Want more British culture videos? Watch these next! 🔴 13 Things That Make British People IRRATIONALLY ANGRY ruclips.net/video/FDYTxQJxpGQ/видео.html 🔴 American Couple Explores Small English Town ruclips.net/video/sbLJPT_j3m4/видео.html 🔴 8 Things We HATE About The UK ruclips.net/video/9MJ0iNHvXpQ/видео.html
I thought I had posted two links of clips of my fav comedy british shows. But doesn'y seem to have saved, so here they are, first is My Family ruclips.net/video/oVf-V_q8KjQ/видео.html Second is outnumbered :) ruclips.net/video/3TwY9Pa1ThM/видео.html The kids improvise their lines.
Modern British sitcoms have gone right downhill. To see the best UK sitcoms upu need to watch older ones. Only fools and horses was the last real good sitcoms to be made here in the UK. I recommend you look at some of our older ones.
Two UK series to watch that might be worth it for more subtle sincerity would be Jeckyll (with James Nesbit) and Coupling. The latter you can compare with the US version that failed badly. IMO because it had to rush through everything, but the comedy and the characters being played needed time to breathe. More ad time will do that to a show.
The US does (or did) have a pub culture comedy with "Cheers". British comedy has devolved greatly from the old days. When you grow up with "the Two Ronnies, Morcombe and Wise, Monty Python, etc." and you see the present generation, you get a little depressed.
@@ayeready6050 It's about how the then-impending nuclear war would play out; panic, death, too few survivors, attempts at control fail due to unrealistic planning, collapse of society, more death due to starvation, a return to rule by brutal repression, children born deformed or dead. Deadly serious, realistic, and therefore banned by the British Government for nearly 30 years.
And to an extent the 1960s. Each one of the Inbetweeners would match up to people, in my group of mates. We did manage to get our leg over, just a little more than them though, honest, honest!
That's the problem with USAican comedies, etc. A "genuine moment" that often kind of detracts from how "genuine" it really is. "Blackadder Goes Forth" had a stunning ending, fully intending to send a less subtle message than had comedically been presented through the series.
But, heck, is that dark! I think one of the differences is that, in British TV, if you have an emotionally satisfying moment you can't then talk about that subject again. It draws a line under it. But I don't watch much comedy, so that may be wrong.
The last episode of 'One Foot in the Grave' where Victor is killed in a hit and run and we are left wondering if Margaret did actually murder the the driver in order to get her revenge.
I find British show tend to have more everyday looking actors, that is more relatable. While US shows will try to glam it up. Example Friends all attractive living in apartments they would not normally be able to afford.
As opposed to Coupling, where they have reasonably sized London flats :) At least, Jane and Susan do. I can't recall Sally's offhand. Patrick's flat is largish, as is Jeff's.
@@izziebon he doesn't do anywhere near as much TV as some people. He's who you turn to for a "what everyone thinks the UK is like but it really isn't" film 😂
US sitcoms just seem really fake and un-natural and jokes are just never funny, theyre cringy and added fking laughter tracks and cheer and clap at everything
US sitcoms have more writers, need to have broader appeal to get on cable, need to get on cable to be successful, and they have to have more, longer and more frequent ad breaks otherwise they will be inserted anyway, because the cable is paying to sell ad space, not your show.
@@WanderingRavens That was by far the worst thing about the otherwise great various Alan Partridge sitcoms. Even by the standard of regular laugh tracks, the "audience" reaction to even the weaker gags was way over the top. Over here MASH never had a laugh track but I was surprised to discover that it did over there.
@@vaudevillian7 It being? If you are referring to MASH then I don't know why it'd be removed over here. If you mean the various Partridge programmes then I can only presume a spot of fiddling was done amongst the production staff, sticking the bigger laughs they got in more than just the gags they were howling at. And yes, this has been known to happen, I'm not saying in these specific cases but in general.
Yes even on the news when they call an expert to talk on a subject in the UK it will often be a (average/ugly looking scientist who knows their stuff) whilst in the US it will be a someone young with a gleaming perfect smile who barely knows what they are talking about.
From a UK perspective, I couldn't get into most US sitcoms because of the general hopefulness in it. It just felt a little fake to me, whereas UK humour tended to be a little more grounded. Probably why my favourite US sitcom is Malcom in the Middle, that show's brilliant. :p
The British love puns: Did you know the actor Yul Brynner was a lifelong Liverpool fan and never wore aftershave? That's right, Yul never wore cologne. Check out what song the Liverpool fans sing.
Brits like laughing AT people and we’re mostly ok with being laughed AT rather than WITH. We also like an ending where we see our life isn’t as bad as someone else’s 😂
If you want a truly hard hitting emotional moment in British comedy, I'd suggest the last episode of Blackadder goes forth. It's a beautiful and heart wrenching at the end.
Oh yes. I definitely agree with you there. They don't show the characters being shot but by the way the music swells and that the actors are falling etc, you can tell and I struggle to watch that episode
I was terrified that the show I loved was going to mock the soldiers going over the top and would be lambasted for it, but the poignancy of that final scene was a masterpiece. I was just left sat in silence, a beautiful moment as the battlefield turned to poppies
Genuine moments; watch the last 3 minutes of the last episode of Blackadder set in WWI - the last episode of BA ever made. Its immensely powerful precisely because you're expecting a joke, because this is Blackadder, but all you get is the horror of trench warfare. Respect.
Ditto the end of the first series of Derry Girls - make sure it’s the one with Madonna’s song “Like a Prayer” and not the updated version which fails (thanks a bunch Madonna)
It was a culture shock the first time I went to the USA (Texas). You had the programme, adverts, the end credits, the intro credits to the next programme, more adverts, then the next programme started. Also, no screen cards at the start/end of adverts in the middle of each program. You didn't even realise to start with that they'd cut to adverts.
The Royle Family is rather funny, it's a bittersweet working class comedy with a lot of dark humour, sarcastic tension and sometimes comedy grotesque characters, with the odd moment of pathos here and there, and each episode is usually told in real time
The hosts on bake off aren't really meant to be that funny, they're just there to put the bakers at ease and highlight them instead. You should watch some of the earlier series with Mel and Sue as the hosts instead and you'll get a better sense of the shoes Noel and Matt are trying to fill. The chaotic parental energy is definitely the vibe they're going for. (Also please, God, watch Doctor Who)
Thanks for answering our Bake Off question! We'll watch some of the earlier shows and will keep in mind that they're not supposed to be straight comic relief :D
@@WanderingRavens Also Noel fielding in the right context is one of best british comedians, Bake Off isn't really a vehicle for hilarious comedy, the hosts are their more to add a bit of light heartedness.
@@lorriesherbet In all honesty i was never the biggest fan of the mighty boosh, ive came to love noel mainly based on panel shows, although the surrealist comedy of the mighty boosh doesnt seem to have aged much if youre into that kind of thing (in my opinion).
I don't know whether 'Dinner Ladies' written by Victoria Wood would be too British for you; but it definitely contains genuine moments. She was an absolute genius in many people's opinion.
I think British tv really likes to lean into what is uniquely British as A LOT of content we watch IS American. So what we make feels the need exhibit the dry, colloquial, idiosyncratic Britishness
@@WanderingRavens Do you think it points out how far apart the Staes has gone from their British roots? The comedy show Red Dwarf still is huge in the UK but the American remake failed badly because some humour doesn't travel well.
Money, money, money! US TV shows were screened by the bucketful in the 50s and 60s because it was cheaper to buy the US shows than to make domestic content. Same language, so a no brainer. Hence I watched a lot of "I love Lucy" and a bit of " Dixon of Dock Green" which was locally produced.
@@WanderingRavens Why did you concentrate on sitcoms and adult programmes? What about soap operas, current affairs, news programmes, documentaries etc.
I think we in Britain like repetition (in terms of episode plot points) because that's how our everyday lives feel; it's something we can recognise and relate to, and it also endears us to the characters because we are living their lives along with them. One example is Dinnerladies, a late-90s sitcom set in a factory canteen; every day they open up, the bread man makes his delivery, the toaster's not working again, people keep opening the fire escape and letting in cold drafts to everyone's annoyance, etc. People recognise that and feel closer to the characters and the plot. Another example is "The Royle Family", another late-90s/early-00s sitcom about a typical, working class, northern English family. Pretty much every episode just revolved around the family watching TV, that's it! But everyone loved it because it was so well-observed and relatable. Then, when tender moments did happen, you were so emotionally-invested that they hit harder and felt so much more genuine.
I think the reason "Frasier" was and is so huge in the UK is that it bucks the US trend of happy endings. It always goes wrong for Frasier and Niles. A very British style comedy.
I mean it's not just comedy. Shows that try to push the envelope tend to do a lot better in the UK than they do in the US, even if they're American shows. Babylon 5 and the rebooted Battlestar Galactica both did better here than they did in the US, to such an extent in the latter case that we actually got new BSG episodes before America did, something almost unheard of for a show made in America!
@@PassiveSmoking Same with Stargate. Britain had the same viewer figures as America, despite a much smaller population. The only reason Stargate managed to last as long as it did was the demand from the UK and Germany. In later seasons when the American new season release would go on their mid season breaks they kept showing the shows in the UK and not take a break.
Bake Off hosts arent't there to be comics, they are just hosts. It did used to be funnier with Mel & Sue on BBC, but that depends if you like innuendo.
I see the hosts as moral support for the bakers. They're the 'non-experts' to help them along, keep them from focusing on their own disasters, and keep them smiling.
I read an article where Mel & Sue would stand near a baker and curse if the baker started crying, so the producers couldn't use that footage. I thought that was a wonderful anodyne to the horribly fake drama most American cooking shows manufacture.
I’d recommend Not Going Out, Doctor Who, Death in Paradise, Ghosts, Have I got News for You, Mock the Week, The Wheel, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, to name a few.
I feel as though it's unfair to say Jim coming over in every episode of Friday Night Dinner is an overused joke. It's not the fact he's there that we're supposed to be laughing at, or him misnaming the boys and wincing when he goes to stroke Wilson. The jokes are what surrounds that formula and it's different every time. He never comes over for the same reason or says the same thing and it has a different impact on the rest of the story in the episode each time. It's not like the rest of the story pauses for the Jim section, it always makes what ever the conflict of the episode is worse, thus elevating the humour... ...in my opinion.
Plus was heart wrenching when Wilson died..Jim showed a lot of genuine human emotion and they realised he wasn’t just a complete wacko in that episode.
You are 100% correct, it is not a repeated joke, as with the boys fighting and name calling, its what families do, its not a fake 'let's make something else up' each time as that would not be authentic. The same with much of it really, if you dint get it then you dont get it and as much of American sit coms are all about how to be 'perfect' and the mishaps that get in the way but eventually turn out perfectly (and laugh tracks) removes the genuine feeling or connection with real life. We like much more realism in our TV when it comes to family and the like.
@@nancybudd494 , I couldn't agree with you more. Interesting how they didn't seem to like that one so much, as I think Friday Night Dinner is one of the stronger laugh out loud sit-coms on TV right now.
@@ZakJames I agree, I'm sad its finished now but I think it finished at the right point. I have seen that most Americans miss the nuances of British humour and culturally they just dont understand it and likely wont even if they think they do. American humor is far more obvious on the most part
The icky sentimentality of US tv shows, whether dramatic or comedic, makes them unwatchable to me. That there has to be some sort of formulaic emotional pay off or resolution is grimly inevitable and ruins most things.
We do have shows about family values though - Gavin and Stacey, Outnumbered, Stella, etc Even Red Dwarf has a sort of twisted family in it and so does Dr Who!
When I worked overseas and did some cross-cultural training we looked at the idea of high-context v low-context cultures. High-context (like UK) have a hidden set of rules/schemas that are understood by locals and can be difficult for outsiders to get to grips with; low-context (like US) on the other hand do not have the same expectations. This mainly came about because of the US being such a melting-pot of different cultures that there was no unifying, underlying values/ideas and so the culture developed an attitude of not making these assumptions and instead being more explicit with their culture and maintaining strong links to their ancestral cultures. This also links with directness - Brits tend to be more indirect because they can be due to the high-context cultural expectations they have that others will understand what they mean. It was interesting seeing this discourse come up in your examination of the differences between the TV series and is a good reason why US TV is so accessible worldwide as it is so low-context. As a side note, this is also why people sometimes accuse USA of having 'no culture' which is completely untrue; it just functions very differently in this low-context way. That might seem less 'refined' to someone from a high-context background, but that's just the high-context person being a snobby jackass :P
The end of the Only Fools And Horse episode where Rodney gets married has a very genuine moment,where after everyone has left the reception,Del is left there alone while Holdin' Back The Years by Simply Red plays
Only fools and horses get the whole box set watch it from star to finish it’s a sit com but touching moment when grandad dies in fact I’ve seen every season including Christmas specials and it’s still funny
A lot of the best UK Sitcoms use misdirection. One of the best examples is Only Fools, where the Trotters con themselves into a job cleaning chandeliers. Of course they are going to destroy the priceless chandelier, but it's the switch at the crucial moment that's brilliant ruclips.net/video/LFuYIi5-igc/видео.html
I think the nudity thing is more about general censorship, ‘Naked Attraction’ wouldn’t be a show on one of the standard big channels in America would it? Lol or at all?
It all depends what you mean by censorship. A couple of nights ago I watched a really, really good documentary about the making of West Side Story, and how it nearly wasn't staged because no producer would touch it. That was because they thought it would be a flop, and that was because they assumed Americans want Life Affirming shows. Is it all part of The American Dream - You Can Make It If You Try Hard? The producers knew instinctively that the moment people doubt that, so much about how the US works starts to crumble. In the UK because there isn't so much pressure for a show to be a commercial success, producers and writers are happy to take more risks.
With the Bake-off thing, I think most British people would probably say that the two comedians are perfect for that role. Lol. It’s not a comedy show. They are just there to fill in the gaps and not to steal the show. I think it would ruin it with a loud, over-the-top comedian cracking jokes every 2 minutes. Lol.
I liked the two women that used to be on the bake off better than these two guys. They just had more of a chemistry between the two of them they played off of each other well. It wasn’t quite as awkward as these two. In the US I think I’ve only seen one of the new series so far, and I might have only seen the new guys when I was over in Britain now that I think about it. It takes a long time for them to make it here over here.
I’m neither British nor American, but I really enjoy the Great British Baking Show (or Bake Off). The bakers are the focus for me and I think the hosts are there just to take some of the tension out of it. Sandi Toksvig was my favourite host but she gave it up because all the cakes were making her put on weight.
I've got some chilled vindaloo sauce for today's breakfast, followed by a triple fried egg chilli chutney sandwich for lunch, and then for dinner I'm going to have a shami kebab diablo. De-smegging-licious.
6:18 I think this comes down to "national expectation" Americans are always positive. I used to work with an american for many years and when I asked "how is your day going" he used to always respond with "On the top, never going to drop!" or "On top today, you?"... Whilst Britain...well British culture is more "it can't get any worse can it?" or "it's better than xyz", so that is why we will answer to "how are you" often with "well the weather is OK" and if anyone says they are "fine" they are often lying.
There is some genuine sincerity in UK sitcoms, check out the Only Fools and Horses episode where they bury Grandad (Leonard Pearce had actually passed away) and also the end of Blackadder where they go over the top of the trenches in the First World War, it is very few and far between though.
That's true, for example, I get the impression that no-one is allowed to be both athletic and academic. You are one of the other and if you are neither, you will have to join a bunch of weirdos.
@@animatechap5176 Well that's the impression you get from TV and films but whether it's actually true in real life I'm not so sure as I'm British. I suspect those groups do exist but things are a little more fluid.
I think that the American version of the British TV trope of eating or wanting a curry is eating a burrito, including something called a breakfast burrito. I can't even imagine what that is! I agree with your idea about tropes, but Peep Show is an extreme example! And Friday Night Dinner isn't a typical sitcom. But awkwardness and dark humour are common tropes in British TV.
Being a Brit living in the US I mostly agree with most of what you said about the differences. British shows are more like real life and American shows do tend to have a message to share. A couple of other things I noticed in British tv shows after 9:00 pm swearing is not bleeped out unlike the network shows on NBC ABC CBS CW11 FOX etc...in America and skirt/dress lengths tend to be longer on British tv than on US tv.
I think the sincere moment turning into a joke is an exaggeration of us brits’ tendency of using teasing and taking the mick as a a form of love language. We mess with our friends and family a lot but thats cause we love them.
Mr Hedgebull Yes, great, but do you think that verbal humour would go down well in the USA? I know the articulate Ravens will get it, but not sure about generally.
What is amazing is how it's all the the same topics in politics now. NHS, EU, Trident, shifting cabinet picks, political advisors, etc. It's almost depressing.
i feel like the reason british sitcoms sentimental moments always end in a joke is cause it is a a sentimental moment, (i know that doesn’t make any sense but lemme explain) these jokes are showing the audience that everything is okay even if they are laughing at each other. it’s a form of friendly banta that only close friends or family experience. also most british sitcoms are parodies on everyday life e.g the (UK) office, friday night dinner, inbetweeners, peep show, IT crowd, etc. so these jokes at the end of/during sentimental moments is simply the show being a parody and making fun. i hope that made sense and cleared things up 🙂
with the good old 'British Reserve' we sometimes get embarrassed by people being over sentimental - it makes us feel awkward and uncomfortable - so it's natural to make a joke out of it to diffuse a situation and show that we're NOT embarrassed, if you see what I mean?
I'm only halfway through watching, will finish later, but just to say: if you haven't seen it, Outnumbered is my all time favourite British comedy series.
I've just remembered Del Boy talking to his newborn son, in Only Fools and Horses. That was genuine. Or Denise, scared in the bathroom, and her lazy git of a dad talks her round, in the Royle Family. Or the Christmas special of the Royle Family when the gran dies. British comedy does do those moments, but it's usually a little more like real life, and more heart-rending than those moments across the pond seem to be. Although, there have been similar moment there too. Coach dying, in Cheers, or Carla going through difficulties and Sam helping her. Those moments don't work as a good counterpoint if they're too sentimental.
I think British shows avoid 'genuine' moments every episode because putting them in the formula makes them feel fake and contrived to us - we're a bit more about the subtext. And then if there ever is an emotional moment it packs more of a punch. I guess that's a trope right there: Americans being so genuine it hurts and Brits being allergic to showing too much deep emotion Also, WHY does American TV and film have so many 'teenagers' played by 30 year olds?
Exactly this. British shows are generally quite subtle and subtext heavy. They rely on you as a viewer projecting your own experiences (in British culture) on to the show which makes it feel more realistic. The Office as an example can be very funny but it’s actually a mirror to working life for a lot of people. The mundane moments, the power structures, petty squabbles, human connections and unspoken chemistry. The Office Christmas special IS special because it has 12 episodes of build up and subtext that make them feel earned.
British shows to add to your list: Not going out Line of duty Skins Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps Also, watch Coupling and tell me that's not the BBC trying to write a British version of Friends!
I suppose the best way to look at this is with this scenario I was shown a while ago. A customer in a restaurant is having a go at a waiter for a fly in his soup and the waiter is obviously apologetic and yet put upon. In an American sitcom you watch the customer while in a British Sitcom you watch the waiter
As a Teenage Brit ,a series I loved watching growing up was Miranda. It shows the life of a middle class women in mid-30’s and her struggles to live up to her moms status I really recommend (I Bloody love your channel)
About the bake-off comic relief (Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding) - it has to be considered that both of them as comedians usually reside in the genre of comedy as far removed from a baking competition as you can get - surrealism. For them actually be doing their more recognised brand of comedy on that show would simply be far too jarring for the much more broad audience of bake off than, for example, the audiences of Little Britain (Matt) or The Mighty Boosh (Noel). Both great shows in their own rights, and if you decide to watch either of them I'm sure you'll see exactly what I mean.
18:20 "Are we just stupid in America?" You know, you shouldn't ask a question, if you don't want an answer!! I think one difference in the TV is that we tend to be much more self deprecating in the UK, whilst American TV is a bit too 'full of itself'.
Red Dwarf was hilarious Especially all the Insult's they Called each other Another was Black Adder with Captain Flashhart and Baldrick was dressed as a Bridesmaid Flashhart says Love the Beard it gives me something to hang on too
The food tropes are true! I would compare Indian food in the UK to Mexican food in the US, it's something almost everyone is familiar with eating and ordering at gatherings and on weekends, usually considered unhealthy and drunk food but delicious lol
The dinner thing is to trap the characters in a room they can't escape without being rude. The overall British thing is to put characters together who often resent each other and try to get one over on each other, whereas the US seems to centre around a team which supports each other. Oh and we don't have that 'I love you dad' thing which is usually cringeworthy. We aren't always consistent however. Having laughed at the incompetent antics of the Home Guard in 'Dad's Army' we then get 'The Deadly Attachment' episode where they are finally confronted by a Nazi U-Boat Captain plus crew and step up and it's still funny.
I think there is something in the British mentality that we find it easiest to make fun of the things we really love. We can make fun of the Home Guard, or the police, or the army, the navy, the NHS or the Queen, but it doesn't lessen our respect and affection for these institutions. In some cultures mickey-taking would be seen as undermining them, but not here.
Yes, British comedy tends to thrive on 'trapped' characters. Whether literally, like Porridge in a prison or something like Steptoe and Son where they are stuck with each other or shows like Hancock, Only Fools & Horses and Keeping up Appearances where the characters have delusions of grandeur or wealth that they will probably never realise.
I must admit that my bete noire has always been ‘I love you mom’ whether in comedy or drama. I cannot ever remember hearing ‘I love you mum’ here at home in the UK. Let us always celebrate Phil Silvers when it comes to US comedy. Those who do not know Ernie Bilko are sadly underprivileged.
Regarding the relentlessly deteriorating situations in Brit comedy, and not entirely dissociated from Fawlty Towers, the film Clockwise sees John Cleese's character descend into increasing chaos and misery in trying to make his way to an important meeting of headteachers where he is to deliver the keynote speech. American comedy does sometimes conform to a similar pattern, for example Laurel and Hardy's continually frustrated efforts in their celebrated short film, The Music Box. Of course, it was written by Laurel, who was a Brit.
I REALLY recommend watching the mighty boosh. It different to the usual British comedy and you get to see what the guy from bake off is like ( Noel fielding)
I think the best British comedy, has to be Black Adder, specifically the final series set in the trenches of WW1. With (spoiler alert) the final scenes being preset by the ongoing joke “I have a cunning plan”. I agree with you about Saturday night dinner, I never got into it and found it annoying. Loved the American series Parks & Recreation and The Americans
British comedy wants to have as much of a laugh as possible no matter what. American comedy wants to make as much money as possible no matter what. I know what I choose to watch
I'm pretty sure the bake off hosts are told to reign it in, if you watch Noel Fielding's usual brand of comedy, especially The Mighty Boosh, its some of the most bizarre, insane, out there stuff created
Its a technical term from literary criticism originally, probably overused filler word in reality, motif or theme or device are more common words that fulfil the same purpose as far as I can see.
@@WanderingRavens To be a True Brit:- Pythun, not Py-thon. Orkward, not arkward Don't pronounce the "R". We'll get you speaking UK English soon! Grace is nearly there!
Personally I did get a family matters message from Friday night dinner. I suppose its a culture difference but to me it was saying families are weird and annoying but you keep coming home every week no matter what because in the end you love them.
Closest to an adult cartoon, though not in the American mould... Spitting Image. The 80's series are the best, but you would have to understand the politics of the time. The 2020 series would be easier for you to get into, but isn't a patch on the original.
Didn't they do an animated version of spitting image a few years back? It wasn't called spitting image but the concept was similar. Just animations instead of puppets. I can't remember what it was called.
@@rickb.4168 'Crapston Villas' is stop-motion rather than cell animation that I remember from the nineties. But very, very British in it's tone. I struggle to imagine a US equivalent being made. (I've just looked it up and it's actually on All4)
The catastrophic failure plot wouldn't work Inna country that sees itself as "the Greatest country in the world" and would go against the "American dream", British culture is all about the bants. If you can't laugh at yourself what's the point! 😂
There used to be an adult-themed animation here called Stressed Eric back in the 90's but it didn't last very long. Neither did Crapston Villas, and there was also Monkey Dust which was brilliantly funny but really, really dark. We're quite okay to admit that the adult-themed animation genre is something you guys are so much better than us at doing.
To date, the most moving and memorable ending that I have seen in any comedy show (there may be better, but I haven't seen one) was the final episode of "Black Adder goes Forth". Provided you know enough about the history of WW1 and the significance of the poppy, it's hard to not by moved by that final closing scene. What makes it more jarring, is how funny the rest of the episode is.
I was thinking of commenting on exactly this. It was a total blinder. I think that much British comedy has a dark edge to it, while American comedy is predictably cosy, ending with hugs. I cannot imagine an American comedy series ending in the implied death in appalling circumstances of all the characters.
@@missharry5727 I can think of one US comedy that embraced it's dark credentials and that's MASH, but I can't think of another one (but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist, I've not seen all British comedies, never mind the US ones). That dark nature is not mentioned directly, but it is implicit in Stephen Fry's quick comparison of British Vs American comedy. ruclips.net/video/8k2AbqTBxao/видео.html
@@simonoleary9264 Sorry I'm Late. Did anyone (main characters) actually die in MASH? I saw a lot of it, though not the final show. Even the suicide of Painless (dentist) (from the title theme song) did not happen. I think that's the difference.
@@stephenlee5929 The first commanding officer, Henry Blake, died in MASH. From what I remember, he had been discharged from the army and was on a chopper heading out of Korea. His chopper was shot down and he was killed. I can't think of any other main characters that died though.
I am an American who hasn't watched much British TV. It sounds better that it doesn't have the sort of "genuine" moments that US TV does. They feel good to watch in the moment, but they create a fantasy that things will go well in the end and people will be, well, genuine with one another. But that's not how real life is or will ever be, and our TV makes that reality even more crushing.
In terms of genuinely moving UK TV, there isn't an episode of Derek that hasnt had me in tears. Yes there's comedy too but the realities of care homes and residents passing away is heartbreaking.
As a Briton on the verge of 75 who has watched no US popular culture since ‘The Golden Girls’ (and precious little from the UK either), I learned at a very early age indeed that at some stage in US comedy or drama one is likely to hear those four dire words ‘I love you Mom’. I sincerely hope that ALL Americans love their mothers, but is achingly awful to hear the audience going ‘Ahhhh!’ immediately thereafter.
I think to understand the role of the hosts on Bake Off you need to watch the early seasons with Mel and Sue who brought a specific energy, humour and compassion, not necessarily to provide comic relief, just host and guide the show with warmth. That energy has shifted as new hosts have been brought on and the show moved to Channel 4. But I think the Dad humour is meant to be heartwarming, much like the rest of the show.
Hi guys, a recommendation for a programme that breaks some of the norms of british tv is the Royle Family. It's based around a working class family in Manchester, there are some really heart warming moments of affection between family members that are generally not that nice to each other. It's an absolute classic and so well written, and may provide an insight to what is probably a pretty normal but underrepresented family set up 👍
A couple of animated sketch shows that were definately aimed at a more adult audience that are worth checking out are 'Aaaaargh! It's the Mr Hell Show' and 'Monkey Dust'.
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🔴 13 Things That Make British People IRRATIONALLY ANGRY ruclips.net/video/FDYTxQJxpGQ/видео.html
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I thought I had posted two links of clips of my fav comedy british shows. But doesn'y seem to have saved, so here they are, first is My Family ruclips.net/video/oVf-V_q8KjQ/видео.html
Second is outnumbered :) ruclips.net/video/3TwY9Pa1ThM/видео.html
The kids improvise their lines.
Modern British sitcoms have gone right downhill.
To see the best UK sitcoms upu need to watch older ones.
Only fools and horses was the last real good sitcoms to be made here in the UK.
I recommend you look at some of our older ones.
@@pipercharms7374 Thank you for the recommendations!!
Two UK series to watch that might be worth it for more subtle sincerity would be Jeckyll (with James Nesbit) and Coupling. The latter you can compare with the US version that failed badly. IMO because it had to rush through everything, but the comedy and the characters being played needed time to breathe. More ad time will do that to a show.
The US does (or did) have a pub culture comedy with "Cheers".
British comedy has devolved greatly from the old days. When you grow up with "the Two Ronnies, Morcombe and Wise, Monty Python, etc." and you see the present generation, you get a little depressed.
The main message of British TV is to not take yourself too seriously and to laugh about life when things do go wrong.
@Michelle Lyons Never heard of that show.
@@ayeready6050 It's about how the then-impending nuclear war would play out; panic, death, too few survivors, attempts at control fail due to unrealistic planning, collapse of society, more death due to starvation, a return to rule by brutal repression, children born deformed or dead.
Deadly serious, realistic, and therefore banned by the British Government for nearly 30 years.
Perhaps US TV sitcoms are too fluffy. Happy endings that rarely happen in real life
The inbetweeners was EXACTLY what it was like growing up in early 2000s for most British people 😂
Now its just social media brigade pussyfied generation copying america by being offended by every and anything
Just like the 70's nothings new.
Until about 2013. I reckon it was twitter that changed growing up for good and now the permanently offended have a place to shout the loudest.
Inbetweeners is basically the more realistic British version of American Pie
And to an extent the 1960s. Each one of the Inbetweeners would match up to people, in my group of mates. We did manage to get our leg over, just a little more than them though, honest, honest!
Genuine touching moment in a comedy - the end of Blackadder Goes Forth.
That's the problem with USAican comedies, etc. A "genuine moment" that often kind of detracts from how "genuine" it really is.
"Blackadder Goes Forth" had a stunning ending, fully intending to send a less subtle message than had comedically been presented through the series.
Havent got that far into the series yet! Looking forward to it
But, heck, is that dark!
I think one of the differences is that, in British TV, if you have an emotionally satisfying moment you can't then talk about that subject again. It draws a line under it.
But I don't watch much comedy, so that may be wrong.
The last episode of 'One Foot in the Grave' where Victor is killed in a hit and run and we are left wondering if Margaret did actually murder the the driver in order to get her revenge.
@@WanderingRavens You also need to get into Upstart Crow, starring David Mitchell; when you get to the last episode, bring tissues.
I find British show tend to have more everyday looking actors, that is more relatable. While US shows will try to glam it up. Example Friends all attractive living in apartments they would not normally be able to afford.
As opposed to Coupling, where they have reasonably sized London flats :) At least, Jane and Susan do. I can't recall Sally's offhand. Patrick's flat is largish, as is Jeff's.
Ye like miranda very down to earth but hilarious
and gavin and stacie
Watch Superstore on Netflix if you want to see American characters who look more real
Yeah we tend to go for realism here lol
American TV is also written by a multitude of writers whereas UK shows usually have one or two.
Good point!
@@WanderingRavens anytime!
Mostly by Richard Curtis!
@@izziebon he doesn't do anywhere near as much TV as some people. He's who you turn to for a "what everyone thinks the UK is like but it really isn't" film 😂
@@izziebon Blackadder, Vicar of Dibley, Not the Nine O’Clock News and Mr Bean certainly
We generally don't do messages or morals in comedies. You want a moral, watch Songs of Praise.
And even then they skip a load of the actual teachings
Fax
......or the news.
Oh wait. 🤔
US sitcoms just seem really fake and un-natural and jokes are just never funny, theyre cringy and added fking laughter tracks and cheer and clap at everything
Yeah, we hate the laugh tracks too (Friends is the worst example). But quite a few UK series have laugh tracks too!
US sitcoms have more writers, need to have broader appeal to get on cable, need to get on cable to be successful, and they have to have more, longer and more frequent ad breaks otherwise they will be inserted anyway, because the cable is paying to sell ad space, not your show.
@@WanderingRavens That was by far the worst thing about the otherwise great various Alan Partridge sitcoms. Even by the standard of regular laugh tracks, the "audience" reaction to even the weaker gags was way over the top. Over here MASH never had a laugh track but I was surprised to discover that it did over there.
@@bodsnvimto it is a genuine studio audience
@@vaudevillian7 It being? If you are referring to MASH then I don't know why it'd be removed over here. If you mean the various Partridge programmes then I can only presume a spot of fiddling was done amongst the production staff, sticking the bigger laughs they got in more than just the gags they were howling at. And yes, this has been known to happen, I'm not saying in these specific cases but in general.
American tv is known to always have ‘pretty’ people instead of normal everyday people like the UK
Yes! I have noted this many times. UK shows have real-looking people.
Because we have rules about that subject
Yes even on the news when they call an expert to talk on a subject in the UK it will often be a (average/ugly looking scientist who knows their stuff) whilst in the US it will be a someone young with a gleaming perfect smile who barely knows what they are talking about.
330M people only 200 actors... lol
From a UK perspective, I couldn't get into most US sitcoms because of the general hopefulness in it. It just felt a little fake to me, whereas UK humour tended to be a little more grounded.
Probably why my favourite US sitcom is Malcom in the Middle, that show's brilliant. :p
Curb is more your cup of tea if you havnt seen it
Curb is more your cup of tea if you havnt seen it
Middle as well and raising hope(from a Brit)
That makes sense!
One of my favourite American comedies is Reno 911, it rarely ends on a high note much like British comedies.
The British love puns: Did you know the actor Yul Brynner was a lifelong Liverpool fan and never wore aftershave?
That's right, Yul never wore cologne. Check out what song the Liverpool fans sing.
Brilliant.
It took me a minute! 🤣
Omg 🤣
😂
😂😂😂
You have to admit, catastrophic endings are much more realistic than perfect ones.
True 😂😂
Every human's story ends in death
Maybe the Americans are suffering from Waltonisms? Good night.
@@bannnnner that's a bit morbid lol 😂
If you want catastrophic comedy endings there's the Brittas Empire. The leisure centre gets destroyed on a regular basis.
american comedies can be sickly sweet and wholesome, wheras british can be very ireverent and not end happliy, as we like it to be realsitic
Brits like laughing AT people and we’re mostly ok with being laughed AT rather than WITH. We also like an ending where we see our life isn’t as bad as someone else’s 😂
Spot on
Good point!! Brits really know how to give and take a joke :D
@@WanderingRavens Mostly we don't take ourselves so serious as other nations do, we know we're not perfect but we are very close to it.
Schadenfreude - it's a German word but we Brits can totally relate
@@colinp2238 when god made perfection he created brits,,
If you want a truly hard hitting emotional moment in British comedy, I'd suggest the last episode of Blackadder goes forth. It's a beautiful and heart wrenching at the end.
Oh yes. I definitely agree with you there. They don't show the characters being shot but by the way the music swells and that the actors are falling etc, you can tell and I struggle to watch that episode
I was terrified that the show I loved was going to mock the soldiers going over the top and would be lambasted for it, but the poignancy of that final scene was a masterpiece. I was just left sat in silence, a beautiful moment as the battlefield turned to poppies
Genuine moments; watch the last 3 minutes of the last episode of Blackadder set in WWI - the last episode of BA ever made. Its immensely powerful precisely because you're expecting a joke, because this is Blackadder, but all you get is the horror of trench warfare. Respect.
To get the full effect you need to watch the entire series. Up until the last episode it was criticised for being disrespectful to the troops.
Haven't made it past season 2 yet!
Alan Beaumont It is mocking of the officers, not the troops. Lions led by donkeys was what was said.
@@torfrida6663 The mud was thrown everywhere, but yes the Red Hats got most of it.
Ditto the end of the first series of Derry Girls - make sure it’s the one with Madonna’s song “Like a Prayer” and not the updated version which fails (thanks a bunch Madonna)
It was a culture shock the first time I went to the USA (Texas). You had the programme, adverts, the end credits, the intro credits to the next programme, more adverts, then the next programme started.
Also, no screen cards at the start/end of adverts in the middle of each program. You didn't even realise to start with that they'd cut to adverts.
Sounds horrendous!
If you've not seen them yet, Gavin and Stacey, Misfits and Outnumbered
I'd forgotten about Outnumbered but that is a good one to watch.
Loved misfits! Wish it wasn't so short lived.
Not going out, Some Mothers' Do Ave Em (free episodes all on YT), Goodnight Sweetheart, Butterflies...
Porridige and Open All Hours
Men Behaving Badly. UK version of course not the US one.
The Royle Family is rather funny, it's a bittersweet working class comedy with a lot of dark humour, sarcastic tension and sometimes comedy grotesque characters, with the odd moment of pathos here and there, and each episode is usually told in real time
When the gran died, it was heartbreaking. That's true emotion. A lot of what was termed "genuine" in US sitcoms is anything but.
The hosts on bake off aren't really meant to be that funny, they're just there to put the bakers at ease and highlight them instead. You should watch some of the earlier series with Mel and Sue as the hosts instead and you'll get a better sense of the shoes Noel and Matt are trying to fill. The chaotic parental energy is definitely the vibe they're going for.
(Also please, God, watch Doctor Who)
ln their wildest dreams Mel and Sue would actually be funny.
Thanks for answering our Bake Off question! We'll watch some of the earlier shows and will keep in mind that they're not supposed to be straight comic relief :D
@@WanderingRavens Also Noel fielding in the right context is one of best british comedians, Bake Off isn't really a vehicle for hilarious comedy, the hosts are their more to add a bit of light heartedness.
@@whipcream345 He is a treasure. But here's something I've been thinking about recently: how well do you think Might Boosh has aged?
@@lorriesherbet In all honesty i was never the biggest fan of the mighty boosh, ive came to love noel mainly based on panel shows, although the surrealist comedy of the mighty boosh doesnt seem to have aged much if youre into that kind of thing (in my opinion).
I don't know whether 'Dinner Ladies' written by Victoria Wood would be too British for you; but it definitely contains genuine moments. She was an absolute genius in many people's opinion.
I think British tv really likes to lean into what is uniquely British as A LOT of content we watch IS American. So what we make feels the need exhibit the dry, colloquial, idiosyncratic Britishness
That's a good point!!
@@WanderingRavens Do you think it points out how far apart the Staes has gone from their British roots? The comedy show Red Dwarf still is huge in the UK but the American remake failed badly because some humour doesn't travel well.
Money, money, money! US TV shows were screened by the bucketful in the 50s and 60s because it was cheaper to buy the US shows than to make domestic content. Same language, so a no brainer.
Hence I watched a lot of "I love Lucy" and a bit of " Dixon of Dock Green" which was locally produced.
@@WanderingRavens Why did you concentrate on sitcoms and adult programmes? What about soap operas, current affairs, news programmes, documentaries etc.
There hardly American shows that are real and gritty doesn’t portray working class people in a good light sometimes
I think we in Britain like repetition (in terms of episode plot points) because that's how our everyday lives feel; it's something we can recognise and relate to, and it also endears us to the characters because we are living their lives along with them. One example is Dinnerladies, a late-90s sitcom set in a factory canteen; every day they open up, the bread man makes his delivery, the toaster's not working again, people keep opening the fire escape and letting in cold drafts to everyone's annoyance, etc. People recognise that and feel closer to the characters and the plot.
Another example is "The Royle Family", another late-90s/early-00s sitcom about a typical, working class, northern English family. Pretty much every episode just revolved around the family watching TV, that's it! But everyone loved it because it was so well-observed and relatable. Then, when tender moments did happen, you were so emotionally-invested that they hit harder and felt so much more genuine.
Oohhhh, you should watch ghosts, it's a newish show, but it's rly good, it's written by all of the horrible histories cast
I second this
Same here. It's great. This year's Christmas special was fantastic.
Yes . It was surprisingly good.
a brilliant show and technically amazing
It's lovely.
I think the reason "Frasier" was and is so huge in the UK is that it bucks the US trend of happy endings. It always goes wrong for Frasier and Niles. A very British style comedy.
Similar reason to why house was so big here too
I mean it's not just comedy. Shows that try to push the envelope tend to do a lot better in the UK than they do in the US, even if they're American shows. Babylon 5 and the rebooted Battlestar Galactica both did better here than they did in the US, to such an extent in the latter case that we actually got new BSG episodes before America did, something almost unheard of for a show made in America!
Also the show Superstore on Netflix. It's a very wholesome American comedy but everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
@@PassiveSmoking Same with Stargate. Britain had the same viewer figures as America, despite a much smaller population. The only reason Stargate managed to last as long as it did was the demand from the UK and Germany. In later seasons when the American new season release would go on their mid season breaks they kept showing the shows in the UK and not take a break.
@@Flakey101 Maybe we just really like sci-fi over here! But Stargate was a great show (at least until the Ori showed up)
I've noticed quite a common theme in American shows is that there's *always* a baseball/American football episode.
Bake Off hosts arent't there to be comics, they are just hosts. It did used to be funnier with Mel & Sue on BBC, but that depends if you like innuendo.
I see the hosts as moral support for the bakers. They're the 'non-experts' to help them along, keep them from focusing on their own disasters, and keep them smiling.
And I agree Mel and Sue were delightful.
I read an article where Mel & Sue would stand near a baker and curse if the baker started crying, so the producers couldn't use that footage. I thought that was a wonderful anodyne to the horribly fake drama most American cooking shows manufacture.
@@greendragonpublishing I heard that too. Thought it was good of them to do that.
I’d recommend Not Going Out, Doctor Who, Death in Paradise, Ghosts, Have I got News for You, Mock the Week, The Wheel, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, to name a few.
I agree with all but the wheel.
If you’re going to watch have I got news for you it’s best to watch before 2018
I definitely second Not Going Out. Also Would I Lie To You
I never realised how repetitive our jokes are 😂 I think we're just a very inside-jokey nation 😂
I feel as though it's unfair to say Jim coming over in every episode of Friday Night Dinner is an overused joke. It's not the fact he's there that we're supposed to be laughing at, or him misnaming the boys and wincing when he goes to stroke Wilson. The jokes are what surrounds that formula and it's different every time. He never comes over for the same reason or says the same thing and it has a different impact on the rest of the story in the episode each time. It's not like the rest of the story pauses for the Jim section, it always makes what ever the conflict of the episode is worse, thus elevating the humour...
...in my opinion.
Plus was heart wrenching when Wilson died..Jim showed a lot of genuine human emotion and they realised he wasn’t just a complete wacko in that episode.
I came here to say the same
You are 100% correct, it is not a repeated joke, as with the boys fighting and name calling, its what families do, its not a fake 'let's make something else up' each time as that would not be authentic. The same with much of it really, if you dint get it then you dont get it and as much of American sit coms are all about how to be 'perfect' and the mishaps that get in the way but eventually turn out perfectly (and laugh tracks) removes the genuine feeling or connection with real life. We like much more realism in our TV when it comes to family and the like.
@@nancybudd494 , I couldn't agree with you more. Interesting how they didn't seem to like that one so much, as I think Friday Night Dinner is one of the stronger laugh out loud sit-coms on TV right now.
@@ZakJames I agree, I'm sad its finished now but I think it finished at the right point. I have seen that most Americans miss the nuances of British humour and culturally they just dont understand it and likely wont even if they think they do. American humor is far more obvious on the most part
Jim is almost representative of that busy body neighbour so it's perfectly fitting that he shows up every night.
The icky sentimentality of US tv shows, whether dramatic or comedic, makes them unwatchable to me. That there has to be some sort of formulaic emotional pay off or resolution is grimly inevitable and ruins most things.
We do have shows about family values though - Gavin and Stacey, Outnumbered, Stella, etc Even Red Dwarf has a sort of twisted family in it and so does Dr Who!
Dr who used to till chris chibnall took over joining in the pussyfied social media brigade
When I worked overseas and did some cross-cultural training we looked at the idea of high-context v low-context cultures. High-context (like UK) have a hidden set of rules/schemas that are understood by locals and can be difficult for outsiders to get to grips with; low-context (like US) on the other hand do not have the same expectations. This mainly came about because of the US being such a melting-pot of different cultures that there was no unifying, underlying values/ideas and so the culture developed an attitude of not making these assumptions and instead being more explicit with their culture and maintaining strong links to their ancestral cultures. This also links with directness - Brits tend to be more indirect because they can be due to the high-context cultural expectations they have that others will understand what they mean.
It was interesting seeing this discourse come up in your examination of the differences between the TV series and is a good reason why US TV is so accessible worldwide as it is so low-context.
As a side note, this is also why people sometimes accuse USA of having 'no culture' which is completely untrue; it just functions very differently in this low-context way. That might seem less 'refined' to someone from a high-context background, but that's just the high-context person being a snobby jackass :P
The end of the Only Fools And Horse episode where Rodney gets married has a very genuine moment,where after everyone has left the reception,Del is left there alone while Holdin' Back The Years by Simply Red plays
The one where Del gets beaten up because he can't pay the loan off because I think he used it to pay for Rodney's wedding reception or honeymoon.
I love the Delboy moment when he shows newborn Damien the stars.
Pathos
You should watch Taskmaster, it's comedy gold!
Fools and horses. The lift scene when Del forces Rodney to confront the loss of his baby. If you don’t have tears in your eyes you’re heartless.
We haven't seen that episode yet!
Only fools and horses get the whole box set watch it from star to finish it’s a sit com but touching moment when grandad dies in fact I’ve seen every season including Christmas specials and it’s still funny
A lot of the best UK Sitcoms use misdirection. One of the best examples is Only Fools, where the Trotters con themselves into a job cleaning chandeliers. Of course they are going to destroy the priceless chandelier, but it's the switch at the crucial moment that's brilliant ruclips.net/video/LFuYIi5-igc/видео.html
The Holding Back the Years bit where Del got a kicking for giving owed money to Rodders and Cass was a good one too.
I think the nudity thing is more about general censorship, ‘Naked Attraction’ wouldn’t be a show on one of the standard big channels in America would it? Lol or at all?
All I was thinking was ‘they obviously haven’t watched Naked Attraction’
Good point 😂😂
It all depends what you mean by censorship. A couple of nights ago I watched a really, really good documentary about the making of West Side Story, and how it nearly wasn't staged because no producer would touch it. That was because they thought it would be a flop, and that was because they assumed Americans want Life Affirming shows. Is it all part of The American Dream - You Can Make It If You Try Hard? The producers knew instinctively that the moment people doubt that, so much about how the US works starts to crumble. In the UK because there isn't so much pressure for a show to be a commercial success, producers and writers are happy to take more risks.
@@elisemae13 My thought precisely.
Same as like embarassing bodies, I feel like that wouldn't be on TV in America
I am vastly amused that Grace has unconsciously used that very British expression of "a piss-take"!
You can take me out of the UK but you can't take the UK out of me! xD
I think she was conscious when she said that
With the Bake-off thing, I think most British people would probably say that the two comedians are perfect for that role. Lol. It’s not a comedy show. They are just there to fill in the gaps and not to steal the show. I think it would ruin it with a loud, over-the-top comedian cracking jokes every 2 minutes. Lol.
Agree they are there to compliment the show. The show is about baking. Not comedy or them 👍
It might have been wise to employ some one funny for that role though
I liked the two women that used to be on the bake off better than these two guys. They just had more of a chemistry between the two of them they played off of each other well. It wasn’t quite as awkward as these two. In the US I think I’ve only seen one of the new series so far, and I might have only seen the new guys when I was over in Britain now that I think about it. It takes a long time for them to make it here over here.
I’m neither British nor American, but I really enjoy the Great British Baking Show (or Bake Off). The bakers are the focus for me and I think the hosts are there just to take some of the tension out of it. Sandi Toksvig was my favourite host but she gave it up because all the cakes were making her put on weight.
4:52 if you want to see a show that mentions earring curry a lot I highly recommend watching red dwarf on uk Netflix. You’d love it.
I've got some chilled vindaloo sauce for today's breakfast, followed by a triple fried egg chilli chutney sandwich for lunch, and then for dinner I'm going to have a shami kebab diablo. De-smegging-licious.
6:18 I think this comes down to "national expectation"
Americans are always positive. I used to work with an american for many years and when I asked "how is your day going" he used to always respond with "On the top, never going to drop!" or "On top today, you?"...
Whilst Britain...well British culture is more "it can't get any worse can it?" or "it's better than xyz", so that is why we will answer to "how are you" often with "well the weather is OK" and if anyone says they are "fine" they are often lying.
Mustn't grumble
Not bad
There is some genuine sincerity in UK sitcoms, check out the Only Fools and Horses episode where they bury Grandad (Leonard Pearce had actually passed away) and also the end of Blackadder where they go over the top of the trenches in the First World War, it is very few and far between though.
American trope: social roles in high school. Cheerleaders, jocks, geeks etc
saved by the bell
That's true, for example, I get the impression that no-one is allowed to be both athletic and academic. You are one of the other and if you are neither, you will have to join a bunch of weirdos.
@@trickygoose2 yeah is that true in America, cause its really odd to me
@@animatechap5176 Well that's the impression you get from TV and films but whether it's actually true in real life I'm not so sure as I'm British. I suspect those groups do exist but things are a little more fluid.
Bullying is a classic American trope too, hope it’s not that prevalent in real life.
I think that the American version of the British TV trope of eating or wanting a curry is eating a burrito, including something called a breakfast burrito. I can't even imagine what that is!
I agree with your idea about tropes, but Peep Show is an extreme example! And Friday Night Dinner isn't a typical sitcom. But awkwardness and dark humour are common tropes in British TV.
Being a Brit living in the US I mostly agree with most of what you said about the differences. British shows are more like real life and American shows do tend to have a message to share. A couple of other things I noticed in British tv shows after 9:00 pm swearing is not bleeped out unlike the network shows on NBC ABC CBS CW11 FOX etc...in America and skirt/dress lengths tend to be longer on British tv than on US tv.
I think the sincere moment turning into a joke is an exaggeration of us brits’ tendency of using teasing and taking the mick as a a form of love language. We mess with our friends and family a lot but thats cause we love them.
I'll re-re-reccomend Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister.
Mr Hedgebull Yes, great, but do you think that verbal humour would go down well in the USA? I know the articulate Ravens will get it, but not sure about generally.
@@torfrida6663 Yeah, I'm recommending it for the Ravens, it's a valid point though, it probably is a tad too wordy for a general audience these days.
What is amazing is how it's all the the same topics in politics now.
NHS, EU, Trident, shifting cabinet picks, political advisors, etc. It's almost depressing.
Did the yes minister books come before or after the programme?
@@emkav551 The only book I've ever seen was a collection of the scripts, so that would be after.
i feel like the reason british sitcoms sentimental moments always end in a joke is cause it is a a sentimental moment, (i know that doesn’t make any sense but lemme explain) these jokes are showing the audience that everything is okay even if they are laughing at each other. it’s a form of friendly banta that only close friends or family experience. also most british sitcoms are parodies on everyday life e.g the (UK) office, friday night dinner, inbetweeners, peep show, IT crowd, etc. so these jokes at the end of/during sentimental moments is simply the show being a parody and making fun.
i hope that made sense and cleared things up 🙂
with the good old 'British Reserve' we sometimes get embarrassed by people being over sentimental - it makes us feel awkward and uncomfortable - so it's natural to make a joke out of it to diffuse a situation and show that we're NOT embarrassed, if you see what I mean?
I'm only halfway through watching, will finish later, but just to say: if you haven't seen it, Outnumbered is my all time favourite British comedy series.
It's hilarious! And maddening. And definitely a show that highlights the trope of the extended awkwardness.
I've just remembered Del Boy talking to his newborn son, in Only Fools and Horses. That was genuine. Or Denise, scared in the bathroom, and her lazy git of a dad talks her round, in the Royle Family. Or the Christmas special of the Royle Family when the gran dies.
British comedy does do those moments, but it's usually a little more like real life, and more heart-rending than those moments across the pond seem to be. Although, there have been similar moment there too. Coach dying, in Cheers, or Carla going through difficulties and Sam helping her. Those moments don't work as a good counterpoint if they're too sentimental.
I recommend UK being human specialises in awkward moments. Have you seen the Mighty Boosh it's very different for British comedy.
Please watch The Royle Family. Absolutely genius sitcom. It might be a bit too British at times but it's so well written and genuinely hilarious.
I think British shows avoid 'genuine' moments every episode because putting them in the formula makes them feel fake and contrived to us - we're a bit more about the subtext. And then if there ever is an emotional moment it packs more of a punch.
I guess that's a trope right there: Americans being so genuine it hurts and Brits being allergic to showing too much deep emotion
Also, WHY does American TV and film have so many 'teenagers' played by 30 year olds?
Exactly this. British shows are generally quite subtle and subtext heavy. They rely on you as a viewer projecting your own experiences (in British culture) on to the show which makes it feel more realistic. The Office as an example can be very funny but it’s actually a mirror to working life for a lot of people. The mundane moments, the power structures, petty squabbles, human connections and unspoken chemistry. The Office Christmas special IS special because it has 12 episodes of build up and subtext that make them feel earned.
British shows to add to your list:
Not going out
Line of duty
Skins
Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps
Also, watch Coupling and tell me that's not the BBC trying to write a British version of Friends!
I read a good explanation of Fawlty towers. "It depicts the Englishman's fight against his last enamy. Himself."
I suppose the best way to look at this is with this scenario I was shown a while ago. A customer in a restaurant is having a go at a waiter for a fly in his soup and the waiter is obviously apologetic and yet put upon. In an American sitcom you watch the customer while in a British Sitcom you watch the waiter
Have you seen naked attraction that would never be allowed on American TV.
We're trying to avoid that one 😂😂
Love that show they should definitely watch it. Its not as horrible as you think
@@WanderingRavens Yeah it's not great I don't like it It's too gross for me 😆
@@WanderingRavens Definitely avoid it!
Also couldn't see Queer as folk being shown in the U.S.
No wonder my UK friends took to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia so well.
As a Teenage Brit ,a series I loved watching growing up was Miranda. It shows the life of a middle class women in mid-30’s and her struggles to live up to her moms status I really recommend (I Bloody love your channel)
About the bake-off comic relief (Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding) - it has to be considered that both of them as comedians usually reside in the genre of comedy as far removed from a baking competition as you can get - surrealism. For them actually be doing their more recognised brand of comedy on that show would simply be far too jarring for the much more broad audience of bake off than, for example, the audiences of Little Britain (Matt) or The Mighty Boosh (Noel). Both great shows in their own rights, and if you decide to watch either of them I'm sure you'll see exactly what I mean.
It’d be great if you’d included Taskmaster and Would I Lie To You
Bob Mortimer’s stories.😳
The last episode of Blackadder Goes Fourth the most genuine and honest episode of any comedy ever filmed.
18:20 "Are we just stupid in America?" You know, you shouldn't ask a question, if you don't want an answer!! I think one difference in the TV is that we tend to be much more self deprecating in the UK, whilst American TV is a bit too 'full of itself'.
Have you never heard of the Oscar winning Wallace and Grommet cartoons?
I think (correct me if I'm wrong) us Brits started the sci-fi comedy genre with Red Dwarf. Well worth a watch if you like Blackadder or Bottom
Red dwarf is great
Even before Red Dwarf, I forget the name but it was an alien living in London trying to be Human (a 60s comedy show).
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is also a classic Sci fi show. I’m also such a massive fan of red dwarf.
@@stayforthepeelpronpls4774 Oh Belgium! how could I forget the guide. Hilarious and older that the Dwarf
Red Dwarf was hilarious
Especially all the Insult's they Called each other
Another was Black Adder with Captain Flashhart and Baldrick was dressed as a Bridesmaid Flashhart says
Love the Beard it gives me something to hang on too
The food tropes are true! I would compare Indian food in the UK to Mexican food in the US, it's something almost everyone is familiar with eating and ordering at gatherings and on weekends, usually considered unhealthy and drunk food but delicious lol
I would of massively enjoyed Watching you react to British TV shows. Please do that.
The dinner thing is to trap the characters in a room they can't escape without being rude. The overall British thing is to put characters together who often resent each other and try to get one over on each other, whereas the US seems to centre around a team which supports each other. Oh and we don't have that 'I love you dad' thing which is usually cringeworthy.
We aren't always consistent however. Having laughed at the incompetent antics of the Home Guard in 'Dad's Army' we then get 'The Deadly Attachment' episode where they are finally confronted by a Nazi U-Boat Captain plus crew and step up and it's still funny.
I think there is something in the British mentality that we find it easiest to make fun of the things we really love. We can make fun of the Home Guard, or the police, or the army, the navy, the NHS or the Queen, but it doesn't lessen our respect and affection for these institutions. In some cultures mickey-taking would be seen as undermining them, but not here.
"Don't tell him, Pike!"
Yes, British comedy tends to thrive on 'trapped' characters. Whether literally, like Porridge in a prison or something like Steptoe and Son where they are stuck with each other or shows like Hancock, Only Fools & Horses and Keeping up Appearances where the characters have delusions of grandeur or wealth that they will probably never realise.
I must admit that my bete noire has always been ‘I love you mom’ whether in comedy or drama. I cannot ever remember hearing ‘I love you mum’ here at home in the UK. Let us always celebrate Phil Silvers when it comes to US comedy. Those who do not know Ernie Bilko are sadly underprivileged.
'And they all live happily ever after' is covered by Disney 👍
Regarding the relentlessly deteriorating situations in Brit comedy, and not entirely dissociated from Fawlty Towers, the film Clockwise sees John Cleese's character descend into increasing chaos and misery in trying to make his way to an important meeting of headteachers where he is to deliver the keynote speech.
American comedy does sometimes conform to a similar pattern, for example Laurel and Hardy's continually frustrated efforts in their celebrated short film, The Music Box. Of course, it was written by Laurel, who was a Brit.
You’re spot on.with the panel shows. You know you’re British at heart when you get the jokes😁always look forward to your videos 👌
I REALLY recommend watching the mighty boosh. It different to the usual British comedy and you get to see what the guy from bake off is like ( Noel fielding)
I think the best British comedy, has to be Black Adder, specifically the final series set in the trenches of WW1. With (spoiler alert) the final scenes being preset by the ongoing joke “I have a cunning plan”. I agree with you about Saturday night dinner, I never got into it and found it annoying. Loved the American series Parks & Recreation and The Americans
Saturday night dinner? Friday night dinner, very over rated you either like it or not, noone seems down the middle.
One needs to understand Jewish culture to really get it
@@tonys1636 - you don't need to know very much about it to get the jokes
British comedy wants to have as much of a laugh as possible no matter what. American comedy wants to make as much money as possible no matter what. I know what I choose to watch
I'm pretty sure the bake off hosts are told to reign it in, if you watch Noel Fielding's usual brand of comedy, especially The Mighty Boosh, its some of the most bizarre, insane, out there stuff created
I've spent a lot of years on this earth and I have NEVER heard the word "trope" in my life. I can't be alone on this.
Me neither, scrolled down expecting everyone to be saying "what the bloody hell is a trope"
Me neither
Its a technical term from literary criticism originally, probably overused filler word in reality, motif or theme or device are more common words that fulfil the same purpose as far as I can see.
I think you should watch naked attraction and see the kinda show's that shows the difference about nudity on TV
watch "life on mars" and "ashes to ashes"
Love this channel, hope you get to stay in the UK guys 😊
Thanks, Adam!! x
@@WanderingRavens Wow, even putting the 'x' at the end of messages! You really are becoming honorary Brits - lol.
@@WanderingRavens To be a True Brit:-
Pythun, not Py-thon.
Orkward, not arkward Don't pronounce the "R".
We'll get you speaking UK English soon! Grace is nearly there!
Personally I did get a family matters message from Friday night dinner. I suppose its a culture difference but to me it was saying families are weird and annoying but you keep coming home every week no matter what because in the end you love them.
Closest to an adult cartoon, though not in the American mould... Spitting Image.
The 80's series are the best, but you would have to understand the politics of the time.
The 2020 series would be easier for you to get into, but isn't a patch on the original.
Never seen ‘Monkey Dust’ or ‘Stressed Eric?’ There are others as well.
@@rickb.4168Bob & Margaret
Didn't they do an animated version of spitting image a few years back? It wasn't called spitting image but the concept was similar. Just animations instead of puppets. I can't remember what it was called.
@@rickb.4168 'Crapston Villas' is stop-motion rather than cell animation that I remember from the nineties. But very, very British in it's tone. I struggle to imagine a US equivalent being made. (I've just looked it up and it's actually on All4)
@@zak3744 I was trying to remember the name of that. It was great.
The catastrophic failure plot wouldn't work Inna country that sees itself as "the Greatest country in the world" and would go against the "American dream", British culture is all about the bants. If you can't laugh at yourself what's the point! 😂
You really need to watch 'life on Mars/ashes to ashes' and 'phoenix nights' and 'two Pints of lager & a packet of crisps'
There used to be an adult-themed animation here called Stressed Eric back in the 90's but it didn't last very long. Neither did Crapston Villas, and there was also Monkey Dust which was brilliantly funny but really, really dark. We're quite okay to admit that the adult-themed animation genre is something you guys are so much better than us at doing.
To date, the most moving and memorable ending that I have seen in any comedy show (there may be better, but I haven't seen one) was the final episode of "Black Adder goes Forth".
Provided you know enough about the history of WW1 and the significance of the poppy, it's hard to not by moved by that final closing scene.
What makes it more jarring, is how funny the rest of the episode is.
I was thinking of commenting on exactly this. It was a total blinder. I think that much British comedy has a dark edge to it, while American comedy is predictably cosy, ending with hugs. I cannot imagine an American comedy series ending in the implied death in appalling circumstances of all the characters.
@@missharry5727
I can think of one US comedy that embraced it's dark credentials and that's MASH, but I can't think of another one (but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist, I've not seen all British comedies, never mind the US ones).
That dark nature is not mentioned directly, but it is implicit in Stephen Fry's quick comparison of British Vs American comedy.
ruclips.net/video/8k2AbqTBxao/видео.html
@@simonoleary9264 Sorry I'm Late.
Did anyone (main characters) actually die in MASH?
I saw a lot of it, though not the final show.
Even the suicide of Painless (dentist) (from the title theme song) did not happen.
I think that's the difference.
@@stephenlee5929
The first commanding officer, Henry Blake, died in MASH.
From what I remember, he had been discharged from the army and was on a chopper heading out of Korea.
His chopper was shot down and he was killed.
I can't think of any other main characters that died though.
I am an American who hasn't watched much British TV. It sounds better that it doesn't have the sort of "genuine" moments that US TV does. They feel good to watch in the moment, but they create a fantasy that things will go well in the end and people will be, well, genuine with one another. But that's not how real life is or will ever be, and our TV makes that reality even more crushing.
You need to watch both dad's army and the good life. Two of my favourite shows ever.
Edit: and red dwarf.
Not an adult UK animation but the UK puppet show Mongrels is worth a watch.
Miranda is such a good show, I would definitely recommend watching it!
YES!!!!! Highly recommend it!...and the vicar of Dibley
was just about to recommend Miranda, one of my favourites
Such Fun!
In terms of genuinely moving UK TV, there isn't an episode of Derek that hasnt had me in tears. Yes there's comedy too but the realities of care homes and residents passing away is heartbreaking.
life on mars is one of the best shows that has been on british tv - i highly recommend :) (and please god watch sherlock!)
As a Briton on the verge of 75 who has watched no US popular culture since ‘The Golden Girls’ (and precious little from the UK either), I learned at a very early age indeed that at some stage in US comedy or drama one is likely to hear those four dire words ‘I love you Mom’. I sincerely hope that ALL Americans love their mothers, but is achingly awful to hear the audience going ‘Ahhhh!’ immediately thereafter.
I'll never look at TV the same again. Try the comedy 'The Royle Family' (No I didn't spell that incorrectly).
I think to understand the role of the hosts on Bake Off you need to watch the early seasons with Mel and Sue who brought a specific energy, humour and compassion, not necessarily to provide comic relief, just host and guide the show with warmth. That energy has shifted as new hosts have been brought on and the show moved to Channel 4. But I think the Dad humour is meant to be heartwarming, much like the rest of the show.
PLEESE PLEASE PLEASE watch CBBC's Horrible Histories - everything is 100% accuRAT
Hi guys, a recommendation for a programme that breaks some of the norms of british tv is the Royle Family. It's based around a working class family in Manchester, there are some really heart warming moments of affection between family members that are generally not that nice to each other. It's an absolute classic and so well written, and may provide an insight to what is probably a pretty normal but underrepresented family set up 👍
I feel like, as a Brit, a lot of the jokes in Family Guy go over my head!
A lot of them are very specific to/are only got by those living in the US, especially when it comes to their celebrities.
a lot are just references to things masquerading as jokes, if you don't get the references you're doomed
There was a British adult animated show a while ago called Monkey Dust. It was... dark.
A couple of animated sketch shows that were definately aimed at a more adult audience that are worth checking out are 'Aaaaargh! It's the Mr Hell Show' and 'Monkey Dust'.