A to Z of British 80s Sitcoms You Probably Don't Remember (80's uk sitcoms list)
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- Опубликовано: 26 окт 2022
- So how many of these 80s British Sitcoms do you remember?
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A to Z of 80's British Sitcoms You Probably Don't Remember
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I used to love middle class situation comedies when I was a kid. No idea why, I think it must have been the escapism. We lived on a council estate in Salford so none of them were remotely relatable. Thanks for another great vid.
Same I used to love ever decreasing circle's no realation to my life I think some of it was because my home life was just so boring
Or funny.
Funny, I despised them for the same reason
@@BlookbugIV I used to like them until I 'got political' and now I won't give them the time of day for that reason.
I lived in a tower block in Sheffield. Nobody I knew or met lived in the sort of 3 bed-semi sitcom land house and had a working man's job (think Love thy Neighbour or On the Buses. My dad just passed it off as TV land or 'shut up or leave' depending on the sort of day he'd had. That was before we moved to the paper bag in the middle of the road after the miner's strike...
Shelley was outstanding but another forgotten gem was Chance in a Million with Simon Callow and Brenda Blethyn.
Both superb :)
The early days of channel 4 if I’m not mistaken……
I’m pretty sure this was on the first night of Channel 4 if I remember.
I thought “get some in”might pop up. It was a sitcom about national service.
@@spendor9377 70s I think.
I am actually watching "Ever Decreasing Circles" for the first time at the moment. If it has been forgotten it doesn't deserve to be. Excellent series.
best sitcom ever, Paul is wonderful.
I used to love it as well
Where are you watching it it nexflix?
@@gingernutpreacher BBC4
@@gingernutpreacher Yes BBC4 have been repeating it for a while now, must be near the end sadly. I hope to invest in a DVD box set though.
When I'm going through my more serious bouts of depression, I find watching sitcoms from this era is one of the only things that can really help to bring me out of my funk. Couldn't tell you why. I was born in 84, so it's not as if I can quite remember much of the 80s, something about it comforts and clears the fog in my head.
I also feel very nostalgic and comforted by shows from this period and yet I was only born in 83, not much before yourself. Hell, the 80's was such a great decade ! I mean, we moved to Spain when I was 5 and my parents sold time share, you can not get more 80's than that surely ?
Im the same, especially Ever Decreasing Circles. I think it's the seeming simplicity of life, and the space to think without digital bombardment that is so appealing.
Jonathan Creek is another on I find comfortable and able to manage when depression makes me a bit brain dead and everything scares me.
I feel that way to
Anybody remember the upper hand on ITV? Great series 👍
with the Inimitable Emma Wray I found all the episodes of Watching online and was delighted by them all and was left wanting more!
They’re often repeated on Forces TV
Loved the mother turning the kettle on then listening for the electricity to come through.
I agree. Emma Wray and Lisa Tarbuck made that a total "much watch" series for me.
Truly terrible!
I absolutely adore this series. Great writing, acting and sets.
Butterflies anyone?? with Wendy Craig.. Brilliant ...
I’ve got one you’ve almost certainly forgotten. Dear John with Ralph Bates. Two series 1986. - 1987.
I wish I could forget it.. although I rather liked it, being called John, one of my friends at school used to sing the theme tune at me repeatedly for most of the years we were there :-/
Dear John was also a John Sullivan series. One of the last things that we saw Ralph Bates in before his untimely death in 1991. They remade this series in America starring Judd Hirsch and it ran for 4 series. I'm not sure why, it lacked all the charm and awkwardness of the UK version because Judd Hirsch couldn't play pathetic loser like Ralph Bates.
any sexual problems ?
@@johnd6487 Haha, me too!
Didn't Ralph play George Warleggan, Poldarks nemesis in the original series?
Absolutely loved Dear Ladies! I saw Hinge and Bracket several times live in theatre, they were incredible. Also loved Fresh Fields, especially the dotty neighbour "It's only Sonia!"
Anyone else remember ‘Clarence’ starring Ronnie Barker?
Yes, I believe the character had poor eyesight.
@@stephenderbyshire7849 - That’s the one! A running joke stretched a little too thinly in my opinion. Only one series made.
Trying to forget that. Not one of Ronnie's best.
@anthony6076 They didn't complain (much) about Arkwrights st st stutter though dddid they?
@@fus149hammer5 - Good point.
What a flash back ...being 44 now.. I remember watch some of these as a kid.Some played on Sundays evenings....then when it was finished...bedtime and that school feeling.
Ever Decreasing Circles actually gets quite a few repeats on GOLD. And I personally find it underated.
Richard Briers even said he prefers the character of Martin over Tom from 'The Good Life'.
Was Ever Decreasing Circles the one that had a couple always wearing matching jumpers as side characters? I remember they moved to Oswestry in last episode because, if you live in Shropshire, a mention of anywhere within the county on TV is noticeable.
@@Gmackematix Yes, Howard and Hilda were the cosy jumper wearers.
It’s repeating now on the Drama channel.
It's been on BBC Four, so it's on iPlayer at the moment.
It's been on BBC4 too recently. It's incredibly funny.
Ever Decreasing Circles was a well remembered show
Anyone remeber a very funny but quite short lived sitcom called The Ritz about a nightclub that was on around 87? Used to love that programme as a kid but don't remember too much about the story..
I actually love Watching. One of my all-time favorites!
So did I, and the theme song. "So the question should be what does 'e... SEE IN MEEEEEEEEE?!"
Emma Wray was 🔥 and so was Lisa Tarbuck before she became circular.
ITV's best ever sit-com imho.
Great comedy
@@fus149hammer5 yeah Emma Wray was stunning. one of my first crushes.
Some of those sitcoms will never be forgotten because they were brilliant. Me and My Girl was brilliant with a really good mix of cast members and most high school boys had such a crush on Joanne Ridley. and Watching was abit like Liver Birds with that wonderful fast Liverpudlian wit and it never disappointed as every other line was a fast witty one liner. And Emma Wray was very cheeky but so cute she got away with it.
I was a big fan of Watching, and I actually enjoyed the theme tune, a very memorable one, though I can see why some would find it irritating.
The Girls on top theme tune was written by Difford & Tilbrook who are the two mainstay members of Squeeze
And responsible for the future horrorshow of the F&S career which never got a faint titter out of me.Ditto Tracey Ullman.Ruby Wax i always have time for.
Glen and Chris
Just Good Friends was real quality. Vince and Penny, a touching love story of the time.👍
John Sullivan was one of the greatest tv writers ever. but he is only remembered for Only fools and horses these days. he wrote all his shows himself. citizen smith, just good friends, only fools is one hell of a cv
@@markdaly1903 Trigger: Oh well, you live and learn... So what’s Dave, a nickname ‘like?
Rodney: No! You’re the only one who calls me Dave, everybody else calls me Rodney - and the reason they call me Rodney, is because Rodney is my name.👍
One of my favourite comedies
@@markdaly1903 ....another forgotten gem IMO was Dear John which starred Hammer's Ralph Bates.
JGF had a dark theme running through it. In later episodes it came out about why Vince jilted Penny. Her snobbish mum hated Vince with a vengeance and just before the wedding she said he was a waste of time and if he really loved Penny he'd let her go and marry someone better. He did and she did to a man who mentally abused her causing her to have a breakdown. They divorced and that's where the story about them meeting up again begins. I remember the scene where Penny tries do decorate the living room and just loses it and goes mad with the brush.
John Sullivan was good with bringing the laughter to a screeching halt.
Remember Rodney bursting into tears in the lift after Cassandras miscarriage?
Genius.
Loved watching,was my favourite programme! Think I was about 8 when I saw it.pamela and David always seemed so old!
Do you remember Dear John? I recall listening to my parents watching it and hearing the soundtrack filter through the floorboards up to my bedroom. I always wondered what it was about as my mum loved Dear Ladies and my eight-year-old brain thought the two must in some way be connected. How wrong I was!
I just came to mention Dear John
Yes I remember it..Ralph Bates as John..it was funny
@@kimmarievan-ever6599 Yeah, I liked that show. I remember the medallion man in the white suit who really lived a lonely life. I later learned that it was dropped by BBC programme makers and Red Dwarf benefitted from the comedy black-hole that Dear John left in its wake. Ralph Bates was a very good actor.
I also well remember Just Good Friends which was very popular.
@@KebabMusicLtd I bought my dad the DVD set some years ago. When he passed I kept it and we re-watched it recently. Still funny, Kirk is epic and is Ralph with an honourable mention to Louise who ran the 1-2-1 club. Really needed to be wrapped up with John finding a new partner but it was cancelled before that.
@@gullloverstravels836Me too!
This takes me back. It was the video that led me to this channel. I remember most of these classic (and not so classic) sitcoms as well as others like It Takes A Worried Man, The Happy Apple and Chance In A Million.
Well Chance In A Million was actually good. I own it on disk, and have watched it a good few times. I can't say that the shows in this video seemed particularly appealing to me. I have seen a few episodes of some of them, mostly with disappointment. Girls On Top was ok, though still a bit underwhelming, given the talent involved.
Loved chance in a million back in the day.
Joan Sanderson made a very good career for herself playing battleaxe's in various sitcoms. Also could anyone forget her guest role in the classic Fawlty Towers episode " Is this a piece of your brain !! " As for Bottle Boys...that show was about as funny as a trip to the dentist's.
Her brain was “over there, between the land and the sky” (along with the sea!) 😂 My favourite episode of any tv show. Joan was just perfect! “Fawlty? What’s wrong with him?” 😬
"Herd's of wilderbeasts sweeping Majestically across the plain"
She played a teacher in Please Sir 1968-1972
She also turned up in Rising Damp playing pretty much the same character.
@@tentringer4065 I'd put money on her having more sitcom appearances than anyone else during that era.
Chance in a Million starring Brenda Blethyn and Simon Callow.
Great video (weird that I do actually remember a good few of these being born in 1979) but showing longer clips for each entry would have made it much better in my opinion. Thanks for the nostalgia hit :)
David Thewlis's first TV appearance was in Only Fools & Horses in 1985 in the episode It's Only Rock And Roll
Funny story about Emma Wray from "Watching". Would have been 1999/2000, one late Saturday night me and a mate were having an acoustic jam session at his apartment in Castlefield, Manchester, after *ahem* one or two beers. Next minute, there's someone banging on the door, and our first thought was pissed off neighbour about to tell us to shut the fuck up. When I opened the door, it was Emma Wray and another actress, the very tidy Clare Perkins (who went on to Eastenders and a decent movie career). Emma Wray was carrying a guitar in one hand and the biggest bag of weed I'd ever seen in the other, and she announced she'd just moved in to the apartment next door; they'd heard us playing and decided to join in. Cue the goofiest jam session in history, as we all got fucked up on the weed, and me and my mate took the piss out of them nonstop. I had my eye on Clare, but my mate being the shark that he is (he's better looking and a better singer, to be fair) had her in his bedroom before long. Leaving me with a bit of a dilemma; I didn't fancy Emma Wray (she's really short; about 4ft 10. Not my thing at all), but after some beer and some puff my standards become a little more flexible.....and just to add insult to injury she just fucked off back to her apartment, leaving me with blue balls and dented pride. Happy days.
one you didn't mention that i feel is worthy of this list is chelmsford 123. not only was it funny it had a factual backstory to it, and the cast was brilliant, yet it kind of went under the radar for most people. channel 4 was still a young channel back then lol. but thanks for some happy memories, i had indeed forgotten about ever decreasing circles, although i had watched it i remember the good life more but it was just as good.
Certainly fits in here, it was dreadful.
That character Richard Briars played I EDC... I'm not generally moved towards violence but I could easily punch his smug arrogant face in.
Absolutely adored Watching..remember sitting and watching this with my mom and we just roared with laughter
IK was in Watching as an unpaid extra, was shopping and i had to walk past them lol. It was in the old paradise street before it was knocked down.
This was a really enjoyable trip down memory lane, thank you. I remember all bar 2 of these. Blimey, I'm old 😂
I remember a lot of these, the odd one or two, genuinely no memory. I would consider some of these, if not big beasts, maybe mid-size beasts of UK sitcoms. A lot of good memories, I'm gonna have to come back for another look.
I was recently watching... umm... Watching. lol. I can remember the show being on when I was a kid, and I never really watched it because I was far too young for it, but the theme tune most certainly stuck in my head for eons. Even years and years after I hadn't heard it for ages. So I decided to watch the show out of curiosity and so far it's very engaging.
Yes, I did the same over the summer. Some of the acting was a bit ropey, but I enjoyed the chemistry between Brenda and Malcolm and the scripts weren't bad ;-))
Malcolm said the line `If it wasn`t for Venetian Blinds it`d be curtains for all of us`
in the show . A line I`ve used quite a lot since to some peoples bemusement
@@Battismore-Blue 🙃🤪👍
I remember it being popular at the time. But strangely enough it often doesn't make lists when mainstream TV makes retrospective shows about the 80s.
One of those things which was popular but as the video correctly lists is largely forgotten about.
I'm American, and I've watched 10 of these on PBS! I thought I'd be lucky to have seen 5. Expected to have seen 2 or 3. So happy.
I watched far too much TV in the 80s - Remembered all of these (and the theme tunes, haha) Thanks for bringing back the memories. Golden era of sitcom.
I actually remember “after Henry” and “fresh fields” now you’ve reminded me.
And I never forgot “ever decreasing circles” and “only when I laugh”, they were actually rather funny.
And I also never forgot “me and my girl”, although I recall it being a bit cheesy.
I love Fresh fields, then they moved to France.... French fields .
@@irenemorley75 You’ve just reminded me of that also!
I remember After Henry on the radio (BBC radio 4) and loved it. Probably in the 90s. Which doesn't make sense 'cos usually comedy goes from radio to TV. I have absolutely no recollection of it on TV.
Me and My Girl also starred the late, great Tim Brooke-Taylor.
Amazed how many of these I remember, or at least recognise! Lovely trip down memory lane.
A trip down memory lane. Real comedy performers.
Just Good Friends was a very good sitcom
That was great..took me back to quite a few childhood laces in my mind and memories, thanks for putting this together! Sonique
As a devoted fan of the British sitcom genre, I enjoyed this and recognised every one of the sitcoms mentioned, except one. They should be taken more seriously as they often chart the ways of British life and how it changes through the years.
I'm about to give up 16 mins of my life and it was ... TOTALLY WORTH IT! I miss Watching soooo much.
MALCOLM!
I loved shelly..wish they would run the entire series again
Peter Skellerns “Me and My Girl” theme, is one of the best ever
Waching was my favourite it's such a shame they don't show old episodes on the TV
I re-watched an episode of 'Sorry' featuring Ronnie Corbett as Timothy Lumsden and realised had rubbish it was. Sink or Swim was one I never saw, but it had Peter Davison in it while he was the Doctor.
Some great memories 😆😆😆
Brilliant
Thanks for posting
I watch watching all the time..... love it, I also watch Bread and Mrs Jones and Son.
Brush strokes. Genius
I was born in 1978 I watched alot of TV growing up and I can honestly say the only one I remember from your video is watching. That being said I would have had to watch what my parents watched I did get my own TV in 1986 for my 8 th birthday so I probably watched different programmes from then on.
Ever Decreasing Circles was decent and pretty popular. D could have been 'Dear John' but this was a little more well known.
Anyone around in the eighties is going to remember Ever Decreasing Circles. Dear John on the other hand is a bit more obscure.
@@mwgary Were there any … sexual problems? Sex! Funny! Funny Ha Ha!!!!
@@mwgary
I liked Dear John.
just good friends one of the funniest series ever
Very enjoyable and nostalgic! Cheers!
Some great theme tunes in the 70's and 80's - then it all got sequenced in the late 80s and that was it :(
Memories. I remember most of these. I remember Anton Rodgers as Tom Jenkins in Scrooge and the thank you very much song.
One of the best Xmas films and songs ever family fave in our house ❤️
Dog food Dan and the Carmarthen Cowboy and Dear John are a couple of classics.
Does anyone remember 'Dear John...'?
Was expecting That’s my boy to be T, loved that too.
Omg Watching, I loved that too 🥰 you’ve taken me right back to my 20s 😍
Ever decreasing circles is my all time favourite 80's sitcom.
I remember: After Henry, Ever Decreasing Circles, Fresh Fields (and yes, French Fields...), Hallelujah, In Loving Memory, Just Good Friends, Keep It In The Family, Me and My Girl, No Place Like Home, Only When I Laugh, Girls on Top, Shelley, Three Up Two Down, Up The Elephant and Round the Castle, Watching and
Executive Stress,. I watched too much t.v in the eighties, and too many RUclips videos now.😆. Watching was my favourite, but I also loved Michael Elphick in Three Up, Two Down and Thora Hird was always good for a laugh. It's amazing how many had the same themes 'empty nest' or adult kids returning home .
I really enjoyed watching this and I loved the theme tune to the watching tv series
Thanks, you made me realise I had a misspent youth. I remembered all of these!
I used to enjoy 'Rising Damp' and 'The Good Life' 😊
I remember the majority of them, way better than what's on offer these days.
anything is better than what's written these days. IT Crowd, Father Ted and and Black Books were the last of the ultra great modern comedies. Some comedies today are 'ok' but we've gone a bit like America and gone for the fairly 'slap stick' variety. Methinks at least.
@@booth2710 I agree. It's as if none of the writers actually sit down and think these days.
@@Glamrockqueen Indeed, 'thinking' is a dirty word now, as many people like to be spoon fed ideas and opinions instead of forming their own. It's really noticeable. Us Footers all have our own minds intact, though - thank God! ;-))
Some of these really aren't obscure at all, particularly Ever Decreasing Circles.
Sorry, The Bounder, Home to Roost, Brass, Duty Free, Hi-de-Hi! Bread, Brushstrokes some of my faves as a kid. Or maybe they were my grandparents/parents faves can't remember now.
Hi De Hi is genius. I got bored of it as it closed in 1988 aged 18 but at 52 I think it is superb. A few years ago I bought the box set.
Heck yeah - I remember Duty Free: I didn't see it then but I definitely do now what the main 4 characters were up to.
......okay put me on the naughty step for that sort of thinking.
Brass was brilliant and had a great cast.
Home to Roost loved that show it was nice seeing John Thaw doing comedy first episode date: 19 April 1985 and ran for 4 seasons
Watching Was A Favourite Of Mine Never Missed An Episode 😂👍
Shelley was brilliant.
Wow some right shows here from my youth ...
Some classics in that lot. Not forgotten to me
From the days when you wernt considered obsolete by the time you reached 30.
Anyone else feel old😄
People will be asking that in years to come when reminiscing about 'today's' comedy shows.
@@stephenderbyshire7849 never a truer word said.
I'm an accountant. Cost or management? Turf! Cracked me up
Very interesting nostalgia video. I remember most of the titles, although there are only a couple I ever actually watched and I knew very little about the plots of most of the others. I liked the "creative" way you assigned some of the more awkward letters, rather than taking the whole A-Z idea too seriously!
The theme music to Up The Elephant was written by the great Keith Emerson, who was Jim Davidson's musical hero.
I certainly hadn't forgotten most of these, in fact I used to like most of them. There certainly haven't been many as good since.
There’s a great back catalogue of TV sitcoms available yet all we ever see is Only Fools, Dibley, god awful Mrs Browns etc
I don't know we are also getting good portions of Porridge, Dads Army, Are You Being Served, My Hero, Outnumbered, Summer Wine, The Green Green Grass etc. 😉 Not bad. Not on the BBC of course they prefer celebrity game shows these days.
I remembered Ever Decreasing Circles and Just Good Friends, I didn't particularly watch them more they were just on in the background as it were. I did watch Me and My Girl, Only When I Laugh, and Fairly Secret Army though, and saw some episodes of Shelley, with its acerbic central character. Probably my favourite of the crop discussed was Girls on Top, as stated it was like a female Young Ones, my favourite 80s sitcom, indeed probably my favourite of all time (which did a take on The Good Life in one episode as I recall), and you could hardly fail to remember it. On the more conventional sitcom front I did watch Watching, but couldn't recall what it was called, the title obviously less memorable than even the show to my mind.
WOW a nice walk through better times thank you
I was on a course years ago a we had Jim Hitchmough (Watching) in to give us a talk. He was a wonderful man, he died not long after, he left some fine work ❤️
Loved Watching!
The pitch for Comrade Dad: "Think 1984, but with laughs" 😂
Watching! Loved it! I was betting on Widows, but not "Sitcom" enough really.
For "H" I'd have gone for Help. Three lads on the dole in Liverpool (including one of the McGanns).
Fresh fields one of my favourite comedy sitcoms I remember it well
Loved Watching as a kid. There's some episodes uploaded on RUclips.
Watching was also on Forces TV until it stopped broadcasting, great show.
The whole series of Watching is on RUclips. I enjoy it every day at lunchtime.
Flippin eck...no place like home....i remeber that show but have not thought of it since the 80s.
I absolutely loved Watching, it was fast witty and funny.
Watch a lot of these, just subscribed you deserve for your droll narrative 😊
Watching was the best 👍, Terry & June
Watching was a great comedy series...set in Liverpool in the eighties...it was far far funnier than Bread...
I was 9 when the 1980's started, and I remember watching 24 of those sitcoms. Wish I could forget about 15 of them!
I loved “Just Good Friends “. I loved Jan Francis even more !
Very good. I remembered some. I was amazed you didn’t have ‘get some in’ for G. Remember that ace classic?
Now I do remember Ever Decreasing Circles, Fresh Fields, though I can’t recall ever seeing it, same with the one with Thora Hurd in it. Me and My Girl I did actually watch, and the sanguine humour of Only When I Laugh. Now I did like Girls On Top and recall some parts of it and Shelley was quite good. I watched Watching only for the young lady in it. The scouse one. Fairly Secret Army was a spin off with a character from Reginald Perrin as I recall
Geoffrey Palmer's character in Fairly Secret Army was based on his character in The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin
Very good. I remember a few of them.
Brilliant, thanks.
I was expecting you to mention a very early bit part from Marina Sirtis (Counsellor Troy from Star Trek) in Up the Elephant and Round the Castle...
I was in my mid 20's back at the start of the 80's and hated most of these but I wasn't at home very often, most sitcoms were aimed at the over 50's at that time.
Though Potter lasted until 1983 Arthur Lowe died in 1982 so was replaced by Robin Bailey (I didn't Know You Cared) for the final series.
I actually remember most of these and can think of quite a few more. Surprised you didn't have 'Very Peculiar Practice' on the list, that was a favourite of mine.