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Feel-good comedy

Started by madhair60, May 21, 2021, 10:37:31 AM

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madhair60

Broad subject I know, but I was reminded today of the character of Tyres, which in turn reminded me of Spaced S1E6 "Epiphanies", which I find to be a genuinely joyous piece of television, one of my favourite episodes of anything, and an experience that always puts a huge smile on my face even thinking about it.

I'm interested in hearing which comedy has this effect on you, as well. Full series or specific episodes/scenes/etc. I think Nirvanna the Band the Show has this factor as well, based on the episodes I've seen.

neveragain

A lot of it's down to nostalgia for me but I'd say something like Red Dwarf, Bottom, Only Fools, Blackadder, Whose Line Is It Anyway? (UK), earlier South Park or peak Simpsons. The Muppet Show is also intensely joyful. Father Ted is slightly sullied these days but can still do the trick on occasion.

Edit to add: The US Office is great for a binge, as is Always Sunny but that's perhaps too dark for feel-good (King of the Hill was also disqualified for this reason.)

monkfromhavana

Well, it's Detectorists isn't it?

DrGreggles

I'd probably turn to Airplane or Police Squad or Top Secret, or anything that is predominantly silly.

frajer

It is Detectorists.

But some others are the uncynically joyous Schitt's Creek (only watched this last year and bloody lapped it up) and I find a lovely warm comfort from traditional US '70s/80s sitcoms like Cheers and Taxi, although that's likely partly down to them being shown on daytime telly back when I was young.

Blue Jam

Does Frasier qualify? How about the final episode of any season- ie, the one that's a bit more downbeat than the rest but where everyone learns and grows and ends up feeling a bit warm and fuzzy?

I find The Kominsky Method to be a quite comforting show about friendship but with all the death and prostate problems and the other inevitable old person stuff it can get a bit bleak.

Blue Jam

Quote from: frajer on May 21, 2021, 01:22:56 PM
But some others are the uncynically joyous Schitt's Creek (only watched this last year and bloody lapped it up) and I find a lovely warm comfort from traditional US '70s/80s sitcoms like Cheers and Taxi, although that's likely partly down to them being shown on daytime telly back when I was young.

I really couldn't get into Schitt's Creek when I tried, it seemed a bit too broad. Might have to give it another go.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is very much a feelgood comedy. The protagonist is adorably perky and upbeat and positive despite everything that has happened to her, I guess she's a bit of a Candide figure, and I found that show very cheering. Only managed to get to the end of season 1 though, found it a little bit too laboured and a bit pleased with itself despite having some great characters. It just doesn't hang together all that well for me.

frajer

Quote from: Blue Jam on May 21, 2021, 01:29:34 PM
I really couldn't get into Schitt's Creek when I tried, it seemed a bit too broad. Might have to give it another go.

Yeah I'd say give it another go, the first time I tried to watch it (nearer its original release) I didn't like it either. The first few eps just felt like a watered-down Arrested Development and I stopped after two or three.

But this time something clicked for me about a third of the way through the first series and it shifted from ok to really wonderful.

Glebe

Certainly the likes of Fawlty, Blackadder and Fools cheer me up.

Lemming

Echoing plenty of things already posted - Bottom[nb]including the live shows, the first three of which are great if you go into them with the right mindset[/nb], Blackadder, Father Ted, parts of Red Dwarf, all that.

Also, Gibbons-era Partridge stuff, since it tends to be more upbeat than IAP. Fifteen Storeys High, too, which people often seem to wrongly label as bleak when it's actually much closer to Father Ted style surrealism.

I also love SLEDGE HAMMER!, which nobody ever talks about. It's straightforward and stupid but it really clicks with me for some reason, probably mostly nostalgia.

For animation, King of the Hill was the first thing that leapt to mind, as well as some anime series, you know the ones.

Small Man Big Horse

I'd echo Detectorists and Kimmy Schmidt, and also that Blue Jam should give the show a second go, the second season is much better and it ended really well too, with the interactive special being the icing on an already very sweet cake.

And I'd also suggest: Joe Pera Talks With You which is gentle and all kinds of lovely, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (if you can get past the idea of cops being decent types, which given that this has been cancelled for a second time it appears US audiences can't), Moone Boy was really warm-hearted and sweet natured, and Mackenzie Crook's recent take on Worzel Gummidge was fantastic in general too.

Captain Z

It's difficult to come up with something that matches the premise of the OP, where the feel-good factor comes from all the characters having a great time. Kurtan dancing to Scooter in This Country is all I can think of, but that's just one small moment.

There are certainly specific episodes of things that I find a joy to watch, but none of them involve the feel-good vibe of Spaced.

South Park - Awesom-O, a handful of others if I thought about it
Look Around You S1
PhoneShop S2E3 - The Sleepyman
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle S2E4 - Standup
Harry & Paul's Story Of The 2's

Bazooka

I've just finished watching all three series of The Detectorists for the first time, just in time to say I concur.

wosl

#13
Newhart (later seasons suffer from the absence of the terrifically out-of-step Kirk Devane character, and from the patience-testing backwoodsmen shtick of Larry, Darryl and Darryl [edit: double 'r's for the latter two, apparently]); gently dry comedy performed by an ensemble clearly having a great time pinging-off each other in front of an appreciative live audience. Against the odds, a nice, heart-warming flavour of Vermont is contrived.

Sebastian Cobb

Lot of good telly suggestions so far but what about comforting films? Planes Trains and Automobiles / Trading Places / My Cousin Vinny

Stillill75

Never found Fools to be uplifting.  Del always keeping Rodders trapped in their high rise.

Although not an out and comedy, Patriot had something that I always felt pretty tingly. 
And Bored to Daath

The Mollusk

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 21, 2021, 02:36:34 PM
I'd echo Detectorists and Kimmy Schmidt, and also that Blue Jam should give the show a second go, the second season is much better and it ended really well too, with the interactive special being the icing on an already very sweet cake.

And I'd also suggest: Joe Pera Talks With You which is gentle and all kinds of lovely, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (if you can get past the idea of cops being decent types, which given that this has been cancelled for a second time it appears US audiences can't), Moone Boy was really warm-hearted and sweet natured, and Mackenzie Crook's recent take on Worzel Gummidge was fantastic in general too.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is like a feel-good coma. Absolutely zero thought required to watch it. It's so ridiculously formulaic, everything from the plots to the characters' individual behaviour. That said, I have watched every fucking episode during my worst bouts of anxiety and/or hangovers and it's hit the spot about 95% of those times.

Joe Pera is about the loveliest comedy thing I've ever seen I reckon. That show brought me such great joy last year, I distinctly recall crying at a couple of bits, like when he lets the pumpkin go off down the river.

wosl

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on May 21, 2021, 07:08:32 PM
Lot of good telly suggestions so far but what about comforting films?

All of Jacques Tati's (especially Jour de Fete and Monsieur Hulot's Holiday).

chveik

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on May 21, 2021, 07:08:32 PM
Lot of good telly suggestions so far but what about comforting films?

marx bros

Blue Jam

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on May 21, 2021, 07:08:32 PM
Lot of good telly suggestions so far but what about comforting films? Planes Trains and Automobiles / Trading Places / My Cousin Vinny

Allow me to suggest:

Nebraska: Very sweet and cosy little film and the ending will make you cheer inwardly.

Galaxy Quest: Watched this for the first time at new year. Alan Rickman is wonderfully grumpy and again, a cheer-inducing ending.

Jupiter Ascending AKA "Stupider Ascending" in our house. It's stupid as fuck and camper than a row of tents, but it's a cracking space opera romp and it looks gorgeous. Eddie Redmayne also gives one of my favourite performances ever as a scenery-chewing camp Darth Vader. It's picked up a bit of a cult following for a reason.

Speed Racer: Another camp technicolor classic from the Wachowskis, this time with Peter Mannion.

The Martian. Kind of like a less gung-ho Independence Day. Not the modern sci-fi classic I had been expecting (I love old sci-fi novels and had lots of people urge me to read the book but I never got round to it), just a man with the will to survive and a whole planet cheering him on. It's a bit cheesy but sometimes that's exactly what you need. Also not a comedy but it's a textbook example of a feelgood film.

Fuckit I think Small Man Big Horse is yer man for this. Also we need a thread for this.

Blue Jam

Quote from: wosl on May 21, 2021, 07:51:07 PM
All of Jacques Tati's (especially Jour de Fete and Monsieur Hulot's Holiday).

On a Jacques Tati tip, The Illusionist. An unfilmed script finally made into an animated silent film by Sylvain Chomet. Watched this at the cinema (sadly not The Cameo, which makes an appearance in the film which is apparently quite unnerving if you happen to be watching it there on screen 1) on New Year's Day once and it was just the ticket. Extra enjoyable if you have ever lived in Edinburgh.

Local Hero. Another one that formed part of our New Year's Day cinema ritual. Just a very sweet film all round.

Jockice

And Gregory's Girl obviously.

The previously-mentioned Nebraska is also fantastic.

Video Game Fan 2000

Jour De Fête and Vacances for Tati, definitely but the next two are both a bit long and a bit pointed about the gentrification of Paris and dehumanising stuff to be uplifting. Although the bar scene in Playtime is pure joy.

Stan and Ollie, especially Big Business and Helpmates.

A weird one for me is Withnail. I find good depictions of a close relationship uplifting in general no matter the context and this definitely hits the mark for me despite the grimness.

The anime Shirokuma Cafe is pure joy.


Blue Jam

On the subject of anime, Netflix original Aggretsuko, which follows put-upon "office lady"/anthropomorphised red panda Retsuko as she struggles through her soul-destroying office job, blowing off steam when she turns into Aggretsuko ("aggressive Retsuko") for a spot of death metal karaoke. I've seen it called "The Japanese Office" and that seems a fair comparison.

Blue Jam

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 21, 2021, 02:36:34 PM
I'd echo Detectorists and Kimmy Schmidt, and also that Blue Jam should give the show a second go, the second season is much better and it ended really well too, with the interactive special being the icing on an already very sweet cake.

Just started Kimmy Schmidt season 2. "Amtrak is for lovers". Yes, this is lovely and I concede that I was very very wrong, cheers.

Video Game Fan 2000

Quote from: Blue Jam on May 21, 2021, 08:31:23 PM
On the subject of anime, Netflix original Aggretsuko, which follows put-upon "office lady"/anthropomorphised red panda Retsuko as she struggles through her soul-destroying office job, blowing off steam when she turns into Aggretsuko ("aggressive Retsuko") for a spot of death metal karaoke. I've seen it called "The Japanese Office" and that seems a fair comparison.

Excellent shout.

Steven88

Parks and Recreation, Schitt's Creek, Corner Gas, Detectorists, The Kominsky Method, Brooklyn 99, My Name is Earl.

Blue Jam

Been meaning to check out Corner Gas but is there a place to stream it in the UK for less than the eye-watering prices Amazon are charging?

Gurke and Hare

Quote from: Blue Jam on May 21, 2021, 09:30:12 PM
Been meaning to check out Corner Gas but is there a place to stream it in the UK for less than the eye-watering prices Amazon are charging?

Prime Video has it according to https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/corner-gas (assuming the eye-watering prices are for DVDs here)

phantom_power

Ted Lasso - most feel-good of all feel-good shows