British Comedies
These are the so called Britcoms and I'm a huge fan of most of them. I don't know where I picked up my love of them but I think it started with a Monty Python skit I saw once as a kid. Since then I've amassed a small collection of tapes and tape ten hours every weekend off of Dallas' PBS station, KERA. I'm always on the lookout for more tapes and really need to set up the second VCR at some point so I can put together some collections.
Tapes I own:
BlackAdder (Complete Series): I'm not a big fan of Mr. Bean, but Rowan Atkinson is great as the wisecracking and sarcastic Blackadder.
Favorite Lines: "Do you know what begins with 'come here' and ends with
'ow'?"
"No."
"Come here!"
Red Dwarf (Complete Series) The vagabonds wondering through space is a great story. I'm just waiting for the movie to come out.
Favorite Episode: Could it be anything but "Polymorph?"
Are You Being Served? The classic series is still a favorite of mine. I just wish the BBC would release the whole series on tape. I've got all the episodes out right now and would love more.
Waiting for God. Again I have all the tapes the BBC has released so far and can't wait for more. Stephanie Cole and Graham Crowden play retirees living in a retirement home and doing their best not to go mad.
Keeping Up Appearances: Hyacinth Bucket, it's pronounced Bouquet, is doing her best to present only the best side, some might say pompous, but has little help from her friends and family. Hyacinth reminds me of my mother-in-law in more ways than one so the series is even funnier for me.
Mulberry: I taped the whole series of KERA just before they lost the broadcast rights. This may be my favorite series. Mulberry is the son of death sent to collect the elderly Miss Farnaby. The amazing thing is that it works as a comedy.
Monty Python's Flying Circus: I was so happy when they started releasing these tapes, I buy them as soon as they come out. Then my friends borrow them and I don't get to watch them for a while.
Allo, Allo. I love the quirky comedy about a French cafe owner during the war, I want every episode on tape at some point since the series is basically one long story with each episode picking up where the last one left off..
Last of the Summer Wine: I just recently found this series and have become an immediate fan. It's a long running series about retirees and the interesting ways they find to make the days go by in the beautiful British countryside. I have purchased all of the available tapes and DVDs and taped ever other episode I could off of PBS. This is the longest running series in British history and well worth it. Don't go looking for belly laughs here, this is a melancholy series that tugs at the heart strings while giving you a chuckle.
Favorite Line: "Foggy is saving up for his old age, although I don't know why, you get it for free."
"Nora Batty!"
Goodnight Sweetheart: A man goes back in time to 1940 and finds a new love in a different time. He can go back and forth so he has to bounce between his wife in this world and his lover in the past. For a historian it's a particularly interesting series.
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