[dwar0123]

All these British sitcoms being mentioned, just thought I'd through a shout out for my favorite, Red Dwarf.

[TimG]

Can one find episodes of Fawlty Towers online (and free)? I cannot. (Netflix does not seem to have it or Coupling.)

[Trinidad]

dwar0123, on 2012-November-21, 10:45, said:

All these British sitcoms being mentioned, just thought I'd through a shout out for my favorite, Red Dwarf.

Fantastic indeed!

Rik

[Cyberyeti]

mike777, on 2012-November-21, 08:43, said:

Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television that was first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Twelve episodes were made (two series, each of six episodes

How one puts a 12 episode show on a list and not put on I love lucy does seem like a very biased list of greatest sitcoms ever.

Because they got more good gags in 12 episodes than some of the US shows got in 3 seasons.

I also enjoyed drop the dead donkey (a sitcom about a TV news channel) and red dwarf.

[mike777]

Cyberyeti, on 2012-November-21, 11:17, said:

Because they got more good gags in 12 episodes than some of the US shows got in 3 seasons.

I also enjoyed drop the dead donkey (a sitcom about a TV news channel) and red dwarf.

Please note I am not knocking FT..I am knocking not having lucy on your list..


again so I love lucy has no quality. I mean you dont even bother to put it on a list of greatest sitcoms ever..

Or do you just dismiss all of the sitcoms from the 1950's

A show that defined the word sitcom..
A show with more than more than a hundred quality episodes not on your list..a show that could barely make 12 shows does..

any show watched by hundreds of millions or more fans, that was the number one show on tv for 4 years....


popular bad....almost never seen show...great....

A tv show 50-60 years later still on tv in over 40 countries ..not worthy of being on great sitcom list...

[Cyberyeti]

mike777, on 2012-November-21, 11:26, said:

Please note I am not knocking FT..I am knocking not having lucy on your list..


again so I love lucy has no quality. I mean you dont even bother to put it on a list of greatest sitcoms ever..

Or do you just dismiss all of the sitcoms from the 1950's

A show that defined the word sitcom..
A show with more than more than a hundred quality episodes not on your list..a show that could barely make 12 shows does..

any show watched by hundreds of millions or more fans, that was the number one show on tv for 4 years....


popular bad....almost never seen show...great....

A tv show 50-60 years later still on tv in over 40 countries ..not worthy of being on great sitcom list...

I love Lucy may well be wonderful, I just haven't seen enough of it to know (I wasn't born till the mid 60s and we didn't have a TV till well into the 70s), I've seen maybe 2 part episodes. The decision to only make 12 shows is fairly common over here, means you don't have to spread the ideas thinly and can use them up without having to worry about how you fill the next series.

And while Fawlty Towers may be almost never seen in the US, it was hugely watched in the UK, have been trying without success to find the audience figures, but 12 million or around a quarter of the population at that time (not sure if it was shown in Scotland) watched it IIRC at one point.

[Aberlour10]

Cyberyeti, on 2012-November-21, 03:06, said:

Exactly, any list without Fawlty towers in the top 3 is not worthy of attention.

Basil would suppose the german conspiracy behind this mis.....

[phil_20686]

dwar0123, on 2012-November-21, 10:45, said:

All these British sitcoms being mentioned, just thought I'd through a shout out for my favorite, Red Dwarf.

They have just started a new season.

[Cyberyeti]

Aberlour10, on 2012-November-21, 12:22, said:

Basil would suppose the german conspiracy behind this mis.....

Don't mention the war ...

[mike777]

Guys if you are going to make a list called the greatest ever sitcoms

I would think you would at least watch all the major contenders or simply not make a list.


Sort of like making a greatest movie list of all time but you have only seen 100 movies in your lifetime

I mean do you make a list of greatest bridge players ever and only include the ones you played against

Now if the list is all about you and your favorites ok....no problem....

[dwar0123]

mike777, on 2012-November-21, 13:28, said:

I mean do you make a list of greatest bridge players ever and only include the ones you played against

Hell, I only include players who have played with ME!

That is a basic requirement to be a great bridge player.

At least to me

[billw55]

Cyberyeti, on 2012-November-21, 12:20, said:

And while Fawlty Towers may be almost never seen in the US, it was hugely watched in the UK, have been trying without success to find the audience figures, but 12 million or around a quarter of the population at that time (not sure if it was shown in Scotland) watched it IIRC at one point.

This is something that makes no sense to me about British television. If it is wildly popular, why not make more episodes? Fans enjoy, producers and broadcasters profit, what's not to like? This would never happen in the US, unless perhaps a critical performer left the show.

[macaw]

What about "Soap" from the 1970's?

Love that one.

[barmar]

Anyone know who is responsible for the latare.com website? The main page seems to be just a collection of "video of the day". There doesn't seem to be an "About Us" page.

And the descriptions of the shows in this "top 10" collection don't even explain why they think those shows are superior. They give a brief synopsis of the show, a few honors and quotes from entertainment magazines or Emmy awards, and some production notes (including the theme song writers of several of them). It looks like it might be just one guy's personal favorites.

[Cyberyeti]

billw55, on 2012-November-21, 14:13, said:

This is something that makes no sense to me about British television. If it is wildly popular, why not make more episodes? Fans enjoy, producers and broadcasters profit, what's not to like? This would never happen in the US, unless perhaps a critical performer left the show.

Connie Booth became a virtual recluse after separating from Cleese and was tempted out for the second series, also the episodes were written and edited VERY slowly, which didn't sit well with recommissioning.

[mike777]

TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time is TV Guide's list of the 50 most entertaining or influential television series in American pop culture. It appeared in the May 4–10, 2002 issue of the magazine



Top 10
1.Seinfeld (NBC, July 5, 1989 – May 14, 1998)
2.I Love Lucy (CBS, October 15, 1951 – May 6, 1957)
3.The Honeymooners (CBS, October 1, 1955 – September 22, 1956)
4.All in the Family (CBS, January 12, 1971 – April 8, 1979)
5.The Sopranos (HBO, January 10, 1999 – June 10, 2007)
6.60 Minutes (CBS, September 24, 1968 – present)
7.Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, August 30, 1993 – present)
8.The Simpsons (Fox, December 17, 1989 – present)
9.The Andy Griffith Show (CBS, October 3, 1960 – April 1, 1968)
10.Saturday Night Live (NBC, October 11, 1975 – present

[PassedOut]

I'd have to put Jeeves and Wooster on any top 10 list.

[Cyberyeti]

PassedOut, on 2012-November-21, 15:39, said:

I'd have to put Jeeves and Wooster on any top 10 list.

I agree, wonderful, but adapted from a well known set of books, not originally a TV show. Not sure if that matters.

[Vampyr]

dwar0123, on 2012-November-21, 10:45, said:

All these British sitcoms being mentioned, just thought I'd through a shout out for my favorite, Red Dwarf.

Have you been watching the new series Red Dwarf X?

[paulg]

billw55, on 2012-November-21, 14:13, said:

This is something that makes no sense to me about British television. If it is wildly popular, why not make more episodes? Fans enjoy, producers and broadcasters profit, what's not to like? This would never happen in the US, unless perhaps a critical performer left the show.

Traditionally British sitcoms have a very small team of writers, normally one or two. This is the limiting factor.