New Series
Theres going to be a new series can't wait just heard about it today
shareThey just mentioned it on the richard and judy trailer. I'll be tuning in to find out more.
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yes as far as we know
shareThe richard and judy thing was a red herring. They gave the impression of a return series on the trailer but they were only there to plug the boxset on dvd. there was no mention of a new series at all.
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Gordon P. Clarkson
I am glad.I loved this Series,but the Golden Rule of Comedy should be,"never go back" .If one looks back over the Classic British Sitcoms one is struck by the fact that the best are the ones that did not go on to long and the Script writers consequently never ran out of fresh ideas.To some extent "Only Fools and Horses " was the excption that proved the Rule,but even it flagged a little towards the end.
I am not a big fan of US Sitcoms and one of the reasons is ,that once they find a Hit ,the Networks try to drag it out as long as possible till it long over stays its welcome.
Yeah I've just put up a post on Keeping Up Appearances, saying exactly the same thing. The US networks are greedy so and sos and do not seem to care for the reputation of the show they relentlessly flog to death for bucks. From reading many of the posts, the American viewers just don't seem to get this, and I am glad that over here, the creators don't usually sell their souls away, but seem to retain a say in when they think it's best to end the thing. I think our TV companies are much more in tune with it all as well. How many good US shows can you name that haven't been stretched beyond all reasonable limits by running too long? On OFAH I personally think it did suffer too much by the end, and have you noticed that the TV co.s seem to have learned their lesson from it, as we haven't seen too many staying beyond their limits in the last ten years or so, have we.
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Gordon P. Clarkson
Yes,I think you are right about this last point.You may be interested in an idea a friend of mine had,we call it "The First Law of Sitcoms" (lol).The theory is that the more catch phrases a sitcom has, the worse it is.If you think about it,I beleve it does stand up to scrutiny.
Yeah catch phrases are never a good sign in a sitcom. On the Fawlty Towers DVD box set there is a very good interview with John Cleese telling us his whole approach to creating the great sitcom, and he actually says that one of the motivating factors was to make an original sitcom that could get laughs without resorting to the dreaded catchphrase, which the BBC in particular had relied on for too long as an easy source of laughs. They don't seem to be as common as they once did, that's for certain, but then I think it's more of a cultural change, so just because a sitcom these days might not have any catchphrases in, it doesn't mean it isn't bad. Maybe it's me not having caught up with the new style of sitcoms, I don't know what you think, but a lot of these new trendy sort of sitcoms just aren't funny enough to be called sitcoms. For me some of the worst recent offenders have been Early Doors - Appallingly unfunny, The Royale Family - Funny at times but like watching paint dry, Not Going Out - Not really a sitcom, more a vehicle for a stand up double act, The Green Wing - OTT and childish, Lab Rats - very childish, My Family - Cringeworthy family nonentertainment. It clearly isn't easy to make a good quality sitcom, judging by the current crop, bar one or two. Maybe they just shouldn't make as many?
shareDad's army has a lot catchphrases, though it carries them well, and the writers never set out to write catchphrases, they just caught on, and were used. Allo, Allo on the other hand...
shareAllo allo was just the same 9 100% unfunny catchphrases / 'jokes' every week for year after bloody year.
"Good moaning" = side splitting laughter. Oh, I finally get it, he really means GOOD morning. Brilliantly written, genre changing comedy it was not.
Any unimaginative prat can do an inferior remake. Writers on these sorts of salaries should be able to think of something equally groundbreaking that takes us beyond where we are now, with no cheap gags or catchphrases.
For me the great strength of "Dad's Army" was the cast,it truly was the most talented ever to grace a sitcom.If you were to put the dialogue in the mouths of less talented actors you would find the show would not be anywhere near as good.
Gordon P. Clarkson
re catchphrases in Fawlty Towers.
'oh i know....i know.....i know....' (sybil on the phone) 'then why is she telling you?' - basil
'Que?' - Manuel
`'You'll have to forgive him he's from Barcelona' - Basil
'i know nothing' - manuel
i'm sure there are others these are the ones i remember
As a Yank I can say I agree with you whole heartedly! Now they have gone one further and copy the same show and there are 2 and 3 of them. I've gone back to watching the great shows I grew up with like the Good neighbors, A Fine Romance, and as Time goes by!
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