Why aren't Brit sitcoms funny?

Question

They are absolutely useless. The humor is just not there!
The few that air in the US should be banned here and abroad.
Personally, I think all Brit shows should be banned.

Yes, I have. They're alright, nothing too special.

Answer 1

British Sitcoms:
Blackadder
Only Fools And Horses
Absolutely Fabulous

American Sitcoms:
Friends
Will & Grace
Everybody Loves Raymond

A quick comparison of a small sample shows that British sitcoms are, in fact, far superior.

Answer 2

Its a question of a different sense of humour, developed through the trials and tribulations of a few thousand years of history. I personally have never really enjoyed American sitcoms, at least not since BILKO, they strike me as sanitized, overtly P.C. , and definately forced, however, as an American I expect you view it differently. I find German humour simplistic, so do the French. However we are all agreed that some things are funny and some things are not, the Germans are beginning to get funny, so are the Russians, and some of the Jokes from Palestine are wickedly funny, but very dark humoured. It's really about how you view life and the way the world influences you. (Palestinian Joke; Why did HAMAS ban suicide bombings during the elections? Because they needed all the votes they could get!)
If you object to other countries jokes you are starting to impose a form of dictatorship on the world, you set yourself up as the arbiter of good taste, with no apparent qualification, and you lose the chance to exchange ideas with other people. That is the route to war!

Answer 3

Every nation has things that specifically target its particular sense of humour. The UK has a long tradition of adapting its humour nerve according to the latest 'wave' of comics coming up. There was a trend towards titilation and body-comedy in the 70s, whose most successful exponent was Benny Hill. While he was very popular in the States, the 80s saw him unemployable in the UK because the wave had moved on. Similarly with the Pythons, the wave moved on, and while there are people who are fiercely dedicated to the Python phenomenon, to actually watch any given show by them is pretty hard going because the ratio of 'nuggets of comic genius' to 'what...the...hell?' moments is very uneven.

The latest waves in UK comedy seem to be the comedy of cringe-making embarrassment (eg The Office, which was not only successfully exported to the States but successfully remade once it got there) and grotesque sketchery (eg Little Britain, The League of Gentlemen etc) which I'm sorry to say leave me wanting to scoop out my own eyeballs rather than look at them.

So I guess you could say that the reason most Brit sitcoms aren't terribly funny is that they a) depend largely on a particularly British sense of humour and b) usually age very quickly, and lose a lot of appeal when divorced from a particular 'wave' in what is funny. A lot of reliance on the situation for the comedy is doubtless to blame for this.

On the other hand, there are US comedies (especially 'vehicle' comedies) that suffer from situations that are contrived and characters about whom it's difficult to care. I give you Becker, Veronica's Closet, Ellen, Seinfeld, Joey, Will and Grace etc etc etc.
Compared to ensemble classics like MASH, these are all lightweight cotton-candy comedies that despite commercial success won't especially live in the affections of the public very long.

Nevertheless, like all the dire Britcoms, they made at least somebody laugh for at least a while. If it wasn't you or me, at least it was somebody...

Answer 4

You mustn't have a sense of humour. I don't much like the new humour, Little Britain, The Office, but things like Only Fools & Horses, Up Pompeii, Porridge, The Two Ronnies, the list is endless, I think are very funny.

Answer 5

There are bad ones and good ones, just like in the U. S. A. I love Yes Minister/Prime Minister, Mr. Bean, Monty Python and Fawlty Towers.
Of course, you’ve been raised up in your own culture and so prefer the comedies according to your taste. If you don’t like the English ones, just change the channel.

Answer 6

Oh, but they are. They just might not be for you, perhaps their humor is too subtle or too black for you, whatever. But they sure are funny to other people.

EDIT: By the way, there's a great article in the Guardian on German humor, and why they are indeed funny, although perhpaps not too British people: http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,,1781004,00.html

Answer 7

Could it be that you just don't get their brand of humour? It would be a boring world if we all liked the same things, so viva la difference!

Hey, what about the aussie humour?? Probably not many other countries would understand it.

Answer 8

You must have not watched Faulty Towers or Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Answer 9

I agree. I'm so glad the Americans can see it too. Though there are some classics, the ones the guy above mentioned.

Answer 10

That means you are not a brit. You need to grow up there to appreciate the jokes..