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"Listen very carefully, for I shall say this only once"
.......
You could not make a show like Allo Allo today in our sterile PC culture. Someone would be offended, in fact some people were but the UK was less anal then.
Gruber's Little Tank gets a mention a lot amongst my lot, while playing IG.
I've heard that Allo Allo went down well in France and Germany, despite the material.
It was probably the ludicrous accents, stereotypical characters, and ridiculous plots.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/08/28 08:50:35
Weirdly, Guy Siner (who played Lt. Gruber) had previously played a Kaled officer in Genesis of the Daleks. The Kaleds being portrayed as obvious Nazi stand-ins. He didn't have a little tank in that, though.
It's home-gown, but everyone of a cetain age in Scotland wil remember Dotaman, the Gaelic-language children's programme. Utterly unintelligible to most of us, but still cult viewing. That and Donnie Murdo (Danger Mouse, dubbed into Gaelic) and whatever they called the dubbed version of Count Duckula.
It took balls to produce the show, and its first season had to carry well.
That being done it worked well. British comedy has often been about self aggrandisement, a trait not so common in humour elsewhere. Fawlty Towers flawless though it was didnt translate in Europe because of Manuel, who was seen as an offensive stereotype.
Cleese wonderfully rebutted this by commenting that if Manuel disparaged Spaniards what did Basil say about the English.
It took a while for Allo Allo to be accepted on the continent, mostly via its popularity in the rest of the English speaking world. It came to France via America, and was well received when it arrived. It was syndicated in Germany for the first time sixteen years after the show was finished. It was popular there in no small part because it was fair to all parties, Germans included.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/08/28 13:18:09
n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. By the juice of the brew my thoughts aquire speed, my mind becomes strained, the strain becomes a warning. It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.
'Allo 'Allo is the bee's knees. I just wish the local PBS station would show episodes past the fifth season.
Oh, and I wish they'd stop shoving Doc Martin down our throats. Seriously. That show is fine in very limited doses, but please stop showing it every dang night.
Emperor's Eagles (undergoing Chapter reorganization)
Caledonian 95th (undergoing regimental reorganization)
Thousands Sons (undergoing Warband re--- wait, are any of my 40K armies playable?)
Alan Partridge, League of Gentlemen, Phoenix Nights, The Mighty Boosh.
On a serious note, well worth a watch if you can dig it up somewhere, an old Channel 4 series called 'ultraviolet', about a secret service division dedicated to fighting Code V.
and the bloody amazing tv detective show Luther, which is grade A television.
Generally speaking, people overseas have a tendency to have a 'shortbread tin' view of Scotland.
However, there is one truly great show that demonstrates so much of Scotland. Not just the grimness of Rab C Nesbitt but more than that... It's always just felt like it sums up Scotland entirely to me, the good and bad. I am of course, referring to none other than...
Still Game. You might also notice a familiar face, albeit slightly taller than you may remember him...
The street I used to live on makes a brief appearance in Open All Hours. There was also Porridge.
My parents also loved Last of the Summer Wine. I also watched some Croatian TV the other week, they were showing Keeping up Appearances (with Croatian subtitles).
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2015/08/30 02:12:15
On a serious note, well worth a watch if you can dig it up somewhere, an old Channel 4 series called 'ultraviolet', about a secret service division dedicated to fighting Code V.
I'd almost forgotten about that, thank you for the reminder
Other favourites were Father Ted, The Young Ones, Bottom, Red Dwarf, Allo Allo
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/08/30 05:17:00
Some other great 'sensible' tv shows to hunt down.
Alan Bleasdale's remarkable 'G.B.H.' on the corruption of principals and the decay of the unions and city politics in the late 80s early 90s. Michael Palin and Robert Lindsay are great in this.
Jimmy McGovan's 'The Lakes' shows the dark heart of seemingly pleasant country life. A petty crook leaves Liverpool and discovers what lies beneath the picturesque countryside of the lake district.
Dennis Potter's Cold Lazarus. Written by Potter as he was dying of cancer, along with it's predecessor, Karaoke, set in a highly distopian Britain of the future. A cautionary morality tale.
Dead Set. The 'big brother' reality show takes place whilst the zombie apocalypse rages outside. Tongue firmly in cheek and entirely pointed in it's commentary on a nation of reality tv watchers, harsh, funny and well acted, for the most part.
Also something drifting about on Netflix as a 3 parter atm and hopefully to become a series, Residue, very creepy and hugely interesting. I hope it's developed further.
"Listen very carefully, for I shall say this only once"
.......
You could not make a show like Allo Allo today in our sterile PC culture. Someone would be offended, in fact some people were but the UK was less anal then.
Yes, but you also could not make gak like 'mind your language' or 'Love thy neighbour', so perhaps a more politically correct (or as I like to call it, aware and polite) society isn't such a bad thing.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/08/30 15:54:51
Grey Templar wrote: I think houses were always large so they had a reasonable set to work on. Unless you have like a mansion most houses would be way too small to recreate on a film set without limiting your camera angles.
Every TV show which shows houses or apartments is guilty of this honestly.
In the UK, real houses are often used as sets for filming. The house of a schoolfriend of mine was used for filming the sitcom Terry and June.
A bit more contemporary - Black Mirror.
Written by Charlie Brooker, who I hate for having writing talent, being funny (check out the 'Wipe' series) and being married to a very pretty former children's TV presenter.
Plus there's all the amazing older children's stuff, Danger Mouse, Count Duckula etc probably aren't new to anyone, but there's the likes of Moondial, which I remember being genuinely good drama, and stuff like Knightmare, which must have been pretty cutting edge for its time.
The mention of Ultraviolet also reminded me of This Life (they both starred Jack Davenport) which was the genesis of a number of TV careers, most notably Andrew Lincoln (Rick from TWD.)
Also, more specifically towards comedy, I always loved Coupling (yet again with Jack Davenport) and the future Mrs Peter Serafinowicz (?) popular guest star in both Spaced and Black Books (and voice of Darth Maul) Sarah Alexander. (A personal favourite!)
Plus, perhaps I missed it, but there doesn't seem to have been mention of the Graham Linehan stuff? (Father Ted and The IT Crowd.)
We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. - Frank Howard Clark
The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.
The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” Professor Brian Cox
Written by Charlie Brooker, who I hate for having writing talent, being funny (check out the 'Wipe' series) and being married to a very pretty former children's TV presenter.
6000 pts - 
4000 pts - Harlies: 1000 pts - 
1000 pts
That and Donnie Murdo (Danger Mouse, dubbed into Gaelic) and whatever they called the dubbed version of Count Duckula.
Emperor's Eagles (undergoing Chapter reorganization)
Caledonian 95th (undergoing regimental reorganization)
Thousands Sons (undergoing Warband re--- wait, are any of my 40K armies playable?) 
