american comedies

[polaris]

hi all
anyone got any recommendations for any u.s. comedy i might not have seen yet, i like arrested development, scrubs, curb your enthusiasm, simpsons ,family guy etc.. well written stuff not cheesy stuff if that makes sense.
thanks in advance

[AtomSmasher]

My Name is Earl and The Office are both quite good.

[polaris]

cheers , i assume you mean the american office, i love the british one so ill give it a go. my name is earl is amazing , i loved that, cant believe i didnt include it at the start

[Hoopz]

An obscure comedy from the late 90's is Sports Night.  The critics loved it but it was canceled after two seasons.  DVD's are available about everywhere.  Very well written.  One of my favorite shows.  Much, much better than most of the drivel out recently.

[polaris]

cheers hoopz
im searching for uploaded stuff online, hpefuly ill find that, kinda thing im looking for , obscure stuff that probably didnt make it to the uk, but anything is good , the schedulers over here have some bizarre ideas about when to put top new imported comedy on, its usually 1am saturday morning when most potential viewers are out, so i miss a lot of stuff

[pointdablame]

I'll second The Office (US).  It's a great great show.  The UK one is hilarious as well, but I'm assuming you've seen that.

Since you mentioned Simpsons and Family Guy, I must recommend Futurama if you haven't seen the series for some reason.

I also really like How I Met Your Mother. 

30 Rock is an excellent show as well

[AtomSmasher]

I really liked Malcom in the Middle and theres the obvious choice of Seinfeld, but I'm sure Seinfeld made it to the UK.

[polaris]

cheers both
id forgotten about malcolm in the middle

[danny_galaga]

I'll second The Office (US).  It's a great great show.  The UK one is hilarious as well, but I'm assuming you've seen that.

Since you mentioned Simpsons and Family Guy, I must recommend Futurama if you haven't seen the series for some reason.

I also really like How I Met Your Mother. 

30 Rock is an excellent show as well

funny, i heard the american one blew? didnt they axe it before the first season had finished?

[billf]

I'll second The Office (US).  It's a great great show.  The UK one is hilarious as well, but I'm assuming you've seen that.

Since you mentioned Simpsons and Family Guy, I must recommend Futurama if you haven't seen the series for some reason.

I also really like How I Met Your Mother. 

30 Rock is an excellent show as well

funny, i heard the american one blew? didnt they axe it before the first season had finished?

It will be starting its 4th season and its a great show.  The first season was only 6 episodes, seasons 2 & 3 were full seasons.

[Chris G]

I'm catching up on The Office on DVD.  Unfortunately, I watched the British Season 1 first, and enjoyed that more than I'm liking the American version so far.  I'm just into Season 2, though, and it's starting to grow on me...

I don't watch much TV, but I do like King of Queens.

[pointdablame]

yeah, as stated the US version of the Office is actually doing very well and has been reviewed well from the start.  The British one is great, and probably a bit funnier IMO, but I love the characters/actors on the US show.

[boykster]

I like both the UK and US version of The Office, but while I find the UK one more entertaining, the US one more matches the reality that is the office environment in teh US.  great characters, great writing = funniness....

[koolmoecraig]

You can't really compare the UK and US Office.  The UK one is far and away superior.  Things have to be dumbed down for American audiences.  The US one is one of the better comedies though.

The success of mindless drivel like "According to Jim" while brilliant shows like Arrested Development fail shows the sorry TV world in which we live here.

Americans don't like to have to actually watch TV.  They prefer comfortable background fodder that they have seen many times before in different forms.  No thinking required.

[boykster]

and don't forget those Emmy caliber Dips commercials

 

Seriously though, I agree. According to Jim is cliche crapola comedy whilst Arrested Development was great writing and a great show that was essentially ignored.

 

[koolmoecraig]

When asked why Arrested Development didn't succeed, the creator Mitch Hurwitz said "Because you actually have to watch it".  It's true.  So many of the jokes require that you actually pay attention.  There was no laugh track to alert you as to when to look up at the TV.

I was watching the commentary on my Police Squad DVD and Leslie Nielson said the EXACT same thing about the reason that Police Squad only lasted 6 episodes.  Because you actually had to watch it or you would miss a lot of the jokes.  What's funny is that when they remade Police Squad into the Naked Gun movies, they were smash hits.  They even used a lot of the same jokes from the TV series.  The movies succeeded because you had a "captive audience" that was "forced" to watch the jokes unfold.

Thank you for enjoying Dibs

Oh, I should pass 300,000 hits this week.  I'll let you guys know.

[Joystick Jerk]

Mr. Show, with Bob & David. An amazing comedy series that is some of the finest comedy done in the US in the last 20 years. It's been off the air for a while, so DVD's are your best bet.

Kids in The Hall is another great Canadian sketch show if you somehow haven't seen it yet. DVD's again.

For cartoon comedy, I've really been getting into Harvery Birdman, Attorney At Law lately. Great animation, even better writing. Also check out Venture Bros. An updated parody of shows like Johnny Quest, it too is hilarious and features great animation. Hell, it even features an adult Johnny Quest in one episode as a coked-out loser living at the bottom of the ocean.

[koolmoecraig]

I second Mr. Show as some of the best American comedy of the past 20 years!

Get the DVD's NOW!

[RayB]

Re THE OFFICE:
Can someone explain to me how Dwight and Angela hook up? Our video store only has disc 1 of season 1!!!!!!

[AtomSmasher]

Re THE OFFICE:
Can someone explain to me how Dwight and Angela hook up? Our video store only has disc 1 of season 1!!!!!!

I don't think its ever outright explained, its just a secret office romance that Pam starts to notice.

edit* I just realized there is only one disc in season 1, so you've seen the whole season (yes its a very short season)

[Malenko]

I didn't like arrested development. I watched it.....meh, I think it has something to do with the fact my now ex-fiancee` loved it so much. Can't believe the Family Guy hasn't been mentioned.

[billf]

Can't believe the Family Guy hasn't been mentioned.

Mentioned in the first post.  I think he's seen it.

[polaris]

Can't believe the Family Guy hasn't been mentioned.

Mentioned in the first post.  I think he's seen it.

yep indeed, watched four last night.
thanks for all these guys, any more are more than welcome

[AtomSmasher]

A show I enjoy thats not strickly a comedy, but more of a drama/comedy is Entourage.

[billf]

A show I enjoy thats not strickly a comedy, but more of a drama/comedy is Entourage.

Yes, good show.

[Malenko]

Can't believe the Family Guy hasn't been mentioned.

Mentioned in the first post.  I think he's seen it.

yep indeed, watched four last night.
thanks for all these guys, any more are more than welcome

ooops, I musta been speed reading and hit a bump, lol.

I re read this thread, I cant think of any others that have been missed, but I'll keep checking incase someone reminds me of something Ive forgotten