Slagging them off for being shit 20, 30, 40 years on says more about us than the shows
Aye a bit like slagging off the Beatles.
I liked Allo Allo, but time marches on and I don't think that sort of farce would play well now. Recent favourite comedy chez Slowoldman has been This Country, Motherland, Mandy and most recently (and brilliantly) Alma's Not Right.
Bring back Love thy Neighbour & Till Death us do Part!
Well Love thy Neighbour was a cheap and rubbish knock off of Till Death us do Part which was brilliant satire (well the earlier stuff, it got a bit tired as many series do). I think it should be repeated now, it would be just as relevant. Alf was the biggest Gammon of his generation.
I never get bored of Porridge.
I liked the early Allo Allo but to me, they carried it on for too long.
Happens to a lot of shows - Porridge remains great as they knew when to stop
You know **** all then, as Thatchers favourite comedy was well known to be Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister.
😁 dagnabit you're right! She even recorded a scene. Blanked that, probably on the grounds they're great shows. I bet she liked AA too...
So what’s British, funny, fit for the family but in the same farcical vein?
Outumbered?
Aside. GO and listen to the theme tune from ‘Allo Allo.
Then listen to the theme from the mandalorian.
😆 who'd have thought. Too hilarious.
So what’s British, funny, fit for the family
Horrible histories
So what’s British, funny, fit for the family but in the same farcical vein?
Last of the Summer Wine!?
Might not have aged well in places but I can't think of any reason it would be 'cancelled'.
My ambition is to retire like those 3 - just bimbling around the countryside doing nothing in particular! 🙂
New stuff - Ghosts has been my favourite comedy recently.
I loved Outnumbered and also enjoyed My Family with Zoe Wanamaker and Robert Lindsay and Kris Marshall.
allo allo was never funny - making jokes based on racist sterotypes never is and this particular effort was very poor
allo allo was never funny – making jokes based on racist sterotypes never is and this particular effort was very poor
I agree it wasn't funny.
However, to call it "racist" is pushing it.
It was more of a pisstake/parody on the post war movies and TV series, that were about then, in particular Colditz and Secret Army.
Monty Python
Fawlty Towers
FWIW I enjoyed Allo Allo but it should have ended when Gordon Kaye had his accident.
allo allo was never funny – making jokes based on racist sterotypes never is
The French and Italians were portrayed as insufferable romantics obsessed with the ladies, the Germans mostly well-meaning but bungling fools, and the British extreme upper-class half-wits.
Seems like a perfectly reasonable assessment to me and I don't see a problem.
Presumably if was considered offensive it wouldn't have been shown in France and Germany, and the British are famous for their self-deprecating humour, so presumably no problem there either.
Taking the piss goes to the very heart of humour and if you exclude it you are left with very little.
Edit : Actually although Rene, Leclerc, and Captain Bertorelli, are all portrayed as obsessed with the ladies (these foreign types usually are) the ladies are also portrayed as obsessed with the gentlemen.
Taking the piss goes to the very heart of humour and if you exclude it you are left with very little.
It's a fine line to tread in this modern PC world. I don't personally think Allo Allo was racist in content or intent.
They didn't know when to stop Porridge... Seem to remember a spin off series called "straight as an arrow" I think. Was pretty poor... but then I didn't like porridge anyway im afraid.
Going Straight was the spin off.
There are a few I fancy watching again to see how they hold up now, citizen smith, terry and June and bread. I remember watching them as a child and laughing at them so it would be interesting to see if I still find them funny. It’s not British, but I have just finished rewatching cheers and thought it had held up OK, and I never tire of a Faulty Towers.
It’s a fine line to tread in this modern PC world.
Yup, I totally agree.
And yet Family Guy still drive a horse and cart through that fine line. It doesn't matter if it is Christians, Muslims, Arabs, Jews, Mexicans, Italians, the English, Irish, Indians, gays, lesbians, transexuals, black, youth, the elderly, democrats, republicans, women, Catholics, obese, they will mercilessly ridicule and stereotype them all.
I have no idea how they get away with it but I am very glad that they do as few TV programmes make me laugh as much.
Although even I find their ridicule of Jews uncomfortably close to the knuckle.
has anyone suggested Rent-a-Ghost?
Although even I find their ridicule of Jews uncomfortably close to the knuckle.
Fox pulled a few episodes for this… but they came out on other networks later. All episodes are now owned by Disney, which makes this episode perhaps even more important a reminder of history…
Ah yes, Jimmy's Secret Army. Brilliant.
has anyone suggested Rent-a-Ghost?
Used to love that as a kid!
David Croft is surprisingly under the radar considering he co-wrote and produced Dad's Army, Allo Allo, It Aint Half Hot Mum, Hi di hi ,Are you being served and many various offshoots.
Loved Men bahaving Badly as a teen in the 90s, tried watching it a while back its not aged well!
Still love Only Fools/Porridge/Open all hours ect. Shout out for IT crowd as a modern farce aswell, too silly for some but I loved it (still do)
David Croft is surprisingly under the radar considering he co-wrote and produced Dad’s Army, Allo Allo, It Aint Half Hot Mum, Hi di hi ,Are you being served and many various offshoots
A more complete list of the shite I disliked most in my youth would be hard to find. Thanks David, ya bawbag.
This was in the days of just 3 or 4 channels so dross on one channel was a much bigger deal than it is now. So I guess I should be grateful he was partly responsible for the lack of telly I watched in my youth.
A more complete list of the shite I disliked most in my youth would be hard to find. Thanks David, ya bawbag.
That's pretty much it. From what I remember, Dad's Army was pretty gentle, inoffensive humour. Allo Allo just recycled the same lame stuff over and over for years. It Ain't Half Hot Mum was truly dreadful racist homophobic garbage. Hi De Hi was lame. I think I must have watched one episode of Are You Being Served, it was just utterly not funny in any way. That is quite the CV of lame shiteness he has assembled.
Allo Allo was a standard comedy format...the fact it was based in WW2 France is irrelevant...you could lift and transplant the humour into any settings and that's exactly what it was...there are many other comedies that follow the same format both past and present maybe weight a slight tweak here and there. There was nothing original or ground breaking about Allo Allo - alot of these things are regurgitations of what has gone on before. There is essentially no original comedy...just the same old comedy done differently.
A more complete list of the shite I disliked most in my youth would be hard to find. Thanks David, ya bawbag.
This was in the days of just 3 or 4 channels so dross on one channel was a much bigger deal than it is now. So I guess I should be grateful he was partly responsible for the lack of telly I watched in my youth.
The parents lapped it up thou,
don’t forget such classics as to the manor born and what was that one with ‘Penny’ in and the bloke she married in the last episode.
Peoples tastes are odd - I loathe strictly but look at the viewing figures.
Allo Allo & Dad'a Army are still absolute class. Allo, Allo gets a bit tired five series in, but funny nonetheless.
Dad's Army is superb and it cannot ever be repeated....the cast, the writing, everything works perfectly in my opinion!
Hi De Hi was alright, but i still don't really get it. Like It Aint Half Hot Mum it was based on Perry & Croft's experiences in the army during and post WW2. It was of it's time really, post WW2 little work so experienced actors / comics / dancers had to entertain holiday makers! Te last episode was funny with Peggy finally getting her yellow coat and then closing the camp! 😀
Still, great CV's though!
I still enjoy most of the early Alf Garnett stuff too - Warren Mitchell played it perfectly! Alf (God bless him) was a great advert for why education is still so important! Dandy Nichols played his wife with fantastic effect. I wasn't too keen on the dynamic that Anthony Booth and Una Stubbs brought and the whole dynamic with 'Marigold' was farcical, but an illustration of the time.
Another fan of the IT Crowd here.
Any takers for Peep Show??
There was nothing original or ground breaking about Allo Allo – a lot of these things are regurgitations of what has gone on before.
Actually, you are wrong there, it was 'ground breaking' as it was a comedy about the German occupation during WW2, at the time, a comedy about that hadn't been done - why would it - most people that lived through that were still around and don't remember much comedy from it. This was a comedy where the Germans (in the main) were just trying to survive the war and get by with some stealing to feather their nests for when they made it out of the war. It was original based on the scenarios, but the comedy jokes were pretty standard.
Allo Allo just recycled the same lame stuff over and over for years.
That was precisely the whole point. "It is I, Leclerc", or "I will say this only once" is not inherently funny, it's not really funny at all in fact. It becomes funny when it is repeated over and over again to the point where the audience both predict and expect it. And it actually becomes funnier the more it is repeated.
It is a fairly standard format of comedy, Monty Python used it extensively with examples such as "no one expects the Spanish Inquisition" and "Right, this is getting silly".
Eric Morecambe got more laughs the more he said "you can't see the join", as he looked over Ernie Wise's head.
Bruce Forsyth got instant laughs the moment he said "nice to see you, to see you nice". In fact it is so hilariously funny that people are still repeating it to each other as a greeting many years after his death.
We know that 'Allo 'Allo was funny because as you quite rightly point out it lasted for years.
This was a comedy where the Germans (in the main) were just trying to survive the war...
Indeed. Just about everyone was trapped by the war, on all sides. The humour (and humanity) stemmed from that. Of course it went down hill fast, but so did others considered classics (like Dad's Army). Once successful (and genuinely held dear by people with only a few channels and no internet), they coasted, and kept being made, long after the idea and characters had been played through.
Anyway, the OP asked for modern day suggestions, and received plenty. The idea that you "can't be funny any more because people take offence" is completely bogus. Watch series one of Dave if you want to see lines being crossed in a TV show that you haven't seen crossed before. Genuinely original TV. If you want something more British, plenty of great suggestions have been made.
Humour is a weird thing. I'll be honest, Monty Python and Fawlty Towers were more miss than hit for me, as were Allo Allo etc. Even watching the regular series of Morecambe and Wise there was a lot that really wasn't all that.
There does seem to be a desire for comedy to be edgy and stick it to some man all the time, and anything just gently humorous is therefore not worth watching.
Indeed. Just about everyone was trapped by the war, on all sides. The humour (and humanity) stemmed from that.
Disagree..that was the context the comedy was based but the comedy itself...the essence of what made it funny wasn't groundbreaking.
You had a central character that was bemused about the nonsense of what was going on around him...him seemingly being the only sensible person in the whole thing that understood the folly of what was going on. As a result he was not invested in the situation and was just trying to get through as best he could and all the japes stem from that with the other characters...all ridiculous in their own way, to highlight the ridiculousness of the situation and are just exaggerated stereotypes he plays off for the laughs.
Absolutely 100% unoriginal since the days comedy first began. You can lift this format and stick it into any other setting in any other time and you have the same.
There does seem to be a desire for comedy to be edgy and stick it to some man all the time, and anything just gently humorous is therefore not worth watching.
Many comedian's and comedy shows forget that they should be funny first, if they can weave in some social commentary or edginess then that is a bonus. When their ill informed unfunny rants don't go down well they cry "cancel culture" when in reality they had one job to do and failed at it.
Plenty of current shows and comedians are far more edgy and offensive than anything that would have been acceptable for most of my life, there has been a liberation of where they can go, not a restriction, it's just that most people have moved on from finding tired bigoted tropes as being funny. I enjoy comedy not the abuse of a public platform to bully the weak.
Why has nobody mentioned Citizen Khan? It's on BBC iPlayer.
In the finest tradition of British pantomime and '70s sitcoms, it's riddled with lazy stereotypes and depends on casual racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and probably many other worse things that go way over my head. I bloody love it, me.
Why has nobody mentioned Citizen Khan? It’s on BBC iPlayer.
In the finest tradition of British pantomime and ’70s sitcoms, it’s riddled with lazy stereotypes and depends on casual racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and probably many other worse things that go way over my head. I bloody love it, me.
Again, classic British sitcom relying on stereotypes and comedic "formula". Enjoyed the first few but started to feel a bit contrived after a while.
It does raise a lot of cultural issues though - it's a British Asian using a stereotype of his community elders in a way that a white comedian could (and should) not, but the character traits are recognisable in all cultures. In the same way that Goodness Gracious Me did 20 years ago.
Many comedian’s and comedy shows forget that they should be funny first
Exactly. David Croft's stuff is mostly not very funny.
So what’s British, funny, fit for the family but in the same farcical vein?
How the hell have we got three pages in without anyone mentioning Blackadder?!
One of the very few comedies that is pretty much timeless.
Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister are both obviously dated yet also completely relevant today.
I remember family TV nights from 80's / 90's watching Dad's Army, Allo Allo and Open All Hours but a lot of them are a bit cringey now or simply not funny.
Recent comedies - Ghosts is excellent.
Code 404 also has its moments.
Many comedian’s and comedy shows forget that they should be funny first
Exactly. David Croft’s stuff is mostly not very funny.
So David Croft's success was purely based on the social commentary that he provided?
I remember family TV nights from 80’s / 90’s watching Dad’s Army, Allo Allo and Open All Hours but a lot of them are a bit cringey now or simply not funny.
Wether or not they are funny is down to the individual but cringey? how so? times and attitudes move on. Are you not able to look back and see things in the context of the times they were made? Is it not good to revisit stuff from times gone by to highlight that we have actually moved on as a society? No point in sweeping this stuff under the carpet its part of our history, journey as a culture and vitally important we understand it, warts and all.
I can watch stuff form the '70's and though I might not find it laugh out loud funny, I can understand and appreciate the humour and the talent of the individual comic actors.
Fundamentally as I said before, the underlying comedy is the same as it is today. Just different setting and context but the jokes are essentially the same. So perfectly possible to appreciate the comedy whatever the context.
OP - have a look at Still Game if you've not seen it already.
So David Croft’s success was purely based on the social commentary that he provided?
What I think is being missed is the intelligence of the audience. Not education, not covert (or overt) racism. Just good old fashioned intelligence. To be blunt Croft's humour works/worked for dafties. So also Mrs Brown's Boys. Half of the nation's population have below average intelligence so good viewing figures can be gained from appealing to this target market. Nothing wrong with that - stupids need entertaining as much as anyone else (arguably more so) and pay their license fees so deserve material intended for them.
Just don't try to find deeper reasoning for why it does or doesn't appeal.
What I think is being missed is the intelligence of the audience.
Yes I totally missed that, it hadn't even occured to me.
I can't stand Alan Davies. Every time I see him on QI I want to punch him in the face for ruining an otherwise excellent programme, with his inane and totally unfunny comments.
How Sue Perkins gets away with calling herself a comedian is beyond my understanding, and yet she appears to be somewhere on the telly most days.
What does my strong opinions concerning two highly popular comedians say about my intelligence?
Am I below average intelligence for not finding two very funny people funny?
Or does it provide proof of my remarkable intelligence that I don't find funny two people who are hugely popular?