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Downtown 
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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 Posted - 01/14/2007 : 15:08:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Koli
Perhaps the answer is to rename the US game 'American rugby'; it seems to bear a closer resemblance to rugby (probably league rather than union) than to soccer.
What a fantastically original and insightful observation.  |
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Catuli
"Loves Film and Fun"
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 16:36:46
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Originally posted by Koli
Perhaps the answer is to rename the US game 'American rugby'; it seems to bear a closer resemblance to rugby (probably league rather than union) than to soccer.
Perhaps that might add a touch of accuracy, but--literally and figuratively--it's a little late in the ballgame for that to happen. Besides, America isn't preoccupied with defining itself in response to Britishisms.
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randall 
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 21:50:16
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Chocky, I don't know jack about most of the Britcom shows you mentioned, but I thought the British OFFICE was as revolutionary in its day as FLYING CIRCUS was all those decades ago.
And yes, snobs [there are plenty of them over here too], the American version of THE OFFICE found its voice about midway through the first season, and now is the funniest half-hour on American tv. One of the most hilarious eps of them all is the one Gervais and Merchant personally wrote: a member of the newly merged office staff is found to have served some prison time for a white-collar crime, so Michael ["Brent"] decides to Scare Everybody Straight.
Many will rue trading the sepulchral Gareth for "Dwight K. Shrute," etc. etc., but it only takes two or three eps to get over this prejudice, which I originally had as well. Cut it some slack and just be thankful that somebody is writing and performing new OFFICE eps somewhere.
And now, I've enjoyed all this, but I must repair to the telly for the American premiere of the second season of EXTRAS. Ta! |
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Airbolt 
"teil mann, teil maschine"
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 23:19:12
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
Well put, Shiv. I think we Americans have a crude understanding of British class consciousness [FLYING CIRCUS taught us a lot], but probably not enough for the humor to really stick. Although I'm not a comedy snob and love some examples of low humor [e.g., I thought most of IDIOCRACY was a scream until it ran out of gas toward the end, but Benny Hill leaves me cold], oddly enough I found KEEPING UP way too broad and music-hally. The show that followed it, AS TIME GOES BY with Judi Dench, also had a laugh track, but I found the first ten minutes much more droll and pleasing. But then it was time for dinner.
Many of the old British comedies don't age well. While I was totally faithful to Monty Python in its day, today the gags just don't seem as funny as they did then. Benny Hill and Mr. Bean never were funny to me - ever. Are You Being Served faired better, but they're very dated. Keeping Up Appearances can still be funny because the class humour doesn't fade as quickly, but it was a one-joke comedy, as was My Hero (is that what it's called? The one about the alien superhero married to a mortal). As Time Goes By is still cute in places, but is also starting to fade on second glance, and I couldn't get into My Family at all. Red Dwarf and the Blackadder series have a bit more lasting power. I'm not terribly fond of Little Britian or The Office (UK or US). Absolutely Fabulous is still fun to watch, but it won't age well, either. Green Wing is very funny and I'll happily watch reruns of that for some time. But, so far for me, the best British comedy show that makes me laugh every single time I watch any episode is Coupling and it may prove to be one that stays funny over the years.
My Hero was definately not Ardal O Hanlon's Best work ( in fact he had now dropped out altho the series lumbers on ). However he is terrific in Father Ted( For anyone unfamiliar , a programme about three Irish Priests "exiled" to a remote Irish Parish . People either love it or hate it )
Another Coupling Fan! The US Version missed the point entirely but the UK version is terrific. A mixture of old fashioned farce and modern sexual problems , it was lucky enough to have a top-flight cast to carry it thro 4 seasons. ( All of which i have on DVD ! )
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thefoxboy
"Four your eyes only."
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Posted - 01/14/2007 : 23:26:15
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Few favourites of mine.....Only Fools and Horses, Mind Your Language, Love Thy Neighbour.
"I'll have a half" |
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ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 06:24:59
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quote:
Originally posted by AIRBOLT
Another Coupling Fan!The US Version missed the point entirely but the UK version is terrific.
I think their problem was twofold. Firstly, they assumed that the American audience wouldn't get many of the jokes and "dumbed" them down in many places or changed some situations, which ruined the impact (that whole Yom Kippur episode was a total flop). Secondly, the chemistry and timing between the actors just didn't work - it just wasn't there, if you know what I mean. As much as I like Rina Sofer, the whole point to Susan Walker was that she looked sweet and innocent as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth - but when she opened it she could be so brazen, bold, crass, crude, sexual and suggestive, that it shocked you each and every time. Also, the Sally wasn't paranoidly vain enough, and the Jane was just ... blah. I won't even bother with the men!
quote:
A mixture of old fashioned farce and modern sexual problems , it was lucky enough to have a top-flight cast to carry it thro 4 seasons. ( All of which i have on DVD ! )
I only have seasons 1-3 on DVD (my son loves me, and bought me the set for my last birthday). I really NEED to buy the fourth season or get it as a gift (June 26th, in case you were wondering). My favourite way to get people turned on to Coupling is to show them the episode from season one "The Girl with Two Breasts" - you know, the one with the Israeli girl and Jeffrey. After they watch that one, they're hooked for LIFE, I tell you, LIFE!
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 06:29:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Randall
Chocky, I don't know jack about most of the Britcom shows you mentioned, but I thought the British OFFICE was as revolutionary in its day as FLYING CIRCUS was all those decades ago.
And yes, snobs [there are plenty of them over here too], the American version of THE OFFICE found its voice about midway through the first season, and now is the funniest half-hour on American tv. One of the most hilarious eps of them all is the one Gervais and Merchant personally wrote: a member of the newly merged office staff is found to have served some prison time for a white-collar crime, so Michael ["Brent"] decides to Scare Everybody Straight.
Many will rue trading the sepulchral Gareth for "Dwight K. Shrute," etc. etc., but it only takes two or three eps to get over this prejudice, which I originally had as well. Cut it some slack and just be thankful that somebody is writing and performing new OFFICE eps somewhere.
And now, I've enjoyed all this, but I must repair to the telly for the American premiere of the second season of EXTRAS. Ta!
Um... I think you misunderstood me. I didn't care much for even the British version of the Office so I never bothered to watch more than a few episodes of the American version. Of what I did see, however, I did prefer the British one a tiny bit more to the American one - and that was almost exclusively because I think Mackenzie Crook is hysterically funny. I also didn't care much for Extras.
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 10:20:57
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quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
BTW, its not so ridiculous to call the Los Angeles team Galaxy.
I've since looked it up and it's because of all the stars in L.A.  It's just not really the sort of name that football teams have, although some Eastern European ones and others are a bit that way. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 10:26:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Randall
I was heartened to realize that you yobbos have to wade through as much dreck on TV as we do.
Yes, it's embarrassing. The longest-running recent sitcom is the absolutely lamentable My Family. It's something like the level of the dire Everybody Loves Raymond, but perhaps even worse. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 10:30:41
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quote:
Originally posted by AIRBOLT
However he is terrific in Father Ted( For anyone unfamiliar , a programme about three Irish Priests "exiled" to a remote Irish Parish . People either love it or hate it
Does anyone really hate it (apart from the Catholic church, which I believe slated it) - it's definitely one of my top few sitcoms of all time. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 10:43:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Catuli
Perhaps that might add a touch of accuracy, but--literally and figuratively--it's a little late in the ballgame for that to happen. Besides, America isn't preoccupied with defining itself in response to Britishisms.
It's not just us who calls 'soccer' football - it's the whole world except for Australia and perhaps American-influenced territories.
I was thinking about all this over the weekend, and I think the American attitude to sport is heavily affected by general American insularity. I don't mean that as a necessarily negative comment - it's just that, because of the U.S. being the richest nation (and perhaps other reasons), Americans seem to tend to view success, fame etc. within national terms - they do not really distinguish between national and international success. Thus, whereas people in most countries want to compete in sports against other countries, this does not seem the case for Americans outside things like the Olympics. Thus it does not seem like a limitation to them that no one wants to play their sports. (A few others playing baseball is not enough to provide much competition.) The exception might be basketball, but even that does not seem mainstream in a huge number of other countries. |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 01/15/2007 12:26:39 |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 11:53:13
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
Chocky, I don't know jack about most of the Britcom shows you mentioned, but I thought the British OFFICE was as revolutionary in its day as FLYING CIRCUS was all those decades ago.
And yes, snobs [there are plenty of them over here too], the American version of THE OFFICE found its voice about midway through the first season, and now is the funniest half-hour on American tv. One of the most hilarious eps of them all is the one Gervais and Merchant personally wrote: a member of the newly merged office staff is found to have served some prison time for a white-collar crime, so Michael ["Brent"] decides to Scare Everybody Straight.
Many will rue trading the sepulchral Gareth for "Dwight K. Shrute," etc. etc., but it only takes two or three eps to get over this prejudice, which I originally had as well. Cut it some slack and just be thankful that somebody is writing and performing new OFFICE eps somewhere.
And now, I've enjoyed all this, but I must repair to the telly for the American premiere of the second season of EXTRAS. Ta!
Um... I think you misunderstood me. I didn't care much for even the British version of the Office so I never bothered to watch more than a few episodes of the American version. Of what I did see, however, I did prefer the British one a tiny bit more to the American one - and that was almost exclusively because I think Mackenzie Crook is hysterically funny. I also didn't care much for Extras.
Nope, I understood you perfectly. I was, OTOH, defending THE OFFICE. |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 12:41:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
I was heartened to realize that you yobbos have to wade through as much dreck on TV as we do.
Yes, it's embarrassing. The longest-running recent sitcom is the absolutely lamentable My Family. It's something like the level of the dire Everybody Loves Raymond, but perhaps even worse.
My Family is worse than Everybody Loves Raymond. I can sit through some of the later episodes of Raymond but I can't sit through a whole My Family without falling asleep.
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Airbolt
"teil mann, teil maschine"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 15:52:25
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
I was heartened to realize that you yobbos have to wade through as much dreck on TV as we do.
Yes, it's embarrassing. The longest-running recent sitcom is the absolutely lamentable My Family. It's something like the level of the dire Everybody Loves Raymond, but perhaps even worse.
My Family is worse than Everybody Loves Raymond. I can sit through some of the later episodes of Raymond but I can't sit through a whole My Family without falling asleep.
Agreed ! Agreed ! I sometimes watch entire episodes of " King of Queens " , " Eight Simple Rules " or similar because its like having a Snickers for Breakfast - it's not right but it's there and it's too much effort to do anything else
However even my laziness and exceptional tolerance for lazy tv doesnt extend to " My Family " . It's a cosy anachronism with cardboard characters with nice jobs and "zany" children - two leads who are actually capable of much Better than this production line comedy. I'm surprised they haven't had a "comedy vicar" ( please tell me they haven't ! ).
For a complete Depth-Charge of the cosy UK sitcom " One Foot in the Grave" is fantastic. OK it has the catchprase ( " I Don't Belieeeve it " ) - however its subversive in that it takes the twee situations and wrings both Gallows humour and pathos from it.
Plus there was an ending to this series that has never been done before or since in a mainstream comedy. |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/15/2007 : 18:06:25
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Now wait a minute, don't you go dissing Eight Simple Rules, buddy. That was a good show - especially the shows right after John Ritter died - which are probably the best written 'comedy' episodes I've ever seen. True to life, not without wit and completely honest. You've got to give them something for that, and even afterwards it didn't go too down hill. And the girls who played the two daughters are actually quite good actresses.
I'm afraid I have a hole in my British comedy education regarding One Foot in the Grave, however. I don't know it at all. I hope its better than Open All Hours.
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How much British/U.S. culture confounds MERPs?
