Current favourites

Father Ted is an Irish written, acted and themed Britcom, it was made by a British Company with British money for a British TV Channel. I can't imagine ever not completely loving it.

The Office (UK), some people may hate Gervais, I don't care, The Office was exceptional and I think Extras was at least it's equal if not even better.

Fawlty Towers, the best Britcom ever?

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Fawlty towers only really serious competition?

Spaced, it's my generation as I lived it, utter brilliance.

Porridge, I'll never tire of it, it was a firm favourite throughout my childhood.

Peep Show, the early series are pure gold and the later ones weren't all that bad, just not quite as good as the early ones.

Nighty Night, Julia Davis deserves to be much better known than she is, she's sadly probably better known for the god awful Gavin and Stacey (which had a great first episode, then rapidly went downhill).

The League of Gentlemen, I'm a small town lad, I grew up in and around villages just like Royston Vasey, shame the film was crap but the series were brilliant.

Derek and Clive, OK so not a comedy sitcom, but just so so so inanely funny. I can never find a reason to disagree when I hear people say Peter Cook was the funniest man in the entire history of British comedy.

Maybe 'House of Fools' will be on here one day...

Saying that, I'm cheating again and going to add 'Vic Reeves Big Night Out', a gem that I love dearly.

I could go on...

Referring to any religion as a mental handicap sounds inappropriate, despite being true.

Some good stuff there. I guess you prefer John Cleese and I prefer Rowan Atkinson.

And I'm beginning to take to Vic's new sitcom- "House of Fools"? Like you I loved Peter Cook, but he has at least one rival for your accolade- Eric Morecambe. And watching Vic is a bit like seeing Eric come back to life.

That's very true, I adore Eric too and believe he was also a true genius. I'd take Rowan Atkinson over Cleese every time, I LOVE ROWAN! Well I try to pretend Mr Bean never happened though... I like Python a lot, but Rowan is my generation, I was a teen in the 80's. I still think Fawlty Towers is the best Britcom ever conceived, written and acted though, I think it's just sheer perfection and Cleese just nails it.

See, I hate doing lists, Blackadder is in my all time top 3. I also love Alan Partridge, The Day Today, Brasseye, Jam, Comic Strip Presents, The Young Ones, Bottom etc.

Referring to any religion as a mental handicap sounds inappropriate, despite being true.

I knew I'd forgotten something- Alan Partrige. That was brilliant stuff. So was "The Trip", but that's not exactly sitcom. I'll make another comparison. The way Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden relate to each other reminds me a little of Pete and Dud. It's the power games that Cook and Coogan play, the way they give the impression that they are the more serious artists, and that Dud and Rob waste their time on rubbish. In Dud's case it was crap American films, in Rob's case the constant round of television quiz shows.

I love 'The Trip' too, I'd say it is a sitcom, it's two actors paying fictionalised representations of themselves in a series format and it's a comedy. Series 2 is coming this year set in Italy, I can't wait!

Referring to any religion as a mental handicap sounds inappropriate, despite being true.

Yes, you have forgotten How Not To Live Your Life.
That's a reference to a series, not a warning, don't read it out loud.

We can't be lost; we don't know where we're going.
All that matters is that we're going.

I agree "FAWLTY TOWERS" Is probably England's best.

"Darkness and cold will enfold my weary soul".

I LOVE ROWAN! Well I try to pretend Mr Bean never happened though...
I don't understand the hate for Mr. Bean. It seems largely unjustified. I don't mean to single you out and I'm sure you have your own valid reasons for not liking it, but I feel like it gets unfairly dismissed these days, purely because of the awful Hollywood film adaptations and subsequent Americans moronically assuming Mr. Bean is Rowan's actual name, so it has become uncool for everyone else to like it ever since. I grew up with Mr. Bean and it was pure hilarity as a kid.

The actual series features some truly brilliant physical comedy from Rowan. The unfortunate situations Bean would find himself in and his peculiar ingenuity to improvise and get himself out of those situations was marvellously clever and original. There are some iconic sketches and a few of them called for some very creative stunts.

Everybody loves Blackadder (my personal favourite and unquestionably the greatest sitcom of all time next to Fawlty Towers), but nobody mentions the first series which was almost a complete failure. Even the Mr Bean character can be seen in the many personality traits Rowan was trying on in that first series before Elton came on board, which he kind of built on from his comedy in Not the Nine O'Clock News.

Mr. Bean, almost an entirely silent character, is a great example of just how versatile Rowan is with his comedy. And the format of Mr. Bean has allowed it to age much better than something like The Thin Blue Line. As funny as that show was at the time, the humour today is quite dated.




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