Following Jack Bernhardt’s article on rebooting 70s sitcoms, such as Dad’s Army and Fawlty Towers, many of you went below the line to share your thoughts on the best sitcoms and whether you think the format works today. You can join in the discussion by clicking on the links in the comments below.
‘There are still people who were alive in the 70s who like this kind of thing’
‘The truth is, that most TV sitcoms were always bland and inoffensive’
We always see the past with rose tinted glasses, remembering the good and forgetting the bad. The truth is, that most TV sitcoms were always bland, inoffensive, derivative, and lowest-common denominator. We just tend to remember the Porridges and Fawlty Towers more than we remember those which have sunk without trace in cultural memory. There are still good sitcoms out there if you look for them, as you admit.
That’s not to say Mrs Brown’s Boys isn’t a complete load of crap, though. It really is.
‘Modern comedy writers don’t seem to be able to reproduce the 1970s sitcom’
Nothing wrong with the best of 1970s sitcom. Dad's Army, The Good Life, Rising Damp etc. The best sitcoms have lovable characters, good jokes and catchphrases. It's a timeless formula, yet sadly some modern comedy writers are so up themselves they can't seem to manage to reproduce it.
‘The best sitcoms are timeless’
I think the best sitcoms are timeless really, only the accessories and decor changes. My favourite, Father Ted, would work equally as well now as it did 20-odd years ago.
‘British TV today has now become dumbed-down Americanized PC tripe’
I would swop all the rubbish stuff on British TV for the quality programs in the 70's any day. British TV today is now become dumbed-down Americanized PC tripe. Reality shows should be banned ! Why would I come home after a day's work, and watch problems about other people's lives, when there's enough problems in today's society already? And they call this entertainment ?
‘It’s sad how far back you have to go to remember the sitcoms that were well-written, funny and original’
Off the top of my head the last sitcoms I can think of that were well written, funny and original were the thick of it, Phoenix Nights, The Office, Alan Partridge. It’s sad how far back you have to go. The 90s were full of them growing up. I think it’s the result of a number of things; comic talent capable of writing such sitcoms, like Armando Inannucci, are well and truly thin on the ground. Also, TV companies are lazy. They’d rather just buy the latest ‘comedy’ from the US like the Big Bang Theory than invest the time and money in creating their own.
‘Very little compares with the quality of classic 1970s TV’
As a youngster I was baffled as to why my parents found Dad's Army so funny. Over 40 years later, watching the repeats, I can see how brilliantly they were acted. The old comedies such as Rising Damp, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Porridge, Dad's Army, etc were truly excellent because they were very funny in their own right, rather getting applause or laughter by making comments that viewers will agree with. Very little compares with the quality of classic 1970s TV comedies.
Is there still a place for them in today’s world?
Well this may shock you... but there's still plenty of older people in the world who were actually alive in the 70s and 80s and like this kind of thing... they also buy things from adverts and pay the license fee... so deserve to be catered to as much as the people who watch Chewing Gum. If that's Mrs Brown's Boys then so be it, 'culture' isn't just for us young uns