I disagree. Seinfeld is the ONLY ever US sitcom that played by British rules. No hugging, no learning. George Costanza is unique and can stand with Anthony Aloiseus Hancock, George Mainwearing, Basil Fawlty and David Brent.
Frasier was an American comedy I loved. I think they had some British writers on the team. The exchanges between Frasier and Niles especially when they’re not being nice to each other is sometimes a very funny British type interaction.
Frasiers dad was actually born in my hometown of Blackpool.in the North West West of England, and being British is the only reason that show was as successful as it was.
@@alexfoster307 I would always notice he still had subtle vestigial Lancastrian nuances in his accent. For example he still used the "sharp" or hard "a" sound in words like "fast" sometimes. Fun to look out for if you're a dialect geek like I am.
It isn't because Seinfeld is Jewish. The article is talking about the trope of the American Jewish Comedian, which is a different style to the older Comedians in the UK, who generally came from a Music Hall background. It's not about Religion
@PaulK-ve1pu you completely missed my point. He had the impression Brits didn't watch Seinfeld because he was Jewish. I was pointing out that it wasn't The Narrator was talking about the Jewish American Comic trope, not that we were judging him for being Jewish, which we obviously weren't.
We don't just banter with you because we like you. We banter with you to wind you up and see if you're worth liking. You can tell a lot about a person by their reaction to banter, if you're too touchy we generally wont like you that much and would choose to avoid you, but if you give as good as you take then its like you're one of us.
Its certainly a test. If you take the mick (means Take The Piss when in less civilised company) you are testing to see if someone thinks them above you, or with strong opinions you may not like. Accepting a joke with needing to hit back, or by hitting back in good humour (think of it like a sport, did you play by the rules?) is a test. If you work with someone and joke about them being "too obsessed with their love of X (work related)" then a self deprecating comment, or a comment about the other persons work interest shows an equality between the two. replying about someone's weight/looks etc. would show you are either an ass or you are way to sensitive, making a really big defence of your work indicates you take yourself way too seriously or are self important.
Banter is a good bechmark in many ways but it's also useful for when we know we like you. If we decide that you can't take banter: it stops... and we don't like you.
Seintfeld is just a show about some pretentious bloke who tries to make everyone around him feel small to boost his own ego. In England, that just isn't funny. Friends at least had light hearted characters
as a Brit i always thought shows like Seinfeld or everybody loves Raymond were like sitcoms but without the comedy, simply shortened to "sit" pronounced with an invisible H after the S
man i absolutely hated that everybody loves raymond thing. no idea why we even aired it. what a load of tripe. i read years ago that lee mack and catherine tate apparently filmed a uk version but it absolutely bombed when being filmed in front of the studio audience so it never saw the light of day. for that i'm glad lol.
UK Red Dwarf Pilot: "Three million years?! I've still got that library book!" US Red Dwarf Pilot: "Three million years?! My baseball cards must be worth a fortune!" Lister in the UK was self depreciating at this moment, thinking about how much he owes the library in late fees. Where as the US Lister is looking for financial gain. A very common difference in US remakes...
It was very specifically Jerry Seinfeld being perceived as unfunny. I think if it was just the rest of the cast/characters, it would have been far more successful in the UK.
Another interesting point is that self deprication indicates more self awareness of ones flaws and strengths. This is preferable to Brits as someone who is 'too' confident either has no awareness of themselves, or has something to hide.
It’s not because Seinfeld is Jewish I can guarantee that’s not the case. Stephen Fry is Jewish and he is loved in the UK. Ross and Monica were Jewish in friends . I liked this video by this lady it was really well done. She made excellent points
I noticed at a visit to the bathroom that my hair seemed thinner. I said to a colleague “is my hair getting thinner do you think?” He took a few seconds looking at my head and said “You’re practically bald, mate.” My interpretation of what he meant - “Your hair’s fine, don’t build up your part.”
Cosmic irony. That's a form of humour where the universe itself contradicts our protagonist's aims. So, for example, Del Trotter, in Only Fools and Horses, is attempting to make something of himself. Coming up with schemes to become a millionaire. But, whatever he does, the universe itself scuppers his plans. Edmund Blackadder is always on the verge of power, of dignity and respect, of not being a second-class character in the history books. But no matter his cunning plans, the universe itself conspires to ruin it all. Basil Fawlty is trying to just run a respectable hotel in peace. But the universe keeps pitching curveballs at him. One after the other. Just as soon as he's got a grip of things, here comes another curveball to ruin it all. And a very crucial ingredient in all of this is that none of them deserve it. Del Trotter has a heart of gold. Blackadder is a bit of scheming cad, out for himself, but he has no ill will towards others. Basil Fawlty isn't really a bad person - he's just someone on the verge of having a nervous breakdown from all the shit that keeps happening to him, and he gets really tetchy about it all (but in the rarer calm moments, you can see that Basil isn't really a bad bloke). Cosmic irony is strong in British humour. And that's what doesn't translate to Americans. Because Americans are brought up on the American Dream - if you work hard, then your work will be rewarded and you can make a success of yourself. But cosmic irony says, nope, that's not true. You can work hard, be perfectly deserving but because some completely random thing happens, you never get your break. Hard work does not guarantee a happy ending. But that is counter to "the American Dream" and the optimism that Americans are brought up to believe. So American media insists on the happy ending. On a positive optimistic spin. The good guy's hard work must be ultimately rewarded. Things must work out in the end. But British humour riffs on the very opposite. That, actually, so much of life is out of your control and it's random, and it's often completely irrelevant how much hard work or talent you've got. There are billionaire idiots. And geniuses in poverty. And there is schadenfreude in that. That's the difference.
"I think what I'm laughing at is 'this is life'. That's being a human. There's another evidence of 'life is suffering'." Yeah, that's it. That's 100% "cosmic irony". By jove, you've got it, lad. British humour is soaked to the core in that. The ridiculousness - the schadenfreude - of life itself. That's the difference. Americans don't get this because they're born and bred to be positive and optimistic. They're looking for the happy ending. But this is real life - first of all, life doesn't really have endings, except for the big one at the end, where we die. It's chapters of continual change. So the notion of "an ending" is a bit of a mythical tale in itself. And most endings are neutral. The universe doesn't care about us or anything else. Things just fall out as they fall out. There really isn't any "karma" in this world of ours. Billionaire idiots and geniuses starving in poverty. Arseholes winning, and the salt of the Earth freezing to death because they can't afford the heating. Sadly, that is actually how our world works. It's all about that cosmic irony. The Brits do satire, Americans do parody.
Try seeing "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister". Genius in every way, great humour and tremendous political nous (still very relevant today). Look it up. 😊
Not only is self-deprecation seen as a good trait, a positive trait, as long as it's not overdone, but at the other end of the scale, someone being overly positive is generally seen as a negative trait and is often perceived as arrogant, boastful, showing-off, full of themselves etc. Humility is rated highly, though false humility is seen as embarrassing, even cringeworthy, so all in all, it can be a fine line. :)
I think an interesting difference is British people can tend to think overly positive behaviour is insincere or just fanciful/untruthful; and something that can be boastful. American level of optimism can feel like "I am better than you because I am going to do this (insert dream or ambition) ... or "I am ignoring reality". This is not always a good thing as American positivity can be good, especially in social situations. However, the dark side of British humour keeps us grounded. Its interesting to note Trumps fan base are very positive and deluded.. and reality is ignored for the dream. Same happened with Brexit to an extent ... "look at the sun lit uplands" and ignore the fact you will be left in a soggy marsh.
8:32 There's the difference. In the UK, the guy who was snarky about your clothes wouldn't have to explain he was kidding, and you wouldn't have to explain you took no offense. In fact, that would spoil the in-joke. In-jokes are very important demonstrations of understanding one another.
Similarly, the UK's biggest ever sitcom, "Only Fools and Horses" barely exists in the US, but was a juggernaut here, something like a third of the country watched the 1996 "last" epsiode.
To be fair, OFAH is one of my least favourite comedy shows. Normally I would say I prefer British comedy, and then I am reminded of Only Fools and how massive it was. It's just so safe, and I like darker, cruder comedy.
Only Fools And Horses was largely a comedy of generational differences, Grandad/Uncle Albert, Del Boy and Rodney represent different generations, different experiences and different aspirations. Family circumstance bound them together - all good sitcoms have some kind of bond that forces people together so that the audience isn’t wondering why certain characters don’t just leave.
The Kings of dark comedy in the UK are Reece Sheersmith and Steve Pemberton: The League of Gentleman (along with Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson), Psychoville and Inside No.9. Properly brilliant stuff!! There is a popular, and very funny, sitcom here called Friday Night Dinner about a Jewish family. Seinfeld I never really found all that funny. Never understood why it was so huge in the US. I think Arrested Development is the best US comedy I've watched. One of my favourite shows.
Only Fools and Horses definitely had a laugh track and definite punchlines, but it also had the longer build-up type jokes and overarching storylines. I'd love to see you reacting to that or the other comedies mentioned actually ^_^
I once thought to say something in a room of workmate's who were chatting, I didn’t say it loud, my comment seemingly went unnoticed until my friend Julie, just fell about laughing some ten seconds after my throwaway line, she had one of those loud cackling funny laughs that is funny in itself , everyone wanted to know what she was laughing at, I just smiled and left pleased that I had made her laugh. You don’t need to have a wide audience, just the satisfaction that they got you.
@vaudevillian7 I was also a buster Keaton fan, along with Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy (one of whom was British). I'm also British and read his face differently.
@@Rachel_M_Stan Laurel was British (as was Chaplin of course, he definitely did sad). Keaton’s act came about because his dad used to chuck him about in their vaudeville act as a kid and he realised he got bigger laughs if he didn’t react at all, in the context of his films he doesn’t have anything to be sad about initially, he just doesn’t react, it’s neutral.
I've only ever seen clips of Seinfeld but it seems to "American" rather than Jewish, as for Friends though, I think Chandler's sarcastic attitude and mistfortune is probably most appealing to British Audiences at least IMO
I love Philomena Cunk, a spoof documentary presenter whose understanding of the subject matter (like an historical topic) is confused to say the least. The humour of watching this character interviewing serious academics about their areas of expertise, and seeing them try to explain it with equally straight faces is priceless!
@@wulfgold "They don't have racism in America any more. When they voted for Obama, they sorted all of that out. These days, America has changed and black people can be whatever they want to be. As long as it's either president or shot.”
Did a uni exchange from the UK to the mid west USA, took a film studies primer, one of the films we watched/studied was Monty Python's Life of Brian, it was noticeable that us brits in the class were laughing at different things than the US students. We reacted to the wordplay, they the slapstick! Yes taking the mick is just like Joshing. It is interesting that of the American comedians that did not go into films, Rich Hall seems to click with us. Of those who moved into film, Mel Brooks and Robin Williams are certainly respected.
Me, just realising JJ has been thinking I have been abusing him with each of my sarcastic, Scottish, humoured, comments...😬😜One love from Scotland.💙🦁🏴
I think British surrealist humour sets us apart from Americans. Very few get it. The best examples are Reeves and Mortimer, who are amazingly funny but totally "out there" and ridiculous.
'Sub context' is taught as part of the English Literature curriculum. Ergo, anyone who is familiar with the formal study of English Literature will more readily be able to appreciate British humour. n.b. The British school curriculum is less likely to rely on multiple choice testing. Thus the British comedy audience may have more acutely developed listening skills. Many British situation comedies have long running gags/references so snippets of such British shows lack contextualisation. IMO. Cheers.
Gosh, i would have no friends in the US. If someone said to me they were stupid, my automatic response would be something like "thank goodness, i was worried you were so stupid that I was going to have to point that out to you!"
Similar for me. I would reply “Over-confidence isn’t a pleasant quality” or something similar. I’m REALLLLLY friendly and smiley in real life, but deadpan, piss-take humour is my thing.
With us Brits if someone is being nice to you , then that immediately arouses suspicion( what do they want?), where as if you playfully begin insulting us we will instantly warm to you , but if any malice is detected in the insults then theres a chance you could wind up with a smack in the gob .
She’s right that slapstick is really only common in children’s tv programmes in the UK. But don’t forget that Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel were both British. I absolutely adore Buster Keaton, I understand that he and Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel all knew each other very well and were constantly trying to outdo each other in their successive films.
Had a relative that worked with Chaplin and Laurel when they were performing together in the music hall troupe called Fred Karno's Army before they got into films. I say knew them, he was their understudy. Met him a few times back in the 1970's, he preferred Chaplin's Brother Sydney as a person (apparently Charlie was nightmare to work with but he would never quite say it) and would work with Sid Chaplin in artist management and booking between the wars, but had nothing but nice things to say about the man who would become Stan Laurel. Fred Karno's Army? Kind of the Monty Python of their day, credited with making the Custard Pie in the face gag popular.
@ I’m sure I’ve read that they went to the US as part of a Fred Karno’s tour and at the end of the tour Chaplin and Laurel both decided not to return to England. I don’t know whether they decided together or individually.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote every line of Fleabag too, and that’s the norm in the UK - one or two creator-writers who who essentially own the show, rather than an ever-revolving writers’ room and a studio system. We like real situations and real characters - that’s where the humour comes from, I do like the US Office but it feels very inconsistent narratively and in character; a little cartoonish almost and that many characters are just vessels for jokes. The Schur show that’s much better in my opinion is Brooklyn 99. Hopefully you see this as I’ve made variations of this comment on so many videos and you acted shocked when one video after those comments made note that we don’t have writers rooms 😂 Kieran B
For us oldies in the UK, Norman Wisdom was the best at slapstick, he always pretended to trip-up. When he was collecting his Knighthood (i think that's what he was receiving) From the late Queen at Buckingham Palace a few years back . . he did his tripping up and the Queen was in stitches lollllll
If you want to see British banter at its funniest then react to some Would I Lie To You show snippets. Bob Mortimer or Kevin Bridges are great ones to start with. Pessimistic humour then go for Rhod Gilbert stand up. His "jacket potato' or 'suitcase' or "egg sandwich' sketches always make me laugh.....alot.
I am 70 next month...and British! I LOVED Buster Keaton when I was a kid! He was on TV quite regularly in the '50s and '60s. Not so today. You will be hard pressed to find anyone under 30 that has even heard his name.
I can remember watching a doco about Monty Python and it showed British and American fans of the show. The Brits were more into memorising dialogue and later working it into everyday conversations. So much so, that John Cleese told of doing the Parrot Sketch during a live show and completely forgetting a line. So he simply asked the audience and they all yelled it out for him! The American fans all dressed up as Gumbys!! WTF?
On the rare occasions i watched a US comedy show i got the impression that there should have been a caption on screen saying "Joke Incoming" and then another one announcing "here it is".
One of the funniest mickey taking at my expense was when I was introduced to some strangers by my best mate with the words "here's Tony, he thinks he's a wit and he's half right".
I loved Seinfeld, buried at random times on bbc 2, maybe on a Tuesday at 11.20 pm or a Thursday at 11.50. The joke is surely that all 4 main characters were entirely self obsessed and lost out on happiness because of that. Watching it back now their vanity and self obsession is still really funny. The minutiae of irritation is a good gag. They were the butt of the joke, not the people they came across.
I’m still waiting to see an American comment on Curb. It has me crying with laughter. The Starbucks episode where Larry asks for one of the bullshit coffees then, when the barista confirms his drink is milk and coffee and Larry says “Milk and cawfee… milk and cawfee. Who’d have thought?! What a drink?!!!!” had me crying the first time I saw it and every time since. It’s because I’d had similar conversations with my wife about over-blown American coffee (and she’s just rolled her eyes at me). I felt a sense of vindication when I saw an American saying the same thing 😊
Haven’t really seen MASH, but agree with Frasier, Cheers, and Curb, three brilliant US comedies that were very well received here in the UK! While I adore Curb, I cannot bear Seinfeld, just too arrogant and self satisfied whereas Curb is self deprecating
I'm with you there mate when it comes to cringe comedy. Couldn't sit through the office. But that to me isn't necessarily 'Dark Humour'. The Day today has some really black comedy. Think you should check out that show. British humour out of the top draw, and the launch pad for a number of comedians and comedy writers. Oh and on dead pan humour check out the master Jack Dee. Who nearly left comedy because while all the other comedians agreed his jokes were top notch, he couldn't land them for some reason. The story goes on his 'Last' night in comedy he had given up and did his normal routine in a blank and disinterested way and suddenly the place was rocking. Few years later he beat Bill Hicks to the Perrier comedy award which was fairly prestigious at the time. He is still top notch and becoming a bit of a national treasure.
A lot of people love Seinfeld. In the days of still primarily 4 main channels in the UK, it was infamously hidden away, shown late at night during the week, whereas Friends and Frasier were on from 9-10pm on Fridays and made a big thing of. I don't remember ever seeing trailers for Seinfeld. If it had been on at 9 on a Friday, it would be so much bigger in this country
They seem to be always on the lookout ,for fear of being seen to step out of line . The British by our eccentric nature prefer NOT to just be one of the Crowd ,so go for invention ,innovation and creating something new just to be different . Witness, for example ,the movement forward in UK pop culture of the 1960s where every band wanted to create their own personality in original songs ,whereas the previous USA hold on the pop music scene was artist after artist trying to be the same but better .When someone completely different appeared, like the early Elvis Presley, he was mocked and almost banned .
i really tried with seinfeld but just couldn't. I couldn't bear friends but Schitts Creek Its always sunny in Philadelphia and modern family were good (schitts creek one of the best comedies ever)
There a several American ones I love .. Always sunny is probably my favourite, probably becaise its silly and there almost certainly isnt a 'rosey outlook' lol
Buster Keaton probably isn't a great example of deadpan comedy to Brits, but certainly when Oliver Hardy breaks the fourth wall and looks at the camera when Stan Laurel does something stupid that's more popular in the UK (certainly with the older generations).
I believe you might be right about the age reference. I (64 yo Dane) consider Stan Laurel one of the greatest comedians ever! It might be because we Danes, like the Brits , have our sympathy with the underdog. No Stan Laurel , no Mr. Bean.
15:14 You just put into words why I love The Smiths 😅 the overly dark lyrics have always made me laugh out loud 😂 🎶"I smoke because I'm hoping for an early death and I need to cling to something!" 🎶 The first time I heard that line I spat my drink out and howled with laughter 😅
I'm a Brit, and I love love love Buster Keaton. I think because his films, even with the slapstick, have a bleakness and some pathos to the story, that it translates really well. Most silent film actors used grand gestures and exaggerated facial expressions, whilst Buster was always more nuanced in contrast.
'Brits love darkness'.. I've said this before - it's really telling that in America you say, "Whistling past the graveyard" and, in Britain, it's "Whistling through the graveyard".
no one says either of those things. idk ive never heard a british comedian as dark as louis ck, doug stanhope, daniel tosh, save attell. jim jefferies is close but hes australian. jimmy car is alright but he only does snippy little one liners and i dont speak galeic so i cant laugh at frankie boyle. if he ever learns english ill give it a listen. HBO has is making hit M rated dark tv show one after another. of course if you watch day time cable television intended for bored housewives, its not gonna be dark lol.
Only reaction videos I watch through is yours. You will actually explain ur views with good points and trying to help us understand ur point without boring us. Aswell as showing quality videos and making good points in between
I tried several times to get into Seinfeld and just didn't manage to get into it, we certainly have different humour tastes. I dated 2 American's in my day and the difference in humour i think was the reason i didn't marry either of them lolll But you are funny lolllll
JJLA, you chose that article to read and saying Brits hate Jews is Offensive. We did not chose that article that no one as ever read and is probably American.. You are normally. very rational and less triggered.
Car Share is a must. Just twelve episodes and mostly set with only the same two characters in a car. But it's the development of the characters over those episodes that made viewers so invested in the outcome. I watched Friends for 10 years, enjoyed it but didn't feel invested in the characters in the same way as I did over the course of just twelve episodes. Great writing and performance.
I think (as a theater nerd) that much of our humour comes from the ingrained connection with tragedy and Farce. Because the difference between these is really the soundtrack. American's in general tend to be the Hero. The British, the Long Suffering Servant. We tend to tap into the farce of the tragedies. I think the post-9/11 generation of American's has a much darker sense of humour. They see that they are not always the Hero and it has done them some good.
Just watched on you tube four young American college kids reviewing and episode of shooting stars might as well being trying to explain rocket science these were only young kids but they were so literal
The thing with 'taking the Mick" is that it's not just an occasional thing. It's all ages, all social strata, all-pervasive, all the time and it can be very dark! We do love deadpan humour but not exclusively. Slapstick is also pretty common in British humour, though it's usually accompanied by another type of humour, at the same time. Things like Bottom and Mr Bean are dominated by slapstick. Monty Python and Fawlty Towers had plenty of it and tbh, most popular British comedies have an element of slapstick. I think an area that she failed to mention, is surreal humour. Brits love surreal humour. The Mighty Boosh, The League of Gentlemen, Inside Number 9 etc. Large parts of Monty Python used surreal humour as do many British comedies, in one-off moments. Surreal humour is also surprisingly prevalent in children's tv shows and kids seem to love it. Word humour and wit are widely used but so is just outright silliness. :)
If you like British Humour you can also watch and enjoy American shows when the mood takes you. If you only like American Humour the step the other way is more difficult for the reasons suggested. MASH is as American as they come but it saw humour in darkness. Taxi would stand up without it's laugh track. Even the first couple of seasons of Friends or the mid 90's The Simpsons are among the worlds best comedy at the time. The problem is writing rooms. At some point they stop trying to make the funniest content about the situation and start to make what they think the audience expects in this context.
Our humour in Britain is different in different regions. I'm from Liverpool and our humour is sick and twisted but funny. We tend to make humour from bad things. For example: Liam Payne was so so loyal to his band, apparently he was One Direction to the end.
As a Brit, I love Buster Keaton, but was never a fan of Charlie Chaplain. Weird, because the latter was British. I remember listening to Eric Sykes (a British comedian and writer active mainly from the 50s through to the 70s). He said that his crowd, which was the likes of Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, never found Chaplain funny either and were all fans of Keaton. The reason he gave was that Chaplains films were under-cranked to speed up his movements whereas Keaton didn't need to resort to these types of camera tricks.
As a Briton (not ‘Brit’) of 76 I would make the very basic point that to me ‘dumb’ still means without the power of speech and ‘smart’ means sorting a short-back-and-sides, ironed shirt, and trousers with a sharp crease. Yes, I know that transatlantic importations have turned them into stupid/clever but I would never take a view where I would refer to we British being smart and the US being dumb. Incidentally my patients bought our first TV in 1952 in readiness for the impending Coronation and my first memories of comedy are of Burns & Allen, Jack Benny and a little later the immortal and imperishable Phil Silvers.
Hi JJ, I did struggle when in the USA with conversation. I had to smile every time I was pulling their leg or being sarcastic, just so they knew I was joking.
No its not a Jewish thing, its because Seinfeld is smug and confident, and we only like that in the context of setting them up to be torn down or humiliated, not to be the winner.
As well as 'Show me on a map' merch, how about adding another shirt/mug slogan to the range: 'Cast me in your next project'. Classic JJLA we all know and love,
We have some awesome slapstick in the form of Bottom with the late great Ric Mayall. Also for the ultimate in deadpan look up Jack Dee or his sitcom Lead Balloon.
Here’s a subtle bit of humour I used the other day. A friend decided not to wear a (piss-take) t-shirt that I had bought him to work. He said that he thought it might offend some people. Given the nature of the T-shirt I thought it was the right decision. However, what I said was “How unusually sensitive of you”. I think this is funny because: A - it implies that he generally lacks sensitivity, B - it implies that although he was sensitive enough to make this decision, he wasn’t willing to wear my present to work (i.e. prioritised his colleagues over me and Mr Fucking Sensitive had no problem telling me this). C - it was said with a straight face, with a voice suggesting slight surprise. He’s Lithuanian and completely gets this humour.
It absolutely has nothing to do with Seinfeld being Jewish because it was like watching a play that wasn't funny at all and the punch line took far to long to be funny but that's the American way ie keep it simple . There was extremely funny Jewish men and women ( Joan Rivers ) but it was long ago. Look up Blackadder it's full of sarcasm and goes from the Tudor times to WW1 ( the last episode shocked the nation ) . I think you've looked at pantomimes , these are based on childrens stories but the main audience are children and a small amount of parents . The children are very well entertained but the jokes for the parents are shall we say very close to the limit 😂😂😂😂
The English comedy the office is the original it was created by Ricky gervais, he then wrote the American version for the Americans, it then took on its own American way.
I’ve mentioned this before, I think you’re slightly misunderstanding the Ricky Gervais point (it was his version you’re paraphrasing) a “it won’t happen to you” is a common phrase, and although it followed the example of Americans are told they can be the President it wasn’t a direct continuation of that point. It just means there’s no point dreaming, you won’t achieve anything, which is even bleaker. Yes it’s connected to class but not quite directly as you’ve interpreted it. Coincidentally there are more small to medium business owners in the UK than the US, and social mobility in considered to be higher
@@stephenlee5929he was also British, but true that you don’t need to be born here, just a citizen. The US President is more of a combo of the monarch and the prime minister as they’re both head of state (monarch) and head of government (PM).
As a Brit by far the best American comedy show was 3rd Rock From the Sun. It had everything. From stupidity to slapstick. It didn't try to be something it wasn't. The premise was Aliens learning as if they where children. Very clownlike. Every character was so different, yet they jelled brilliantly. Underated show.
One of my own favourites was Frasier. It was so well written - to the point of remembering the lines years afterwards. Lilith: "Congratulations, Frasier. You've done it again!" Frasier: " . . . . . . Lilith?" Lilith: "You've led your listeners down one of your dark, dead-end Freudian hallways!" As far as Buster Keaton is concerned, I liked him and Harold Lloyd. I couldn't stand Laurel and Hardy. They are the too cringy ones for me, though Stan himself was British.
@@ThornyLittleFlower I've only seen clips so far. I used to really like David Hyde-Pierce's Niles. His timing and physical comedy were nothing short of brilliant.
@josefschiltz2192 It's worth a look. Has some nostalgic moments with old cast showing up. It's like catching up with an old friend. It's also nice to see Nicholas Lyndhurst working after the tragic time he has had.
@@ThornyLittleFlower Saw a clip with Peri making her first appearance in the new series and the applause and cheers that she received was very moving. I'm not aware of what the situation has been with Nicholas Lyndhurst. I'll look this up.
There hasn't been a funny US TV comedy show since Taxi. Even then there was too much canned laughter. Which is another difference between UK/US comedy shows of today. The UK used to use canned laughter in some of their old shows but ditched the practice altogether years ago. The US still uses it.
Taking the Mickey ( or Michael) is actually, or used to be, a finessed form for flirtation in the UK. It might be just me... I reckon it's more widespread, though. British people are a bit freaked out by somebody else telling us how wonderful we are. We prefer to be teased. However, there is a very fine line that separates the attractive teasing from the potentially hospitalising insult. Taking the Michael, as a form of flirtation, is not for the amateur. Vic and Bob did a skit on this concept.
Deadpan humour is the best, and I have seen it in America. Airplane springs immediately to mind :D How Leslie Nielsen delivered some of his lines without cracking up, I'll never know :D
"Yes Minister" and its sequel, "Yes, Prime Minister" were, to me, the epitome of classic British humour ie laughing at recognisable events in real life. It's why I also loved Dave Allen (who was Irish).
Most Brits would be irritated by Seinfelds characters smug self satisfied persona, we prefer our hero’s flawed and modest slipping up.
I disagree. Seinfeld is the ONLY ever US sitcom that played by British rules. No hugging, no learning. George Costanza is unique and can stand with Anthony Aloiseus Hancock, George Mainwearing, Basil Fawlty and David Brent.
@@PaulK-ve1pu
Agreed.
Seinfeld was and still is a fantastic show.
They’re not ‘nice’ people and learn nothing, as you say.
heroes*
Great point
George is the perfect British sitcom charachter. Larry David and the whole of Curb your Enthusiasm is even more so. Larry's a great writer!
Frasier was an American comedy I loved. I think they had some British writers on the team. The exchanges between Frasier and Niles especially when they’re not being nice to each other is sometimes a very funny British type interaction.
@@shaunm3206 Agreed... Sherry.- laughter is the best medicine. Niles- I guess we're in the placebo group. Genius.
Frasiers dad was actually born in my hometown of Blackpool.in the North West West of England, and being British is the only reason that show was as successful as it was.
Yeah Frasier is definitely my favourite US sitcom closely followed by Cheers.
And the new series has Nicholas Lindhurst bringing that British humour directly onto the screen as Frasier's best friend.
@@alexfoster307 I would always notice he still had subtle vestigial Lancastrian nuances in his accent. For example he still used the "sharp" or hard "a" sound in words like "fast" sometimes. Fun to look out for if you're a dialect geek like I am.
It isn't because Seinfeld is Jewish. The article is talking about the trope of the American Jewish Comedian, which is a different style to the older Comedians in the UK, who generally came from a Music Hall background.
It's not about Religion
It is ENTIRELY about Jewish humour. This is the only strand of American humour that Brits can connect with. Seinfeld feels like an escape from prison.
@PaulK-ve1pu you completely missed my point. He had the impression Brits didn't watch Seinfeld because he was Jewish. I was pointing out that it wasn't The Narrator was talking about the Jewish American Comic trope, not that we were judging him for being Jewish, which we obviously weren't.
@davidbirchall832 Fair point well made, to quote from the great Royle Family
I dunno, it was the Grauniad, I'd be more surprised if they weren't trying to accuse the nation of some sort of ism
@@MikeRees Antisemitism, perhaps.
We don't just banter with you because we like you. We banter with you to wind you up and see if you're worth liking. You can tell a lot about a person by their reaction to banter, if you're too touchy we generally wont like you that much and would choose to avoid you, but if you give as good as you take then its like you're one of us.
Its certainly a test. If you take the mick (means Take The Piss when in less civilised company) you are testing to see if someone thinks them above you, or with strong opinions you may not like. Accepting a joke with needing to hit back, or by hitting back in good humour (think of it like a sport, did you play by the rules?) is a test. If you work with someone and joke about them being "too obsessed with their love of X (work related)" then a self deprecating comment, or a comment about the other persons work interest shows an equality between the two. replying about someone's weight/looks etc. would show you are either an ass or you are way to sensitive, making a really big defence of your work indicates you take yourself way too seriously or are self important.
Banter is a good bechmark in many ways but it's also useful for when we know we like you. If we decide that you can't take banter: it stops... and we don't like you.
Seintfeld is just a show about some pretentious bloke who tries to make everyone around him feel small to boost his own ego. In England, that just isn't funny. Friends at least had light hearted characters
Yeah, we Brits do like our humor to knock the lofty and pretentious down a peg or two.
I hadn't realised that 'Friends' was a comedy.
Hi, Brit here.......one example of our understatement would be the statement " it's not ideal " ....real meaning "its the worst thing possible "
Another one, when asked how we are, my friends and I will express our decent level of well-being by saying "Not too bad"
@@jerbil9353 I usually reply "Surviving" ... with someone I am close to "not dead yet"
as a Brit i always thought shows like Seinfeld or everybody loves Raymond were like sitcoms but without the comedy, simply shortened to "sit" pronounced with an invisible H after the S
Everybody Loves Raymond was a comedy? You live and learn. I thought it was just mocking the dude's learning disability brother.
man i absolutely hated that everybody loves raymond thing. no idea why we even aired it. what a load of tripe. i read years ago that lee mack and catherine tate apparently filmed a uk version but it absolutely bombed when being filmed in front of the studio audience so it never saw the light of day. for that i'm glad lol.
UK Red Dwarf Pilot: "Three million years?! I've still got that library book!"
US Red Dwarf Pilot: "Three million years?! My baseball cards must be worth a fortune!"
Lister in the UK was self depreciating at this moment, thinking about how much he owes the library in late fees. Where as the US Lister is looking for financial gain. A very common difference in US remakes...
Spot on example.
Spot on example.
Absolutely! Perfect example! ❤
it wasnt because seinfeld was about jews, its because it was smug, forced and unfunny
It was very specifically Jerry Seinfeld being perceived as unfunny. I think if it was just the rest of the cast/characters, it would have been far more successful in the UK.
Lots of unfunny things are popular in the UK
What utter bosh. Seinfeld was far funnier than many ‘hit’ British sitcoms of the time.
Very true Seinfeld is about as funny as aids
@@nickgresham6480bullshit
Seinfeld wasn’t big here in the U.K. because it wasn’t that funny and the jokes were so obvious as to what was coming.
You know when you're a regular in a pub they'll abuse you, you're then accepted
Another interesting point is that self deprication indicates more self awareness of ones flaws and strengths. This is preferable to Brits as someone who is 'too' confident either has no awareness of themselves, or has something to hide.
its why trumpolini could never reach office here
It’s not because Seinfeld is Jewish I can guarantee that’s not the case. Stephen Fry is Jewish and he is loved in the UK. Ross and Monica were Jewish in friends . I liked this video by this lady it was really well done. She made excellent points
I noticed at a visit to the bathroom that my hair seemed thinner. I said to a colleague “is my hair getting thinner do you think?”
He took a few seconds looking at my head and said “You’re practically bald, mate.”
My interpretation of what he meant - “Your hair’s fine, don’t build up your part.”
😂 what a great friend
Cosmic irony.
That's a form of humour where the universe itself contradicts our protagonist's aims.
So, for example, Del Trotter, in Only Fools and Horses, is attempting to make something of himself. Coming up with schemes to become a millionaire.
But, whatever he does, the universe itself scuppers his plans.
Edmund Blackadder is always on the verge of power, of dignity and respect, of not being a second-class character in the history books. But no matter his cunning plans, the universe itself conspires to ruin it all.
Basil Fawlty is trying to just run a respectable hotel in peace. But the universe keeps pitching curveballs at him. One after the other. Just as soon as he's got a grip of things, here comes another curveball to ruin it all.
And a very crucial ingredient in all of this is that none of them deserve it. Del Trotter has a heart of gold. Blackadder is a bit of scheming cad, out for himself, but he has no ill will towards others. Basil Fawlty isn't really a bad person - he's just someone on the verge of having a nervous breakdown from all the shit that keeps happening to him, and he gets really tetchy about it all (but in the rarer calm moments, you can see that Basil isn't really a bad bloke).
Cosmic irony is strong in British humour.
And that's what doesn't translate to Americans. Because Americans are brought up on the American Dream - if you work hard, then your work will be rewarded and you can make a success of yourself.
But cosmic irony says, nope, that's not true. You can work hard, be perfectly deserving but because some completely random thing happens, you never get your break.
Hard work does not guarantee a happy ending. But that is counter to "the American Dream" and the optimism that Americans are brought up to believe.
So American media insists on the happy ending. On a positive optimistic spin. The good guy's hard work must be ultimately rewarded. Things must work out in the end.
But British humour riffs on the very opposite. That, actually, so much of life is out of your control and it's random, and it's often completely irrelevant how much hard work or talent you've got. There are billionaire idiots. And geniuses in poverty.
And there is schadenfreude in that.
That's the difference.
"I think what I'm laughing at is 'this is life'. That's being a human. There's another evidence of 'life is suffering'."
Yeah, that's it. That's 100% "cosmic irony". By jove, you've got it, lad.
British humour is soaked to the core in that. The ridiculousness - the schadenfreude - of life itself.
That's the difference.
Americans don't get this because they're born and bred to be positive and optimistic. They're looking for the happy ending.
But this is real life - first of all, life doesn't really have endings, except for the big one at the end, where we die. It's chapters of continual change. So the notion of "an ending" is a bit of a mythical tale in itself. And most endings are neutral. The universe doesn't care about us or anything else. Things just fall out as they fall out. There really isn't any "karma" in this world of ours.
Billionaire idiots and geniuses starving in poverty. Arseholes winning, and the salt of the Earth freezing to death because they can't afford the heating.
Sadly, that is actually how our world works.
It's all about that cosmic irony. The Brits do satire, Americans do parody.
Try seeing "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister". Genius in every way, great humour and tremendous political nous (still very relevant today). Look it up. 😊
Margaret Thatcher described it as being almost like a documentary on how the government worked!
He's watched them and loves them I think
Not only is self-deprecation seen as a good trait, a positive trait, as long as it's not overdone, but at the other end of the scale, someone being overly positive is generally seen as a negative trait and is often perceived as arrogant, boastful, showing-off, full of themselves etc. Humility is rated highly, though false humility is seen as embarrassing, even cringeworthy, so all in all, it can be a fine line. :)
I think an interesting difference is British people can tend to think overly positive behaviour is insincere or just fanciful/untruthful; and something that can be boastful.
American level of optimism can feel like "I am better than you because I am going to do this (insert dream or ambition) ... or "I am ignoring reality". This is not always a good thing as American positivity can be good, especially in social situations. However, the dark side of British humour keeps us grounded.
Its interesting to note Trumps fan base are very positive and deluded.. and reality is ignored for the dream. Same happened with Brexit to an extent ... "look at the sun lit uplands" and ignore the fact you will be left in a soggy marsh.
8:32 There's the difference. In the UK, the guy who was snarky about your clothes wouldn't have to explain he was kidding, and you wouldn't have to explain you took no offense. In fact, that would spoil the in-joke. In-jokes are very important demonstrations of understanding one another.
Similarly, the UK's biggest ever sitcom, "Only Fools and Horses" barely exists in the US, but was a juggernaut here, something like a third of the country watched the 1996 "last" epsiode.
Pretty much half the country
I only ever watched it on repeat about 20 years later oddly!!
To be fair, OFAH is one of my least favourite comedy shows. Normally I would say I prefer British comedy, and then I am reminded of Only Fools and how massive it was. It's just so safe, and I like darker, cruder comedy.
Only Fools And Horses was largely a comedy of generational differences, Grandad/Uncle Albert, Del Boy and Rodney represent different generations, different experiences and different aspirations. Family circumstance bound them together - all good sitcoms have some kind of bond that forces people together so that the audience isn’t wondering why certain characters don’t just leave.
@@OneTrueScotsmantry to not cut yourself on that edge and enjoy some of the best written comedy produced in the last half century
The Kings of dark comedy in the UK are Reece Sheersmith and Steve Pemberton: The League of Gentleman (along with Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson), Psychoville and Inside No.9. Properly brilliant stuff!!
There is a popular, and very funny, sitcom here called Friday Night Dinner about a Jewish family. Seinfeld I never really found all that funny. Never understood why it was so huge in the US. I think Arrested Development is the best US comedy I've watched. One of my favourite shows.
I agree with the above (except AD as I've just never seen it, so can't comment)
@titanium_di2402 you should give AD a try. I prefer British comedies on the whole, but I think AD is one the best shows I've seen.
It was ridiculously unfunny
@@helenag.9386 ah well, each to their own. 🤷♀️
Only Fools and Horses definitely had a laugh track and definite punchlines, but it also had the longer build-up type jokes and overarching storylines.
I'd love to see you reacting to that or the other comedies mentioned actually ^_^
A good example of British humour is the time we wanted to name the new Antarctic exploration ship, boaty mcboat face
So they named its research submarine Boaty McBoatface.....
And where we wanted James blunts new name to be Blunty McBluntface 😂
I once thought to say something in a room of workmate's who were chatting, I didn’t say it loud, my comment seemingly went unnoticed until my friend Julie, just fell about laughing some ten seconds after my throwaway line, she had one of those loud cackling funny laughs that is funny in itself , everyone wanted to know what she was laughing at, I just smiled and left pleased that I had made her laugh. You don’t need to have a wide audience, just the satisfaction that they got you.
Deadpan is absence of emotion. Sadness is an emotion, Buster Keaton's sadness wasn't deadpan.
I disagree with that personally, I’m a big Keaton fan and British and his famous stone face never seemed to me as if it was sad but true deadpan
@vaudevillian7 I was also a buster Keaton fan, along with Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy (one of whom was British).
I'm also British and read his face differently.
@@Rachel_M_Stan Laurel was British (as was Chaplin of course, he definitely did sad). Keaton’s act came about because his dad used to chuck him about in their vaudeville act as a kid and he realised he got bigger laughs if he didn’t react at all, in the context of his films he doesn’t have anything to be sad about initially, he just doesn’t react, it’s neutral.
I've only ever seen clips of Seinfeld but it seems to "American" rather than Jewish, as for Friends though, I think Chandler's sarcastic attitude and mistfortune is probably most appealing to British Audiences at least IMO
Watching 90 seconds of Seinfeld was max for me, I could feel his ego beaming out of the tv. I’m English and loved Friends.
I love Philomena Cunk, a spoof documentary presenter whose understanding of the subject matter (like an historical topic) is confused to say the least. The humour of watching this character interviewing serious academics about their areas of expertise, and seeing them try to explain it with equally straight faces is priceless!
That's generally very gentle though - I do like it, but it's not often very dark.
You mean she's a comedian? So, like ALL my homework is now a waste of time. Great.
its great seeing the experts try to keep a straight face.. some of them, of course, don't realise theyre being taken for a ride
@@andyf4292 the setup for it has been public for quite a while, they know it's comedic, just not what will come up.
@@wulfgold "They don't have racism in America any more. When they voted for Obama, they sorted all of that out. These days, America has changed and black people can be whatever they want to be. As long as it's either president or shot.”
Did a uni exchange from the UK to the mid west USA, took a film studies primer, one of the films we watched/studied was Monty Python's Life of Brian, it was noticeable that us brits in the class were laughing at different things than the US students. We reacted to the wordplay, they the slapstick!
Yes taking the mick is just like Joshing.
It is interesting that of the American comedians that did not go into films, Rich Hall seems to click with us. Of those who moved into film, Mel Brooks and Robin Williams are certainly respected.
I hate the way Americans say Monty PythON. It's Monty Pyth'n.
Me, just realising JJ has been thinking I have been abusing him with each of my sarcastic, Scottish, humoured, comments...😬😜One love from Scotland.💙🦁🏴
@stewrmo I bet it was you who made him cry u wnka..
@ThornyLittleFlower It wisnae me...! 😬😊😁
I think British surrealist humour sets us apart from Americans. Very few get it. The best examples are Reeves and Mortimer, who are amazingly funny but totally "out there" and ridiculous.
Ridiculous is the right term ,the more ridiculous the funnier .
Vide Fawlty Towers
"Donkey".
Also the mighty Boosh
Americans seemed to emulate it with Tim & Eric
I do worry about writing pisstaking comments on here. Normally if I say something cheeky to an American I might just add that I'm teasing.
'Sub context' is taught as part of the English Literature curriculum. Ergo, anyone who is familiar with the formal study of English Literature will more readily be able to appreciate British humour. n.b. The British school curriculum is less likely to rely on multiple choice testing. Thus the British comedy audience may have more acutely developed listening skills. Many British situation comedies have long running gags/references so snippets of such British shows lack contextualisation. IMO. Cheers.
Gosh, i would have no friends in the US. If someone said to me they were stupid, my automatic response would be something like "thank goodness, i was worried you were so stupid that I was going to have to point that out to you!"
Similar for me. I would reply “Over-confidence isn’t a pleasant quality” or something similar. I’m REALLLLLY friendly and smiley in real life, but deadpan, piss-take humour is my thing.
I am a 70 years old Englishman. .Let's call it how it is.I don't know any British man who liked ""Friends"
Some relatable characters.Far better than the obnoxious arseholes in The Big Bang Theory!
True,Angel:)
With us Brits if someone is being nice to you , then that immediately arouses suspicion( what do they want?), where as if you playfully begin insulting us we will instantly warm to you , but if any malice is detected in the insults then theres a chance you could wind up with a smack in the gob .
She’s right that slapstick is really only common in children’s tv programmes in the UK. But don’t forget that Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel were both British. I absolutely adore Buster Keaton, I understand that he and Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel all knew each other very well and were constantly trying to outdo each other in their successive films.
Had a relative that worked with Chaplin and Laurel when they were performing together in the music hall troupe called Fred Karno's Army before they got into films. I say knew them, he was their understudy. Met him a few times back in the 1970's, he preferred Chaplin's Brother Sydney as a person (apparently Charlie was nightmare to work with but he would never quite say it) and would work with Sid Chaplin in artist management and booking between the wars, but had nothing but nice things to say about the man who would become Stan Laurel.
Fred Karno's Army? Kind of the Monty Python of their day, credited with making the Custard Pie in the face gag popular.
@ I’m sure I’ve read that they went to the US as part of a Fred Karno’s tour and at the end of the tour Chaplin and Laurel both decided not to return to England. I don’t know whether they decided together or individually.
Friends is popular here, but mostly because everyone relates to Chandler the most
Never thought about that. He is the most grounded, normal guy from the Brit perspective.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote every line of Fleabag too, and that’s the norm in the UK - one or two creator-writers who who essentially own the show, rather than an ever-revolving writers’ room and a studio system. We like real situations and real characters - that’s where the humour comes from, I do like the US Office but it feels very inconsistent narratively and in character; a little cartoonish almost and that many characters are just vessels for jokes. The Schur show that’s much better in my opinion is Brooklyn 99.
Hopefully you see this as I’ve made variations of this comment on so many videos and you acted shocked when one video after those comments made note that we don’t have writers rooms 😂
Kieran B
For us oldies in the UK, Norman Wisdom was the best at slapstick, he always pretended to trip-up. When he was collecting his Knighthood (i think that's what he was receiving) From the late Queen at Buckingham Palace a few years back . . he did his tripping up and the Queen was in stitches lollllll
JJ, you might like Stewart Lee, one of the very best.
Americans waiting for the punchline.......😐.......😐.........🕛🕒🕞🕘..........🫤........🥱.........💀
@@Cleow33 Ha! I assume you agree with me, he's a genuine comedy genius.
Yes, especially if you like repeating comedy like 'The Rappers' or 'Shillbottle' routines.
41st best stand up comedian, no less
@@Paul_Bond. yes. He’s like a pear cider made from 100% pears.
I loved Seinfeld but it was on TV at 11.20 on BBC2 at night in the 90s. So not many people watched it originally
it's only sunny was on at a weird time when I got back from the pub pissed too..might be C4? At least I found it though!
The one American sitcom that I really took to was 30 Rock.
Bob Newhart was the definition of deadpan humor
If you want to see British banter at its funniest then react to some Would I Lie To You show snippets. Bob Mortimer or Kevin Bridges are great ones to start with. Pessimistic humour then go for Rhod Gilbert stand up. His "jacket potato' or 'suitcase' or "egg sandwich' sketches always make me laugh.....alot.
I am 70 next month...and British! I LOVED Buster Keaton when I was a kid! He was on TV quite regularly in the '50s and '60s. Not so today. You will be hard pressed to find anyone under 30 that has even heard his name.
I can remember watching a doco about Monty Python and it showed British and American fans of the show. The Brits were more into memorising dialogue and later working it into everyday conversations. So much so, that John Cleese told of doing the Parrot Sketch during a live show and completely forgetting a line. So he simply asked the audience and they all yelled it out for him!
The American fans all dressed up as Gumbys!! WTF?
MASH is one of my favorites from American comedy shows lot of dark humour from "Hawkeye"
I agree, especially as it was first broadcast in the UK without the annoying laughter track.
Just in on this Video but have to comment
'Anyone can be the American President;
Your reaction !!!
Bloody brilliant!!!
If you exploit enough people and have zero morals... and a massive inherritence, and are useful to other's goals - yeah...
On the rare occasions i watched a US comedy show i got the impression that there should have been a caption on screen saying "Joke Incoming" and then another one announcing "here it is".
One of the funniest mickey taking at my expense was when I was introduced to some strangers by my best mate with the words "here's Tony, he thinks he's a wit and he's half right".
Class is not about money.
I loved Seinfeld, buried at random times on bbc 2, maybe on a Tuesday at 11.20 pm or a Thursday at 11.50.
The joke is surely that all 4 main characters were entirely self obsessed and lost out on happiness because of that. Watching it back now their vanity and self obsession is still really funny. The minutiae of irritation is a good gag. They were the butt of the joke, not the people they came across.
As a Brit, I really like MASH, Cheers, Frasier and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Never tire of watching any of those.
I’m still waiting to see an American comment on Curb. It has me crying with laughter. The Starbucks episode where Larry asks for one of the bullshit coffees then, when the barista confirms his drink is milk and coffee and Larry says “Milk and cawfee… milk and cawfee. Who’d have thought?! What a drink?!!!!” had me crying the first time I saw it and every time since. It’s because I’d had similar conversations with my wife about over-blown American coffee (and she’s just rolled her eyes at me). I felt a sense of vindication when I saw an American saying the same thing 😊
Haven’t really seen MASH, but agree with Frasier, Cheers, and Curb, three brilliant US comedies that were very well received here in the UK! While I adore Curb, I cannot bear Seinfeld, just too arrogant and self satisfied whereas Curb is self deprecating
No slapstick in British humour? She obviously hasn't seen The Young Ones or Bottom.
Or Mr Bean
To be fair, I think they were aired before she was born! lol
I'm with you there mate when it comes to cringe comedy. Couldn't sit through the office. But that to me isn't necessarily 'Dark Humour'. The Day today has some really black comedy. Think you should check out that show. British humour out of the top draw, and the launch pad for a number of comedians and comedy writers. Oh and on dead pan humour check out the master Jack Dee. Who nearly left comedy because while all the other comedians agreed his jokes were top notch, he couldn't land them for some reason. The story goes on his 'Last' night in comedy he had given up and did his normal routine in a blank and disinterested way and suddenly the place was rocking. Few years later he beat Bill Hicks to the Perrier comedy award which was fairly prestigious at the time. He is still top notch and becoming a bit of a national treasure.
brass eye too
UK here. As a teen we watched some Seinfeld. Much preferred Frasier. Friends was in the middle for me, pretty entertaining but wasn't mad for it.
A lot of reaction channels are watching British comedy shows past and present and enjoying them x
A lot of people love Seinfeld. In the days of still primarily 4 main channels in the UK, it was infamously hidden away, shown late at night during the week, whereas Friends and Frasier were on from 9-10pm on Fridays and made a big thing of. I don't remember ever seeing trailers for Seinfeld. If it had been on at 9 on a Friday, it would be so much bigger in this country
Your comments about the British version of the office - is that David Brent epitomized most bosses in the UK
Americans need to be told when to laugh
They seem to be always on the lookout ,for fear of being seen to step out of line .
The British by our eccentric nature prefer NOT to just be one of the Crowd ,so go for invention ,innovation and creating something new just to be different .
Witness, for example ,the movement forward in UK pop culture of the 1960s where every band wanted to create their own personality in original songs ,whereas the previous USA hold on the pop music scene was artist after artist trying to be the same but better .When someone completely different appeared, like the early Elvis Presley, he was mocked and almost banned .
Britain's used laugh tracks too. It was unecessary then as well.
sureeee. thats why we arent laughing at your jokes.
Sotv
i really tried with seinfeld but just couldn't. I couldn't bear friends but Schitts Creek Its always sunny in Philadelphia and modern family were good (schitts creek one of the best comedies ever)
Oh and we don't need to be told when to laugh 🤦♀️
There a several American ones I love .. Always sunny is probably my favourite, probably becaise its silly and there almost certainly isnt a 'rosey outlook' lol
Always Sunny has a pretty Brittish sense of humor, especially Dennis.
If you want Ricky Gervais being Dark check out After Life and Derek.
I loved Derek. Such a great show and he pitched it beautifully.
Buster Keaton probably isn't a great example of deadpan comedy to Brits, but certainly when Oliver Hardy breaks the fourth wall and looks at the camera when Stan Laurel does something stupid that's more popular in the UK (certainly with the older generations).
I believe you might be right about the age reference. I (64 yo Dane)
consider Stan Laurel one of the greatest comedians ever!
It might be because we Danes, like the Brits , have our sympathy
with the underdog. No Stan Laurel , no Mr. Bean.
15:14 You just put into words why I love The Smiths 😅 the overly dark lyrics have always made me laugh out loud 😂 🎶"I smoke because I'm hoping for an early death and I need to cling to something!" 🎶 The first time I heard that line I spat my drink out and howled with laughter 😅
I'm a Brit, and I love love love Buster Keaton. I think because his films, even with the slapstick, have a bleakness and some pathos to the story, that it translates really well. Most silent film actors used grand gestures and exaggerated facial expressions, whilst Buster was always more nuanced in contrast.
'Brits love darkness'.. I've said this before - it's really telling that in America you say, "Whistling past the graveyard" and, in Britain, it's "Whistling through the graveyard".
no one says either of those things. idk ive never heard a british comedian as dark as louis ck, doug stanhope, daniel tosh, save attell. jim jefferies is close but hes australian. jimmy car is alright but he only does snippy little one liners and i dont speak galeic so i cant laugh at frankie boyle. if he ever learns english ill give it a listen. HBO has is making hit M rated dark tv show one after another. of course if you watch day time cable television intended for bored housewives, its not gonna be dark lol.
Frankie Boyle's accent is bordering on RP!?! What's wrong with you. Doug Stanhope is brilliant, I agree.
Only reaction videos I watch through is yours. You will actually explain ur views with good points and trying to help us understand ur point without boring us. Aswell as showing quality videos and making good points in between
The best comedy was the old American comedy Taxi. It was hilarious.
AND CHEERS.
I tried several times to get into Seinfeld and just didn't manage to get into it, we certainly have different humour tastes. I dated 2 American's in my day and the difference in humour i think was the reason i didn't marry either of them lolll But you are funny lolllll
JJLA, you chose that article to read and saying Brits hate Jews is Offensive. We did not chose that article that no one as ever read and is probably American.. You are normally. very rational and less triggered.
It's not his fault, he doesn't realise the Guardian is toilet paper race baiting drivel posing as respectable news
probably programmed to react
Car Share is a must. Just twelve episodes and mostly set with only the same two characters in a car. But it's the development of the characters over those episodes that made viewers so invested in the outcome. I watched Friends for 10 years, enjoyed it but didn't feel invested in the characters in the same way as I did over the course of just twelve episodes. Great writing and performance.
I love Sinefield and the reason it didn't take off in the UK is it was telly in the early hours when everyone was asleep. 😃
I think (as a theater nerd) that much of our humour comes from the ingrained connection with tragedy and Farce. Because the difference between these is really the soundtrack. American's in general tend to be the Hero. The British, the Long Suffering Servant. We tend to tap into the farce of the tragedies. I think the post-9/11 generation of American's has a much darker sense of humour. They see that they are not always the Hero and it has done them some good.
There’s some really good videos comparing British and American versions of The Office
Just watched on you tube four young American college kids reviewing and episode of shooting stars might as well being trying to explain rocket science these were only young kids but they were so literal
That sounds like a very funny thing to watch
Look up the Bill Bryson article ‘I have nothing to declare but a sense of humour’ or something along those lines
The thing with 'taking the Mick" is that it's not just an occasional thing. It's all ages, all social strata, all-pervasive, all the time and it can be very dark! We do love deadpan humour but not exclusively. Slapstick is also pretty common in British humour, though it's usually accompanied by another type of humour, at the same time. Things like Bottom and Mr Bean are dominated by slapstick. Monty Python and Fawlty Towers had plenty of it and tbh, most popular British comedies have an element of slapstick. I think an area that she failed to mention, is surreal humour. Brits love surreal humour. The Mighty Boosh, The League of Gentlemen, Inside Number 9 etc. Large parts of Monty Python used surreal humour as do many British comedies, in one-off moments. Surreal humour is also surprisingly prevalent in children's tv shows and kids seem to love it. Word humour and wit are widely used but so is just outright silliness. :)
If you like British Humour you can also watch and enjoy American shows when the mood takes you. If you only like American Humour the step the other way is more difficult for the reasons suggested. MASH is as American as they come but it saw humour in darkness. Taxi would stand up without it's laugh track. Even the first couple of seasons of Friends or the mid 90's The Simpsons are among the worlds best comedy at the time. The problem is writing rooms. At some point they stop trying to make the funniest content about the situation and start to make what they think the audience expects in this context.
Our humour in Britain is different in different regions. I'm from Liverpool and our humour is sick and twisted but funny. We tend to make humour from bad things. For example: Liam Payne was so so loyal to his band, apparently he was One Direction to the end.
As a Brit, I love Buster Keaton, but was never a fan of Charlie Chaplain. Weird, because the latter was British. I remember listening to Eric Sykes (a British comedian and writer active mainly from the 50s through to the 70s). He said that his crowd, which was the likes of Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, never found Chaplain funny either and were all fans of Keaton. The reason he gave was that Chaplains films were under-cranked to speed up his movements whereas Keaton didn't need to resort to these types of camera tricks.
As a Briton (not ‘Brit’) of 76 I would make the very basic point that to me ‘dumb’ still means without the power of speech and ‘smart’ means sorting a short-back-and-sides, ironed shirt, and trousers with a sharp crease. Yes, I know that transatlantic importations have turned them into stupid/clever but I would never take a view where I would refer to we British being smart and the US being dumb. Incidentally my patients bought our first TV in 1952 in readiness for the impending Coronation and my first memories of comedy are of Burns & Allen, Jack Benny and a little later the immortal and imperishable Phil Silvers.
I have not yet learned how to use the edit button so I must say here that it was my parents who bought the TV.
Hi JJ, I did struggle when in the USA with conversation.
I had to smile every time I was pulling their leg or being sarcastic, just so they knew I was joking.
No its not a Jewish thing, its because Seinfeld is smug and confident, and we only like that in the context of setting them up to be torn down or humiliated, not to be the winner.
As well as 'Show me on a map' merch, how about adding another shirt/mug slogan to the range: 'Cast me in your next project'. Classic JJLA we all know and love,
We have some awesome slapstick in the form of Bottom with the late great Ric Mayall. Also for the ultimate in deadpan look up Jack Dee or his sitcom Lead Balloon.
Here’s a subtle bit of humour I used the other day. A friend decided not to wear a (piss-take) t-shirt that I had bought him to work. He said that he thought it might offend some people. Given the nature of the T-shirt I thought it was the right decision. However, what I said was “How unusually sensitive of you”.
I think this is funny because: A - it implies that he generally lacks sensitivity, B - it implies that although he was sensitive enough to make this decision, he wasn’t willing to wear my present to work (i.e. prioritised his colleagues over me and Mr Fucking Sensitive had no problem telling me this). C - it was said with a straight face, with a voice suggesting slight surprise.
He’s Lithuanian and completely gets this humour.
"They think that I'm depressed" that was very funny, that made me laugh out loud, Brit here. 😅
It absolutely has nothing to do with Seinfeld being Jewish because it was like watching a play that wasn't funny at all and the punch line took far to long to be funny but that's the American way ie keep it simple .
There was extremely funny Jewish men and women ( Joan Rivers ) but it was long ago.
Look up Blackadder it's full of sarcasm and goes from the Tudor times to WW1 ( the last episode shocked the nation ) .
I think you've looked at pantomimes , these are based on childrens stories but the main audience are children and a small amount of parents . The children are very well entertained but the jokes for the parents are shall we say very close to the limit 😂😂😂😂
The English comedy the office is the original it was created by Ricky gervais, he then wrote the American version for the Americans, it then took on its own American way.
I’ve mentioned this before, I think you’re slightly misunderstanding the Ricky Gervais point (it was his version you’re paraphrasing) a “it won’t happen to you” is a common phrase, and although it followed the example of Americans are told they can be the President it wasn’t a direct continuation of that point. It just means there’s no point dreaming, you won’t achieve anything, which is even bleaker. Yes it’s connected to class but not quite directly as you’ve interpreted it.
Coincidentally there are more small to medium business owners in the UK than the US, and social mobility in considered to be higher
Also, you don't need to be born in UK to become Prime Minister (President equivalent), recent example Boris Johnson is/was American
@@stephenlee5929he was also British, but true that you don’t need to be born here, just a citizen. The US President is more of a combo of the monarch and the prime minister as they’re both head of state (monarch) and head of government (PM).
Try this zombie movie: Shaun of the dead. My favourite lol
I feel it’s our psyche to enjoy seeing people do cringe As we can identify with it and it helps us to laugh at ourselves and be more resilient
As a Brit by far the best American comedy show was 3rd Rock From the Sun. It had everything. From stupidity to slapstick. It didn't try to be something it wasn't. The premise was Aliens learning as if they where children. Very clownlike. Every character was so different, yet they jelled brilliantly. Underated show.
One of my own favourites was Frasier. It was so well written - to the point of remembering the lines years afterwards.
Lilith: "Congratulations, Frasier. You've done it again!"
Frasier: " . . . . . . Lilith?"
Lilith: "You've led your listeners down one of your dark, dead-end Freudian hallways!"
As far as Buster Keaton is concerned, I liked him and Harold Lloyd. I couldn't stand Laurel and Hardy. They are the too cringy ones for me, though Stan himself was British.
Are you liking the new ones? 😊
@@ThornyLittleFlower I've only seen clips so far. I used to really like David Hyde-Pierce's Niles. His timing and physical comedy were nothing short of brilliant.
@josefschiltz2192 It's worth a look. Has some nostalgic moments with old cast showing up. It's like catching up with an old friend. It's also nice to see Nicholas Lyndhurst working after the tragic time he has had.
@@ThornyLittleFlower Saw a clip with Peri making her first appearance in the new series and the applause and cheers that she received was very moving. I'm not aware of what the situation has been with Nicholas Lyndhurst. I'll look this up.
There hasn't been a funny US TV comedy show since Taxi. Even then there was too much canned laughter. Which is another difference between UK/US comedy shows of today. The UK used to use canned laughter in some of their old shows but ditched the practice altogether years ago. The US still uses it.
Taking the Mickey ( or Michael) is actually, or used to be, a finessed form for flirtation in the UK. It might be just me... I reckon it's more widespread, though. British people are a bit freaked out by somebody else telling us how wonderful we are. We prefer to be teased. However, there is a very fine line that separates the attractive teasing from the potentially hospitalising insult. Taking the Michael, as a form of flirtation, is not for the amateur. Vic and Bob did a skit on this concept.
Deadpan humour is the best, and I have seen it in America. Airplane springs immediately to mind :D How Leslie Nielsen delivered some of his lines without cracking up, I'll never know :D
Leslie Nielsen is Canadian. We tend to have a more British sense of humour.
"Yes Minister" and its sequel, "Yes, Prime Minister" were, to me, the epitome of classic British humour ie laughing at recognisable events in real life. It's why I also loved Dave Allen (who was Irish).