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Everyone knows that, when it comes to comedy, it doesn’t get any better than British. Unfortunately, I regularly meet Americans who have not been exposed to the veritable treasure trove of chortles that my country has to offer.<\/p>\nEveryone knows that, when it comes to comedy, it doesn’t get any better than British. Unfortunately, I regularly meet Americans who have not been exposed to the veritable treasure trove of chortles that my country has to offer.<\/p>\n
This makes me sad. Instead of enjoying classic shows such as Hancock’s Half Hour<\/a>, Fawlty Towers<\/a>\u00a0(“Don’t mention the war!”<\/em>) and\u00a0Rising Damp<\/a>, they just sit watching the billionth season of The Office\u00a0(the American version), waiting for it to finally get funny again.\u00a0I have therefore decided to compile over a series of posts a list of British comedy shows that simply must<\/span> be watched…<\/p>\n I was fortunate to grow up in an era of great\u00a0British comedy. Every Saturday night my family would gather together in the living room. We would eat dinner on our laps, which was considered a huge<\/span> treat, since eating was not typically allowed in the living room. We would then settle in for an evening of great TV. We would receive Yorkshire wisdom from Last of the Summer Wine<\/a>\u00a0and listen to the grumpy rants from Victor Meldrew in One Foot In the Grave<\/a>.<\/p>\n I’ve started watching many of these shows again\u00a0as an adult. Now when I watch old episodes of Hi-De-Hi!<\/a>\u00a0I’m stunned by how many of the jokes went over my head as a child (probably a good thing!). Another show like this was\u00a0‘Allo ‘Allo<\/a>, a comedy set in the unlikely location of France during the Second World War. Actually, it’s quite surprising how many British comedies used wars as their backdrop, the most famous of which is probably Dad’s Army, which tells the story of the men in England’s “Home Guard”:<\/p>\n