The Definitive - Why UK Sit-Coms Are Better Than the US
by sandy1873 | created - 23 May 2011 | updated - 31 May 2011 | PublicSome US comedies are brilliant, no doubt (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Friends, Taxi, Golden Girls. Frasier, Cheers, Roseanne etc) however UK sit-coms are better by far, you know it's true...
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1. Father Ted (1995–1998)
TV-14 | 25 min | Comedy
Three misfit priests and their housekeeper live on Craggy Island, not the peaceful and quiet part of Ireland that it seems to be.
Stars: Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, Frank Kelly, Pauline McLynn
Votes: 43,830
2. Only Fools and Horses (1981–2003)
TV-PG | 95 min | Comedy
Comedy that follows two brothers from London's rough Peckham estate as they wheel and deal through a number of dodgy deals and search for the big score that'll make them millionaires.
Stars: David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Roger Lloyd Pack, Buster Merryfield
Votes: 56,743
3. The Office (2001–2003)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
The story of an office that faces closure when the company decides to downsize its branches. A documentary film crew follow staff and the manager David Brent as they continue their daily lives.
Stars: Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook, Lucy Davis
Votes: 123,215
4. Extras (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
Andy Millman is an actor with ambition and a script. Reduced to working as an extra with a useless agent, Andy's attempts to boost his career invariably end in failure and embarrassment.
Stars: Ricky Gervais, Ashley Jensen, Stephen Merchant, Shaun Williamson
Votes: 60,407
5. 'Allo 'Allo! (1982–1992)
45 min | Comedy, History, War
In France during World War II, René Artois runs a small café where Resistance fighters, Gestapo men, German Army officers and escaped Allied POWs interact daily, ignorant of one another's true identity or presence, exasperating René.
Stars: Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Vicki Michelle, Richard Marner
Votes: 27,077
6. The Young Ones (1982–1984)
TV-14 | 35 min | Comedy
The crazy and sometimes surreal comedic adventures of four very different students in Thatcher's Britain.
Stars: Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan
Votes: 16,464
7. Blackadder Goes Forth (1989)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, War
Stuck in the middle of World War I, Captain Edmund Blackadder does his best to escape the banality of the war.
Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie
Votes: 56,902
8. Early Doors (2003–2004)
30 min | Comedy
Set in The Grapes, where the daily life of the locals, including jack-the-lads Joe and Duffy, landlord Ken and his police officer cronies Phil and Nige, old git Tommy and single mum Janice - revolves around love, loneliness and urinals.
Stars: John Henshaw, Rita May, Mark Benton, Craig Cash
Votes: 2,538
9. I'm Alan Partridge (1997–2002)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
A failed television presenter, now presenting a programme on local desperately tries to revive his broadcasting career.
Stars: Steve Coogan, Simon Greenall, Felicity Montagu, Phil Cornwell
Votes: 21,981
10. Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–2004)
60 min | Comedy, Drama
Seven British construction workers escape Britain's ever-growing dole queues and travel to Germany to work on a site in Düsseldorf. Follow their trials and tribulations of working away from home and away from the women they left behind.
Stars: Timothy Spall, Jimmy Nail, Tim Healy, Kevin Whately
Votes: 4,020
11. Phoenix Nights (2001–2002)
25 min | Comedy
The misadventures of club owner Brian Potter who is determined to make The Phoenix Club the best working men's club in Greater Manchester.
Stars: Peter Kay, Dave Spikey, Justin Moorhouse, Paddy McGuinness
Votes: 7,616
12. Yes, Prime Minister (1986– )
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
James Hacker was propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - Number 10.
Stars: Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Derek Fowlds, Diana Hoddinott
Votes: 12,931
13. Porridge (1974–1977)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy, Crime
The prison life of Fletcher, a criminal serving a five-year sentence, as he strives to bide his time, keep his record clean, and refuses to be ground down by the prison system.
Stars: Ronnie Barker, Brian Wilde, Fulton Mackay, Richard Beckinsale
Votes: 6,842
14. One Foot in the Grave (1990–2001)
TV-PG | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
Victor Meldrew is a retiree who attracts bad luck. If he's not driving his long suffering wife Margaret crazy with his constant moaning, he's fighting with neighbours.
Stars: Richard Wilson, Annette Crosbie, Doreen Mantle, Owen Brenman
Votes: 7,326
15. Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973–1974)
30 min | Comedy
Returning from the Army, Terry finds his best mate Bob is marrying Thelma, Terry's former partner. Their lives intertwine as Terry reintegrates, challenging the relationships between the three.
Stars: James Bolam, Rodney Bewes, Brigit Forsyth, Sheila Fearn
Votes: 1,285
16. Hi-de-Hi! (1980–1988)
60 min | Comedy
Comic goings-on in this series. Ted's the camp comic but is always on the lookout for a way to make money. Gladys has her eye on the boss, and Peggy wants to swap her mop and cleaner's outfit for a 'yellow coat.'
Stars: Paul Shane, Ruth Madoc, Jeffrey Holland, Felix Bowness
Votes: 1,876
17. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy
The original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.
Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle
Votes: 78,826
18. It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981)
30 min | Comedy, War
The comic adventures of a group of misfits who form an extremely bad concert party touring the hot and steamy jungles of Burma entertaining the troops during World War II.
Stars: Windsor Davies, Melvyn Hayes, Donald Hewlett, Don Estelle
Votes: 1,791
19. The Royle Family (1998–2012)
45 min | Comedy
A British sitcom about the everyday life of a working-class family in Northwest England: watching telly, smoking, drinking, and bickering.
Stars: Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash, Sue Johnston, Ricky Tomlinson
Votes: 9,090
20. Bottom (1991–1995)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
Two perpetually bored and broke flatmates waste their days in a futile struggle to get laid, earn cash, and not kill one another.
Stars: Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Steven O'Donnell, Christopher Ryan
Votes: 14,210
21. Rising Damp (1974–1978)
30 min | Comedy
Popular sitcom set in a seedy bedsit lorded over by the mean, vain, boastful, cowardly, racist landlord Rigsby. In each episode, his conceits are debunked by his long-suffering tenants.
Stars: Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington, Frances de la Tour, Richard Beckinsale
Votes: 2,821
22. Steptoe and Son (1962–1974)
TV-PG | 45 min | Comedy
British sitcom about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in London. The intergenerational divide between the miserly Steptoe and his ambitious son results in comedy, drama, and tragedy.
Stars: Wilfrid Brambell, Harry H. Corbett, Frank Thornton, Tim Buckland
Votes: 3,427
23. Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973–1978)
30 min | Comedy
Accident-prone Frank Spencer fails to navigate the simplest tasks of daily life, while also trying to look after his wife and baby.
Stars: Michael Crawford, Michele Dotrice, Jessica Forte, Dick Bentley
Votes: 4,172
24. Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
TV-PG | 28 min | Comedy
The misadventures of the staff of a retail floor of a major department store.
Stars: Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Frank Thornton, Wendy Richard
Votes: 9,236
25. Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere (2004)
25 min | Comedy
Hopeless doormen Max and Paddy leave clubland and embark on a series of wild and exciting adventures in their prized motorhome, "Easy Rider" style.
Stars: Peter Kay, Paddy McGuinness, Lisa Hammond, Tony Mooney
Votes: 3,648
26. British Men Behaving Badly (1992–2014)
TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy
Two early thirties best friends live together while having completely different personalities. While their girlfriends try to help them take on more responsibilities the boys seldom respond well and usually end up drinking together.
Stars: Martin Clunes, Caroline Quentin, Leslie Ash, Neil Morrissey
Votes: 8,656
27. Red Dwarf (1988– )
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
The adventures of the last human alive and his friends, stranded three million years into deep space on the mining ship Red Dwarf.
Stars: Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn
Votes: 37,312
28. The Good Life (1975–1978)
28 min | Comedy
Tom Good quits the rat race, and with wife Barbara turns the garden of their Surbiton house into a smallholding. Their neighbours, snobbish Margo Leadbetter and her conventional husband Jerry, feel variously amused, offended and impressed.
Stars: Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith, Paul Eddington
Votes: 4,028
29. Dad's Army (1968–1977)
30 min | Comedy, War
A ragtag group of Home Guard volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion during World War II.
Stars: Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, John Laurie
Votes: 7,237
30. Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth
Votes: 100,217
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