Top 3 comedy series.

I'm sure we've had something like this a long time ago but after watching UK Gold tonight I thought I'd start a thread again.

My 3 all time favourite comedy series are...

1) Fawlty Towers. Although they only ever made 12 episodes, every one was a classic and I still can't help pissing myself with laughter every time I watch, even though I know exactly what's going to happen.

2) Phoenix Nights. Again not many episodes made but every time I watch an episode I notice something that I hadn't noticed before. A very clever comedian is Peter Kay (back then anyway). It actually took me about 3 episodes before I realised that he actually played Max as well as Brian Potter.

3) Only Fools And Horses. Obviously, far more episodes of this were made and it did get a bit stale towards the end, but if your ever struggling to find something to watch, no doubt you'll find an episode on some channel somewhere and some of the early episodes (especially with Granddad were classics)

A special mention to The Young Ones and Blackadder who just missed out.

Whatever happened to the likely lads
Fawlty Towers
Im Alan Partridge

The thick of it and Peep Show just missing out.

1. Porridge. As with Fawlty Towers and Phoenix Nights, a series where few episodes where made (20 plus one admittedly average cinema release) but the writings of Ian LeFrenais and male private Clement have always made me chuckle (think Auf Weidersehen, Pet and The Likely Lads). A rare match of the right script meeting the right actors.

2. Father Ted. This came so far left of field it was the freshest thing for years. Once again a series of few episodes (25), it does appear that when it comes to sit-com quality does beat quantity.

3. Phoenix Nights. Like Father Ted this was something totally refreshing. Much of what Channel Four produces is shit but in the mid to late 90's it certainly knew a good comedy when it saw one.

Bizarre as it sounds I also have a soft spot for On the Buses but I wouldn't say it was a favourite despite having a box set. Open All Hours is another good one as is Allo Allo. They're not gems but they plough their own very good furrows.

Pheonix Nights.
The Thick of It.
Peep Show.

1)  Only fools & horses

2)  Porridge

3)  Red dwarf

Men behaving badly, Game on (Samantha Janus), Alan Partridge, Fawlty Towers are others that I like also.

Peep Show- ultimate comedy for me
really not that bothered about anything else to rate it as high to sit along side PS.

Dads Army, White van man, Blackadder and then American like Cheers and Frasier hit a spot.

On the buses, got every episode and the films on DVD when Arthur left it went down hill abit but overall very enjoyable

Home to roost again got it on DVD john thaw is just supurb

George and mildred dvd again the episodes and the films just hilarious

Bottom - back In the day it was hilarious.

Inbetweeners - I know it's recent and immature but sodomist me its a great programme!

Reggie Perrin.

League of Gentlemen.

Phoenix Nights.

Steptoe and Son, FLowery twits, Peep Show, The Thick of It, Open all Hours, Alan Partridge get honourable mentions.

Father Ted

Only Fools & Horses

Fawlty Towers

Fools and Horses

Dads Army

Fawlty Towers

Fawlty Towers-obviously. Every episode pure comedy genius. There cannot be many series ever with so many quotable lines.

Royle Family. Different sort of comedy. When you think it all took place in one or two rooms the emphasis was heavily on a brilliant script.

Monty Python's Flying Circus-OK some ropey parts but again ground breaking comedy.

I'm Alan Partridge
Father Ted
Peep Show

Only fools and horses
vicar of dibley
my family

Black books for me is genius.
The thick of it too
Seinfeld and curb your enthusiasm I could watch all day......

Quoted from somersetmariner

Black books for me is genius.
The thick of it too
Seinfeld and curb your enthusiasm I could watch all day......

Forgot Black books and you are right, it is genius. I'm a big fan of Dylan Moran.

Also Royle Family is one i forgot about. There's loads of good comedies if you think about it long enough, but there are scores and scores of terrible ones.

Quoted from grimsby pete

Fools and Horses

Dads Army

Fawlty Towers

3 excellent choices here Pete, I would go for these..

1 - Fawlty Towers (best comedy ever made)
Mrs Hall - "Oohh this fish is raw"
Basil - "Oh you would like a cooked one would you"
so simple but Genius, Nobody could of done it like John cleese did.

2 - Rising Damp (especially the boxing scene)

3 - Only Fools and Horses (easily the best of choice of recent comedy with the royle family a very close 2nd choice)

1.  Faulty Towers absolute perfection every one.

2. Farther Ted  With a user name like mine what else would I say.

3. hard but Steptoe and son was so superb somtimes just the two main characters was the only thing needed the Farther/son love hate relationship had me Laughing and crying it was superb.

Fawlty Towers
Dada Army
Porridge/Phoenix Nights (can't separate them)

Forgot Rising Damp with "Rigsby".  A great character actor.  Same his son died so young.  A talented actor himself.

I think my choices just above,  and other ones here will stand the test of time.

Steptoe is dated now because live has moved on.  On the Buses is too sexist to be funny these days.   Love Thy Neighbour was funny in its time. Now racism is not funny.  Times and humour changes.

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

Forgot Rising Damp with "Rigsby".  A great character actor.  Same his son died so young.  A talented actor himself.

I think my choices just above,  and other ones here will stand the test of time.

Steptoe is dated now because live has moved on.  On the Buses is too sexist to be funny these days.   Love Thy Neighbour was funny in its time. Now racism is not funny.  Times and humour changes.

Alf Garnett was a little racist in Death do us part, very funny at the time, but not now.

Quoted from somersetmariner

Black books for me is genius.
The thick of it too
Seinfeld and curb your enthusiasm I could watch all day......

Curb's definitely up there somewhere! Larry's the type of guy we can all relate to

Anything with Spike Milligan in it.

Quoted from jock dock tower

Anything with Spike Milligan in it.

Yes, a good choice. A much misunderstood genius in my opinion. Also, he had a great supporting cast.

Also in my opinion.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdpfqMLasE[/url]

Either you like it or you don't:
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEZ-NvSKJLI[/url]

Not an all time great but has anyone been watching bbc3's new series 'cuckoo' has had me in stiches at times

Quoted from grimsby pete

Alf Garnett was a little racist in Death do us part, very funny at the time, but not now.

Garnett was created as a figure of contempt by Johnny Speight but it backfired as the public identified with the character. I suspect if you got a series like this on TV today it would be no different. Unwittingly Speight hit a vein and deep down society hasn't moved that far on in the last five decades; the setting would be different but the same fears remain.

I think the UK is once again producing some outstanding comedy. I don't get to see much of what the digital channels/channel 4 produce straight away, but when something new filters down to here it is usually a highlight of our [limited] tv watching week. We have loved Miranda, The Inbetweeners, Beautiful People, Green Wing, Fifteen Storeys High ("Blue Rat" is one of the funniest comedy episodes I have ever seen), Royle Family, Phoenix Nights.....there are just so many outstanding English comedies (one of the few areas were I believe England still excels).

It is interesting that so many people refer back to 70s comedy. Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army, Porridge et al are all quality entertainment and deserve their places in anyone's comedy history, but after 40 years of watching them I would much prefer to watch something more contemporary.

That said, I think the greatest TV comedy of all time is The Young Ones. I doubt that many TV comedies had previously, or did again, capture the mood of a generation quite so well. The themes, the music, the fears, the student accomodation, the language, the fact that parents didn't get it or like it or approve of it. After years of good family fun (Richard Bryers, Penelope Keith etc), The Young Ones had kids talking at school and offered quotes and ideas that are still funny/up-to-date today. That the pampered youth of today get it even less than parents at the time did, makes me love The Young Ones even more. It was, to me anyway, the comedy of my generation and I will always love it for that. In my opinion, it completely changed the direction of TV comedy and much/most of what is fantastic about modern comedy would not have been written had it not have been for Rik Mayall, Lise Mayer & Ben Elton.

So, for what it is worth, my top 3 would be:
1. The Young Ones
2. The Office
3. Royle Family (just pipping Blackadder)

with an honourable mention to Up Pompeii!

Too many to mention really,

The office, Alan partridge, royale family, fast show, father ted, the inbetweeners

Quoted from CairnsMariner

Fifteen Storeys High ("Blue Rat" is one of the funniest comedy episodes I have ever seen)

Fifteen storeys high is brilliant. I must have completely ignored it when it was shown on the BBC as I wasnt aware of it until a friend reccomended it to me recently.

1, Blackadder (3+4)
2, One Foot In The Grave
3, Little Britain

Honourable mentions for Only Fools, Catherine Tate, My Family, Mrs Brown's Boys, Men Behaving Badly, Vicar Of Dibley, Armstrong and Miller, Alistair McGowan's Big Impression and Big Bang Theory.

Crossroads

I know a lot of you will say, that crossroads was not a comedy,

Well it made me laugh  

1 - Curb your enthusiasm
2 - Fawlty Towers
3 - Arrested Development.

British comedy series
1- Fawlty Towers
2 - Alan Partridge (I'm Alan Partridge series one & KMKYWAP)
3 - The Office

Desmond's!

Phoenix Nights. I also thought That Peter Kay Thing was good.
Father Ted/I'm Alan Partridge (Can't separate them)
The Inbetweeners

Others I like are The Royale Family, The Fast Show, Monthy Python, Fawlty Towers, The Office, Coogan's Run, Men Behaving Badly, Blackadder, Brass Eye, Not the Nine o Clock News, Spitting Image, Only Fools & Horses, Bottom, The Young Ones, Flight of the Conchords, the first two series of Bo Selecta used to have me in fits and although it's a bit wet, I like that thing with Lee Mack in it, Not Going Out is it?

I also really liked Big Train but whenever I mention this to anyone I usually get a blank look and them saying "I can't remember that". Think it ran for two series in the late 90's early 00's.

Big train had some really funny bits and some dross. I have it on DVD somewhere so must give it a watch.

Quoted from One Decent Lester

Big train had some really funny bits and some dross. I have it on DVD somewhere so must give it a watch.

Yeah, you're right. Some of the good sketches I remember are the stare out competitions, wanking in the office, cat and mouse fighting outside the pub and the artist formerly known as Prince hunting jockey's in the Serengeti. I seem to remember a gladiator type of sketch featuring Emerson out of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. It was all a bit odd.

Mine would be...

Blackadder

Dads Army

Fawlty Towers

Also loved Fools & Horses, Inbetweeners, Father Ted, One Foot in the Grave, Friends, The 1st 2 series of Allo Allo and GTFC from 2006/7 til 2011/12

Quoted from tonyfordsmicrofro

Phoenix Nights. I also thought That Peter Kay Thing was good.
Father Ted/I'm Alan Partridge (Can't separate them)
The Inbetweeners

Others I like are The Royale Family, The Fast Show, Monthy Python, Fawlty Towers, The Office, Coogan's Run, Men Behaving Badly, Blackadder, Brass Eye, Not the Nine o Clock News, Spitting Image, Only Fools & Horses, Bottom, The Young Ones, Flight of the Conchords, the first two series of Bo Selecta used to have me in fits and although it's a bit wet, I like that thing with Lee Mack in it, Not Going Out is it?

I also really liked Big Train but whenever I mention this to anyone I usually get a blank look and them saying "I can't remember that". Think it ran for two series in the late 90's early 00's.

Totally agree with just about all  all of the ones you have listed - i thought Big Train was absolutely hilarious, some fantastic sketches, think it was written by the duo that wrote Father Ted, which i think is one of the funniest programmes ever, i particularly liked the parody of Alfred Hitchcocks  the birds, when instead of the birds they were being invaded by the working class in boiler suits and flat caps!   great comic actors and really funny sketches in Big Train.

So many to pick from and one I enjoyed that hasn't been mentioned so far is Spaced

Would have I'm Alan Partridge and Curb Your Enthusiasm without hesitation and would then be torn between Arrested Development and Seinfeld for third place.

Love the suggestion that American comedy isn't intelligent enough for some on here - the writers of Curb, Seinfeld etc could never dream of coming up with anything as intelligent as Del Boy falling through the bar could they?

Father Ted
The Simpsons (the early days, Homer is comedy gold)
Police Squad

Any Alan Partridge (TV, radio or audiobook)
Blackadder
Shooting Stars

(Garth Marenghi's dark place also needs a mention)  

Quoted from Doctor Sanchez

(Garth Marenghi's dark place also needs a mention)  

I loved that as well - shame that beyond the two of us only about another 14 people in the country watched it and 8 of them thought it was excrement.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I loved that as well - shame that beyond the two of us only about another 14 people in the country watched it and 8 of them thought it was excrement.

I know what you mean.  There's a guy I work with who loves it but anyone else I speak to has never heard of it.  I prefer that though in a strange way.

1.  Only Fools and Horses.
2.  In Sickness and in Health
3.  Blackadder

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

I loved that as well - shame that beyond the two of us only about another 14 people in the country watched it and 8 of them thought it was excrement.

Make that 3 !! I never dared to diss Scotland again after "Scotch Mist"  

Early Doors, Seinfeld, The Inbetweeners

Steptoe and son
On the buses
Not the nine o'clock news (probably referred to as a sketch show more than a comedy series)

Dad's Army
League of Gentlemen - any series with an opening shot of a hearse with the flowers spelling BASTA$D was always going to be good!
Father Ted

If we are only allowed 3 then:

Phoenix Nights
Alan Patridge
The Office

Honourable mentions for Flight of the Concords and Peep Show.

Quoted from aaron rattray

On the buses, got every episode and the films on DVD when Arthur left it went down hill abit but overall very enjoyable

Home to roost again got it on DVD john thaw is just supurb

George and mildred dvd again the episodes and the films just hilarious

You crack me up!