Elston Gunnn Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 "british humor (or lack thereof)" Imported this comment from a post in the Derby thread, as I didn't want to hijack that thread on tomorrow's World Historical Event. But I am interested in Brit humour, I guess especially in comparison/contrast to American humor. I'm American, but have had friendly (enough) arguments with fellow Americans about what I see as the clear superiority of British (English??) humour. Maybe it's just the "Fawlty Towers" effect, but I doubt it, for me at least, as there are quite a few other Britcoms and other stuff that I find terribly funny. Deeper, more intelligent, I guess. Maybe it's just that at one point Brit humour was just new, exotic, a wonderful discovery for an insular person such as myself. (Are Americans more insular than Brits? Some irony there, maybe.) British acting, too, I find clearly superior to American stuff. Or maybe it's that the best of British humour, acting, something, is for me superior to, more sophisticated than, more intelligent than, the best the U.S. has to offer. To be fair, not to mention accurate, there's plenty of funny, complicated, sophisticated stuff on U.S. tele (telly) these days. The "Fargo" mini-series (#3 starting soon), "Better Call Saul" (also soon) are hilarious black comedies. Anyhow, love to hear some comments on whether the Brit humour is in fact (uh, opinion?) superior/more sophisticated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjazzbassist Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 the brits are simultaneously pompous and self-depricating (which is in itself a wierd conundrum). it's also a rather dry sense of humor, with lots of sarcasm. generally it's more intelligent and witty (perfect word to describe it), a sly dig, a backhanded complement. polite knocks. american humor is mostly in your face brash kinda thing, more shock value with little or no regard to customs/respect/authority. i find it less intelligent humor, and more sophomoric in nature. more cutting in nature. at least that's how i comes across to me. i enjoy both, just don't think the english humor style translates well to written form (like a forum), i feel i relies on audio/visual cues a good amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 I don't think either is superior (if we're talking "sitcoms") personally, they're just different. Some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen is American, from Happy Days, MASH, Cheers/Frasier, Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, Barney Miller, MTM, Bilko up to recent-ish stuff like My Name is Earl/Raising Hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubecula Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 I am of the opinion that humour/humor is a personal thing. It is nothing to do with nationality really. At least in my own opinion. I liked Fawlty Towers, but I loved Porridge. My current favourite is neither American nor British, it is Irish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts0Jtar6m6g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 I am of the opinion that humour/humor is a personal thing. It is nothing to do with nationality really. At least in my own opinion. I liked Fawlty Towers, but I loved Porridge. My current favourite is neither American nor British, it is Irish. Sorry Rubes (don't want to seem to be picking on you tonight) but Mrs Brown's Boys is imo total humorless shite, really can't see how anyone even raises a smile watching it. Having said that Porridge was genius; Fawlty Towers I have mixed feelings about, brilliant at the time but grates on me a bit now. aaron and rubecula 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnh Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 The best humour that ever came out of America was Cheers. Some brilliant stuff in there. I've got DVD's of a couple of series, never get bored watching them. Agree with Mike on Mrs. Brown's Boys. markjazzbassist and rubecula 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubecula Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 I still think humour is more a personal thing than a national thing though. Sibdane 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 I still think humour is more a personal thing than a national thing though. I agree; if you're talking Irish though Father Ted reigns supreme. rubecula 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete0 Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 The Americans perfected British humour with Arrested Development. Pity the public didn't have a taste for it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjazzbassist Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 The Americans perfected British humour with Arrested Development. Pity the public didn't have a taste for it though. great show one of my all time favorites. the driest of dry humor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibdane Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 Yeah -- it's on a show by show basis for me. My favorite comedy of all time is probably It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but I also love Peep Show and IT Crowd quite a bit, and all three of those are very different when it comes to style of comedy. Depends on your tastes like others have said. Good shout-out with Arrested Development. Curb Your Enthusiasm is another great, dry show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete0 Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 @Mike, Father Ted was genius. My favourite sitcom joke of all time, just thinking about it still makes me laugh. MikeO and rubecula 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubecula Posted April 1, 2017 Report Share Posted April 1, 2017 I had forgotten about Father Ted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Steve Posted April 1, 2017 Report Share Posted April 1, 2017 For me, the funniest series in a long time is Friday Night Dinner. I have to say, though, that American friends struggle to understand the humour. There are many classic scenes, and the character building is done well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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