Broadening my comedy horizons - (Readers Recommend)

[Go With The Flow]

Since coming onto this forum, I have started to take comedy seriously - I'm starting to get the "just relax and watch it, it's OK" argument out of my head, and I'm attempting to stop watching any mediocre shows - I want to watch shows that make me laugh out loud, not just think "heh, that's quite funny" and have to put up with overall bad shows.

At the moment, I'm watching/ buying on DVD (or have recently watched and enjoyed):
A Bit Of Fry and Laurie
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Peep Show
Robot Chicken
Chris Morris works (I've watched all the DVDs except for My Wrongs..., and NB which I watched on telly)
Big Train
Chappelle's Show
Stewart Lee Live (Stand Up Comedian)
EDIT: The Adam and Joe Show (I forgot about them, thanks WIHT)

I know everybody has different tastes when it comes to comedy, but what do you lot recommend? There's only one rule, really - I have to be able to buy it on DVD (cheaply, if possible) or be able to get it off Sky (I have most of the channels) - the sound on my computer is broken, and until I get it fixed/get a new PC I can't watch anything with sound.

[Why I Hate Tables]

I'd recommend

Black Books
Arrested Development
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Alexi Sayles Stuff
The Armando Iannucci Shows when they come out
Seinfeld,obviously
The League Of Gentlemen
Adam And Joe
That Peter Kay Thing (funnier than Phoenix Nights)
Frasier
The Marx Brothers

[Roger Byrne]

Citizen Smith

[johnfuego]

On the up
A Prince among men
Just good friends
May to December
The River
You rang m'lud
Joint account

[Ray Le Otter]

Spaced
The League of Gentlemen (give Series 3 a miss)
Alexei Sayle's Stuff
The Young Ones / Filthy Rich & Catflap / Bottom
Look Around You
The Micallef Programme
The Smell Of Reeves & Mortimer
Coogan's Run (Get Calf & Dearth Of A Salesman especially)
Porridge
& controversially
The Mighty Boosh

[Ray Le Otter]

On the up
A Prince among men
Just good friends
May to December
The River
You rang m'lud
Joint account

Oh yeah. And those as well.

[RHX]

Chappelle's Show

Ignore the Lost Episodes of this. There's about 10 minutes of funny material in the whole hour, and most of that comes from the first episode.

[smid]

On the up
A Prince among men
Just good friends
May to December
The River
You rang m'lud
Joint account

Is my sarcasm detector broken?

[lazyhour]

It certainly is!

This is one of those threads where people get to limber up and take a stab at 'funny' answers.  johnfuego was just the first to have a crack at it, bless him.

[snakeThru]

kind hearts and coronets (?)
peter cook, what ever you can get really, there are two books with sketches: 'tragically i was an only twin' and 'goodbye again'
http://www.stabbers.org/
has got some mp3 stuff of 'sven the lonely norwegian',  some derek & clive, pete & dud stuff, there are also a couple of dvds...

[Ray Le Otter]

Now if he said "Full House" instead of "Just Good Friends" I'd have known he was taking the piss.

[Gavin]

Now if he said "Full House" instead of "Just Good Friends" I'd have known he was taking the piss.

The first two series of Just Good Friends were very good.

[snakeThru]

i'm sure i havent heard any of those in that list...

[slim]

Corner Gas & Trailer Park Boys, as detailed elsewhere on this forum.

[My Giddy Aunt]

Reggie Perrin is an absolute must:

http://playcom.at/cookdandbombd?DURL=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/126688/The_Fall_And_Rise_Of_Reginald_Perrin_The_Complete_Collection/Product.html

[Ray Le Otter]

Now if he said "Full House" instead of "Just Good Friends" I'd have known he was taking the piss.

The first two series of Just Good Friends were very good.

Indeed they were. John Sullivan at his best. Jumped the shark though with the Xmas special when they had a flashback to the lead up to Vince jilting Penny at the altar.

[alan strang]

Indeed they were. John Sullivan at his best. Jumped the shark though with the Xmas special when they had a flashback to the lead up to Vince jilting Penny at the altar.

The feature-length 'prequel' shot on film without a studio audience? I recall that being pretty good, personally.

[Ray Le Otter]

Indeed they were. John Sullivan at his best. Jumped the shark though with the Xmas special when they had a flashback to the lead up to Vince jilting Penny at the altar.

The feature-length 'prequel' shot on film without a studio audience? I recall that being pretty good, personally.

Well it was 20 odd years ago since I last saw it - maybe I was a bit too young to appreciate the deviation from the usual format.

I'd recommend Just Good Friends though as an example of John Sullivan at his best. And Dear John as well.

[thepuffpastryhangman]

There's sitcom, and there's Perrin.

[Purple Tentacle]

The first series of Perrin is absolute perfection.

The second series is like a very very tasty ice-cream.

[Ray Le Otter]

The first series of Perrin is absolute perfection.

The second series is like a very very tasty ice-cream.

(warms to theme)

The third series is like cuddling a kitten.

The Legacy Of Reginald Perrin is like a stranger wandering into your living room and shitting on your carpet.

[neveragain]

15 Storeys High
The Micallef Programme
Scrubs
Mr Show with Bob and David
TV Offal / Ads Infinitum

...are the basis of my selection for you. Some may be slightly more difficult to find but they're all very much worth it (even if Victor Lewis Smith, who is responsible for the two progs on the last line up there in case you weren't aware, tends to repeat material to an infuriating degree but you only get a little of this in the aforementioned choices). And, yes, I know I bring up Micallef at every opportunity but there is sturdy reason for this. Whoops, just noticed Ray Le Otter said it as well! Oh well, if I'm repeating other people then I'll also give note to Arrested Development whilst I'm here.

[Go With The Flow]

I forgot about Scrubs. I don't know how I did, it's pretty much my favourite American show at the moment. I have all the DVDs, and am eagerly waiting for Season 4.

Thanks for all the suggestions. To start off with, I've have a little bit of...

Arrested Development
Mr Show with Bob and David
TV Offal
15 Storeys High
The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin

As these seem to be mentioned on the boards quite a lot of the time anyway. I'm getting a Multi-Region DVD Player very soon (my PS2 broke yesterday) so I will be able to get some Imports (I think Mr Show is only available on Import at the moment)

[Bert Thung]

DOCTOR COMEDY'S CURE FOR MODERN IGNORANCE

Sympton - I regularly watch Paul Merton's Room 101. With guests like Shane Ritchie and the woman from Cold Feet going on about wonky wheels on shopping trolleys, I think this Orwellian inspired format is being pushed to it's very limits.
Cure - Radio Room 101.
Recommened start - John Waters "Oh Ponchinello " episode
More information - http://web.archive.org/web/20030816130745/http://www.angelfire.com/pq/radiohaha/ROOM101.html

Symptom - That Ricky Gervais just says the unsayable!
Cure - Jerry Sadowitz (check listings).

Symptom - Victoria Wood, please! (ie this idiot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItbJ3JQOkxY&search=Victoria%20Wood)
Cure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cWENNdnw1E&search=Victoria%2%200Wood

[cleverjake]

Symptom - Victoria Wood, please! (ie this idiot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItbJ3JQOkxY&search=Victoria%20Wood)

That's just made me very angry in many, many ways...

[Derek Trucks]

Hancock's Half Hour (Radio or TV version)
The Phil SIlvers Show (3 disc R1 DVD just out)
Sports Night (ABC1, there is an R1 DVD I'm not sure of its availability)

[neveragain]

Thanks for all the suggestions. To start off with, I've have a little bit of...

Arrested Development
Mr Show with Bob and David
TV Offal
15 Storeys High
The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin

Wonderful stuff, you shall not be disappointed. Although it may take you just a smidgen of time to warm to Mr Show and 15 Storeys.

[Marv Orange]

I'll recommend

The Cambridge University Footlights Revue 1982 DVD

This is more or less the first televised comedy from Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery

A TV version of the Cambridge Footlights Revue "The Cellar Tapes", winner of the first-ever Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1981.

There are a couple of sketches that aren't that great but overall its pretty good. See Slattery sin a serious song, revell in Penny Dwyers performance (who??) and listen to a pre gervais ironic rasict song plus much much more.

[Felatio Imperative]

Marion & Geoff
Human Remains
Catterick
Ripping Yarns
Black Books
People Like Us
Alexei Sayles Stuff
Smell of Reeves and Mortimer
Happy Families
Fist of Fun
This Morning with Richard not Judy
How Do You Want Me?
Comic Strip Presents....

[Bean Is A Carrot]

TV:
Alexei Sayle's Stuff
The Late Show (Australian programme, available as a R4 DVD)
The Late Show presents Bargearse (as yet, still only available on VHS in Australia)
The Late Show presents The Olden Days (also only available on VHS in Australia)
Filthy, Rich & Catflap
The Young Ones
A Bit of Fry & Laurie
The Goodies
At Last! The 1948 Show
Not Only But Also
Any Victor Lewis Smith stuff (there's a few things on the VLS thread)

Radio:
ISIHAC
ISIRTA
Get This - http://www.mmmelb.com.au/shows/get_this/index.php
Martin/Molloy (available on CD in Australia)
Any of Victor Lewis Smith's shows (again, see the VLS thread for downloads)

Books:
The Python books
The Goodies book
Bachelor Boys - The Young Ones Book
Lolly Scramble by Tony Martin
Molvania
Phaic Tan
A Liar's Autobiography by Graham Chapman
Moab Is My Washpot by Stephen Fry