Britain's Best Sitcom
In 2003, a contest was held by the BBC to determine Britain's best situation comedy (this excludes comedy dramas, such as Auf Wiedersehen, Pet). The public was polled and from these votes 100 selections were drawn up. The BBC then picked ten sitcoms to showcase, which they did in 2004, and they chose only BBC ones! Below is the (biased) Top Ten they came up with:
- Only Fools and Horses
- Blackadder
- The Vicar of Dibley
- Dad's Army
- Fawlty Towers
- Yes Minister
- Porridge
- Open All Hours
- The Good Life
- One Foot in the Grave
- Dad's Army
- Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? / The Likely Lads
- Porridge
- The Royle Family
- Red Dwarf
- Plebs
- The League of Gentlemen
- Steptoe and Son
- Yes Minister / Yes, Prime Minister
- Only Fools and Horses
- Father Ted
- Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
- Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights / That Peter Kay Thing
- Blackadder
- On the Buses
- Spaced
- One Foot in the Grave
- Alma's Not Normal
Regarding my perhaps controversial choice of Dad's Army as 'best ever', first read this Guardian article by Jane Graham, which proves that an apparently esteemed BBC producer can fail miserably at detecting the warmth, humour, and flawless characterization in Dad's Army. My reasons are a blend of nostalgia for the bygone days the show represents, not merely the past but also my own personal past, wrapped up as it is in my Grandma's love of the show; also an appreciation of Arthur Lowe's portrayal of Captain Mainwaring, which I think is the greatest comic portrayal of them all, and one of the most complex. Many have written of his relationship with Sergeant Wilson and the class conflict this represents. Further to this, the poignancy of the final shot of series 4 episode 9 "Mum's Army", when we see an absolutely devastated Mainwaring, broken-hearted after revealing that he actually doesn't care about the bank, or his reputation, or any of it. Having built him up as such a cold, unfeeling, pompous fool previously, this reveal ranks above any other scene in terms of emotive power.
Now, here is 11-100 of the 2004 list:
11 Father Ted 12 Keeping Up Appearances 13 'Allo 'Allo! 14 Last of the Summer Wine 15 Steptoe and Son 16 Men Behaving Badly 17 Absolutely Fabulous 18 Red Dwarf 19 The Royle Family 20 Are You Being Served? 21 To the Manor Born 22 Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em 23 The Likely Lads 24 My Family 25 The Office 26 Drop the Dead Donkey 27 Rising Damp 28 Dinnerladies 29 As Time Goes By 30 Hancock's Half Hour 31 The Young Ones 32 Till Death Us Do Part 33 Butterflies 34 The Thin Blue Line 35 Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin 36 Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights 37 Waiting for God 38 Birds of a Feather 39 Bread 40 Hi-De-Hi 41 The League of Gentlemen 42 I'm Alan Partridge 43 Just Good Friends 44 2.4 Children 45 Bottom 46 It Ain't Half Hot Mum 47 The Brittas Empire 48 Gimme Gimme Gimme 49 Rab C. Nesbitt 50 Goodnight Sweetheart 51 Up Pompeii 52 Ever Decreasing Circles 53 On the Buses 54 Coupling 55 George and Mildred 56 A Fine Romance 57 Citizen Smith 58 Black Books 59 The Liver Birds 60 Two Pints of Lager and... 61 The New Statesman 62 Sykes 63 Please, Sir! 64 Dear John 65 Barbara 66 Spaced 67 Bless this House 68 Love Thy Neighbour 69 Man About the House 70 Desmonds 71 Duty Free 72 All Gas and Gaiters 73 Happy Ever After/Terry & June 74 Only When I Laugh 75 Brass 76 The Rag Trade 77 Sorry 78 Kiss Me Kate 79 Doctor in the House 80 I Didn't Know You Cared 81 Shelley 82 Nearest and Dearest 83 Fresh Fields 84 The Army Game 85 Robin's Nest 86 The Dustbinmen 87 Whoops Apocalypse 88 My Wife Next Door 89 Never the Twain 90 Nightingales 91 Early Doors 92 Agony 93 The Lovers 94 Father Dear Father 95 Hot Metal 96 And Mother Makes... 97 Life With the Lyons 98 Marriage Lines 99 A Sharp Intake of Breath 100 No Problem