10 Iconic British TV Sitcoms of the 70s
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- The 1970s was a golden age for British television comedy. The decade saw the emergence of some of the most iconic sitcoms of all time, from Porridge to Dad's Army and Rising Damp to Fawlty Towers. These classic TV comedy shows are a testament to the creativity and talent of the writers and performers of that era, and they continue to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages today.
In this video, I'll take a look at 10 of the most iconic British television sitcoms from the 70s, exploring the shows that defined the decade.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy this trip down memory lane as we take a look at 10 of the most iconic 70s TV sitcoms...
00:16 Porridge with Ronnie Barker
01:36 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads with James Bolam
02:49 Last of the Summer Wine with Bill Owen
04:32 Dad's Army with Arthur Lowe
05:45 Steptoe and Son with Harry H. Corbett
07:01 The Good Life with Richard Briers
08:05 Are You Being Served? with John Inman
09:19 George and Mildred with Brian Murphy
10:47 Rising Damp with Leonard Rossiter
12:02 Other Iconic British Sitcoms
13:01 Fawlty Towers with John Cleese
All clips and photographs featured in this video remain the copyright of their respective owners and have been used under the terms of UK fair dealing and US fair use, for the purposes of commentary and review.
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Many thanks for watching!
Truly the golden age of comedy. There will never be the like again.
The 1970's is the golden age of UK TV comedy! What an era! 📺👍
Love George and Mildred so funny
All of them absolute classics. What a decade! 👏👍
Absolutely, a vintage decade!
Porridge brilliant, WEHTT Likely lads, brilliant, Last of the summer wine, brilliant, Dads army, brilliant, Steptoe & son, brilliant, The good life, brilliant, Are you being served, brilliant, George & Mildred, brilliant, Rising damp, brilliant, Fawlty towers, brilliant. We were spoilt for sure, what do we have these days!!?? It was the golden age for sure.
Every one was genuinely funny and are still watchable today.
But imagine how many soft *ock* would get upset today
@@robert43g Only Love Thy Neighbour and Till Death Us Do Part You can't be offended by the rest on this list
@@Jahno71The young 'uns are guaranteed to find something! You're judging them by your own reasonable standards.
For me, Porridge is the greatest sitcom of all time. I can rewatch it over and over, Ronnie Barker is a superb actor.
Agreed 👍
Wonderful memories! I would happily turn back time to the 1970s. There were a lot of problems, but somehow I think the world was a better place.
Absolutely!
I can assure you it wasnt if you were coloured
Thanks Stuview, another great nostalgic tour of 70s comedies. Personally, I think you should have included On the Buses in the top 10, as it epitomised 70s culture, industrial and sexual relations and the politics of that decade. Personally, I was never a fan of Dad's Army, maybe I was too young to appreciate it, but I found the humour old fashioned and disrespectful to the Home Guard of WW2 and Fawlty Towers was a bit too manic for my liking. I noticed you didn't mention the Liver Birds, I always thought that was funny and i quite liked The Wackers, crude and vulgar but comical. 😆🤗
The days when you watched with your family and everyone laughed. No being separate rooms. Good old days.💯
What a brilliant episode(?) Really brings back those cosy nights in front of the TV.
There were also the light entertainment shows featuring a main act like:
Des O'Connor tonight
The Mike Yarwood Show
The Two Ronnies
Morcambe and Wise
etc
which might be worth showcasing. But where would the big hits like 'Ask Aspel' 'Record Breakers' and 'It's a Knockout' fit in. I suppose given recent revelations the latter would be difficult.
Excellent video. It reminds me that the world is better for having Ronnie Barker and Leonard Rossiter on our screens.
Absolutely, two all-time greats.
I can't help feeling there are thousands of people out there of my age missing out. They would love these clips of nostalgia. Great work
My absolute favourite was and still is Dad's Army.
Dad’s Army was a great comedy 🎭 It was my Father’s favourite show. He lived through the Second World War, and he always said “Dad’s Army” was true to life...
Robins Nest 1977 to 81 Richard O'Sullivan, David Kelly and Tessa Wyatt one of my personal favs
One thing that's amazing with some of these sitcoms is the fact that a reletively low number of episodes were produced. Most people would swear far more episodes of the likes of Porridge and Rising Damp exist. A testiment to their sheer repeatability.
All brilliant shows! You forget how many there were until you put them all together. We were certainly spoilt for choice back then.
We truly were spoilt in the 70s weren’t we?!
Porridge being my personal favourite. I could (in fact., I do) quote whole scenes verbatim, so often have I seen them!
As well as being truly funny, these sitcoms bring back memories of family members long gone, with whom we watched them.
Fantastic. I can do the same with Columbo 😂
I grew up in the best era 70's / 80's ! Love OTB, Porridge, Rising Damp, Steptoe & Son !! xx
Does anyone else give these posts a thumbs up before even watching it, because you just know it’s going to be a great watch and reminisce.
I very often do that. This is a great channel.
@@stephenguppy7882 it makes me smile every time!
Thank you!
Yes, although I try to resist until after watching to the end, but as this is really up my street, I quite often fail. Nostalgic goodness. Love it. 😊❤
I do, because you are gaurenteed quality.
After loss of Ian Lavender, felt huge sadness about Dad's Army. Pike seemed so young when I was a kid.
A great selection of sitcoms here. I miss these classic sitcoms, I have most of them in my box set collection. They don't make them like these any more sadly.
Those were the good old days for sure!
Take me back 😆💙💙💙💙💙💙💙☀️
The best of days!
I was a little young when these sitcoms were around. It was Dukes of Hazzard, Muppet show and Doctor Who (Tom Baker) for me. So caught these repeated later on. Judging by how many great sitcoms were around during the 70's, You could've done a top 50. Fantastic times growing up then. I'm 54 next week, so I think we grew up in the same era. Thank you for this video.
Grew up in the same era and born in the same year!
This is one of those occasions when I have to say that you couldn't have chosen any better examples than those in the video. It is like a Greatest Hits of a big part of my growing up. I love each and every one of them and they all beat the pants off the utter tripe they make today. Thank you very much. ❤👍❤👍❤👍❤👍❤👍❤👍❤👍❤👍
My absolute pleasure!
My sentiments exactly
Last time i laughed at an original comedy on TV it must have been " Bottom" and " Father Ted" which is 30 years ago.
@@jasonallen6081 Was watching Father Ted as recently as last week. Still unbeatable to this day!
@@alanglasgowbassist it's funny and always will be. Just like Rik Mayall having his head slammed in a fridge door .
george and mildred can be streamed but unfortunatley it is edited for content, the only way sadly you can watch it in full is if you have the dvds
Great list. I think I agree with your selection.
Every program was a Gem of comedy in the 70s nothing on tv like these today. But them again we aren't slowed to say anything funny just incase it upsets someone
i listen to the radio versions of steptoe and dads army every week at lunchtime on radio 4 extra. it's great because i have the visions of all their faces in my head as i listen while i'm driving
For me Brit sitcoms, To The Manor Born by a mile. A very distant second, Ever Decreasing Circles
Another great comedy missed off your lists is "Mind your Language" based in a language evening class with a Mr Brown trying to teach English to various students of different cultures and languages. Whey too P C today even to get a look in possibly, but funny at the time.
Harry H Corbett used to live round the corner from me on Moat Road in Benchill, Wythenshawe but had moved out before I was born in 1968. He was in my best mate's mum's class at school. The funny thing is, when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s the people who lived in that house were called the Royle family and Sharon Royle was a year younger than me.
That's a strange coincidence! Two BBC comedies as well. I thought Harry H. Corbett was really good in "Carry on Screaming".
Again, a great compilation Stu and all iconic. I remember them all so well. I used to watch them every one of them, including the montage pieces. The seventies was genuinely the Golden Age of Comedy.
I LOVED "The Good Life" known here in the states as "The Good Neighbors" for some unknown reason.
Missing from the list is To The Manor Born starring Penelope Keith. I still watch it on dvd.
A shout out to Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads for having the most reflective, thought provoking and touching of theme tunes. A particular favourite of my mom.
Written by Mike Hugg from 60s supergroup Manfred Mann
@@The_Capri_Kid And it shows. A line like "And what became of the people we used to be" is indicative of real song writing talent.
The Christmas episode is pure magic and when they try to avoid the England result! 😂
I watched every one of them!, from the days when sitcoms were a part of everyday life and they made you laugh!, these days there are very few that come close to these true classics and still as funny today as they were then, times have changed so much and the politically correct brigade have all but killed off the traditional British sitcom!
I’m a very big Monty Python fan and love all these sitcoms loved Alf Garnet and on the buses and Steptoe!All of them comedy gold watching in my youth from Australia ❤️🇬🇧🇦🇺❤️
Wow everyone of those shows in this video i watched and loved. Modern TV shows are rubbish in comparison.
I loved George & Mildred
Me too. As for them being the most famous married TV couple, that's true for me. Closely followed by Victor and Margaret Meldrew!
You've truly listed some memorable classics here - I would have seen many of them when I was very young and in some cases as reruns, but I enjoyed all of the ones listed here, even if I didn't see many episodes of them. Of course Paul Eddington also took off after "The Good Life" with "Yes, Minister", and "Are You Being Served" is a favorite of mine to this day. I also rediscovered "George and Mildred" earlier this year. The chemistry between Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy was also matched to some degree by Terry Scott and June Whitfield in the shows they did together.
When you get to the 1990's don't forget "Keeping up Appearances"! My mom and I used to watch it on PBS all the time!
Doctor in the House. Two's Company. Up Pompeii, Mind Your Language and the Cuckoo Waltz (which also was probably responsible for the rise in the sales of deckchairs)
Hi Stu👍all fantastically written and much loved, my favourite was rising damp and when I saw 2001 A space odyssey I couldn't believe that Rigsby was Dr Smylov in it,I thought any minute he's going to say ' ooh miss Jones'🤣great nostalgic trip as always,thankyou ✌️
Thanks Martin!
Shear bliss ! Back in the days when comedy was funny.....
I work from home the majority of the time and have UK Gold playing in the background all day every day. I have ended up loving some sitcoms I thought I didn't like when they first came out. I personally think Green Green Grass is massively underrated too.
Two series I never got into. The Likely Lads. Found it unfunny. And Steptoe & Son = call me a prude but I found them both a bit nasty and made me uncomfortable more than funny. Porridge, Open All Hours, On the Buses, Are you being Served were my favourite.
I watched a few episodes of Steptoe & Son, and couldn't get into it. Not to make waves, but the American Sanford & Son was much funnier.
Great video as usual 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks Martin!
I grew up with all of those! Some I could watch and watch, like Are You Being Served? and It Ain't 'alf Hot Mum!, while some, like 'Till Death Us Do Part I'm very uncomfortable with today. But most of them are fantastic shows I'd happily binge!
I'm American. These are my Fave British Sit-Coms. I Don't like Bob Ferris though. I would add "Open All Hours" since the First season was 1976.
Liver Birds, Mind Your Language, and And Mother Makes Five, were sadly missed off of a list that would easily have been a much longer video. Great Narration and research as usual.
Thank you!
Again brilliant stu we were blessed to have so many great sitcoms at that time. Thank you for your time. 🍻
Many thanks!
My favourites in this list were Steptoe & Son Rising Damp Likely Lads George & Mildred and Porridge but I love them all fantastic list
The most famous of these for US viewers is Fawlty Towers, of course - Python fans found it even if they didn't usually watch PBS. My parents didn't watch PBS much, but they regularly watched Are You Being Served and Keeping Up Appearances and loved them. We got to see The Good Life (retitled Good Neighbors in the US) and my friends and I were fans. (One of my male friends has had a crush on Felicity Kendal ever since.) I went on to enjoy other shows with the main cast members later on, including Yes, Minister/Prime Minister. I adored Butterflies. I empathized with Wendy Craig's Ria and it was my first intro to Geoffrey Palmer, who was great in everything he did. I also became a fan of young Nicholas Lyndhurst - we never got Only Fools and Horses, but I eventually caught up with him in New Tricks and now he's in the reboot of Frasier. PBS only aired Last of the Summer Wine for a few years fairly late in its run, but I liked what we got.
Are You Being Served? is the crown jewel of Britcoms, although Fawty Towers is a legend on its own merits. 😄
Oooohhh... Fliss Kendall and Penny Keith.. The things I could learn from those women.. Two of my older lady crushes in my youth.
Ironically of course, Despite The Good Life being written as a vehicle for Richard Briers, he was the actor who most disliked his character in the show. And I personally would also agree that Tom was the worst out of the 4 characters. (as a character)
Brilliant list Stu, though I did miss mind your language, only when I laugh and mixed blessings
I still "you tube “ a lot of these regularly
Blimey most of these actors are irreplaceable our generation seen the best of the best please comment is it just me but I couldn't believe Fletcher was actually the same guy in the two Ronnie's my favourite will always be George and Mildred living in a cossie home with your wife 👍👍 cheers Stephen ✌️✌️
Who else growing up back then, found yootha joyce to be sexy. Or was it just me 👍
My mum loved rising damp
And mine. She used to laugh until she cried. "Cut the rope!" God bless her. 😢
brilliant ,, as always pal
Many thanks!
it is funny how everybody loved these shows and they are now classed as classics. yet they wouldn't get made today, due to being classified as some sort of "ist" by the woke brigade.
I found myself almost laughing at the stills from Fawty Towers.
The rat from fawlty towers was kept by the bbc for a while but they sold for something like 4 thousand pounds at an auction to a private buyer , it seems everybody wanted to own it
Last of the summer wine should have ended after bill owen died. Never the same without compo
There was a swedish version of steptoe and son called Albert and Herbert which ran for serveral years during the seventies
I was a kid at the time like all of us watching but I'm sure Yootha Joyce had an influence of my preference of women, I'm all about that strong face beauty but saying that Felicity cute chipmunk floats my boat too 😂
what a great top ten, i thought going straight was a great series, it rounded offeveything to a nice conclusion, also i was saw frank williams (aka rev timothy farthing doing a talk on dads army and he signed my boxset afterwards
Fantastic.
Felicity Kendall was an early crush for me.😉
Honestly, and rather confusing to me, she was for me, too.
Hello Stu🙋♀️ Thanks for a nostalgic trip to the land of 1970s Situation Comedy 🎭 Not too many surprises, as I guessed many of them would be on the list. My favourites: “Porridge” “Rising Damp” “The Good Life.” I loved “Man about the House” along with “George and Mildred.” “Robin’s Nest” was not so good. I always found “Steptoe and Son” a bit depressing. I felt “Are you being Served” “ Last of the Summer Wine” and “It ain’t half hot mum” went on too long, and lost some of its comedy magic, with ever more outlandish plots, and sillier storylines. “Fawlty Towers” is a case of less is more...which is still as fresh and VERY funny😂🤣 My other comedy 🎭 favourites: “Butterflies” and a now forgotten comedy: “Two’s Company” starring Donald Sinden and Elaine Stritch. Another great video👍📹
Hi Alison. Thanks for the reminder about Two's Company! What a fine comedy that was. Sadly now forgotten as you say. I think I may have to include that one in a future forgotten TV video! Many thanks as always.
@@stuviewtv Who says "Two's Company" is forgotten? All 29 episodes are here on UA-cam.
All SUPERB British comedy that i watch all the time for a laugh. Thanks Stu👍👍
My pleasure as always!
Hi , love this channel, however haven't seen a mention of "The Ghosts Of Motley Hall"...one of the greats of the 70's..still watched on a regular basis this end :)...now in my 60's and still loving it...Keep up the great work, much appreciated
So glad you enjoy the channel. Much appreciated! You'll be glad to know that The Ghosts of Motley Hall is one of the featured series in the video 10 Forgotten Children's TV Shows of the 70s ua-cam.com/video/i7inMffA2EA/v-deo.html
Thanks for reminding me..yes I had seen it...memories not as good anymore lol..getting old :( ...I like your comparison with Ghosts of Motley Hall to the New "Ghosts", never thought of that..but very true...though I hate to say this, the American version, is a lot lot better !!
What a televisual feast! (see what I did there 😉)
Bernard Cribbins as the hotel inspector? Or at least, Basil thought he was!
Great video Stu. Its all about opinions but for me i would drop out Rising Damp and Fawlty towers and bring in Love Thy Neighbour and Man About the House, I grew up in the 70s so these bring back great memories. I have DVDs of many of the classics which I treasure. Porridge, Whatever Happened to the Likely lads omg, they don't make classics like that any more. thanks again
Loved Margo from the Good life, George and Mildred oh the memories!
I still watch them now 💙💙💙 over and over 😆☀️
Bless me father!
I thought you would have mentioned in Are you being served there was a Australian version 1980 1981 16 episodes staring John Inman sent to Mr Graces cousins shop via Mr Grace in Sydney Australia called Bones brothers ( this was due to there was and still a real shop in Sydney and other cities called Grace brothers ) Also here in Australia we got most of these shows
I think my favourites are "Rising Damp" and "George & Mildred". It's rare for a spin-off, in this case from "Man about the House", to be even more popular than the original series, but as you say, the chemistry between Yootha and Brian Murphy was what clinched it really. And Leonard Rossiter as Rigsby was on fire in "Rising Damp", some of the lines he had, and the ad-libs were hilarious. He had a great chemistry with Richard Beckinsale in particular. The sets in that show of the seedy bedsits made it even more atmosphetic imo.
Rigsby is definitely up there as one of the all-time great comedy characters.
Love your videos, Thank You for Being
Thanks Owen.
You choice of music is absolutely superb. Proper driving seventies and eighties instrumental funk. Perfect.
Glad you liked it! Thanks.
I have box sets of a lot of these... Great vid 👌 👍
We're on a similar wavelength Stu, the only one I wouldn't have in my top 10 would be Are You Being Served with Some Mothers Do Ave Em in its place. But weren't we spoilt for choice back then? The only sitcoms I'd put in the top drawer beyond the 1980s are Father Ted & Still Game
Oh yes, Still Game was brilliant!
‘10 Iconic British TV Sitcoms of the 70s’ should read ‘10 Iconic and Legendary British TV Sitcoms of the 70s’. Every one of them was brilliant and very well chosen in my opinion. Many of these programmes would have been on TV when I was tucked up in bed and I take great comfort in knowing and watching your video of what my mum and dad would have been watching at the time. Thank you Stu for making and sharing, happy memories. All the best to you and yours. 👍👍👍
My absolute pleasure John! Many thanks for watching.
Divided We Stand had the best line of the 70s 😊
Harold: We had an agreement, we shook hands. I've got the law of contract on my side.
Albert: I have the knobs on my side.
Brilliant!
Great episode "even the firemen had to put pennies in the turnstile" 😂
How can you not mention The Goodies, even if just in the montage ?
The Goodies was in a category all of its own really, not quite a sitcom, not quite a sketch show. It is however featured in my previous video 10 Iconic British TV Series of the 70s.
@@stuviewtv That's cool. I always think of the Goodies as the 'seventies precurser to The Young Ones, a sitcom embracing anarchic humour, with weird twists, etc.
I look forward to your clips so much. Thank you, Stu. 😊
My pleasure as always!
I still think that Peter Vaughan's genial Harry Grout ( or grouty) in porridge was one of the best characters ever created, and played to perfection by him.
I did nt think what ever happened 2 the likely lads or last of the summer wine was nt funny at all
'ello Thelma, Pet!
I remember watching all these shows.
Just great entertainment to make you laugh
The only couple of shows I was not a ‘fan of’ is whatever happened to the likely lads’ and ‘fawlty towers’ it was very clever as John is a clever writer but too clever for me
😎😎😍😍😊😊🇬🇧🇬🇧🏴🏴
You've got it spot on there - "great entertainment to make you laugh". It's something I wish programme makers would take notice of today.
Just don't mention the war. Aye Thelma, Pet!
Absolutely all classics to my mind stuview mate glad to say I have all of them mentioned on dvd in there entirety of collection absolutely brilliant mate thanks for sharing this video 😂
Glad you enjoyed it Stephen. Many thanks as always!
@@stuviewtvthanks mate I remember also the Late great Richard Brier's in the animation cartoon Rhubarb and Custard where I believe he narrated the series he was brilliant as the character Tom Good in the Good life also I vaguely remember him playing a character in a comedy show called "If you see god tell him" which I do recall the actor Ade Edmondson starring in it along side him however the memories of The late Richard Brier's in the comedy if you see god tell him are vague and sketchy but I certainly remember Richard Brier's in Rhubarb and Custard a classic to my mind cheers Steve
What annoys me is when people say "They would never do a remake of Love Thy Neighbour". What they don't realise is that you CAN do an up to date version without offending the woke briigade by having the two guys as (for example) an Arsenal supporter living next to a Tottenham supporter. The sitcom was really about two pig headed blokes constantly butting heads, much to the annoyance of their wives who got along. The race thing was a bad decision, I agree.
The 'race thing' was funny and that's why it had a large audience. Two supporters of opposing footy teams ain't gonna work and it really sounds like appeasing to the illiberal woke brigade. I'm sure then like now, TVs had an off button as well as a channel selector so anyone offended could make a choice unlike today where there really isn't a choice. It's either unfunny lefty diverse pants or unfunny lefty diverse pants.
@@QuoPaperPlane Good point, Quo.
@@carolebarker2195 I see you managed to read my response before it was taken down! Heaven knows why.
@@QuoPaperPlane Has it gone already? Blimey, some of these moderators give Mrs Whitehouse a bad name! It was quite a good assessment of the situation I thought.
@@QuoPaperPlane Your post is still there. I can see it anyway.
Fawlty Towers is not to my taste and I will argue against its status as one of the greatest all time British sitcoms. Basically, it was just a straight up farce. People rushing around, in one door and out of another, plus lots of shouting.
Never liked Last of the Summer Wine either. Too tame, too twee, too cosy. The rest are great, especially Rising Damp. Eric Chappell is massively under-rated as a writer of sitcoms.
I agree, Eric Chappell was a great writer, very underrated. I think Last of the Summer Wine when it first came out in 1973 was a bit more risque than it was later on. Some of Blamire's lines, played by Michael Bates, were a bit near the knuckle! What was your favourite Rising Damp episode?
I agree about Fawlty Towers but then I never much liked John Cleese.
@@carolebarker2195 That's a tough choice. Possibly "Stage Struck" from Series 3, with Peter Bowles as the not so camp playwright, or maybe "Pink Carnations" from Series 4. There isn't a single weak episode though. How about you?
@@thereunionparty I agree, all the episodes are great. "Pink Carnations", that one featured Roy Barraclough as the sarcastic barman, he was good in that. Rigsby was fairly sarcastic too, especially to Joan Sanderson, who played the bride's mother! "When you said late 20s I didn't think you meant 1920s". Lol. I think "Things that go bump in the Night" was my favourite, the one with the "Grey Lady".
With you on Fawlty Towers, it was sold on John Cleese name and was pure trash. Give me To The Manor Born any day over that s***
Two innocent words, when combined and said by the terrifying Harry 'Genial' Grout (a never better Peter Vaughan) become replete with menace:
"Ullo, Fletch."
Great video indeed! Just one thing - as for married couples, where were Terry and June? Surely as famous, if not more so, than the wonderful George and Mildred - even to the point that people actually thought that Terry Scott and June Whitfield were married in real life?
I think the wonderful Terry and June is a better fit for an eighties sitcom video rather than a seventies one. I know the characters were first in Happy Ever After during the 70s but I'm not sure many people really remember that one. If I do an 80s iconic sitcom video, they will most assuredly be in there!
Yea, I get that. Technically Steptoe and son and Dad's Army are 60s not 70s but probably more famous in the 70s and maybe Terry and June are technically 70s but more know. as 80s. I suppose I can't really say given I wasn't born till 76 and perhaps my first real tv memory was the Crossroads fire in 1981!
Porridge and indeed the Barker boy have aged horribly. It was funny when I was 14 back in 1979. Now neither things are no longer true, it's just awful in hindsight.
As a child I did not like it ain’t half hot mum. After a spell in the army, I discovered it described characters I served with. Insightful
No coincidence that 8 out of 10 are BBC and the 2 ITV are a step below
Totally agree..Fawlty Towers #1 ..daylight second
Penelope Keith when I was 10 she was ancient....Now at 58 she is a babe 😂
Hated last of the summer wine and are you being served?