I don't think we dislike happy shows, we just relate more to characters that seem to have the world against them. We root for the underdog and less so for the characters that succeed at everything.
"the underdog" is the key concept. British humour is about relatability, and self deprecation. American humour (overall) is either more slapstick (catch phrases and unreal - bordering on the surreal - characters/situations), or it's biting satire. A phrase I remember growing up about British comedy is that "in between tears of laughter, there should always be a genuine tear, too". Whether it be the absolute genius last episode of Blackadder goes Forth, or that 90s classic rom-com "four weddings and a funeral". American comedy does have those emotionally charged moments on occasion, but they lack the subtlety that is the distinguishing characteristic of British comedy. American comedies with emotional scenes aim to resolve the tension. The whole thing needs to be wrapped up with a nice bow (e.g. even in this clip: the futurama example). British comedy thrives on leaving things unsaid/unresolved.
It’s not that we don’t enjoy happy shows, it’s just that the Americans have generally done enough, but the stuff that stands out is the miserable comedy
It's Always Sunny is a good example of Americans doing great sitcom none of the crew are by no stretch the wise cracker but you got to admit those crackers are funny.
We dont like these fake shows ' like hard core porn ' what a load of BS ' the son thinks hes some sort of hard man ' the daughter has a bigger mouth than the all of these woke lot together ' & obviously preditable ' utter crap 😁 ' & why do they have so many police programmes on ' CSI ' BONES ' there all the same ' good looking policewomen ' trying to compete with the man ' i can see now why their on strik ' its better fun 🤣 & real !
We don't like the sort of extremely cringe worthy "happy" shows, it is very awkward to watch, I would rather see everything go horribly wrong in a show 👍
The ending of Blackadder was a symbolic statement on the First World War. Soldiers used comedy to get through the horrors they were living and dying in. British humour does not shy away from the truth and that is why they all died, it was a homage to all those who died in the trenches in WWI.
There's also the fact that the cast refused to reshoot what is actually a blown take. There is a story, apparently confirmed by the cast and director, that when the call came down to reset for another take, the cast looked at eachother and Atkinson walked over the phone said "No" and walked off...
South African here. Gotta hand it to the Brits. The withering contempt displayed in such shows as Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and Thin Blue Line is unmatched in Yank comedy.
I have learned the hard way that 'slagging' or 'banter' can go down quite badly with Americans, unless you know them really well. In UK&I, it can be a merciless.
I tend to think American comedy tries to act like normal people but in the UK they are so "British" they exaggerate everything so that they end up acting quite bizarre. Humour does follow the opposite of what people normally behave like so you can get a good laugh at your own expense, the better the comedy. Take Fawlty Towers for instance. Personally I like British humour most, probably because our English Commonwealth history we understand fully.
@@colinmorrison5119 My bro lives in Mexico. When i went over for Christmas, we did a British christmas dinner for all his American friends. During dinner, i tried my hardest to interact with all these yanks, explaining the why/how christmas crackers exist etc. But, in regards to my brother and me, my hardest basically consisted of me and him 'arguing' and calling eachother 'dickhead' or 'fucking twat'. All the americans were soo confused how we could be so mean to eachother, yet still laugh about how neither of us can successfully make yorkshire puddings 4000 miles away from our mums guidance. They absolutely thought we were arguing the whole time. It wasnt until about 10pm that we realised we'd made everyone feel awkward and had to then explain how, in actual fact, it had been one of our more successful christmases and in our heads we hadnt had an argument all day. They were so confused hahaha.
Aaah! Mrs Slocombe and her cat. I’ve just realised the double entendres re her surname - only taken a few decades … doh! Still, I did start watching the programme with my mum when I was in school.
Regarding the Blackadder Goes Forth ending where they all die going over the top, the series needs to be watched to get the context. It's one of the most moving pieces of television you'll ever watch.
That piece absolute got me. It was an amazing when seen in context. I guess also at the time I was not expecting that change in mood and seriousness. It was incredibly emotional.
American Author Bill Bryson who settled in the U.K. with his family said the main difference is that Americans don’t do or understand irony,which is the mainstay of much of British comedy.
I think it could be that scripts in American shows is that they tend to be written by committees, while Brit comedies are a one or two-person team. Our format seems to be tighter, and we use a lot of irony and dark humour.
With the final episode of Blackadder, it was originally shown just before remembrance day, so amongst all the humour and sarcasm of the series, they managed to show some reality into what the soldiers actually went through, the scene wasn't meant to be funny, it was meant to be poignant, and its a scene that everyone who watched it at the time still remember to this day. Another series that had good writing was Only Fools and Horses. In one episode they have a funeral for Grandad (the actor who played him died in real life) and they even managed to bring a little bit of humour into an otherwise sad occasion, almost lifting the mood, which is another british thing, when something bad happens we try to make a joke about it, so things don't seem that bad.
It's interesting that you mention the part about inserting a little humour into a sad situation, it is absolutely not an artefact of comedy shows but true to life. A couple of months ago at my grandmother's funeral, there were at least a few smiles at the anecdotes of more humourous moments from her life.
I grew up in New Zealand in the 80's, where we got a fairly even mix of U.K. and U.S. shows. My older brother one day pointed out something that I then couldn't un-see: Every single U.S. sitcom would always, without fail, end with the main characters standing around laughing together. Once you'd had that pointed out to you, it became distinctly weird and creepy.
I’m English but the US series Married with Children was just amazing! Sarcasm, sexist, fat women, smoking etc. Of course it wouldn’t be made now because of the perpetually offended! For me it is one of the funniest series, along with Blackadder, Monty Python, Ab Fab etc.
@@steveathMarried with Children was a complete departure from the hokey American family sitcom. Thank god it was made of we may never have had the Simpsons either.
In England we are brought up to be realistic with expectations, whereas in America you are told from birth you can be and do anything. So for a Brit to see something go right just comes across unrealistic and unfunny to us, and if American comedy ended in disaster it would go against what you were brought up believing and make them sad. In my opinion it all stems from that difference
@scottirvine3532 85% of the entire British population live in England so they are basically synonymous. Keep your nose out if you don't know what your talking about fella
People tend to forget all the comedy failures of which there are many , who remembers the Are you being served spin off or GOING STRAIGHT the follow up to PORRIDGE ,even FOOLS AND HORSES came within a whisker of not progressing when it was first on BBC 2 , the first BLACKADDER set during the war of the roses was pretty dire . But main difference as I see It was BBC had the advantage of no adverts with the exception of a few honourable mentions such as RISING DAMP , meaning it had more air time for plot and character development for example MEN BEHAVING Badly started on ITV and failed only becoming a huge cultural success when bought by the BBC.
We like happy shows. But we also recognise they’re often unrealistic, so we prefer a more realistic darker ending to things. Even in comedy. Happy endings seem a little too easy in a way. We prefer some edge.
I'd definitely agree with this. An example that leaps to mind is Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston - "Just this once Rose, everybody lives!" exclaimed in a triumphant tone. The Doctor doesn't often lose, but the win rarely comes without some cost or loss
and fans know him for a lot more. i do know alot of people in the UK who would name Mr Bean instead of Blackadder. I think Blackadder usually puts you to being over a certain age now. I was brought up with Blackadder but a lot of people my age still haven't really watched it...except the last episode of goes forth because i think it's on such a pedestal for that ending that it's definitely recognised
i was talking to john sullivan a couple of days after he came back from the states where they did a remake of dear john starring judd hirsch. he said they never understood the concept of the show so it was crap. it made him a millionaire so he was not overly upset.
We tend to root for the underdog , the down trodden , the guy who is trying to succeed but never quite gets there, lots of characters in comedy are exactly that . Del boy in only fools and horses is a good example .
decades of seeing that many times i still cry, if anything the older i got and the more i knew the harder it hit. even to the point that i get hit by such a huge wave of sadness over Darling because it just showed how really, unless you're at the top then you're at the bottom with everyone else
Try watching it with a roomful of year 10 students, all shocked and choked up. Seeing 15 year olds, who can be little sods sometimes, get emotional about other people is really moving.
I have given this answer before to another video, but back in the 1980s the late Dame Diana Rigg published a collection volunteered by many of her colleagues in the acting profession of the very worst reviews they had ever received. In her introduction to this volume she said that she had many US friends in the profession, but her book contains very few transatlantic contributions on the basis that whereas a distinguished British actor would find it most amusing to reminisce about, say, how he tripped up the leading man on stage whilst himself playing a humble spear carrier an American would not have the same attitude. ‘You mean admit that I once failed spectacularly whilst pursuing my art? You’re mad! Failure is not an option’. She did garner a handful of US friends brave enough to contribute, bless them.
If you’re exploring British comedy, do watch Blackadder in it’s entirety (series 1 the characters are somewhat different so start at S2). Regarding the final scene in Blackadder S4, everyone is killed off because they were showing the sheer horror of the Battle of the Somme (WW1), where we lost approx 19,000 young men on the first day. It needs to be seen in context of the show and the real history. It remains one of the most moving tributes to these young men ever shown in comedy. Absolutely gut wrenching but must be watched in full context. Enjoy exploring the laughs xx
I think the reason is quite simple. It all comes down to education. British comedy has traditionally had a lot of clever wordplay, innuendo and writers have not been afraid to end on a sour or unhappy note - they respect the audience intelligence and don't feel the need to give them a dopamine boost. In America a lot of comedy seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator which reflect poor education and language skills. However, recent UK comedy has changed a lot and is just not funny imo - it appeals to stupidity and a lack of education and communication skills. It's why a lot of older UK adults now reminisce and replay old comedies. The only exception in America is Frasier which is brilliantly funny and very similar to British humour.
I would contest one thing and that is the poor education and language skills. In my opinion they write things to be more obvious and face value because they know they aren't just writing for an English speaking native audience. Syndication was and is huge, and American comedy often ends up globally viewed. I prefer British comedy, but there's no denying that our shows are often rife with very distinct Britishisms that need explaining to a foreign viewer. I've been watching a variety of different British comedies alongside a UA-camr called After Work reactions for a few years now, and he genuinely enjoys and loves pretty much all the shows he's watched, but almost every episode of a show he ends up being like "hey can you guys explain what the punchline was to that one bit?" or for instance when he started watching Only Fools he asked what a wolly was, what a plonker was etc.
The Stephen Fry thing is worth watching in full. He makes some interesting observations including the fact that American comedy tends to be more physical.
Ironically, physical or slapstick style comedy originated in Italy and was very popular in Britain for centuries.. A lot of early music hall acts in the US came from the UK. Coincidence?
@octaviussludberry9016 interesting. I think there is a clear difference in the last 20-30 years. If you watch the older BBC stuff like blackadder, keeping up appearances and fawlty towers, they are all much more physical than comedies of today. It's interesting how styles shift.
@@carlena4300 Not sure about that. There are elements of physical comedy in Fawlty Towers and Blackadder, but the bulk of them is wordplay, nuanced insults, double entendres, sarcasm etc. Keeping up Appearances I can't comment on as I've never watched it, despite my liking of Clive Swift and that Patricia Routledge comes from just up the road and my wife went to the same school.
Very correct, We tend to undercut anything truly sincere with a self deprecation, sarcastic comment or maybe a backhanded compliment. The sincerity is still there but we often try to distance ourselves from it a bit.
I have many American friends and the difference in comedy is something we've discussed. My take is that US comedy is much more signposted "laugh here" supported often (not always) by a laugh track that underlines that. UK comedy tends towards much more subtle - it either makes you laugh through identifying with the absurdities that life throws at you, or in the face of chaos. The British tend to use humour to deal with adversity - laughing at negatives makes it easier to bear, rather than the escapism that the video identifies that US Americans as gravitating toward. I totally agree about the differences in news coverage. And one last point, media as a word is used in the video to cover all television/movies (including the comedies and drama) and not just news coverage, which is how you're using it Steve - when you say you don't consume any media, you're talking about just news, not the multiple entertainments that media also encompasses.
Love the videos Steve! I couldn’t recommend watching Stephen Fry’s lecture about the differences between US and UK comedy more! I think it sums it up perfectly! Especially with parallels between both sitcoms and stand up comedy.
The narrator on the video makes a good point; we Brits tend to find the absurdity in disaster and tragedy and engage with it; whereas (perhaps) in American tradition a firm belief in improvement and betterment of the individual will struggle to find humour in that kind of absurdity - failure and disaster evokes only pity or fear.
That makes sense. That's why when Princess Diana died, within hours a joke was going around by text message, about the letters in her name. Whereas I doubt that when 9/11 happened there were jokes going around about it in the US. We had jokes about the London bombing and that terrorist that tried blow up Glasgow airport. In fact - how did we deal with Hitler? We made up a (incredibly popular) song about him only having one testicle.
I think you would enjoy watching clips from a witty British comedy panel show called Would I Lie to you? (WILTY). It would give you more insight into British humour . Great video ❤
An American friend is addicted to British panel shows. 8 Out Of 10 Cats Do Countdown is perhaps the weirdest, being a mashup of two other shows. Carrot in the Box and the poem about naming people's penises are particular highlights.
Along with final episode of Blackadder, one of the best UK sketches ever was comedy duo Morecambe & Wise’s Andre Previn (famous American conductor/musician) episode - Greig’s Piano Concerto.
Our news media is more matter of fact, but our overall outlook around comedy is realism. It reflects the darkness of life. Dry, pessimistic, self-critical, sarcastic and subtle.
I have found most American comedy shows leans towards line - punchline - line - punchline type of format, example: Friends. Quite a few of the best British comedy shows have more of a build up to an overall punchline towards the end of the episode, example: Blackadder.
There is possibly an element of ironic 'It's being so cheery keeps me going' about British humour (Brit here), that life is screwed but you gotta laugh, and that is the root of the humour. A quote I heard about the UK/US contrast, the British see life as hopeless but not serious, while Americans see life as serious but not hopeless, I guess it take a mixture of peoples to make the world a rich place. 🙂
I think one of the key differences is that we (in the UK) like our comedy to have a sense of realism and the comedy comes from the journey rather than the ending. Take for example Blackadder goes fourth, where the series is set in the trenches during WW1. Lots of comic situations arise despite the squalid circumstances but really there was only one way that series could have ended, with them all going over the top and dying and leaving us with a reminder of the futility of war (Blackadder dies in every series at the end as far as I recall, usually in a very stupid way). If this had been an American series you can be sure that the war would have ended in the nick of time and they would all have got to go home with the possible exception of Blackadder himself who would have died in a silly accident on the way. I'm not saying that would not have been funny but it would not have been nearly as satisfying.
Technically in Blackadder 3 it's prince George who dies at the end. However at the time he was pretending to be Blackadder and Blackadder was pretending to be Prince George.
I grew up in Northern Ireland in the 70s and 80s with terrorism,murders,rain,unemployment,Thatcher etc,is it any wonder that I didn't really buy into the American dream of life being a place where your dreams can come true?
You actually addressed here that someone has already recommended Russell Howard to you and his comparison of US vs UK coverage about the ebola virus and I have to agree with that recommendation. Russell Howard in general may help you get a good insight to a lot of matters about british culture, especially if you're looking for how we view specific events such as brexit or even more recently the cost of living crisis, NHS strikes, etc.
Blackadder. At its best comedy, not only does it make me laugh, but it makes me think. That goes for both U.K. and US humour. I am a keen amateur historian and have just ploughed through a 700 page book on the causes of the First World War. I also saw the episode of Blackadder when Baldrick and Blackadder reflect on what caused the war. Baldrick comes up with the perfectly sensible conclusion “that a geezer called Archie Duke killed an ostrich because he was hungry”. Blackadder deferred and said “the cause of the war was that it was too much effort to stop it”. I could have saved myself reading 700 pages - Blackadder was right! Oh on second thought maybe Baldrick’s opinion may have some merit..
The idea was to have two vast opposing armies formed as a deterrent so that there would never be a war. But this is sort of a war, isn’t it? Yes, because there was one tiny flaw in the plan… It was bollocks! 😂
@@alchristie5112 Thank you, I deliberately stopped short of completing Blackadder’s tirade about WWI hoping that someone would complete it. And you have. Yes, it was bollocks. My worry is that with Russia/Ukraine and North/ South Korea, are we not in the same boat? On a lighter note , just watched the Women’s Wimbledon final. Best woman won.
As a British person who has had American friends, the one thing I've noticed is that all of my American friends have struggled to grasp sarcasm. 90% of what I and my friends say is sarcastic, but my American friends will often think we're being genuine!
They seem to take everything literally. I watched some US reactors watch Right Said Fred 'I'm Too Sexy' and none of them understood it. They all said he was very big-headed!!
Theres nothing against shows being "happy" Its against artificial happiness, the fakeness of it all. British sitcoms will generally have a grounding in reality, even if tje characters themselves end up in cartoonish situations- Only Fools and Horses is a fantastic example of this
We also have shows such as Red Dwarf, while an American pilot was tried it was a complete failure. We are very good at adding a certain amount of self depreciation in British comedy I forgot to add that the pilot is available on UA-cam, it’s cringeworthy
If you want to know the difference between British and American comedy Stephen Fry explains it perfectly in a video I can't remember the name of, maybe somebody else can. I will put it underneath when I find out. The Ricky Gervais you watched was extremely tame TV stuff.
Hi Steve, I love your content and keep up the good work. If you are looking at UK comedy you may want to react to a show from Scotland called Still Game. You may struggle with the accents a little bit however this typifies humour in Scotland.
In the UK we are in the side of the underdiog always. In the US people want to be bigger, more successful, so the main character wants to be upwardly mobile rather than of the people. In the UK comedy is more daring because we are not held back by religion or profit generation. We have more freedom.
@markscouler2534 just thinking about that episode makes me laugh! I loved it when they drove away in the van and the dolls popped up and appeared to be waving out of the back window 😂😂😂
Comedy in the uk is about the struggle. Trying to overcome what life throws at you. It's about being in realistic situations taken to an extreme. It's about the underdogs rather than being superior that tends to define most American comedy. The ending of blackadder is so well written and acted. I cry every single time. Even the clip gets me all emotional.
I strongly recommend the Black Adder series! It’s a shame he couldn’t show clips like he did for the US shows but the video could be slapped for copyright if he did.
Black Adder was set in the trenches during world war 1, The whole series was hysterical but it was based loosely on real events. The writers rightly wanted to respect the real hero’s of ww1 who were literally ordered to their deaths. That’s why the ending was bitter but it made us so very proud. That part was not meant to be comedy. It was genius.
I think the ‘happy show’ theory goes into films as well. Films often have ‘American’ endings with happy family life as the result, against European films which don’t and therefore seem more realistic, more real - and more artistic and relevant. Not sugar coated.
Using that Seinfeld clip as an example. In a British comedy, the customer service person who had messed up the reservation would be the show's protagonist.
The department store show was "Are You Being Served". In my final year at university, it was being repeated on Friday evenings - it was either just before or just after dinner (I was in halls of residence at the time). A group of us used to watch it as a drinking game, with each person being assigned a character. The rules were: Drink two fingers of your pint of beer whenever:- 1) Your character first appears in a scene 2) Your character first speaks in a scene Drink whatever is left in your pint glass whenever:- 3) Mrs Slocombe says something about her pussy 4) Mr Humphries says "I'm free!" Thinking about it now, it must have been after dinner or we'd have been turning up pretty well drunk for our meal.
If you want to get good British hummer watch Perter Kay missed heard lyrics!! You will never be able to hear those songs again without hearing those words. Highly recommend recommended
I can't wait until you get around to the Russell Howard "UK vs US Ebola coverage" clip. I'd suggest watching lots of Russell Howard, both his stand up stuff, or topical news shows like "Russell Howard's Good News" & "The Russell Howard Hour". They can be heavily political though.
Blackadder’s final episode was all the players going ‘over the top’ leaving their French for the last time in WW1. The next scene - falling poppies many years later, is a classic scene.
@@monicawarner4091 black adder was a comedy show that used historical events to take the mick out of ,but it also taught some historical facts at the same time.
I wouldn't say we dislike happy shows. I think it's just that a sense of realism and to some extent pessimism is drummed into us at an early age. And the ability to laugh at yourself is thought of as an important quality in a person. This however has most likely negatively impacted our mental health but you win some you lose some.
British comedy normally has a main character trying to find the easy way out of a situation that ends up going massively awry in the end with the main character having expended far more effort than if they had gone the harder route in the first place.
Black Adder is fantastic, not the 1st load. It has Mr Been as the Black Adder they change diffrent times in history. The ending blew everyone away it was set in the 1st WW, everyone was talking about it it stuned the country. You were talking about Are You Being Served, very dated now. Steven Fry did a fantastic explination about why its diffrent worth looking at.
The comedy in the apartment store one sounds like it might be Are You Being Served? It was filmed in the 1970s. Edit: a perfect example of the 'British comedy ends in tragedy' trope is One Foot in the Grave. I won't spoil the last episode, but it feels more like a psychological revenge thriller than the concluding episode of a 1990s sitcom.
News and current affairs programmes, being far more partisan than is permitted in the UK, are often far more critical and negative in the UK. However, drama, crime thrillers, and comedy in the UK are far darker, being full of imperfect, often unattractive characters as leading protagonists.
As mentioned by several others the department store was 'Are you being served?' and although dated is considered a classic, broadcasted in the mid-70''s. Another one from slightly an earlier era but had one of the same writers would be Dad's Army which was set during the WWII at the fictional UK seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea. For more early sitcomes you can also try 'Hancocks Half Hour', 'Steptoe and Son' or anything else written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Instead of sitcomes we also have plenty of sketch shows such as 'Not the Nine O'Clock News', from the 80's and also featuring Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), 'Spitting Image' (puppet-based sketch show) and comedy quiz shows such as 'Mock the Week' (a satirical look at News events, sadly no longer being made) and quiz shows such as '8 out of 10 does Countdown' (a mash-up of '8 out of 10 Cats' a comedy panel show based on opinion polls and 'Countdown' a serious game show on letters and numbers). For all out tomfoolery I can also recomend 'Taskmaster' in which a group of five celebrities - mainly comedians - attempt to complete a series of challenges for the Taskmaster, portrad by comedian Greg Davies.
It's worth watching the Stephen Fry video discussing the differences between our comedy ( a clip of it was included in this video). He makes some very good points.
The best example I've heard is from Steven Fry. He pointed to the great John Beluhi in some National Lampoon film. There was a scene where John Belushi walked past a guy playing a guitar, grabbed it off him and smashed it over his head. The point Fry made was that a British comedian would prefer to have the guitar smashed over their head, while a US comedian would rather be doing the smashing.
I think the difference can be seen in where British comedy shows are copied/transferred to the US & become far softer focus. The hard edges of pathos and bathos so evident in shows like Steptoe & Son were softened for the remake Sanford & Son. The original The Office lost some of the sharper edges when it was remade for US viewing. It was glaring in Veep, the remake of the much edgier (and for me far funnier) The Thick Of It. There is a vein of dark humour in British shows which I think allows for deeper character development because it reflects reality.
The comedy show you are thinking off was "Are you Being Served" which was first shown in September 8th,1972 and ran for 70 episodes. It was set in the fictional store of Grace Brothers.
Igrew up with TV comedy such as Steptoe and Son, My Wife nextdoor and many others. I also watched US Comedy such as 'I love Lucy'. What ruined US comedy was the loudness of the characters and the false laughter tracks. When M.A.S.H. was shown on BBC TV it was shown without a laughter track, when an episode was shown with the laughter track by accident there were dozens of complaints to the BBC about it ruining the show. More recently there has been a series called 'Ghosts' a series made in the UK and a US copy . In the UK version there is slower character developement, the US version seemed to be in too much of a hurry, again with an intrusive laughter track. There has of course been much dreadful UK comedy, which hs been consigend to the dustbin of memory, but for me the defining difference is the lack of subtlety .
The ending of Blackadder goes forth was accidental. It was supposed to end with them going over the top and getting shot by machine gun fire. However the cast did one take and refused to do another one with the exploding charges. They were faced with a terrible and awful film of them slowly falling over in the worst way. However they slowed the footage down to extend it... did it some more and more. Until they ended up having something that reflected the terror and magnitude of 'The Great War'. From a disaster of a series ending, they made one of the best endings ever.
Only fools and horses is the best British comedy ever . You should watch them Steve . They are a must see I've been watching them for years . Tracey England UK xxx
Only Fools and horses was a very popular show, very funny and also emotional. Afterlife, with Ricky Gervais is a recent series and that was about him trying to get over the death of his wife, not the cheeriest subject. I don’t think we’ve done a good series for a long time though, Derry Girls, Irish programme I found very funny. With regard to the news we have other channels that cover news besides the BBC but they are only supposed to report the facts , that would be awful for them to sensationalise it. The newspapers do enough of that.
That is actually a great way to explain the difference. Sounds clear and right to me. I am Dutch, so neither English nor American. We have different styles of comedy in our small country as well. The kind you lagh openly about, but also the kind that tells you the most strange nonsense, which is actually somehow sensible, but from a weird place of vieuw, with a straight face. You just do not know whether to be astonished or laugh. It is not the same as the english kinds, which dwell on absurdity more loudly. It seems more subtle, but it actually is not. You are supposed to keep your laughter in as much as you can, but eventually, you can not. It is like being witty, but different. I do like a lot different kinds of humor, depends on the mood I am in.
Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 - February 4, 2018) was an English-American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1993-2004) Jane Elizabeth Leeves (born 18 April 1961) is an English actress, best known for her role as Daphne Moon on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1993-2004) Never watched friends, preferred Frasier.
Sounds like you were thinking of 70's sit com Are You Being Served, were a well known catchphrase was 'Are you free Mr Humphries?' to which he would respond in his 'camp' tone 'I'm free.' Lots of double entendre which would at the time go over children's heads but adults would know.
Interestingly, i think you are right that media in the US (namely the news) is far more negetive and dramatic than in the UK. I think its only really with comedies, sitcoms etc that the US put a more optimistic positive spin on it, where as the UK goes more tradgic. Brits and Americans are pretty much exactly the same, just different accents tbh, but i think this highlights the sutle difference - "The Brit will stoically fight to the end, expecting he will die. The American will difiantly fight to the end, hoping for a miracle."
Some American comedy is hilarious! I watched Trading Places the other day for the first time in ages. It was so funny. We do like 'happy shows' but over sentimentality, sugary emotional stuff is not popular.
Look up "Ronnie Barker", mostly known for his many series of work with fellow comedian "Ronnie Corbett" just called "The Two Ronnies". However as an actor who was brilliant with comedy- so try to find episodes of "Porridge" a situation comedy series in a Prison and "Open All Hours" another sitcom set in a northern corner shop. His two characters are completely different. He was also in a few films as just an actor such as "The Gathering Storm" where he is Churchill's butler
As an example of the extent to which dark themes play into british media, I want to give you an outline of an episode of a british family show, intended to be watched by people of all ages, young children included, called doctor who, and the episode I want to talk about is series 4, episode 11: Turn Left. In this episode, an alternate timeline is created from about 2 years in the past. In it, the main character dies, which causes a vast majority of the side characters to die one by one. It also causes a number of catastrophes, such as the destruction of London in a huge explosion, the forced movement of millions of southern brits to the north where they now live in cramped an awful conditions, the deaths of 60 million americans, the british government establishes concentration camps and sends all migrants to them to make more space in the north and a side character from this episode is sent to die in one. By the end of the episode, one of the two lead characters' mother has entered a near vegetative state due to her depression, and her grandfather has gone from the most optimistic character in the show to a complete pessimist. In the end it's resolved, and the original timeline is restored (through the death of another character), but the emotional weight of all those events still lingers. And remember, this story about mass death and personal loss and concentration camps is intended for young children. I first watched it as a 4 year old. And this is from back in 2008, this isn't an especially recent thing. So, yeah, sadder stories are pretty ubiquitous in the UK, and those sorts of ideas and influences and motifs bleed into our comedy as well as our dramas.
@@KissMyFatAxe I did say that was doctor who in it but yes (and the 2 part finale you're probably referring to are the two episodes that immediately followed this one)
Before I watch the video, I just wanna say that while I prefer our (British) comedy overall, the classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts (especially in the 50s) are the funniest things I've ever seen. EDIT: When talking about media in the US being happier, the guy in the video you're reacting to seems to be using the world to exclusively mean entertainment media (TV, films, etc)
I love a lot of American comedy but there are some shows, movies & stand-up comedians that I just don't get. Sometimes the jokes feel over-explained but sometimes it's the opposite. I saw an American stand-up in Edinburgh, in a show with a line up of UK & US comics. He made some very basic factual statements about himself and paused after each one, expecting a laugh, but no one got it. He got frustrated & explained that it was his 1st show in the UK, and the same jokes got a great response & a standing ovation a few nights before in the US. I wish I could explain better, but none of us understood how these simple factual statements could be funny & I'd love for someone to explain it.
I think the Separtmnt Store comedy you saw must have been 'Are You Being Served?' It was massively popular in its day, but the comedy would be extremely dated now. I think he is toatally correct about the endings. In US comedies, the main protagonist always wins in the end, whereas in UK comedy the humour is often in the fact that the main protagonist fails in his or her endeavours, despite all their efforts to come out on top. I think the guy is right that in US comedies, the audience wishes to identify with the witty protagonist, whereas in UK comedy, we like to feel superior to the protagonist who is messing everything up. Not in a nasty way - just glad we wouldn't be making such a mess ourselves- we can see where they are going wrong, and laugh at how they continue to dig themselved further into a hole, rather than drag themselves out. It's like the reaction in every pub in the UK when someone drops a tray of drinks, and it crashes to the floor. Our reaction is for the whole pub to roar "Wha-hey!!!" as if the peron has achieved some great feat of skill and dexterity. What we are really saying is "Thank God that wasn't me!"
You're right about Are You Being Served. They made another series in the late 80s but it was a flop. David Badiel explained it in his TV show at the time. He said when Mrs Slowcombe talked about her pussy in the 70s, it meant cat, with a sight hint of something rude. 15 years later, it meant vagina, with a sight hint of household pet.😂
I don't think we dislike happy shows, we just relate more to characters that seem to have the world against them. We root for the underdog and less so for the characters that succeed at everything.
"the underdog" is the key concept. British humour is about relatability, and self deprecation. American humour (overall) is either more slapstick (catch phrases and unreal - bordering on the surreal - characters/situations), or it's biting satire. A phrase I remember growing up about British comedy is that "in between tears of laughter, there should always be a genuine tear, too". Whether it be the absolute genius last episode of Blackadder goes Forth, or that 90s classic rom-com "four weddings and a funeral".
American comedy does have those emotionally charged moments on occasion, but they lack the subtlety that is the distinguishing characteristic of British comedy. American comedies with emotional scenes aim to resolve the tension. The whole thing needs to be wrapped up with a nice bow (e.g. even in this clip: the futurama example). British comedy thrives on leaving things unsaid/unresolved.
I think it’s just when they’re overly “jokey” and over the top. The characters just get irritating
It’s not that we don’t enjoy happy shows, it’s just that the Americans have generally done enough, but the stuff that stands out is the miserable comedy
@@rolmops883 That last Blackadded episode was utterly respectful and a wondeful moment.
It's Always Sunny is a good example of Americans doing great sitcom none of the crew are by no stretch the wise cracker but you got to admit those crackers are funny.
We "don't like happy shows" because they are artificially happy. We like relatable comedy where we can see ourselves in the shows.
We dont like these fake shows ' like hard core porn ' what a load of BS ' the son thinks hes some sort of hard man ' the daughter has a bigger mouth than the all of these woke lot together ' & obviously preditable ' utter crap 😁 ' & why do they have so many police programmes on ' CSI ' BONES ' there all the same ' good looking policewomen ' trying to compete with the man ' i can see now why their on strik ' its better fun 🤣 & real !
We don't like the sort of extremely cringe worthy "happy" shows, it is very awkward to watch, I would rather see everything go horribly wrong in a show 👍
British humour doesnt mind poking fun at the darker aspects of life. That's it, in a nutshell.
The ending of Blackadder was a symbolic statement on the First World War. Soldiers used comedy to get through the horrors they were living and dying in. British humour does not shy away from the truth and that is why they all died, it was a homage to all those who died in the trenches in WWI.
There's also the fact that the cast refused to reshoot what is actually a blown take. There is a story, apparently confirmed by the cast and director, that when the call came down to reset for another take, the cast looked at eachother and Atkinson walked over the phone said "No" and walked off...
@@wodmarach Atkinson was a genius to know this error was gold.
Fun fact ' black Adder was made for schools ' ie ' history lesson's 😁
@@wodmarachI saw a documentary on it that said that they had run out of studio time.
Every time I see the last act of the last Black adder I cry.
South African here. Gotta hand it to the Brits. The withering contempt displayed in such shows as Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and Thin Blue Line is unmatched in Yank comedy.
Not to mention Peep Show, Black Books, etc.
I love Black Books! What a wonderful pairing that was, along with Fran of course.
In the UK we are able to laugh at ourselves, but I don't think Americans do the same.
If they did, they would all die laughing.
I have learned the hard way that 'slagging' or 'banter' can go down quite badly with Americans, unless you know them really well.
In UK&I, it can be a merciless.
I tend to think American comedy tries to act like normal people but in the UK they are so "British" they exaggerate everything so that they end up acting quite bizarre. Humour does follow the opposite of what people normally behave like so you can get a good laugh at your own expense, the better the comedy. Take Fawlty Towers for instance. Personally I like British humour most, probably because our English Commonwealth history we understand fully.
@@colinmorrison5119 My bro lives in Mexico. When i went over for Christmas, we did a British christmas dinner for all his American friends. During dinner, i tried my hardest to interact with all these yanks, explaining the why/how christmas crackers exist etc. But, in regards to my brother and me, my hardest basically consisted of me and him 'arguing' and calling eachother 'dickhead' or 'fucking twat'. All the americans were soo confused how we could be so mean to eachother, yet still laugh about how neither of us can successfully make yorkshire puddings 4000 miles away from our mums guidance. They absolutely thought we were arguing the whole time. It wasnt until about 10pm that we realised we'd made everyone feel awkward and had to then explain how, in actual fact, it had been one of our more successful christmases and in our heads we hadnt had an argument all day. They were so confused hahaha.
Y
"Are you being served" is the show in the department store.
one of the many mainstays of British comedy...
Aaah! Mrs Slocombe and her cat. I’ve just realised the double entendres re her surname - only taken a few decades … doh! Still, I did start watching the programme with my mum when I was in school.
@@lindylou7853 . Mrs. Slocombe and her "pussy". not cat. Very important difference.
@wellstuffed1976 sorry but you are wrong, it's based on Simpsons of Piccadilly Jeremy Lloyd worked there in the 50's.
Ground floor: perfumery, stationery and leather goods, Wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food, going up, I loved the show, innuendo galore 🤣
Mrs Slocombe's Pussy was a mainstay of that show. Same writers as Dad's Army (don't tell him Pike!)
Regarding the Blackadder Goes Forth ending where they all die going over the top, the series needs to be watched to get the context.
It's one of the most moving pieces of television you'll ever watch.
I still get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when I think about that episode. 😢
Yes it was brilliantly done,we just sat there in silence as it ended….
@@janewilson8676still think about that ending. It's all happening today.
@@janewilson8676same.
That piece absolute got me. It was an amazing when seen in context. I guess also at the time I was not expecting that change in mood and seriousness. It was incredibly emotional.
American Author Bill Bryson who settled in the U.K. with his family said the main difference is that Americans don’t do or understand irony,which is the mainstay of much of British comedy.
We do it’s we just don’t do it that often
the ending of Black Adder goes forth was one of the most moving things I've ever watched, I cannot recommend it enough
I think it could be that scripts in American shows is that they tend to be written by committees, while Brit comedies are a one or two-person team. Our format seems to be tighter, and we use a lot of irony and dark humour.
With the final episode of Blackadder, it was originally shown just before remembrance day, so amongst all the humour and sarcasm of the series, they managed to show some reality into what the soldiers actually went through, the scene wasn't meant to be funny, it was meant to be poignant, and its a scene that everyone who watched it at the time still remember to this day.
Another series that had good writing was Only Fools and Horses. In one episode they have a funeral for Grandad (the actor who played him died in real life) and they even managed to bring a little bit of humour into an otherwise sad occasion, almost lifting the mood, which is another british thing, when something bad happens we try to make a joke about it, so things don't seem that bad.
It's interesting that you mention the part about inserting a little humour into a sad situation, it is absolutely not an artefact of comedy shows but true to life. A couple of months ago at my grandmother's funeral, there were at least a few smiles at the anecdotes of more humourous moments from her life.
I grew up in New Zealand in the 80's, where we got a fairly even mix of U.K. and U.S. shows. My older brother one day pointed out something that I then couldn't un-see: Every single U.S. sitcom would always, without fail, end with the main characters standing around laughing together. Once you'd had that pointed out to you, it became distinctly weird and creepy.
I wish I hadn’t read that 😂😂😂 I will now try and notice
I’m English but the US series Married with Children was just amazing! Sarcasm, sexist, fat women, smoking etc. Of course it wouldn’t be made now because of the perpetually offended! For me it is one of the funniest series, along with Blackadder, Monty Python, Ab Fab etc.
@@steveathMarried with Children was a complete departure from the hokey American family sitcom. Thank god it was made of we may never have had the Simpsons either.
@@667neighborofdabeast I got the full series on DVD & watch episodes every week - it’s my style of humour!
In England we are brought up to be realistic with expectations, whereas in America you are told from birth you can be and do anything. So for a Brit to see something go right just comes across unrealistic and unfunny to us, and if American comedy ended in disaster it would go against what you were brought up believing and make them sad. In my opinion it all stems from that difference
You can be anyone you want to be.
English Uncle: Well, you can't be King, and your two dumb to be a mechanic.
You're jumping between England and Britain there fella. Make up your mind
@scottirvine3532 85% of the entire British population live in England so they are basically synonymous. Keep your nose out if you don't know what your talking about fella
@@dobby9996I am Scottish living in Glasgow and I am British.
People tend to forget all the comedy failures of which there are many , who remembers the Are you being served spin off or GOING STRAIGHT the follow up to PORRIDGE ,even FOOLS AND HORSES came within a whisker of not progressing when it was first on BBC 2 , the first BLACKADDER set during the war of the roses was pretty dire . But main difference as I see It was BBC had the advantage of no adverts with the exception of a few honourable mentions such as RISING DAMP , meaning it had more air time for plot and character development for example MEN BEHAVING Badly started on ITV and failed only becoming a huge cultural success when bought by the BBC.
We like happy shows. But we also recognise they’re often unrealistic, so we prefer a more realistic darker ending to things. Even in comedy. Happy endings seem a little too easy in a way. We prefer some edge.
I'd definitely agree with this. An example that leaps to mind is Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston - "Just this once Rose, everybody lives!" exclaimed in a triumphant tone. The Doctor doesn't often lose, but the win rarely comes without some cost or loss
Talking of Dr Who what do people think of the new Disney influence for the next series
@@user-to4is7zv3d those were the comedy greats
Especially in comedy. What's funny about everything turning out perfect like a Disney movie?
@@anthonykearney608 The BBC don't make them like that anymore.
Here's one BIG difference, you yanks remember Rowan Atkinson for Mr Bean, us British fondly remember him for Blackadder!
and fans know him for a lot more. i do know alot of people in the UK who would name Mr Bean instead of Blackadder. I think Blackadder usually puts you to being over a certain age now. I was brought up with Blackadder but a lot of people my age still haven't really watched it...except the last episode of goes forth because i think it's on such a pedestal for that ending that it's definitely recognised
The Thin Blue Line - he is also excellent in.
@ragdoll1603 Alot?
Not the nine o'clock news !
i was talking to john sullivan a couple of days after he came back from the states where they did a remake of dear john starring judd hirsch. he said they never understood the concept of the show so it was crap. it made him a millionaire so he was not overly upset.
I dont even have to watch this as we are far better at comedy, yours are over the top for me.
Dave Allen was the best, nobody will ever beat him.
Mr bean( rowan atkinson) will always be known as blackadder to the british😀
We tend to root for the underdog , the down trodden , the guy who is trying to succeed but never quite gets there, lots of characters in comedy are exactly that . Del boy in only fools and horses is a good example .
Tony Hancock is a good example of this as well.
Fools and Horses has got to be the funniest show ever
@@ruthbashford3176 my favourite .bloody hilarious .
"Are you being served " was the department store comedy
They could have made a show just about Mrs. Slocombe's pussy. 😅
It'll ride up with wear
Are you free Mr Humphreys?
@@strongypI’m free!
Can't talk about Mrs Slocombe's cat anymore lol
The last scene in blackadder is not meant to be funny in itself, its far more poignant. No one's laughing, we all have chills, or tears.
decades of seeing that many times i still cry, if anything the older i got and the more i knew the harder it hit. even to the point that i get hit by such a huge wave of sadness over Darling because it just showed how really, unless you're at the top then you're at the bottom with everyone else
Try watching it with a roomful of year 10 students, all shocked and choked up. Seeing 15 year olds, who can be little sods sometimes, get emotional about other people is really moving.
The department store comedy was probably 'Are you being served?' 'Dad's Army' was always a family favourite 😂. Also 'Last of the summer wine' .
Or maybe even Trollied.
Wasn't Trollied based in a supermarket rather than a department store?
@BlueTexel I believe so though we don't know exactly the one he was talking about though both were good shows.
Definitely 'Are You Being Served'. The department store was Grace Bros. One of the best sit coms we've ever produced 😅😂
LOVE last of the summer wine! Classic
I have given this answer before to another video, but back in the 1980s the late Dame Diana Rigg published a collection volunteered by many of her colleagues in the acting profession of the very worst reviews they had ever received. In her introduction to this volume she said that she had many US friends in the profession, but her book contains very few transatlantic contributions on the basis that whereas a distinguished British actor would find it most amusing to reminisce about, say, how he tripped up the leading man on stage whilst himself playing a humble spear carrier an American would not have the same attitude. ‘You mean admit that I once failed spectacularly whilst pursuing my art? You’re mad! Failure is not an option’. She did garner a handful of US friends brave enough to contribute, bless them.
If you’re exploring British comedy, do watch Blackadder in it’s entirety (series 1 the characters are somewhat different so start at S2).
Regarding the final scene in Blackadder S4, everyone is killed off because they were showing the sheer horror of the Battle of the Somme (WW1), where we lost approx 19,000 young men on the first day. It needs to be seen in context of the show and the real history. It remains one of the most moving tributes to these young men ever shown in comedy.
Absolutely gut wrenching but must be watched in full context.
Enjoy exploring the laughs xx
Pretty close but the last episode was set in 1917, the battle of the Somme was in 1916. I think the battle shown is probably meant to be Passchendaele
We, in the UK, love an underdog story. We want the underdogs to win so they have to fail first in order to triumph in the end.
Thats very true, Jeeves & Wooster, Fawtly Towers, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Desmond, Only Fools and Horses.
Underdog lead characters
I think the reason is quite simple. It all comes down to education. British comedy has traditionally had a lot of clever wordplay, innuendo and writers have not been afraid to end on a sour or unhappy note - they respect the audience intelligence and don't feel the need to give them a dopamine boost. In America a lot of comedy seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator which reflect poor education and language skills. However, recent UK comedy has changed a lot and is just not funny imo - it appeals to stupidity and a lack of education and communication skills. It's why a lot of older UK adults now reminisce and replay old comedies. The only exception in America is Frasier which is brilliantly funny and very similar to British humour.
I would contest one thing and that is the poor education and language skills. In my opinion they write things to be more obvious and face value because they know they aren't just writing for an English speaking native audience. Syndication was and is huge, and American comedy often ends up globally viewed. I prefer British comedy, but there's no denying that our shows are often rife with very distinct Britishisms that need explaining to a foreign viewer. I've been watching a variety of different British comedies alongside a UA-camr called After Work reactions for a few years now, and he genuinely enjoys and loves pretty much all the shows he's watched, but almost every episode of a show he ends up being like "hey can you guys explain what the punchline was to that one bit?" or for instance when he started watching Only Fools he asked what a wolly was, what a plonker was etc.
@@Relyx i've seen some reactions by after work reactions like red dwarf he's good and seems to get most of it.
I'd add Curb Your Enthusiasm to your suggestion of Frasier.
@@Relyx Fair point
@@SirHilaryManfat agreed
The Stephen Fry thing is worth watching in full. He makes some interesting observations including the fact that American comedy tends to be more physical.
Ironically, physical or slapstick style comedy originated in Italy and was very popular in Britain for centuries.. A lot of early music hall acts in the US came from the UK. Coincidence?
@octaviussludberry9016 interesting. I think there is a clear difference in the last 20-30 years. If you watch the older BBC stuff like blackadder, keeping up appearances and fawlty towers, they are all much more physical than comedies of today. It's interesting how styles shift.
@@carlena4300 Not sure about that. There are elements of physical comedy in Fawlty Towers and Blackadder, but the bulk of them is wordplay, nuanced insults, double entendres, sarcasm etc.
Keeping up Appearances I can't comment on as I've never watched it, despite my liking of Clive Swift and that Patricia Routledge comes from just up the road and my wife went to the same school.
The greatest crime in the UK is earnestness. We can't stand it.
Very correct, We tend to undercut anything truly sincere with a self deprecation, sarcastic comment or maybe a backhanded compliment.
The sincerity is still there but we often try to distance ourselves from it a bit.
That - and blowing your own trumpet.
@@wessexdruid7598 never tried it to be honest, never been very flexible
@@Freakyman403 Comedy gold!
We know how to laugh at ourselves. We know our flaws and love them anyway.
I have many American friends and the difference in comedy is something we've discussed. My take is that US comedy is much more signposted "laugh here" supported often (not always) by a laugh track that underlines that. UK comedy tends towards much more subtle - it either makes you laugh through identifying with the absurdities that life throws at you, or in the face of chaos. The British tend to use humour to deal with adversity - laughing at negatives makes it easier to bear, rather than the escapism that the video identifies that US Americans as gravitating toward. I totally agree about the differences in news coverage. And one last point, media as a word is used in the video to cover all television/movies (including the comedies and drama) and not just news coverage, which is how you're using it Steve - when you say you don't consume any media, you're talking about just news, not the multiple entertainments that media also encompasses.
Love the videos Steve! I couldn’t recommend watching Stephen Fry’s lecture about the differences between US and UK comedy more! I think it sums it up perfectly! Especially with parallels between both sitcoms and stand up comedy.
The narrator on the video makes a good point; we Brits tend to find the absurdity in disaster and tragedy and engage with it; whereas (perhaps) in American tradition a firm belief in improvement and betterment of the individual will struggle to find humour in that kind of absurdity - failure and disaster evokes only pity or fear.
That makes sense. That's why when Princess Diana died, within hours a joke was going around by text message, about the letters in her name. Whereas I doubt that when 9/11 happened there were jokes going around about it in the US. We had jokes about the London bombing and that terrorist that tried blow up Glasgow airport. In fact - how did we deal with Hitler? We made up a (incredibly popular) song about him only having one testicle.
I think you would enjoy watching clips from a witty British comedy panel show called Would I Lie to you? (WILTY). It would give you more insight into British humour . Great video ❤
An American friend is addicted to British panel shows. 8 Out Of 10 Cats Do Countdown is perhaps the weirdest, being a mashup of two other shows. Carrot in the Box and the poem about naming people's penises are particular highlights.
Along with final episode of Blackadder, one of the best UK sketches ever was comedy duo Morecambe & Wise’s Andre Previn (famous American conductor/musician) episode - Greig’s Piano Concerto.
Our news media is more matter of fact, but our overall outlook around comedy is realism. It reflects the darkness of life. Dry, pessimistic, self-critical, sarcastic and subtle.
I have found most American comedy shows leans towards line - punchline - line - punchline type of format, example: Friends. Quite a few of the best British comedy shows have more of a build up to an overall punchline towards the end of the episode, example: Blackadder.
We don't expect or need a happy ending, life seldom brings a happy ending.
There is possibly an element of ironic 'It's being so cheery keeps me going' about British humour (Brit here), that life is screwed but you gotta laugh, and that is the root of the humour. A quote I heard about the UK/US contrast, the British see life as hopeless but not serious, while Americans see life as serious but not hopeless, I guess it take a mixture of peoples to make the world a rich place. 🙂
I think one of the key differences is that we (in the UK) like our comedy to have a sense of realism and the comedy comes from the journey rather than the ending.
Take for example Blackadder goes fourth, where the series is set in the trenches during WW1. Lots of comic situations arise despite the squalid circumstances but really there was only one way that series could have ended, with them all going over the top and dying and leaving us with a reminder of the futility of war (Blackadder dies in every series at the end as far as I recall, usually in a very stupid way). If this had been an American series you can be sure that the war would have ended in the nick of time and they would all have got to go home with the possible exception of Blackadder himself who would have died in a silly accident on the way. I'm not saying that would not have been funny but it would not have been nearly as satisfying.
Technically in Blackadder 3 it's prince George who dies at the end. However at the time he was pretending to be Blackadder and Blackadder was pretending to be Prince George.
Dave Allan was an excellent Irish stand up comedian. You will not be disappointed.
Dave Allen was brilliant.
I grew up in Northern Ireland in the 70s and 80s with terrorism,murders,rain,unemployment,Thatcher etc,is it any wonder that I didn't really buy into the American dream of life being a place where your dreams can come true?
How else would you get desperate, gullible foreigners to come and work for pennies?
You actually addressed here that someone has already recommended Russell Howard to you and his comparison of US vs UK coverage about the ebola virus and I have to agree with that recommendation. Russell Howard in general may help you get a good insight to a lot of matters about british culture, especially if you're looking for how we view specific events such as brexit or even more recently the cost of living crisis, NHS strikes, etc.
American comedy is what I describe as “cheesy” or cringey😬
To say the least.
& childish 😁
Or schmaltzy and saccharine.
Blackadder. At its best comedy, not only does it make me laugh, but it makes me think. That goes for both U.K. and US humour. I am a keen amateur historian and have just ploughed through a 700 page book on the causes of the First World War. I also saw the episode of Blackadder when Baldrick and Blackadder reflect on what caused the war. Baldrick comes up with the perfectly sensible conclusion “that a geezer called Archie Duke killed an ostrich because he was hungry”. Blackadder deferred and said “the cause of the war was that it was too much effort to stop it”. I could have saved myself reading 700 pages - Blackadder was right! Oh on second thought maybe Baldrick’s opinion may have some merit..
Er, wibble...
The idea was to have two vast opposing armies formed as a deterrent so that there would never be a war.
But this is sort of a war, isn’t it?
Yes, because there was one tiny flaw in the plan…
It was bollocks!
😂
@@alchristie5112 Thank you, I deliberately stopped short of completing Blackadder’s tirade about WWI hoping that someone would complete it. And you have. Yes, it was bollocks. My worry is that with Russia/Ukraine and North/ South Korea, are we not in the same boat?
On a lighter note , just watched the Women’s Wimbledon final. Best woman won.
As a British person who has had American friends, the one thing I've noticed is that all of my American friends have struggled to grasp sarcasm. 90% of what I and my friends say is sarcastic, but my American friends will often think we're being genuine!
They seem to take everything literally. I watched some US reactors watch Right Said Fred 'I'm Too Sexy' and none of them understood it. They all said he was very big-headed!!
Theres nothing against shows being "happy"
Its against artificial happiness, the fakeness of it all.
British sitcoms will generally have a grounding in reality, even if tje characters themselves end up in cartoonish situations- Only Fools and Horses is a fantastic example of this
We also have shows such as Red Dwarf, while an American pilot was tried it was a complete failure.
We are very good at adding a certain amount of self depreciation in British comedy
I forgot to add that the pilot is available on UA-cam, it’s cringeworthy
Love Red Dwarf, fantastic, very Brittish.
If you want to know the difference between British and American comedy Stephen Fry explains it perfectly in a video I can't remember the name of, maybe somebody else can. I will put it underneath when I find out. The Ricky Gervais you watched was extremely tame TV stuff.
ua-cam.com/video/gpdWwubN6-0/v-deo.html&pp=ygUpU3RlcGhlbiBGcnkgb24gQW1lcmljYW4gdnMgQnJpdGlzaCBDb21lZHk%3D
Billy Connolly ,talking about 'Incontinent Pants is hilarious,favourite comedian of all time.
Hi Steve, I love your content and keep up the good work. If you are looking at UK comedy you may want to react to a show from Scotland called Still Game. You may struggle with the accents a little bit however this typifies humour in Scotland.
In the UK we are in the side of the underdiog always. In the US people want to be bigger, more successful, so the main character wants to be upwardly mobile rather than of the people. In the UK comedy is more daring because we are not held back by religion or profit generation. We have more freedom.
Only Fools and Horses: Best British Comedy ! Please check that out Steve ! You’ll love it.
British comedy, is dryer and wittier.
I agree Fools and Horses has got to be the funniest show ever
The blow-up doll episode is my favourite ever
@markscouler2534 just thinking about that episode makes me laugh! I loved it when they drove away in the van and the dolls popped up and appeared to be waving out of the back window 😂😂😂
Comedy in the uk is about the struggle. Trying to overcome what life throws at you.
It's about being in realistic situations taken to an extreme. It's about the underdogs rather than being superior that tends to define most American comedy.
The ending of blackadder is so well written and acted. I cry every single time. Even the clip gets me all emotional.
I strongly recommend the Black Adder series! It’s a shame he couldn’t show clips like he did for the US shows but the video could be slapped for copyright if he did.
"Are you being served?" sounds like the department store comedy you remembered.
Black Adder was set in the trenches during world war 1, The whole series was hysterical but it was based loosely on real events. The writers rightly wanted to respect the real hero’s of ww1 who were literally ordered to their deaths. That’s why the ending was bitter but it made us so very proud. That part was not meant to be comedy. It was genius.
I think the ‘happy show’ theory goes into films as well. Films often have ‘American’ endings with happy family life as the result, against European films which don’t and therefore seem more realistic, more real - and more artistic and relevant. Not sugar coated.
Using that Seinfeld clip as an example. In a British comedy, the customer service person who had messed up the reservation would be the show's protagonist.
Definitely. Seinfeld was the bad guy in that scene.
I think your comment about Americans being more literal is accurate, and I've seen the same thing in Canada too.
The department store show was "Are You Being Served". In my final year at university, it was being repeated on Friday evenings - it was either just before or just after dinner (I was in halls of residence at the time). A group of us used to watch it as a drinking game, with each person being assigned a character. The rules were:
Drink two fingers of your pint of beer whenever:-
1) Your character first appears in a scene
2) Your character first speaks in a scene
Drink whatever is left in your pint glass whenever:-
3) Mrs Slocombe says something about her pussy
4) Mr Humphries says "I'm free!"
Thinking about it now, it must have been after dinner or we'd have been turning up pretty well drunk for our meal.
If you want to get good British hummer watch Perter Kay missed heard lyrics!! You will never be able to hear those songs again without hearing those words. Highly recommend recommended
Unhappy shows are great! They make you realise your life isn’t as bad as theirs…..😂
I can't wait until you get around to the Russell Howard "UK vs US Ebola coverage" clip. I'd suggest watching lots of Russell Howard, both his stand up stuff, or topical news shows like "Russell Howard's Good News" & "The Russell Howard Hour". They can be heavily political though.
Blackadder’s final episode was all the players going ‘over the top’ leaving their French for the last time in WW1. The next scene - falling poppies many years later, is a classic scene.
Leaving their "French?" Typo I presume?
It's a suitable monument to the men who died during the first and second world war and it shows that they are not forgotten .
Trench
@@miaschu8175 going over the top was the only way to no man's land and the German soldiers .
@@monicawarner4091 black adder was a comedy show that used historical events to take the mick out of ,but it also taught some historical facts at the same time.
I wouldn't say we dislike happy shows. I think it's just that a sense of realism and to some extent pessimism is drummed into us at an early age. And the ability to laugh at yourself is thought of as an important quality in a person. This however has most likely negatively impacted our mental health but you win some you lose some.
British comedy normally has a main character trying to find the easy way out of a situation that ends up going massively awry in the end with the main character having expended far more effort than if they had gone the harder route in the first place.
Black Adder is fantastic, not the 1st load. It has Mr Been as the Black Adder they change diffrent times in history. The ending blew everyone away it was set in the 1st WW, everyone was talking about it it stuned the country.
You were talking about Are You Being Served, very dated now.
Steven Fry did a fantastic explination about why its diffrent worth looking at.
British comedy from 60s to the mid 90s everything from python to red dwarf is top tier, but it’s gone down hill last 20years
God red dwarf what a cracker 😂
Main reason for that is summed up in one word - WOKE.
@@stevepage5813 Steve's videos are meant to be fun and light-hearted. Please take your culture war nonsense elsewhere.
True, the nostalgia we get these days is nowhere near as go as the nostalgia we used to have.
@@default3252 but he does have a point
The comedy in the apartment store one sounds like it might be Are You Being Served? It was filmed in the 1970s.
Edit: a perfect example of the 'British comedy ends in tragedy' trope is One Foot in the Grave. I won't spoil the last episode, but it feels more like a psychological revenge thriller than the concluding episode of a 1990s sitcom.
We just find the humour in our deficiencies, because it’s real life
The department store comedy - Are you being served.
News and current affairs programmes, being far more partisan than is permitted in the UK, are often far more critical and negative in the UK. However, drama, crime thrillers, and comedy in the UK are far darker, being full of imperfect, often unattractive characters as leading protagonists.
That's so true. British characters do not have to be attractive or well preserved! 😂
The show in the department store could have been, Are You Being Served! old but still funny.
As mentioned by several others the department store was 'Are you being served?' and although dated is considered a classic, broadcasted in the mid-70''s. Another one from slightly an earlier era but had one of the same writers would be Dad's Army which was set during the WWII at the fictional UK seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea. For more early sitcomes you can also try 'Hancocks Half Hour', 'Steptoe and Son' or anything else written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Instead of sitcomes we also have plenty of sketch shows such as 'Not the Nine O'Clock News', from the 80's and also featuring Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), 'Spitting Image' (puppet-based sketch show) and comedy quiz shows such as 'Mock the Week' (a satirical look at News events, sadly no longer being made) and quiz shows such as '8 out of 10 does Countdown' (a mash-up of '8 out of 10 Cats' a comedy panel show based on opinion polls and 'Countdown' a serious game show on letters and numbers). For all out tomfoolery I can also recomend 'Taskmaster' in which a group of five celebrities - mainly comedians - attempt to complete a series of challenges for the Taskmaster, portrad by comedian Greg Davies.
The fact the folk of the UK have a twisted sense of humour ,it means that we take the piss out of ourselves and what is going on around us .
"Are you being served" was set in Grace Brothers store. Every now and again you saw old Mr.Grace, but not often.
It's worth watching the Stephen Fry video discussing the differences between our comedy ( a clip of it was included in this video). He makes some very good points.
Absolutely was what I was trying to express in my comment , Steven articulated it very well .😊
The best example I've heard is from Steven Fry. He pointed to the great John Beluhi in some National Lampoon film. There was a scene where John Belushi walked past a guy playing a guitar, grabbed it off him and smashed it over his head.
The point Fry made was that a British comedian would prefer to have the guitar smashed over their head, while a US comedian would rather be doing the smashing.
I think the difference can be seen in where British comedy shows are copied/transferred to the US & become far softer focus. The hard edges of pathos and bathos so evident in shows like Steptoe & Son were softened for the remake Sanford & Son. The original The Office lost some of the sharper edges when it was remade for US viewing. It was glaring in Veep, the remake of the much edgier (and for me far funnier) The Thick Of It. There is a vein of dark humour in British shows which I think allows for deeper character development because it reflects reality.
The comedy show you are thinking off was "Are you Being Served" which was first shown in September 8th,1972 and ran for 70 episodes. It was set in the fictional store of Grace Brothers.
Igrew up with TV comedy such as Steptoe and Son, My Wife nextdoor and many others. I also watched US Comedy such as 'I love Lucy'. What ruined US comedy was the loudness of the characters and the false laughter tracks. When M.A.S.H. was shown on BBC TV it was shown without a laughter track, when an episode was shown with the laughter track by accident there were dozens of complaints to the BBC about it ruining the show.
More recently there has been a series called 'Ghosts' a series made in the UK and a US copy . In the UK version there is slower character developement, the US version seemed to be in too much of a hurry, again with an intrusive laughter track.
There has of course been much dreadful UK comedy, which hs been consigend to the dustbin of memory, but for me the defining difference is the lack of subtlety .
Canned laughter
The only US comedy I know of that is close to a UK comedy show is Frasier
The ending of Blackadder goes forth was accidental. It was supposed to end with them going over the top and getting shot by machine gun fire. However the cast did one take and refused to do another one with the exploding charges. They were faced with a terrible and awful film of them slowly falling over in the worst way. However they slowed the footage down to extend it... did it some more and more. Until they ended up having something that reflected the terror and magnitude of 'The Great War'. From a disaster of a series ending, they made one of the best endings ever.
Only fools and horses is the best British comedy ever . You should watch them Steve . They are a must see I've been watching them for years . Tracey England UK xxx
Only Fools and horses was a very popular show, very funny and also emotional. Afterlife, with Ricky Gervais is a recent series and that was about him trying to get over the death of his wife, not the cheeriest subject. I don’t think we’ve done a good series for a long time though, Derry Girls, Irish programme I found very funny. With regard to the news we have other channels that cover news besides the BBC but they are only supposed to report the facts , that would be awful for them to sensationalise it. The newspapers do enough of that.
Derry Girls - Northern Irish
The show in the department store may have been” are you being served?”
This has already been stated a thousand times.
That is actually a great way to explain the difference. Sounds clear and right to me.
I am Dutch, so neither English nor American. We have different styles of comedy in our small country as well. The kind you lagh openly about, but also the kind that tells you the most strange nonsense, which is actually somehow sensible, but from a weird place of vieuw, with a straight face. You just do not know whether to be astonished or laugh. It is not the same as the english kinds, which dwell on absurdity more loudly. It seems more subtle, but it actually is not. You are supposed to keep your laughter in as much as you can, but eventually, you can not. It is like being witty, but different.
I do like a lot different kinds of humor, depends on the mood I am in.
If you've watched all of black Adder and don't cry and the end you're not human. It's horrifically perfect.
Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 - February 4, 2018) was an English-American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1993-2004)
Jane Elizabeth Leeves (born 18 April 1961) is an English actress, best known for her role as Daphne Moon on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1993-2004)
Never watched friends, preferred Frasier.
I think of House as comedy because Hugh Laurie certainly plays a comic role but apparently it is categorised as drama.
Sounds like you were thinking of 70's sit com Are You Being Served, were a well known catchphrase was 'Are you free Mr Humphries?' to which he would respond in his 'camp' tone 'I'm free.' Lots of double entendre which would at the time go over children's heads but adults would know.
Interestingly, i think you are right that media in the US (namely the news) is far more negetive and dramatic than in the UK. I think its only really with comedies, sitcoms etc that the US put a more optimistic positive spin on it, where as the UK goes more tradgic.
Brits and Americans are pretty much exactly the same, just different accents tbh, but i think this highlights the sutle difference - "The Brit will stoically fight to the end, expecting he will die. The American will difiantly fight to the end, hoping for a miracle."
British people tend to laugh more at ourselves, and being seen as a small country we always tend to route for the underdog.
Some American comedy is hilarious! I watched Trading Places the other day for the first time in ages. It was so funny. We do like 'happy shows' but over sentimentality, sugary emotional stuff is not popular.
Most American comedy is just too "slapstick" for me. I ADORED "Cheers" and "Frasier" because they had so many similarities to British humour.
Also, there's no straight man in those shows; everyone is flawed. And they all struggle, in their own way.
@@miaschu8175 True
Look up "Ronnie Barker", mostly known for his many series of work with fellow comedian "Ronnie Corbett" just called "The Two Ronnies".
However as an actor who was brilliant with comedy- so try to find episodes of "Porridge" a situation comedy series in a Prison and "Open All Hours" another sitcom set in a northern corner shop. His two characters are completely different.
He was also in a few films as just an actor such as "The Gathering Storm" where he is Churchill's butler
As an example of the extent to which dark themes play into british media, I want to give you an outline of an episode of a british family show, intended to be watched by people of all ages, young children included, called doctor who, and the episode I want to talk about is series 4, episode 11: Turn Left. In this episode, an alternate timeline is created from about 2 years in the past. In it, the main character dies, which causes a vast majority of the side characters to die one by one. It also causes a number of catastrophes, such as the destruction of London in a huge explosion, the forced movement of millions of southern brits to the north where they now live in cramped an awful conditions, the deaths of 60 million americans, the british government establishes concentration camps and sends all migrants to them to make more space in the north and a side character from this episode is sent to die in one. By the end of the episode, one of the two lead characters' mother has entered a near vegetative state due to her depression, and her grandfather has gone from the most optimistic character in the show to a complete pessimist. In the end it's resolved, and the original timeline is restored (through the death of another character), but the emotional weight of all those events still lingers. And remember, this story about mass death and personal loss and concentration camps is intended for young children. I first watched it as a 4 year old. And this is from back in 2008, this isn't an especially recent thing. So, yeah, sadder stories are pretty ubiquitous in the UK, and those sorts of ideas and influences and motifs bleed into our comedy as well as our dramas.
That's...Doctor Who...right? The crazy finale that had everyone in the UK hyped 😆
@@KissMyFatAxe I did say that was doctor who in it but yes (and the 2 part finale you're probably referring to are the two episodes that immediately followed this one)
The department store comedy was called " Are you being serviced" it was a sitcom made & shown in the 70s
Before I watch the video, I just wanna say that while I prefer our (British) comedy overall, the classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts (especially in the 50s) are the funniest things I've ever seen. EDIT: When talking about media in the US being happier, the guy in the video you're reacting to seems to be using the world to exclusively mean entertainment media (TV, films, etc)
The Comedy show based in a Clothing shop, you were referring to was "Are you being served?" With John Inman; Arthur English; and Mollie Sugden.
I love a lot of American comedy but there are some shows, movies & stand-up comedians that I just don't get. Sometimes the jokes feel over-explained but sometimes it's the opposite. I saw an American stand-up in Edinburgh, in a show with a line up of UK & US comics. He made some very basic factual statements about himself and paused after each one, expecting a laugh, but no one got it. He got frustrated & explained that it was his 1st show in the UK, and the same jokes got a great response & a standing ovation a few nights before in the US. I wish I could explain better, but none of us understood how these simple factual statements could be funny & I'd love for someone to explain it.
Possibly easily pleased.
I think American humour and the “need” for a happy ending reflects the culture of idealism and “land of promise” that America was built on.
I think the Separtmnt Store comedy you saw must have been 'Are You Being Served?' It was massively popular in its day, but the comedy would be extremely dated now.
I think he is toatally correct about the endings. In US comedies, the main protagonist always wins in the end, whereas in UK comedy the humour is often in the fact that the main protagonist fails in his or her endeavours, despite all their efforts to come out on top.
I think the guy is right that in US comedies, the audience wishes to identify with the witty protagonist, whereas in UK comedy, we like to feel superior to the protagonist who is messing everything up. Not in a nasty way - just glad we wouldn't be making such a mess ourselves- we can see where they are going wrong, and laugh at how they continue to dig themselved further into a hole, rather than drag themselves out.
It's like the reaction in every pub in the UK when someone drops a tray of drinks, and it crashes to the floor. Our reaction is for the whole pub to roar "Wha-hey!!!" as if the peron has achieved some great feat of skill and dexterity. What we are really saying is "Thank God that wasn't me!"
You're right about Are You Being Served. They made another series in the late 80s but it was a flop. David Badiel explained it in his TV show at the time. He said when Mrs Slowcombe talked about her pussy in the 70s, it meant cat, with a sight hint of something rude. 15 years later, it meant vagina, with a sight hint of household pet.😂