My Favorite Brit-Coms

The ultimate classic Brit-Com. Who could ever forget Hyacinth Bucket (It's pronounced Bouquet), and her rag tag sisters Rose and Daisy, as well as her rich sister Violet (the one with the Mercedes and room for a pony)?

Long suffering husband Richard, and ever patient neighbor Elizabeth round out the cast. Keeping Up Appearances is round after round of Hycinth bossing people around, getting into an embarrassing situation, and finishing with a laugh.

As the series proceeds, Patricia Routledge seems to be enjoying herself more. Bits of personality slip out in spots such as when she's dancing with Onslo on the QE2. Genuine smiles and sparkling eyes make the show even more enjoyable than the earlier episodes.

It took me a few episodes before I could understand Last of the Summer Wine, let alone enjoy it. It's really not your typical sit-com.

Last of the Summer Wine is a show where "thee" "thy" and "thou" slips into speech with no mental switch. The rolling hills and old fashioned homes and paving send me into a dreamlike state, and I can watch it over and over in the way one reads fantasy or westerns more for the settings than the story.

It is funny once you grasp the setting. The story line is always about 3 or 4 older gentlemen, who never really outgrew their adolescence. Howard, who spends all his planning on getting to be alone with Marina, doesn't know what to do with her when he succeeds (which is never). Truly Of The Yard, formerly of the vice squad, is full of stories of what they used to do on the vice squad, and then talks someone else into doing something stupid. And poor Norman Clegg, who used to be a "lino salesman", gets dragged into it all. Mostly unwillingly, but when the time comes- he's the one who adds the most zing to the stories they tell.

The cast has often changed, as the show spans over a decade, and the cast is almost entirely elderly.

The BBC has a great write up of it here.

I can't say as much about this show, since I only saw about one season's worth. But what I saw, I loved.

A young Dame Judy Dench (I believe she was not yet a Dame) played an unlucky in love woman opposite an equally unlucky in love man (played by real life husband Michael Williams).

It's a little difficult to describe, but as much as I loved her in As Time Goes By, I really think that A Fine Romance really played up to her acting ability (or maybe just her ability to play neurotic people).

There are many people that would argue that this show shouldn't be listed. However, it's the first Brit-Com that I ever saw, and a classic in my mind.

With Mrs. Slocombe's crazy hair (I so want that when I'm her age), Miss Brahm's common ways, and Mr. Humphries' being "neither one way or the other", I watched faithfully every chance I got.

Even though there was never any proper story line, there was never any proper ending. And that was part of the charm Are You Being Served? holds for me. It's just one slapstick followed by a one liner, followed by slapstick...

For a proper rundown of the show, click here.

Black Books is an obscure, alcohol fueled comedy that may be difficult to track down outside of BBC America.

The basic concept centers around three characters, all of whom are quite fond of wine, but that's where the similarities end.

Bernard Black, who owns Black Books, doesn't particularly like people, even customers. Especially not customers.

Manny, formerly a high powered executive, quits his stress inducing job and names himself Bernard's assistance.

And Fran, Bernard's shop's neighbor, who sells "a lot of wank".

The video below is a perfect encapsulation of the series as a whole.

Rowan Atkinson plays a police chief The Thin Blue Line. In a way, it's a cross between, oh, name any good cop show, and Reno 911. His character is a cross between Mr. Bean's bumbling incompetence, and Black Adder's sharp tongue and wit.

Like Friends, only funny. Coupling follows 6 singles around as they hook up, drink up, and vark up. At times witty, and others simply bizarre, I watch every episode over and over. You never know what they're going to do next, or how.

Rarely is the storyline straight forward. One episode in particular, devoted 10 minutes to 3 sections (one to Jane, one to Susan, and another to Sally). The first ten minutes was funny, the second 10 was funnier because it had its own story line and added more information to the first (think Lion King 1 1/2), and the third the funniest because of its own story line and adding more information to the first and second stories.

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