fbpx
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Write For Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
  • Login
TheBestEight.com
  • Home
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Sports
    • Television
    • Theatre
    Best Movies 2001

    Best Movies of 2001

    Pantomime

    The 6 Elements That Comprise a British Pantomime

    Best Movies Of 1995

    Best Movies of 1995

    Best Movies Of 2002

    Best Movies of 2002

    Best Movies Of 2003

    Best Movies of 2003

    Best Movies 2000

    Best Movies of 2000

    Best Movies 1999

    Best Movies of 1999

    The Attractive Nature Of Rap Music Explained

    The Attractive Nature of Rap Music Explained

    Best Movies 1998

    Best Movies of 1998

    Best Movies 1997

    Best Movies of 1997

  • Fun
    Bruce The Shark

    How well do you know Pixar Movies

    Quiz Time How Good Is Your Grammar

    How good is your Grammar?

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Beauty
    • Design
    • Drinks and Cocktails
    • Fashion
    • Finances
    • Fitness
    • Food
    • Gardening
    • Health
    • Pets
    • Relationships
    • Travel
    Chunky Bacon Potato Soup

    Chunky Bacon Potato Soup

    A Good Exercise Bike Will Help You With Your Fat Loss Goals

    A good exercise bike will help you with your fat loss goals

    Heirlooms Vs. Hybrids: What’s The Difference?

    Heirlooms vs. Hybrids: What’s the Difference?

    Do’s And Don’ts Of Dog Care

    Do’s and Don’ts of Dog Care

    Healthy Way Of Life

    Anti-Aging Products vs a Healthy Lifestyle

    Pencil Skirt

    Pencil Skirt Outfits

    Dogs

    8 Unique Products for your Dog

    10 Most Frequently Asked Fitness Questions

    10 Most Frequently Asked Fitness Questions

    Exercise At Home

    Exercise at Home

    How To Use A Vibrator

    How to use a vibrator

    Trending Tags

    • Quotes, Memes and other stuff
      • All
      • Memes
      • Quotes
      50 Dank Memes

      50 Dank Memes

      50 Commendable And Funny Dog Memes

      50 Commendable and Funny Dog Memes

      50 Dream And Funny Dog Memes

      50 Dream and Funny Dog Memes

      50 Peachy And Funny Cat Memes

      50 Peachy and Funny Cat Memes

      50 Best Ever Funny Cat Memes

      50 Best Ever Funny Cat Memes

      50 Choice And Funny Dog Memes

      50 Choice and Funny Dog Memes

      50 Unreal And Funny Dog Memes

      50 Unreal and Funny Dog Memes

      50 Exquisite And Funny Dog Memes

      50 Exquisite and Funny Dog Memes

      50 Enjoyable And Funny Dog Memes

      50 Enjoyable and Funny Dog Memes

      50 Majestic And Funny Dog Memes

      50 Majestic and Funny Dog Memes

    No Result
    View All Result
    TB8
    No Result
    View All Result
    ADVERTISEMENT
    Home Entertainment Television

    5 of the Best British TV Comedies

    by thebesteight
    22 September, 2020
    in Television, Entertainment
    0
    British Comedy
    4
    SHARES
    223
    VIEWS
    ShareTweetSharePinSendSend

    British comedy usually divides the room: some love it, some loathe it.

    But people base their opinion on the shows they have seen, and these may not be the best. Before you pass judgement, try the following series. 

    1) The Office. 

    Made in 2001 by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, ‘The Office’ was praised to the heavens by critics and fans alike–and all of it deserved. The show is set in a dreary paper company (the wonderfully named ‘Wernham Hogg’) in the equally dreary town of Slough, where a documentary crew have filmed day to day life- we see the result. 

    Everyone has met the obnoxious office bully ‘Finchy’, the weasly, passive-aggressive Gareth; and everyone knows a girl like Dawn: sweet, funny, smart and engaged to the wrong man. In Tim, the central character, there is an Everyman: a college dropout, self-aware, self-mocking and kept sane only through humor.

    Then of course there is Gervais’ ‘Brent’, candidate for greatest ever TV comic character. Were he simply an odious imbecile, he might have raised a laugh or two then been forgotten.

    But Gervais grew into the part, adding humanity and depth to the man: deluded, yes, but beneath the bad jokes and showing off you sense the fear and loneliness of someone in the grips of mid-life meltdown.

    2) Alan Partridge.

    Loved and quoted by Brits more than Python, Alan Partridge is a study in deluded egotism. Alan, played by Steve Coogan, first appeared in a superb news spoof show called ‘The Day Today’ as a puffed up sports presenter.

    In season 1, released in 1994 as ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’, he has his own chat show on which a variety of guests appear, most of whom Partridge despises or insults.

    By season 2, he has been sacked and divorced and is living in a ghastly ‘travel tavern’, or motel, scraping by on local radio and scheming to return to TV. 

    In season 3, recovering from a nervous breakdown and now living in a caravan with a Russian bride, he remains as deluded and obnoxious as ever.

    3) Peep Show.

    One of the few British comedies to match The Office, Peep Show makes use of the ‘odd couple’ scenario.

    Two former college friends share an apartment in London, one a lazy, shiftless ‘musician’, the other a stiff, repressed cynic. Mitchell and Webb had the brilliant idea of allowing viewers to overhear the main characters’ thoughts. 

    As in Friends, you have a bunch of twenty-somethings sharing an apartment and trying to ‘make it’ in the big city. But there the comparison ends.

    Peep Show has none of the sickly mawkishness of Friends: harder, darker and more cynical, these are people whose chaotic, miserable lives are going nowhere.

    4) Fawlty Towers.

    Made in the mid-70s and composed of a mere 12 episodes, this show influenced generations of British comedians and continues to be revered on the island.

    John Cleese came up with the idea when he and his fellow Pythons were staying in a hotel in the south west of England run by a rude, unhelpful manager. Basil Fawlty, played by Cleese, runs a hotel. But there is a problem: guests appear and expect him to serve them.

    Cleese is  on blistering form, throwing heart and soul into the part: like Brent, a man in the grips of a mid-life crisis, doing a job for which he is unsuited, married to a woman who frightens and belittles him, employing a waiter who cannot speak English and serving guests he loathes.

    5) Blackadder.

    The most ‘British’ of the selections and something of an acquired taste, Blackadder is an oddity: a historical comedy consisting of 4 seasons (don’t watch the first, it is dreadful).

    Each season is set in a different period of British history, but each stars the same character, ‘Edmund Blackadder’ (played by the incomparable Rowan Atkinson): clever, cynical and scheming.

    The first season finds him in the medieval era, the second at the court of Elizabeth I, the third as butler to an 18th century prince and the fourth (the best) as an officer in World War 1.

    Rather than sharp writing, the show relies on grotesque characters (Stephen Fry as the insane First World War general is especially good) and playful language.

    Of course, some fans will disagree with this selection. It is true that many others deserve a mention: One Foot in the Grave, Man Down, Absolutely Fabulous, Phoenix Nights, The League of Gentleman and, especially, the sketch shows Harry Enfield, Little Britain, and The Fast Show (Brits will tell you it is better than Monty Python).

    But the above five remain a pretty good introduction. Here you will find the two great strengths of British comedy on display: a dark, unsentimental, cynical edge and larger-than-life characters. 

    Share2Tweet1SharePinSendSend
    ADVERTISEMENT
    thebesteight

    thebesteight

    The best eight uses your votes to find the best eight of anything. Vote and help us find the best 8 in your favourite topics.

    Related Posts

    Best Movies 2001
    Movie

    Best Movies of 2001

    8 January, 2021
    Pantomime
    Theatre

    The 6 Elements That Comprise a British Pantomime

    19 December, 2020
    Best Movies Of 1995
    Movie

    Best Movies of 1995

    18 December, 2020
    Best Movies Of 2002
    Movie

    Best Movies of 2002

    16 December, 2020
    Best Movies Of 2003
    Movie

    Best Movies of 2003

    12 December, 2020
    Best Movies 2000
    Movie

    Best Movies of 2000

    4 December, 2020
    Best Movies 1999
    Movie

    Best Movies of 1999

    30 November, 2020
    The Attractive Nature Of Rap Music Explained
    Music

    The Attractive Nature of Rap Music Explained

    29 November, 2020
    Best Movies 1998
    Movie

    Best Movies of 1998

    28 November, 2020
    Best Movies 1997
    Movie

    Best Movies of 1997

    23 November, 2020
    Load More

    Discussion about this post

    • Trending
    • Comments
    • Latest
    Girl Exercising With Dumbbells

    9 Dumbbell Exercises

    27 December, 2020
    Best Movies 2000

    Best Movies of 2000

    4 December, 2020
    Attractive Woman With Long Dark Hair

    How to Make a Cheap Wardrobe Look Expensive

    15 November, 2020
    Chunky Bacon Potato Soup

    Chunky Bacon Potato Soup

    27 January, 2021
    50 Solid And Funny Memes

    50 Solid and Funny Memes

    27 January, 2021
    A Good Exercise Bike Will Help You With Your Fat Loss Goals

    A good exercise bike will help you with your fat loss goals

    26 January, 2021
    .
    .
    • Girl Exercising With Dumbbells

      9 Dumbbell Exercises

      91 shares
      Share 36 Tweet 23
    • 5 Ways to Burn More Calories When You Strength Train

      71 shares
      Share 28 Tweet 18
    • 5 Benefits Resistance Bands Have Over Weights

      134 shares
      Share 54 Tweet 34
    • Best Movies of 2000

      72 shares
      Share 29 Tweet 18
    .
    .
    TheBestEight.com

    Copyright © 2020 thebesteight.com

    Navigate Site

    • About
    • Advertise
    • Write For Us
    • Privacy & Policy
    • Contact

    Follow Us

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movie
      • Sports
    • Lifestyle
      • Food
      • Fashion
      • Health
      • Travel
    • All Quizzes
      • How well do you know your Pixar movies
    • Write for us
    • Sponsor
    • Sponsorship

    Copyright © 2020 thebesteight.com

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.