They're good shows but few and far between . . . and isn't it interesting that whenever we speak about good BBC comedies people almost always reach back to between 50 to 20 years ago.
Since Yes Minister we've had, just a quick pick of a few of my favourites
Cheers - 275 episodes Friends - 236 episodes The Big Bang Theory - 279 episodes How I Met Your Mother - 208 episodes Seinfeld - 180 episodes Home Improvement - 204 episodes
Not a comedy but since you mentioned Yes Minister its worth noting The West Wing managed a quality 156 episodes.
I'd add Curb Your Enthusiasm and Modern Family as two I like a lot, Parks and Recreation is good as well. A lot of people like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
America seems to be able to produce good long-running comedy shows in a way we simply don't.
I forgot Frasier. That was great.
Ally Mcbeal was written by one person interestingly.
Survivors (the Seventies British drama) was wholly written by one person, Terry Nation. Only Fools and Horses was entirely John Sullivan's baby. Downton Abbey was nearly entirely written by Julian Fellows, with a few exceptions. Ditto Babylon Five and J Michael Straczynski.
Only Fools & Horses... doubt there’s one episode from the first 6-7 series that could be shown on prime time tv now without some censorship
I'm trying to remember them. I can vaguely remember the ones with Grandad before he died and was replaced by Uncle Albert. But the memories are overlayed with the later ones with Cassandra and Raquel. I remember bits like the bit with the shotgun, and the one with the candleabras. It was good for a long while but fell off towards the end: definitely after the one where they find the watch and get rich
Remember what I was saying a few threads back, about how British comedy used to be about people trapped in circumstances they were trying to get out of? Only Fools and Horses was one of the good ones in that tradition, and there's a lot of competition in that category. Then round about Extras series two it changed, and now it's all rich people whining or culture war stuff...
It fell away badly when Del settled down with Raquel. It was so much better when they were single and ducking and diving.
The second series was the first cassette we got when we got a video in the early 80s, my Dads mate had taped it off the telly and I watched it endlessly. Triggers Grandads Ashes, the card game w Boycie, the Spanish Holiday and Chinese restaurant paint job - classic comedy
Remember what I was saying a few threads back, about how British comedy used to be about people trapped in circumstances they were trying to get out of? Only Fools and Horses was one of the good ones in that tradition, and there's a lot of competition in that category. Then round about Extras series two it changed, and now it's all rich people whining or culture war stuff...
Don't forget comedy panel shows. Sure we have had them for a long time, but they really just became pretty much the entire comedy offering for quite a while.
They're very cheap: one studio, four or six slebs or cheap comedians, two or three cameras, and a couple of runners and you can churn them out. If you get lucky you can franchise the format and export it. Get it right and its a goldmine.
Remember what I was saying a few threads back, about how British comedy used to be about people trapped in circumstances they were trying to get out of? Only Fools and Horses was one of the good ones in that tradition, and there's a lot of competition in that category. Then round about Extras series two it changed, and now it's all rich people whining or culture war stuff...
Don't forget comedy panel shows. Sure we have had them for a long time, but they really just became pretty much the entire comedy offering for quite a while.
They're very cheap: one studio, four or six slebs or cheap comedians, two or three cameras, and a couple of runners and you can churn them out. If you get lucky you can franchise the format and export it. Get it right and its a goldmine.
It seems very hard to do 100 episodes of 'peak comedy'. Fawlty Towers stopped after 12 episodes because they thought they'd gone on long enough.
Wikipedia says Yes Minister had 38 episodes = good considering how funny they were. But with Yes Prime Minister it tailed off a bit.
Dad’s Army ran to 80, and until the final eight the quality remained high.
I thought Fawlty Towers finished because John Cleese split with Polly (sorry awful to forget her name).
Connie Booth.
But I think they had decided to finish at 12 before they split.
It is worth noting that before Fawlty Towers, John Cleese had also left Monty Python early because he felt they had run out of ideas and were recycling earlier material in different combinations.
They're good shows but few and far between . . . and isn't it interesting that whenever we speak about good BBC comedies people almost always reach back to between 50 to 20 years ago.
Since Yes Minister we've had, just a quick pick of a few of my favourites
Cheers - 275 episodes Friends - 236 episodes The Big Bang Theory - 279 episodes How I Met Your Mother - 208 episodes Seinfeld - 180 episodes Home Improvement - 204 episodes
Not a comedy but since you mentioned Yes Minister its worth noting The West Wing managed a quality 156 episodes.
In terms of the "hit" comedies of the past 20 years in the UK that everybody knows, again very few episodes. Phoenix Nights had what 12 in total, the Office about the same? Inbetweeners same.
Gavin and Stacey ~ 20 Thick of It ~ 20 IT Crowd ~ 20
The rule of thumb in the US for long term syndication is to reach 100 episodes of a show. If you can make it to about that, your show will be sold and resold for many many years to come.
Only Fools and Horses continues to this day to keep getting aired as it had more like 70 episodes.
Most of these short UK series had their talent go on to probably more lucrative things. That might be the answer why not as many episodes get made in the UK, because the really good ones become talent-unaffordable, + the army of scriptwriters + the profit motive + the market is 5* bigger.
I'd rather have some decent SciFi sorry. Again 10 episodes a season but frequently with a 2 year gap between seasons.
Americans manage 24 episodes a season annually on many of their shows.
And many of those 24 episodes are filler bollocks.
The syndication model absolutely destroys many good American shows by forcing them to reach 24 episodes.
Lots of great 'half season' (10 to 13 episode shows) get picked up and suddenly have to fill 24 episodes.
One of the best things about the HBO revolution was US shows only having as many episodes as they needed to tell the story and zero filler.
And the cable and net producers have come up with some shows that stood the long run - Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy, arguably The Wire (although I think this did drift). Yet some long running shows like Vikings still turn into ludicrous parodies of themselves.
The Wire was 13 episode seasons, so they produced 2.5 'full' seasons of it over the 5 years.
Phenomenal show.
I agree, I just think the first two seasons proved hard to match.
Interesting, I'm with you, but I know plenty of fans who have Season 4 as their favourite. The ludicrous device used in Season 5 makes it weaker than the others in my (and everyone's) book, which is a shame, as the focus on the press as the institution under scrutiny had great potential.
Still the greatest show though. Along with The Singing Detective...
They're good shows but few and far between . . . and isn't it interesting that whenever we speak about good BBC comedies people almost always reach back to between 50 to 20 years ago.
Since Yes Minister we've had, just a quick pick of a few of my favourites
Cheers - 275 episodes Friends - 236 episodes The Big Bang Theory - 279 episodes How I Met Your Mother - 208 episodes Seinfeld - 180 episodes Home Improvement - 204 episodes
Not a comedy but since you mentioned Yes Minister its worth noting The West Wing managed a quality 156 episodes.
I'd add Curb Your Enthusiasm and Modern Family as two I like a lot, Parks and Recreation is good as well. A lot of people like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
America seems to be able to produce good long-running comedy shows in a way we simply don't.
I forgot Frasier. That was great.
Ally Mcbeal was written by one person interestingly.
Survivors (the Seventies British drama) was wholly written by one person, Terry Nation. Only Fools and Horses was entirely John Sullivan's baby. Downton Abbey was nearly entirely written by Julian Fellows, with a few exceptions. Ditto Babylon Five and J Michael Straczynski.
Only Fools & Horses... doubt there’s one episode from the first 6-7 series that could be shown on prime time tv now without some censorship
I'm trying to remember them. I can vaguely remember the ones with Grandad before he died and was replaced by Uncle Albert. But the memories are overlayed with the later ones with Cassandra and Raquel. I remember bits like the bit with the shotgun, and the one with the candleabras. It was good for a long while but fell off towards the end: definitely after the one where they find the watch and get rich
Remember what I was saying a few threads back, about how British comedy used to be about people trapped in circumstances they were trying to get out of? Only Fools and Horses was one of the good ones in that tradition, and there's a lot of competition in that category. Then round about Extras series two it changed, and now it's all rich people whining or culture war stuff...
It fell away badly when Del settled down with Raquel. It was so much better when they were single and ducking and diving.
Yeah, but you can't leave the characters in the same state indefinitely, they have to evolve. Del and Rodney forming relationships changed the dynamic but it was better than leaving them single long-term: the characters would become bitter and unrealistic.
So realistically, however you look at it, Blair is the most electorally successful leader of the twentieth century and arguably of all time. He remains the only man to win three consecutive elections since 1832, and even Thatcher cannot match his extraordinary dominance of the electoral arithmetic.
To put it in context, he has won more elections with majorities in double figures than every other Labour leader put together.
Love him or loathe him, he was a political colossus and Labour really do need to come to terms with that.
Although he should be rotting in a cell in the The Hague for war crimes.* Swings and roundabouts...
*Along with plenty of others, including several members of the current cabinet.
Remember what I was saying a few threads back, about how British comedy used to be about people trapped in circumstances they were trying to get out of? Only Fools and Horses was one of the good ones in that tradition, and there's a lot of competition in that category. Then round about Extras series two it changed, and now it's all rich people whining or culture war stuff...
Don't forget comedy panel shows. Sure we have had them for a long time, but they really just became pretty much the entire comedy offering for quite a while.
They're very cheap: one studio, four or six slebs or cheap comedians, two or three cameras, and a couple of runners and you can churn them out. If you get lucky you can franchise the format and export it. Get it right and its a goldmine.
No scriptwriters, no effort.
Unscripted comedy shows are really easy and cheap to make, there’s minimal research and writing required for most of them, half a dozen funny people in the same room can play off each other and you get an episode in the can within a couple of hours. Rinse and repeat the next week, or for shows that aren’t topical get a whole series done in a few days - cheap and easy, and endlessly repeatable filler TV. That’s why there’s so much of it!
Another example of the mental retardation of many that espouse Brexit. Who will they blame in future? Oh, it will still be the EU. It is like anti-Semites and their obsession with the "global conspiracy". Anything that is wrong, blame the EU, or possibly the Jews.
So realistically, however you look at it, Blair is the most electorally successful leader of the twentieth century and arguably of all time. He remains the only man to win three consecutive elections since 1832, and even Thatcher cannot match his extraordinary dominance of the electoral arithmetic.
To put it in context, he has won more elections with majorities in double figures than every other Labour leader put together.
Love him or loathe him, he was a political colossus and Labour really do need to come to terms with that.
Although he should be rotting in a cell in the The Hague for war crimes.* Swings and roundabouts...
*Along with plenty of others, including several members of the current cabinet.
Utter nonsense. You can argue of the questionable morality of a PM choosing to go to war. I certainly wouldn't want that on my conscience when I met my maker, but LEGALITY? Total piffle. It was only illegal in the minds of those who either oppose all war waged by the west (Corbyn et al) and those that hated that Blair was so successful at almost everything (Corbyn et al) .
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The second series was the first cassette we got when we got a video in the early 80s, my Dads mate had taped it off the telly and I watched it endlessly. Triggers Grandads Ashes, the card game w Boycie, the Spanish Holiday and Chinese restaurant paint job - classic comedy
Still the greatest show though. Along with The Singing Detective...
*Along with plenty of others, including several members of the current cabinet.