The Best of British Comedy
4 total works
The best jokes, gags and scenes from a true British comedy classic.
`Do you reckon I’m in love with Mrs. Batty, or is it just sex?’ Compo
Compo: I thought you'd be open.
Sid: Well that's a natural assumption if you ignore the drawn blinds and the forty foot sign that says closed.
Set and filmed in and around Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, Last of the Summer Wine follows the adventures of three quirky pensioners and their equally unusual neighbours. A true British classic that appeals to all generations, it is our nation's longest running comedy programme. The line-up of the comedy trio has changed numerous times over the years, but the calibre of the family-friendly humour Roy Clarke creates has remained the same, and it’s as funny and eccentric now as it was in the first episodes he wrote over 25 years ago.
Including the pilot, broadcast ten months before the first series, 29 series, made up of 279 episodes, have been screened to date, with the 30th series set to air this autumn. The sitcom has consistently been a favourite in the ratings, with viewing figures peaking at 18.8 million in the mid-eighties.
Famous fans include Prince Charles, the Queen Mother and the Queen, who said it was her favourite TV show.
The Best of British Comedy - Last of the Summer Wine includes:
• The History: an overview of how Last of the Summer Wine was born and developed
• Gags and Catchphrases: a collection of classic quotes
• Did You Know?: snippets of info about the show, cast, etc.
• Favourite scenes: the most memorable scenes in full
• A LOSW quiz
'If God's omnipotent, what could he possibly want with my old woman?' Clegg
Compo: Your old lady's dog is crapping all over the pavement.
Blamire: That's funny. He usually sews it up in little bags and sends it by post.
The best jokes, gags and scenes from a true British comedy classic.
Del: You were gun running during the Spanish Civil War?
Grandad: Well…that was the best time to do it!
‘A man like you needs something to reflect your image – I've got a lovely Skoda in the forecourt.'
Boycie (…trying to sell a used car to Del)
In the history of British comedy classics, there is no better example than the hugely popular and critically-acclaimed Only Fools and Horses. Set in Peckham, inner London, it chronicles the adventures and exploits of ambitious market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter, his gormless younger brother Rodney, and a host of other unusual misfit characters, in their attempts to get rich selling anything and everything to anyone who'll buy it.
Written and created by comic genius John Sullivan, the classic British sitcom had an incredible cast, including, most notably, legendary actor Sir David Jason.
Between 1981 and 1991 seven series of the show were broadcast in the UK, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003. Even now it remains the most-watched British sitcom of all time, holding the record for the highest UK audience for a sitcom episode for the 1996 special 'Time On Our Hands'.
The Best of British Comedy – Only Fools and Horses includes:
- The History: an overview of how Only Fools and Horses was born and developed
- Gags and Catchphrases: a collection of classic quotes
- Did You Know?: snippets of info about the show, cast, etc.
- Favourite scenes: the most memorable scenes in full
- An OFAH quiz
'I'm depressed because of the state of my life at the moment. I've got this 'orrible feeling that if there is such a thing as reincarnation, knowing my luck, I'll come back as me!'
Rodney
'I heard a rumour that Mickey Mouse wears a Rodney Trotter wristwatch.'
Boycie
The best jokes, gags and scenes from a true British comedy classic.
`They don't like it up 'em!'
'People shout the "Don't tell him, Pike!" line at me regularly - and I didn't even say it!' Philip Madoc.
In the annals of British television, no finer example of classic comedy exists than in the shape of Dad's Army, the Home Guard-based sitcom written by veteran writers Jimmy Perry and David Croft. Although they penned many other sterling programmes, including Hi-De-Hi! and the underrated You Rang, M'Lord?, they'll forever be remembered for their brilliant wartime comedy spotlighting the antics of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard, led by the irascible and pompous Captain Mainwaring.
Between 1968 and '77, nine series and three Christmas Specials - totalling 80 instalments - were screened, much to the delight of the millions of fans who tuned in; but the show's popularity has continued unabated and even today, four decades since the platoon marched onto the scene, it remains one of the golden offerings from the sitcom genre.
With the 40th anniversary of Dad's Army in 2008, what better time to celebrate the magic of this show.
The Best of British Comedy - Dad's Army includes:
* The History: an overview of how Dad's Army was born and developed
* Gags and Catchphrases: a collection of classic quotes from the programme
* Did You Know?: snippets of info about the show, cast, etc.
* Favourite scenes: the most memorable scenes in full
* A Dad's Army quiz
Episode: 'Something Nasty in the Vault'
Mainwaring and Wilson are stuck in the bank's strong room. There has been an air raid and they've ended up holding an unexploded bomb. Pike arrives.
Pike: Uncle Arthur?
Wilson: Oh, what it is, Frank?
Pike: Do you think I ought to phone mum and tell her you're holding a bomb?
Wilson: No!
Pike: But she might get cross if she found out that you'd been holding a bomb and she wasn't told about it.
The best jokes, gags and scenes from a true British comedy classic.
‘Cheer up, could be worse. State the country's in, we could be free.’
‘Doctor: I want you to fill one of those containers for me.
Fletcher (other side of the room): What, from 'ere?’
You can count the number of truly classic British sitcoms on one hand – well, perhaps two. But however many hands you use, Porridge will be one of the first programmes to register for inclusion. Undoubtedly one of the real gems, the prison-based show starring the late Ronnie Barker as the recalcitrant yet loveable rascal, Fletcher, transcends the generations; like any other classic, it remains as accessible and funny today as it did when first aired in the 1970s.
Including the pilot, transmitted a year before the first series hit the screen, twenty-one instalments were made, attracting audiences of up to 20 million. Written by those prolific scribes Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and brought to life by an estimable bunch of actors, headed by the great Ronnie B as Fletch, a recidivist who spent most of his adult life behind bars, the sitcom quickly attracted plaudits and became a shining example of what good situation comedy is all about.
The Best of British Comedy – Porridge includes:
- The History: an overview of how Porridge was born and developed
- Gags and Catchphrases: a collection of classic quotes
- Did You Know?: snippets of info about the show, cast, etc.
- Favourite scenes: the most memorable scenes in full
- A Porridge quiz
‘New Faces, Old Hands’
FLETCHER
My beloved Isobel.The little woman. Well she aint so little.I said to her the other day, 'Isobel, I'll never get over you, I'll have to get up and go round.’