The Top British TV Comedies

Fawlty Towers (1975-1979) was the most brilliantly hilarious sitcom of all time. All the cast were excellent, even the small guest parts. However, there were two key elements that made it a success: 1 The writers John Cleese and Connie Booth took much longer than normal to write this sitcom. The scripts were incredibly detailed and, because it was a farce comedy, the movements of the characters were all planned in great detail. 2 The performance of John Cleese as Basil was utterly brilliant. He maintained the intensity throughout every episode, appearing in most scenes and carrying the majority of the dialogue. Although the scripts were brilliant, without Cleese as Basil the show would not have succeeded.

The Office (2001-2003) was a big hit at the time, yet somehow is not rated as highly as it should be. The scripts were brilliant. The Office had many quick little moments in each episode (sometimes the camera panned round for two seconds and showed someone's face), yet in all these moments the characters showed something of themselves and their feelings about the situation they were in. Ricky Gervais gave his best ever performance as David Brent, but Mackenzie Crook as Gareth and also Martin Freeman as Tim were crucial to the success of the show and all the actors were so natural that I never felt aware that anyone was acting. In fact when it was first broadcast many people mistook The Office for a documentary. But of course the difference is a documentary would be boring, whereas The Office took all the boring bits out, exaggerated the characters to make them even funnier and had lines of clever dialogue that would not exist in a real office. People often underrate how funny The Office is.

Ever Decreasing Circles (1984-1989) is probably the most underrated TV show of all time. Sitcom legend Richard Briers starred as the hilarious Martin Bryce, an obsessive busybody who drove his wife mad. Penelope Wilton gave a brilliant performance as Martin's long suffering wife Ann. Peter Egan was excellent as suave next door neighbour Paul, who was brilliant at everything without trying, which infuriated Martin. There was also a level of depth and complexity to the relationships between the characters. The scripts by Esmonde and Larbey maintained an excellent standard throughout four series and a feature length final episode. Briers preferred it to his better known show The Good Life and Ricky Gervais (amongst other sitcom stars) is a fan.

Porridge (1974-1977 & 1979 film) was one of the best shows from the golden age of sitcom, the 1970s. The legendary Ronnie Barker gave his best performance in this series set in Slade Prison. Yes, it showed some of the harsher sides of prison life, yet at its' heart was a camaraderie between the inmates, particularly Fletcher and Godber. Key to the show's success was the banter between Fletcher (Barker at his best) and warder Mackay (the brilliant Fulton Mackay). Clement and La Frenais' scripts were consistently good, but Barker decided enough was enough after three series and a film version.

Till death us do part (1965-1975 including 2 films) was a massively influential sitcom. Although not the first successful sitcom to feature actors (rather than comedians playing versions of themselves), it was arguably the funniest seen at that point. It was a show about a family and at its' heart was Warren Mitchell's brilliant performance as the fiercely opinionated Alf Garnett. Alf sat in his living room and bellowed his opinions at his son-in-law, who shouted back at him. Alf's wife often did the knitting or read the phone book, but would interject with brilliantly timed one-liners. Mitchell, Tony Booth and Dandy Nichols were superb. The writing was variable and only a handful of episodes were brilliant. The show declined after Dandy Nichols left. Her last full series in 1974 was the most consistent and contained most of the best episodes.

A bit of a do was a comedy drama by Reggie Perrin author David Nobbs. Over 13 episodes, the show followed the lives of a group of people in a small Yorkshire town over a few years in their eventful lives. Each episode was set entirely at a function. As each episode passed, the characters became gradually more familiar. Amongst the cast were sitcom greats such as David Jason, Stephanie Cole and Gwen Taylor. A bit of a do had many funny moments. At its' heart was great writing and acting.

Outside Edge (1994-1996) was an underrated sitcom. It featured Brenda Blethyn give a great performances as repressed housewife Mim Dervish. Her husband Roger (a brilliantly pompous Robert Daws) was in charge of a cricket team and many episodes took place at cricket matches. A well written, well acted and funny show.

The Good Life (1975-1978) was another classic from Esmonde and Larbey. At its' heart was a warmth between the characters. People often say all four actors (Richard Briers, Penelope Keith, Felicity Kendal and Paul Eddington) were brilliant and they were, but the great Briers outshone them all.

Open All Hours (1976-1985) was the second successful sitcom for Ronnie Barker in another great role as miserly grocer Arkwright, which was the main reason for the success of this show. He was given good dialogue by writer Roy Clarke and the other characters were good if not great.

Keeping up appearances (1990-1995) featured an ensemble cast, yet at its heart was a masterful performance by the great Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket. Hyacinth was selfish, snobbish, obsessed and completely unaware how awful she was. Routledge's physical movements created many of the laughs and these weren't always scripted. Also Clive Swift was very good as her long suffering husband Richard. Scenes not featuring Hyacinth were not as good.

Marion and Geoff's first series in 2000 featured short episodes featuring Rob Brydon as taxi driver Keith. The second series in 2003 featured episodes of the conventional sitcom length of 30 minutes. Brydon was alone in his taxi (in the second series he had become a chauffeur). He spoke of his ex-wife Marion and her boyfriend Geoff. Gradually the viewer began to build up a picture of Keith's rather desperate life. Sometimes the viewer could see things before he could (for instance, Keith's second son was fathered by Geoff). It is quite dark humour but very cleverly done.

Dad's Army (1968-1977 plus 1971 film) was one of the great shows from the golden era of sitcom. People often say it had a great ensemble cast, but actually it was the characters more than the actors that were so good. Writer Jimmy Perry was in the home guard in the war and used these experiences in writing the show with David Croft. Arthur Lowe was excellent as Captain Mainwaring. I also like Clive Dunn as Jones, playing much older than his actual age. Unusual for such a long running show, the episodes were of a consistently good quality, with good situations.

Steptoe and Son (1962-1974 plus 2 films) was not the first successful sitcom to feature actors rather than comedians playing extensions of themselves (The Army Game for instance ran for many years in the late 1950s). However, it was the earliest sitcom to have stood the test of time and is still remembered today. Many episodes just featured rag and bone men Steptoe and Son (Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett) in their house or yard bickering. Episodes varied in quality (many of the best episodes were in the 1972 series). Superb acting from the leads.

After Henry (1988-1992) was a successful ITV sitcom featuring great performances from Prunella Scales as Sarah and Joan Sanderson as Eleanor. The writing was good if not great. The show ended when Sanderson (one of the great comic actresses) died.

Waiting For God (1990-1994) featured the great Stephanie Cole as Diana Trent, who was growing old disgracefully in a retirement home alongside Tom Ballard (Graham Crowden). Earlier series were the best.

The Royle Family (series 1998-2000, specials 2006-) was a show set virtually entirely in one room (the living room of the Royle's house). Sometimes they showed the kitchen, or occasionally upstairs. For three series, life continued much as normal. Jim was lazy, opinionated, rude at times and could be a verbal bully, but in Ricky Tomlinson's hands he became loveable. The other characters were also well drawn and acted, yet Jim is the only one I find consistently funny. The writing was very good (better in the three series than in the specials). Like The Office, has a high level of realism.

Rising Damp (1974-1978 & 1980 film) was the top ITV sitcom from the 1970s. It featured Leonard Rossiter as landlord Rigsby. Episodes varied in quality but this show is rightly still held in very high regard today. Certainly gives the best example of Rossiter's comic ability (Reginald Perrin was a much darker show).

Whatever happend to the likely lads (1973) was another hit from writers Clement and La Frenais, a follow on from their 60s show The Likely Lads. It featured Rodney Bewes and James Bolam as the two leads. Bolam went on to great things after this. The writing was consistently good and the show had its' fair share of laughs.

As Time Goes By (1992-2005) was written by Bob Larbey. Episodes were consistently good and it featured one of the great sitcom actors Geoffrey Palmer, alongside Judi Dench. If you were a TV executive and were told there would be a new sitcom written by Larbey and featuring Palmer and Dench, you'd probably be pretty sure of having a successful show resulting from it.

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-1979) was a conventional sitcom featuring a laughter track from a live studio audience, but was a very dark show. Although it featured some funny moments, particularly from CJ (the great John Barron), it was essentially a story about a man being driven mad by being trapped in a mundane life. Rossiter gave another fine performance as Reggie. Some of the other characters were over-simplified stereotypes to the point of being irritating. The first series was the best of the three and the last series was the worst. David Nobbs is better known for this than A bit of a do, though I prefer A bit of a do.