Old School Comedy Yes Or No

[Jordi Culé]

If we’re talking about comedians?

Dave Allen.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

If we’re talking about comedians?

Dave Allen.

One of the best

From the dark ages but not stuck in them

His piss taking of his own Catholic up bringing had my old dear , a devout Catholic of Irish origin , in stitches

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Steptoe and Son

[WJ99mobile]

My original post was a piss take but some of these answers remind me of spending time with my grandfather when I was a kid

Even something like last of the summer wine has a nostalgic feel whether the content was actually clever or not

[barrybloo]

Not really old school, but "Big Train"
Almost as good as Python.

[Harry Paget Flashman]

How long ago does it need to be to be considered old school?

Phoenix Nights is over 20 years old and creases me every time I put it on.

[MacAdder]

How long ago does it need to be to be considered old school?

Phoenix Nights is over 20 years old and creases me every time I put it on.

Peep show 20 years old too.
Clever and very funny.

[Cardiff Ultra]

Its difficult to say without going back and watching them. I remember loving Allo Allo as a kid but its probably horrifically dated now.

Of the ones I have watched of late, Only Fools (especially the early ones), Porridge, The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin and Yes Minister are all superb.

Brass Eye is 25 now so not sure if that counts, still the best comedy ever shown on TV IMHO.

[jon1959]

Its difficult to say without going back and watching them. I remember loving Allo Allo as a kid but its probably horrifically dated now.

Of the ones I have watched of late, Only Fools (especially the early ones), Porridge, The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin and Yes Minister are all superb.

Brass Eye is 25 now so not sure if that counts, still the best comedy ever shown on TV IMHO.

We rewatched all of Reggie Perrin and Yes Minister (and Yes Prime Minister) last year.

Yes (Prime) Minister is still brilliant - not just the writing and the acting, but the relevance over 40 years on.

Reggie Perrin was dire. Painful. Re-watching it destroyed all my fond memories.

[the other bob wilson]

We rewatched all of Reggie Perrin and Yes Minister (and Yes Prime Minister) last year.

Yes (Prime) Minister is still brilliant - not just the writing and the acting, but the relevance over 40 years on.

Reggie Perrin was dire. Painful. Re-watching it destroyed all my fond memories.

Often give Yes (Prime) Minister a watch - it’s superb and always has been, I’d say it might well be more relevant now than it was in the eighties.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Its difficult to say without going back and watching them. I remember loving Allo Allo as a kid but its probably horrifically dated now.

Of the ones I have watched of late, Only Fools (especially the early ones), Porridge, The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin and Yes Minister are all superb.

Brass Eye is 25 now so not sure if that counts, still the best comedy ever shown on TV IMHO.

I loved this particular episode, which was about drugs and a number of talking heads were had 'big time'.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Yes, clever line from Monk house and which I remember myself. However, he always came over as oleaginous and with a fake persona to me.

Very fake

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

The trouble is Sludge, would you still have the same opinion of Bob Monkhouse if he wasn't a tory? I used to hate him when I was younger because I thought he was just an oily, slick quiz show presenter, but when I dug a little deeper, I found that, despite his presentation being a bit too polished for me, he was a genuinely funny man.

Comedy, like music, is either good or bad and which side of the line it falls into is very much in the eye of the beholder. Allo Allo has been mentioned on here, but I thought it was rubbish because I was old enough to remember Dads Army which was very similar in format and concept, but I thought it was far better acted and fresher.

Acts like Morecambe and Wise, the two Ronnies and Tommy Cooper (the only comedian I've seen who would have me cracking up even before he said a word) would have to be a bit more "edgy" if they were around these days, but they would have been successes because, when all's said and done, they were funny. Similarly, it appears that, thankfully, the sort of Terry and June family based type situation comedies are a thing of the past.

Yes , monkhouse being a tory seal's the deal but even if he wasn't I wouldn't find him funny

My old dear said he was creepy which I think sums him up

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Its difficult to say without going back and watching them. I remember loving Allo Allo as a kid but its probably horrifically dated now.

Of the ones I have watched of late, Only Fools (especially the early ones), Porridge, The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin and Yes Minister are all superb.

Brass Eye is 25 now so not sure if that counts, still the best comedy ever shown on TV IMHO.

Brass Eye .....when he's trying to buy pills off the street dealer and confuses him

Classic

Day To Day and Partridge are off the wall too

Very much modern comedy

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Peep show 20 years old too.
Clever and very funny.

The difference between peep show and allo allo is the key

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

How long ago does it need to be to be considered old school?

Phoenix Nights is over 20 years old and creases me every time I put it on.

I would say things changed in the early eighties

The fact that one foot in the grave kept going is the key

Phoenix nights is mostly very gentle comedy and quite old school but then throws in a spanner

It's way above the likes of bread , only fools and horses , allo allo

[jon1959]

A 2004 'Top 50' of UK television comedies based on a BBC poll (so skewed). Probably Radio Times subscribers:

https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/top/

A strange mix of the good, the bad and the ugly.

[the other bob wilson]

A 2004 'Top 50' of UK television comedies based on a BBC poll (so skewed). Probably Radio Times subscribers:

https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/top/

A strange mix of the good, the bad and the ugly.

I see what you mean. One thing that jumps out at me from that list is that I think you have to go to number 27 before you find something that was on ITV and it’s the only one out of the fifty that was.

[jon1959]

I normally don't like slapstick - but The Plank (1967) is a work of genius.

Norman Wisdom was big in Albania.

[bobh]

I normally don't like slapstick - but The Plank (1967) is a work of genius.

Norman Wisdom was big in Albania.

Along the same lines as The Plank, but not quite as good, was A home of Your Own, set on a building site

[Rjk]

I normally don't like slapstick - but The Plank (1967) is a work of genius.

Norman Wisdom was big in Albania.

I guess like any form of comedy there are good examples and bad ones, the bast slapstick can be as cleverly set up and well executed as any word play or bon mot. But the laziest setups or poorly executed examples of slapstick are just afwful aren't they?

I still enjoy this charlie chaplin scene from 92 years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9NfXIXzgnA

The original Mr Bean episodes are mostly physical comedy too but really well written with usually a big payoff at the end that has been thought about. Yes they've been done to death, but there's a reason they're so popular

[Rjk]

I remember enjoying "game on" as a teenager and it was pretty popular amongst my friends - stumbled across an episode on some random channel recently and gave it a watch and my god it was awful - really depressing, not at all funny, a thoroughly miserable experience

[chrisp_1927]

I remember enjoying "game on" as a teenager and it was pretty popular amongst my friends - stumbled across an episode on some random channel recently and gave it a watch and my god it was awful - really depressing, not at all funny, a thoroughly miserable experience

Maybe the enjoyment was purely down to Samantha Janus ! She was pretty tasty back then

[BLUETIT]

I normally don't like slapstick - but The Plank (1967) is a work of genius.

Norman Wisdom was big in Albania.

It was post 10

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=th...id:aUbcaE44cSw

[BLUETIT]

It was post 10

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=th...id:aUbcaE44cSw

My bad, just noticed this is a later version, here’s the original

https://www.google.co.uk/search?clie...id:kKJcR24njrs