UK sitcoms that mock intelligent people

[Mister Six]

Mrs Six, who is Chinese, has been enjoying a fair bit of UK comedy of late, and has just discovered QI (Sandi Toksvig edition). Today she asked me quite a good question that I didn't have an answer to: are there any UK sitcoms that make fun of intelligent people?

I thought about it a fair bit, but found myself coming up blank. Sure, there smart characters who are the butt of the joke, but usually the humour isn't based around their intelligence, but some other trait - their pompousness (Mainwaring), their frustration (Reggie Perrin), their incompetence (Dr Chinnery), their bitterness (Tim from Spaced) or whatever. Even in Absolute Power, which is ostensibly about a team of very clever people, John Sessions and Stephen Fry's characters usually end up coming out on top in smug fashion, don't they?

Plenty of UK comedies like punching down at the dim, but undercutting the intelligent seems to be more of a US thing - whether it's Liz Lemon's middle-class liberalness being played for laughs in 30 Rock or Dr Robotnik speaking in unnecessarily complicated fashion in the trailer for the Sonic film.[nb]I only saw the trailer, fuck off.[/nb]

Am I wrong?

[Video Game Fan 2000]

I think a lot of UK sitcoms from the 70s and 80s had a thing where they'd set up a character as being the one smart guy surrounded by fools, and then subvert that. Part of the reason I think the original Reggie Perrin holds up so well is that it undercuts Reggie's wiliness with Elizabeth's emotional intelligence. Reggie can outsmart everyone he meets but she can understand them (and him), and he's buggered without her. He's the only entity in his universe who recognises everyone repeats the same day over and over, he's the only person with an imagination and inner voice but he's still a chump at the end.

A negative example would be some of the stinkers when Yes Minister became Yes Prime Minister, where Sir Humphrey became a blathering punching bag, The Key is a pretty bad example where he's all pathetic and pleading with his silly big words and stupid rational arguments. All that education and he can't beat common sense! Its a pretty sad glimpse of the tory anti-intellectualism behind the program's premise.

[Echo Valley 2-6809]

A broad example, but there's Windsor Davies's thick Sergeant Major mocking the way the intellectual 'La-di-da' Gunner Graham speaks.

Snatching away a book he's reading: "What's this? [reading the cover]  'Useless by James Joyce'"

[Jumblegraws]

I'd say a lot of Blackadder from II onwards was milking laughs out Edmond's inability to better his lot despite being enormously smarter than most of the people around him

[Avril Lavigne]

whether it's Liz Lemon's middle-class liberalness being played for laughs in 30 Rock

Not to fuck this thread before it gets started but being middle-class and liberal is no indication of intelligence.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Python utterly debased a lot professions and social markers for intellgence. Doctors, film critics, architects, investment bankers were all presented as equally as ridiculous as chimney sweeps and rag n bone men. I still think its pretty unique this way, with Python its never "what if a doctor was silly" its more like being a doctor is inherently silly on some level just any other human activity. Agree with what bgmnts said about Python and intelligence in the other thread.

[evilcommiedictator]

You want a good example from Python, Philosophers playing Football?

I mean too, Peep Show (whilst not for that age) takes a lot of fun out of Mark and his upper-middle-class neuroses? Jokes using references to Antony Beevor?

There's a lot of class-based stuff (Jeeves and Wooster, Keeping up Appearances) but that's not quite what you're looking for eh?

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Don't think I'm capable of not enjoying the Python construction of introducing something like its going to be smart or witty, but no its incredibly stupid. Favourite example:

and the one they called 'Kierkegaard'... sat in the corner biting the heads of whippets.

[Mister Six]

A broad example, but there's Windsor Davies's thick Sergeant Major mocking the way the intellectual 'La-di-da' Gunner Graham speaks.

Snatching away a book he's reading: "What's this? [reading the cover]  'Useless by James Joyce'"

But that joke isn't mocking the intellectual, it's mocking the thicko.

[Mister Six]

Not to fuck this thread before it gets started but being middle-class and liberal is no indication of intelligence.

It is to Tina Fey and her set.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Does Malcolm Tucker count?

Or Jamie's line from In The Loop about people who only listen to classical music because its bad taste to wear a hat saying "I went to a public school"

[Video Game Fan 2000]

But that joke isn't mocking the intellectual, it's mocking the thicko.

Maybe the Sgt Major was making a knowing reference to Finnegans Wake where the same joke appears and it went straight over la de dah Gunner Graham's poseur head

[Mister Six]

Does Malcolm Tucker count?

Is Malcolm ever mocked for his intelligence, though? Or really the subject of jokes, other than the arc where he loses his job for a bit - and even then it's a fish out of water/how the mighty have fallen thing rather than his mind that's the core of the jokes.

The classical music line is more about British class divisions than intelligence, isn't it? And even more so about Jamie's view of the world (plenty of middle-class types listen to classical music who didn't go to a public school, though perhaps wish they had).

There's a lot of class-based stuff (Jeeves and Wooster, Keeping up Appearances) but that's not quite what you're looking for eh?

Peep Show's a good call, although is the joke with Mark that he's clever, or that he's just socially inept?

Jeeves and Wooster makes Bertie, the simple toff, the subject of the jokes. Jeeves, as the intelligent figure, is basically always in a position of power (despite his position in society) and never undermined, from what I remember. Keeping Up Appearances mocks Hyacinth's pompousness and affectations rather than her intelligence, and she's generally portrayed as being a bit daft for falling for the class trap anyway, isn't she?

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Sgt Major Williams was cross all the time because he wanted to see a bit of Brecht at the concert party and was always let down

[studpuppet]

Not Going Out manages to make the more 'intelligent' characters (her parents, the Hugh Dennis couple) the butt of as many jokes as the Lee Mack/Bobby Ball 'uncouth Northerner' axis.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Is Malcolm ever mocked for his intelligence, though? Or really the subject of jokes, other than the arc where he loses his job for a bit - and even then it's a fish out of water/how the mighty have fallen thing rather than his mind that's the core of the jokes.

Malcolm clawing his way up the ranks without connections comes up a few times. Before they turned him into a panto villain a lot of the set ups in the first six episode involved him overthinking things or his plans being futile at the end.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Alan in Rising Damp?

[Noodle Lizard]

Depends on your definition of "intelligence", I suppose, but I agree that Python often picked on members of "the intelligent classes" at least. Pompous academics, politicians or news figures would all probably be considered broadly "intelligent", and I think British comedy has a pretty fine history of mocking them. Blackadder spends a good amount of time mocking Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson, among others.

I think we're better at finding humour in the trappings of intelligence, though, or the tenacity to be (or at least appear) more intelligent than you actually are. Basil Fawlty and Mark Corrigan are good examples of this - both probably smarter than those around them, but not by as much as they think they are.

[ProvanFan]

Not the best example but in Ladhood the main lad is academically clever but emotionally a daft twat. One of the many reasons it hits rather close to home.

[Cold Meat Platter]

Sad as I am to report,  Graham Bananahan's sitcom the IT Crowd might do this with Moss being technically proficient but socially inept.

[Echo Valley 2-6809]

But that joke isn't mocking the intellectual, it's mocking the thicko.

I misread the topic as sitcoms where intelligent people are mocked innit tho.

[The Mollusk]

But that joke isn't mocking the intellectual, it's mocking the thicko.

There's some catharsis in this sort of writing though right? With Jeremy in Peep Show I definitely feel like that character's writing is exorcising insecurities which in itself is satisfying and, to me, funny. The university episode where he drunk crashes MacLeish's legendary gathering always felt like a victory of sorts to me.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Mark from " Peep Show" is mocked for being pretentious and pseudo- intellectual, rather than intelligent ( Mister Six mentioned this English Sit- Com trope in his opening post).

[The Mollusk]

The scene I'm on about features a lot less pseudo-intellect though. For the most part it's actually just educated people having a nice time together (although there's a couple of choice eye-rolling lines from the guests), which makes Jez's intrusion all the more unnecessarily mean, which I love. In a roundabout way though he's right to take Mark from that situation as he doesn't really belong there and he knows it.

[olliebean]

Still boggling at Mister Six thinking Captain Mainwaring was intelligent. IIRC a great deal of the humour was based around him not being nearly as smart as he liked to think, particularly in contrast with Wilson.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Plenty of UK comedies like punching down at the dim, but undercutting the intelligent

I think we may be conflating things here.

'Punching down' is not a particularly helpful phrase to throw in.

Are you talking about Uk sitcoms that mock the behaviour of different types of upper orders (including nouveau riche) or shows that directly mock intelligence or intellect of any character as being somehow unworthy and undesirable for ordinary people?

[Brundle-Fly]

Graham in The Goodies?  Actually, 'boffins', in general, are often figures of ridicule. The shorthand being they wear thick glasses, have no fashion sense, are emotionally detached, and usually speak in a dull monotone voice referring to theorems or equations.  My father who was a scientist loathed the term 'boffin' and used to get quite peeved about how his tribe was represented in comedy. He'd grumble 'you lot should show a little respect to all us silly folk in our boring lab coats because without us you'd still be scratching each others' arses in a cave.'.  Logical.

[Retinend]

The Big Bang theory or IT crowd are your best bets.

[Mister Six]

Still boggling at Mister Six thinking Captain Mainwaring was intelligent. IIRC a great deal of the humour was based around him not being nearly as smart as he liked to think, particularly in contrast with Wilson.

Not seen it since I was about 15, so mea culpa! On reflection, though, you're absolutely right - I remembered him being mocked for his pomposity and insecurity, but not his intellect.

[Mister Six]

The Big Bang theory or IT crowd are your best bets.

The former isn't British, though, which kind of makes my point that it's largely an American phenomenon.