Battle of the Sitcoms - Round One (Heat 14)

[BLUEBLOOD]

Another old classic makes it bow today ..

And Harry has chosen Steptoe and Son to represent him against True Blues Allo Allo

 

[Tinks]

Come on Lee - your slacking where's the poll. tu,tut :p

 

[Cricko]

Has to be Steptoe for me ..in fact he looks remarkably like Harry, obviously when H was a lot younger ...Proof!

 

[BLUEBLOOD]

Come on Lee - your slacking where's the poll. tu,tut :p

Patience my dear ... these things take time you know ;)

 

[Tinks]

Mmmmm a little unsure on this one. Steptoe & son - that was in black and white whereas Allo Allo was in colour.
Gone for Steptoe & Son "you dirty old man"

 

[canveyshrimper]

Steptoe & Son was a tv classic, and ran for something like 12 years, and was eventually shown in colour Tinks.

Brilliant written & scripted by Galton & Simpson and acted by Harry H Corbett & Wilfrid Brambell who apparently off screen hated the sight of one and other. Sadly Corbett became typecast in his role & Brambell allegedly had a prediliction for young lads.

However this was British sitcom at it's best, and at the height of it's run drew over 15 million viewers an episode.

Here's an early picture of Cricko as Albert's body double.

 

[Cricko]

Steptoe.
Allo Allo went on about 8 years too long..

For the next poll, how about Mind Your Language Vs Home to Roost?

The entrants and first round draws are already set ..

The League of Gentlemen (Uxbridge Shrimper) vs Men Behaving Badly (Einstein)
The Office (Fatshrimp) vs My Family (Baileytheblue)
My Name is Earl (Napster) vs Absolutely Fabulous (Flinty)
Porridge (Southminster Shrimper) vs Bottom (shrimpboy)
Father Ted (Pubey) vs Red Dwarf (Jonny O)
Gavin & Stacey (brad the shrimper) vs The Vicar of Dibley (Genial Harry Grout)
The Young Ones (Firestorm) vs Fawlty Towers (Statski77)
Big Bang Theory (Shrimper2thecore) vs Only Fools and Horses (Cricko)
Open All Hours (Barrettisalegend) vs I'm Alan Partridge (seany t)
The Good Life (Hutton) vs Yes Minister (BILLERICAY BLUE)
Seinfeld (Mad Cyril) vs Phoenix Nights (JoshC)
Dads Army (shrimpled) vs Peep Show (blues_r_best)
Dinnerladies (OldBlueLady) vs Goodnight Sweetheart (Defiler) Today
Allo Allo (True Blue) vs Steptoe & Son (canveyshrimper).......Today
Till Death Do Us Part (callan) vs Blackadder (MK Shrimper)
Rising Damp (A Century United) vs Frasier (stereoscene)

 

[TrueBlue]

Do I have to say any more vote Allo Allo!!!

 

[MK Shrimper]

Ok I've voted Steptoe because despite the fact it went on FARRRRR to long and spawned two awful films, it was a classic.

 

[seany t]

Steptoe.
Allo Allo went on about 8 series too long..

You said it

 

[Napster]

I'm abstaining.

 

[Benfleet A1]

Abstaining, why? Steptoe was defining comedy and Allo Allo was a clever micky take of Secret Army. What's to abstain from. Ah, perhaps theres no reference womens periods, farting and other cheap laughs. New comedy isn't.

 

[TrueBlue]

Abstaining, why? Steptoe was defining comedy and Allo Allo was a clever micky take of Secret Army. What's to abstain from. Ah, perhaps theres no reference womens periods, farting and other cheap laughs. New comedy isn't.

Still you voted for the wrong one! you wait till I see you saturday me and you are having words, then you can buy me a drink then a curry

 

[OldBlueLady]

I never liked Steptoe when I was young, I think Wilfred Bramble used to scare me a bit whereas I found the earlier series of Allo Allo very watchable, and I know it's daft but I always laugh at Officer Crabtree - good moaning!

 

[Napster]

Abstaining, why? Steptoe was defining comedy and Allo Allo was a clever micky take of Secret Army. What's to abstain from. Ah, perhaps theres no reference womens periods, farting and other cheap laughs. New comedy isn't.

I just didn't find either funny - that's all. Humour's a subjective thing.

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Steptoe & Son. Just funnier. And it was referenced in Spaced, so this is the closest we get to voting for it in this competition.

 

[fatshrimp]

Although I was never really in to Steptoe, I find 'Allo 'Allo so incredibly annoying. It was amusing for the first 5 minutes of the first episode I saw, but there after it was rubbish.

Used to quite fancy the young little waitress though, not the older one.

 

[seany t]

Although I was never really in to Steptoe, I find 'Allo 'Allo so incredibly annoying. It was amusing for the first 5 minutes of the first episode I saw, but there after it was rubbish.

I don't mind comedies with recurring themes and phrases as such, but there's quite a few in these polls that revolve around being essentially the same episode EVERY week. This is a case in point.

Open with french music. René starts with a line about "You probably wonder what I'm doing...." Two french maids come in one after another and embrace him. Then his wife walks in "What are you doing!!!" René replies: "You stupid woman..." Then you get the 'hilarious' policeman walk in and say "Good moaning", some of the resistance showing up in the kitchen "Listen very carefully, i will say zis only once (a week)...", a guy with a 'dicky ticker' on the piano trying to nick René's missus, the Germans having a coffee (who have smuggled the fallen Madonna with ze big boobies in a giant oversize sausage) and lastly the Gestapo dressed up as nuns (albeit giving us the only decent thing about the show - Kim Hartman dressed up in french stockings). A proven formula, or weak, lazy writing? Sure, they decamped to a French chateau occasionally, but its hardly rocket science is it? Its the equivalent of every lazy Disney sequel in the 90's being just the first film all over again, but in a new setting (Fievel goes west, The rescuers down under, Babe; pig in the city etc)

If it was 'Keeping up appearances' then you'd all be saying "who nominated for this crap", but loads of these shows are no better fundamentally. Who can forget it's brilliantly conceived running order of: Hyacinth answers phone (usually something about "Sister Violet - You know... the one with a pool and room for a pony" or "Sheridan!"), Richard gets some abuse, neighbours come round for coffee (and spill it), get a call that 'Daddy' has gone missing, get in car (Richard has to open door), Vicar sees them and runs away but ends up in a compromising situation with Rose, Onslo watches some racing, Hyacinth forgets the mangy dog in the car... again... and ends up in a bush clutching her hat, Hyacinth spots the Vicar coming out of her family's bedsit and lastly Daddy goes past on some form of teenage transport...

I never got bored. Once. Honest.

I know... 'different strokes for different folks', but just bear this in mind when you're all talking about the show's creative writing and longevity.

And before you say "Well you must like them both secretly 'cos you know so much about them", let me just inform you that my Nan used to live next door and liked to have tea at ours every Sunday...

 

[OldBlueLady]

:clap: Very good summary Seany t, and you can't make your point about dinnerladies!

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Sean, you forgot the bit in Keeping Up Appearances where someone either on the phone or in the street calls her Mrs Bucket and she rolls her eyes and corrects their pronouciation to 'Bouqet'. Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiilarious. Gets me everytime.:whistling: