Fawlty Towers , Porridge

[Rjk]

This is a topic I've always been interested in - why does comedy become dated, and why do some things date more than others?

As a kid i'd hear adults saying how funny Tommy Cooper was, but I have never found him even remotely funny, yet I found Harry Hill hilarious and Harry Hill's act seems to awe a fair bit to Tommy Cooper.
Nothing will ever be as funny to me as the first time I watched Monty Python's the Holy Grail - I was just the right age for it and me and my brothers were in absolute hysterics, as soon as it finished we rewound the video and watched it again, every bit as funny. At the time it was probably about 20 years old but seemed really fresh and new.
Similar story with Airplane.

I remember enjoying the sitcom "Game on" when I was in my teens - I went back and watched an episode a couple of years ago and it was completely awful, not funny at all and in fact a slightly depressing experience.

[Rjk]

This is a topic I've always been interested in - why does comedy become dated, and why do some things date more than others?

As a kid i'd hear adults saying how funny Tommy Cooper was, but I have never found him even remotely funny, yet I found Harry Hill hilarious and Harry Hill's act seems to awe a fair bit to Tommy Cooper.
Nothing will ever be as funny to me as the first time I watched Monty Python's the Holy Grail - I was just the right age for it and me and my brothers were in absolute hysterics, as soon as it finished we rewound the video and watched it again, every bit as funny. At the time it was probably about 20 years old but seemed really fresh and new.
Similar story with Airplane.

I remember enjoying the sitcom "Game on" when I was in my teens - I went back and watched an episode a couple of years ago and it was completely awful, not funny at all and in fact a slightly depressing experience.

Music also becomes dated, but then can also come back into fashion - and I don't think that could happen with comedy that is dated.

I can remember when anything with a real 80s feel musically or fashion wise was the worst thing imaginable, but that all comes back around and feels really fresh again.


I can't imagine that happening with old sitcoms for example

[the other bob wilson]

This is a topic I've always been interested in - why does comedy become dated, and why do some things date more than others?

As a kid i'd hear adults saying how funny Tommy Cooper was, but I have never found him even remotely funny, yet I found Harry Hill hilarious and Harry Hill's act seems to awe a fair bit to Tommy Cooper.
Nothing will ever be as funny to me as the first time I watched Monty Python's the Holy Grail - I was just the right age for it and me and my brothers were in absolute hysterics, as soon as it finished we rewound the video and watched it again, every bit as funny. At the time it was probably about 20 years old but seemed really fresh and new.
Similar story with Airplane.

I remember enjoying the sitcom "Game on" when I was in my teens - I went back and watched an episode a couple of years ago and it was completely awful, not funny at all and in fact a slightly depressing experience.

My Dad especially only had to see Tommy Cooper walk on to a stage and he’d be laughing. I wasn’t as bad as him, but I could see why he reacted like he did - Tommy Cooper was genuinely funny man. I’m definitely in the camp which thinks that he had to be a good magician to look as bad as he did (like Les Dawson’s piano playing really). Tommy Cooper’s jokes would have me laughing despite me also thinking that’s one of the most feeble things I’ve heard - it’d be interesting to see the reaction of a young audience to his act, I really don’t know what they would make of it.

[Elwood Blues]

My Dad especially only had to see Tommy Cooper walk on to a stage and he’d be laughing. I wasn’t as bad as him, but I could see why he reacted like he did - Tommy Cooper was genuinely funny man. I’m definitely in the camp which thinks that he had to be a good magician to look as bad as he did (like Les Dawson’s piano playing really). Tommy Cooper’s jokes would have me laughing despite me also thinking that’s one of the most feeble things I’ve heard - it’d be interesting to see the reaction of a young audience to his act, I really don’t know what they would make of it.

Tommy Cooper was a good magician. He was a member of the Magic Circle