holds its own.
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You canāt deal in hypotheticals?
I wasnāt talking about ābeating the crp out ofā
But 80s comedy movie āRevenge of the Nerdsā makes comedy out of rape, so you know, Iām sure if I was more versed in 70s and 80s TV I could find someā¦
Yes Minister is a great documentary series.
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I mean, I think MASH and Get Smart were great, but again I donāt think I can claim underated.
Married With Children may have been underated though.
Thereās a paradoxical issue with comedy at the moment. Censorship, I guess youād call it, has definitely impacted on what clumsy comedians can say. Good comedians - see Ricky Gervais, Louis CK, Norm McDonald - have turned it to their advantage.
All good art has to navigate obstacles. With comedy itās the delicate little dance around the āunsayableā that often produces to biggest laughs.
The thread title indicates some of the problem; āscience of comedyā. We canāt leave anything alone and must dissect and overanalyse everything.
I meanā¦ You brought it up. Soā¦ If you canāt give me an example of a showā¦ I donāt know what to tell you.
Archer early seasons and Rick and Morty are way better than non-golden age Simpsons.
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I can see why people would think these are overrated, but I hear (mostly gay) friends quote these shows more regularly than almost any other TV show. They are both just ridiculous and for shows that are really quite old now (particularly ab fab) do seem to be far better than nearly other show you mentioned at continuing to stay relevant and bring in new fans.
Kind of a case of either you get it or you donāt (although you could say that about any show).
My contribution to this chat, one that I am sure many will have not seen - Happy Endings. It only lasted a few seasons, has a bit of a more upmarket Itās Always Sunny In Philadelphia vibes too it. Everyone Iāve ever showed it to ended up loving it.
Canāt seem to stream it anywhere in Aus (that I can find), but every now and then a lot of the eps end up being avail on youtube.
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A couple that havenāt troubled the scorers that I quite enjoyed:
The Royle Family
Spaced
When I first watched the American version of The Office, I thought it was going to be another American botch of an English idea. I now think they are both great. Ricky Gervais makes me more uncomfortable; not sure whether thatās good or bad! My kids will only watch the American one.
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Multiple posters here (yourself included) lamented not being able to say what you used to be able to say. I was making the point that comedy wasnāt funny if it relied on stereotypes, or dated ways of thinking to try and be āfunnyā.
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