My favorite British comedy sketch shows

In no particular order, they are:

Big Train was co created by Graham Linehan of Father Ted and The IT Crowd fame.   This sketch show is at times surreal and weird but it's almost always very funny.  In the second series they added the lovely Rebecca Front, Tracy Ann Oberman, and Catherine Tate.  All episodes are on You Tube.

One of the most bizarre and insane series ever produced and aired on the BBC.  It aired once and was quickly shelved before they decided to release it on DVD and then to some of the streaming services in the USA.  It used to be on Netflix and it might still be on Hulu.  I can't summon the words to tell you what it's about but trust me, it's funny and bizarre.

Very funny show that showcases all the wonderful characters that Ms. Tate has come up with.  Also on the plus side it features Melanie Hudson in some sketches.

The grandaddy of most all modern British comedy, Monty Python's Flying Circus.  This show set the gold standard for comedy in the 1970's.  It's fashionable for kids to day to mock it and deride it because many of the bits are now passe or not 'shocking' anymore, but they'll never ever know the thrill those of us in my generation got when we first got hooked on this absurd and outlandish comedy.  I've seen it repeatedly and it still makes me laugh.

I discovered this show after I had my open heart surgery in 2004.  It helped immensely in my recovery.  I never got down because if I felt like having a pity party, we slap in one of these DVDs and we'd laugh ourselves silly.  It's hard to believe that two guys came up with all these characters and sketches.

Funny sexy women doing funny sexy sketches.  I adore this show.

It only ran for six episodes and I'm not sure I saw all of them but the ones I did see were terrific. 

I discovered this show when we got Netflix.  We've had Netflix for a few years now and I've seen this one at least twice all the way through.  It's still very very funny.

What I'm watching (HuluPLUS edition)

We got back from vacation to find that HuluPLUS had added a shit ton of new British comedies and dramas.  So we've been immersed in shows from across the pond for the past couple of weeks.

I bought the first two series of Lead Balloon on Amazon Instant but I don't have to buy the last two because they're now streaming on HuluPLUS.  This comedy is written by Jack Dee who also stars in it.  He plays Rick Spleen, a fading stand up comic who clings to any piece of showbiz that will  have him.  In addition to trying like hell to keep his career alive he has to put up with his smart ass writing partner, his successful agent girlfriend/life partner, his slacker teenage daughter and her even more slackery boyfriend, his morose odd eastern European maid, and the guy who runs the cafe down the road from his house.  Spleen is a put upon guy who takes any kind of credit he can while trying to shift the blame for any failures he generates, in short, he's the perfect sitcom subject.  These four series are near perfect, the fact they're only six episodes each is huge plus, if there had been more this show would have worn out it's welcome.  I highly recommend this one.  

 Stella is a comedy drama about a working mother in Wales.  She's got a three kids by two different guys, suitors, a pretty odd extended family, and a tiny town full of oddballs to put up with.  Ruth Jones plays Stella and she does a hell of a job of it.  I've probably written it here before but here goes again, Jones is exactly the type of actress who would never ever be allowed to anchor a show like this if this one were made in the USA, she's too overweight to suit most all American producers, but she's a knockout.  All involved with this deserve a round of applause.  It has it's melodramatic moments but it has it's laugh out loud funny moments too.  It's kind of like life in that regard.  The first three series of this show is now streaming on HuluPLUS.  Series four will be shown on British TV in 2015, so it will be awhile before it hits here.

Julia Davis is a comedy genius.  She was the brains behind the incredibly demented twistedly funny Nighty Night.  This series is a twisted retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.  We're only two episodes in and already I can see this one is a keeper.  I will warn you, this one is grown up funny, it's not a punch to the crotch SNL catch phrase funny.  You have to have a good amount of education to appreciate the humor in this show. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

And now, because I can, I'm going to end this post with a photo of one of my pretend British comedy girlfriends, the lovely Raquel Cassidy.  

Brilliance

This series is the most brilliant comedy series ever produced by humans.  Julia Davis is a genius.  And Rebecca Front, she's classic in these 'uncomfortable' comedies.

Seriously, you need to watch it.  It's on Hulu and HuluPLUS.

The following people need to lose their jobs in 2011

Tim Kaine-He was in charge of the Democratic party when it suffered it's worst defeat in a mid term election in recent memory. He should have been fired long ago.

Daniel Snyder-Okay, so he'd have to fire himself since he owns the Redskins but after years of his abusive ownership, the Skins suck, still.

George Will-Yo, George, you can't blame the unions for everything. They didn't force the Wall Street banksters to get greedy and screw everyone else over.

Whoever came up with the formula for Rite Aid store brand Gas-X. That shit ain't workin' yo.

Store clerks who give you the evil eye and heavy sigh when you tell them you don't want a plastic bag. I'm not rejecting you, I'm rejecting your bag.

Whoever it was who let liquor stores in Tennessee sell those expensive yet oh so tasty higher alcohol content beers. You people are causing me to spend more on beer damn you.

Anyone who lobbies for fossil fuel based industries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, and the sugar, feedlot, and corn farm industrial complex. Your products and industries are killing us.

The NBC programming executive that took Parks and Rec off the Thursday night schedule. Yes, I know it's coming back in Jan., but damn it, it should never have left in the first place.

The idiot at the BBC who won't release the new DVD series of The Thick of It starring Rebbecca Front. Come on man, let us folks in the USA see that puppy, please? I hope you people don't pull that shit with the new Walliams and Lucas series Come Fly With Me.

Happy birthday to two titans of British comedy

Today is the birthday of Rob Brydon.
Brydon appears in the BBC Brit com Gavin and Stacey, in Little Britain (series 3), and in Michael Winterbottom's superb film version of Tristam Shandy. He's been in a slew of other stuff as well and he's actually a few years younger than I am. He's had the comedy career I would have had had I been British.

It's also the birthday of Ben Elton:
Elton wrote and appeared in The Young Ones (not my favorite British comedy ever but it's probably the most important ever because so many giants of British comedy were in it), Blackadder (most of which he co wrote with Richard Curtis who would go on to write and direct The Vicar of Dibley among other classics), and the classic police comedy series The Thin Blue Line (which starred Rowan Atkinson of Blackadder fame). He's written more series, films, and novels than those I listed here, he's truly a comedy genius.

And so is Mr. Brydon.

The return of pop culture Friday

This week's pop culture question on the AV Club blog is, "What are your personal pop culture rules?"

Mine are as follows:

• I will never ever see a film with Adam Sandler in it. Yes, I've seen some of his films in the past and I regret it.
• I will never ever see another film that has been directed by or has Kevin Smith in it. To me he epitomizes the kind of self referential pop culture wanksterism that I so despise. He's under the impression he's talented and witty. However the reality is he's a fat blowhard who's fifteen minutes of fame were up years ago. Seriously Kevin, stop raping the corpse of pop culture and go get a job that requires you to give back to the world for a change.
• I will never ever see a film where the star plays either a retarded person or a racist who sees the light through the power of the love of a good man or woman or because of Jesus.
• If a film has a performance in it that's labeled 'brave' or 'fearless' I'm not seeing it.
• I won't buy Elvis Costello CD's that are jazz, classical, or Burt Bacharach inspired.
• If Julia Roberts is in a film, I'm out. Forget it. I will not see her in anything.
  
• I'm all in on films about con men and dystopian sci fi films.
• I'm all in on comedies featuring Steve Coogan, Dawn French, Ricky Gervais, and Peter Serafinowicz.
• I'll watch most anything with Olivia Colman, Jessica (Stevenson) Hynes, and all my adopted actors.
• Films made from characters from Saturday Night Live sketches? Never. Forget it. Not gonna see them.
  

See? I'm not so hard to please.

It's off to the cardiologist for me today

And I hope it goes a little something like this:

The Fast Show was brilliant!