THE YOUNG ONES

THE YOUNG ONES (1982-84) is another British show picked up by an American broadcaster (Comedy Central), to popular effect. The simple foundation of four college students living in a dump, left the show open to many asides. In fact, with it's musical interludes and unexplained asides with minor characters, THE YOUNG ONES bears elements of a variety show - or at least the imprint of THE BENNY HILL SHOW. The classic characters of Neil the dim Hippy, Rick the clueless nerd, Vyvyan the sadomasochistic Punk and Mike the unflappable con-artist are all too dumb to live, and supplemented by many of British comedy's finest stars in cameo appearances. The surrealistic bent of the humor, inside jokes between the characters, subliminal images, portals to other dimensions and number of episodes where everyone dies at the end can be a bit odd for the stateside audience; but that's part of the charm. "BASTARD!", "Brilliant!" and "heavy" are the catch-phrases, but if you’re not British, watching with subtitles isn’t a bad idea. A great primer for a variety of British styles of humor, this influential series only lasted two seasons!

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS is undoubtedly one of a handful of comedies to make the jump across the pond with flying colors. It centers around the dysfunctional and hedonistic extended family of PR dilettante Edina; who is reluctantly watched over by cautious daughter Saffron, while being goaded to egotistical escapades by her carousing partner in crime, Patsy. AB FAB serves as a satire of all things self-centered; whether they be charity, fashion, marketing campaigns, celebrity, fad diets, or new age schemes. This potentially heavy social satire is cut through with such a shameless brand of camp that nearly all trace of moralizing are erased. Each character is damaged in some way but copes with their flaws through biting putdowns and aimless self-abuse.

Spawned from a skit on the FRENCH & SAUNDERS show, it has run for 5 seasons, with many occasions when series creator Jennifer Saunders thought the well dry, only to return with numerous special episodes; still being made into 2012. Arguably, much of it's stateside success had to do with Comedy Central picking it up for broadcast, but this show seems to have taken on a life of it's own over the last 20 years. Nearly every cast member has met with continued success outside the show, though few have eclipsed it.

THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN is a window into the bizarre denizens of an ominous and remote township in the North of England, known as Royston Vasey. A lurid and uninviting place for strangers, where everyone seems to have an appalling secret. Full of unforgettable characters and absurd catch-phrases, even today; THE LEAGUE is undoubtedly the most uniquely twisted dark comedy to have graced the BBC.


The lead roles are played by three members of a quartet of writers who began on the stage in 1994, graduated to BBC Radio 4 and won a number of awards before being turned into a television programme. The series lasted 3 seasons (1999-2002), with an additional Christmas Special and even a movie in 2005. The only programme in recent years that's made the jump to the big screen. It straddled the line between the sketch and sitcom formats and contained numerous Horror film elements and references. Two of the members went on to create the 2009 series PSYCHOVILLE, but have only reunited as a full cast for a series of sketches in the fourth series of a children's programme called HORRIBLE HISTORIES (2012). All the members have gone on to successful careers apart from one another, as detailed in this article in the Radio Times. The entire first season of THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN was posted by BBCWorldwideTV on Youtube. Due to violence, nudity and sexuality, you will be required to sign in.

American fans of UK Comedy

Upon realizing that my friend Jimi and I were always private messaging about British Comedy shows we were finally stumbling upon, it occurred to me; if this is difficult for us (huge fans) how much harder would it be for the average person in America to find out about great UK Comedy? So, here it is. The first post on our Blog for Americans wanting to know about British Comedy they might not be aware of. There are so many classic British shows we could have started off with for our launch; THE GOON SHOW (1951-60), BEYOND THE FRINGE (1960-66), MONTY PYTHON (1969-74) - being just a few obvious ones. But somehow this clip of Stephen Fry (A BIT OF FRY & LAURIE, JEEVES & WOOSTER, BLACK ADDER, QI, etc) speaking on the difference in the social foundations of our two country's Comedy styles seems equally appropriate. And if that slew of references I just made is unfamiliar to you, have no fear; all these shows will be covered here soon enough. enjoy!