Arguably The Greatest TV Comedy Ever

Posted on 08/07/2008 at 1:11 pm by Bob Cesca

I’ll see Paddy’s Dick Van Dyke and raise her The Office (UK):

(By the way, I love M*A*S*H.)

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  • http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/ Paddy

    Okay, okay, I give. But only because I can’t find the clip of Pamela Adlon from Californication discussing having a threesome with David Duchovny’s ex girlfriend. Hysterical.

  • lnbno13

    Agreed on The Office UK, but 15 years on, and AbFab still cracks me up as if I’m watching it for the first time.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUosm_BBv9g

  • MG

  • http://unrelatedcontent.com Travis Disaster

    MASH was a comedy???

  • bajasteve

    Bob, WTF? I clicked on the video, and was told it’s no longer available. It’s been up for what, a couple hours? Are the net nazis really that vigilant?

  • Lexamich

    I’m a big geek, so my tastes can’t be categorized. One day, you’ll hear me calling Seinfeld the best ever, then the next day, I’ll talk up the comedic intricacies of the old G.I. Joe cartoon from the 80s. I can talk up how much I love the clever banter of The Addams Family, then talk about how shows like The Brady Bunch, Bewitched and Gilligan’s Island, and, yes, Married With Children put a permasmile on my face. I’ve got a million favorites (not really).Some of these contest for which show is best are silly, but I guess that’s the point. We’ve all watched these shows at some point, and have an opinion on them. That’s all that matters to me.

  • http://watergatesummer.blogspot.com/ enigma4ever

    I love this clip, I am just curious, is the Brit Office on any stations in the states ( on the cable?) cuz it really is hilarious….( and yes, MASH is on all the time again- which has been great- I can share it with my teenage son…and gee it is revelant again- just like it was during the Vietnam era…)

  • http://www.ieatgravel.com Alaska

    bajasteve,Did you try refreshing the page?

  • Tim in Charlotte

    2 words: Arrested Development

  • ConstanceRifle

    Enigma, it comes on BBC America sometimes. It’s not a regular rotation or anything that I know of.And for the record, the American version of the Office has a better Gareth/Dwight, but Ricky Gervais is a much better boss.

  • Teaflax

    Station? On? You people are talking like you’ve never heard of Bittorrent.

  • Teaflax

    Oh, and my vote goes to The Mighty Boosh. The Power of Crimping in season 3 sealed the deal.

  • http://peaceandwisdom.net Chris Dornan

    Comedian’s comedy. Inspired by the spinal tap of course. Brits have done a few good things but the bulk of the great stuff was American.Apart from Absolutely Fabulous, and anything with Clese in it, there was Dad’s Army. That, is one of my favourites (it holds the same position as MASH here).

  • http://www.clusterdouche.com Elvis Dingeldein

    The UK Office is, hands down, the greatest televised comedy — “sitcom” simply does it no justice — ever made, period. I simply cannot believe this was a scripted show and the people in it were actors, it’s so utterly natural and real. Fawlty Towers is a close, close second, as every episode of that series was a priceless gem of comedic joy, but it had the built-in advantage of John Cleese and his Python legacy to propel it; Ricky Gervais came out of nowhere and is simply stunning as David Brent; that he had next to zero acting chops before The Office is impossible for me to believe.Arrested Development in its first season is as close to American sitcom perfection as we’ll ever see, but it quickly went off the rails mid-second season and by the third was completely over the shark. Perfectly cast, impeccably written, and as densely-packed with Funny as any three other shows combined, that show was simply too good for network television, and for the American viewing public. We’re just not AD smart.M*A*S*H should have quit when Trapper John and Henry Blake left the show, it simply could not top itself with the sad replacements of Charles Winchester and Sherman T. Potter.I’m still having trouble forgiving Seinfeld its wretched series finale. I wanted the entire episode to be nothing but Bob Saccamano. Seasons One through Five were near-perfect American comedy; everything thereafter rode on Michael Richards’s mighty shoulders.Bottom line: If you don’t watch Ricky Gervais and the UK Office with literal awe, there’s something deeply wrong with you.