After a long, hard day...
by Angela Guillaume
Well, first of all, I’m ecstatic to be back on the PopCultureDiva bandwagon. It’s been several months that I haven’t contributed to this blog (feels like aeons)…and it feels good to be part of this crazy, fun world of PCD again.
These days I don’t watch a whole lot of TV. I haven’t been to the movie theater in ages (have a two-month-old at home – and by the way, please excuse me for the fact that this blog will be a short one :-D), an activity I truly miss. Yet after a long day there are still some shows I like to watch—shows that make me smile, laugh, and feel good all over.
So when I got to writing this blog I started thinking of all the comedies I loved while growing up. I always liked funny. Funny is a good thing. It puts you in a good mood and helps you remember shared, fun times with family. As a girl coming up on the island of Malta in the '70s and '80s (can you guess how old I am? ) I didn’t have much choice of channels. Back then we didn’t have cable, the Cartoon Network or the Comedy Channel. We just had the local channel (the ‘channel,’ as in singular) and a handful of Italian channels that broadcast Japanese cartoons and some British movies dubbed in Italian. On the local channel they showed UK sitcoms on weekend nights, and that was when I had the most fun with my parents. We lived for these evenings and usually gathered around the telly to watch with drinks and snacks and bellyfuls of laughter.
Here are my top five favorite UK comedies that I watched as a girl/teen:
1) Are you being served? – Mrs. Slocombe was my absolute favorite character. Even then, her puns with the word “pussy” were not lost on me, although my parents surely hoped they were.
2) Fawlty Towers – Who doesn’t love John Cleese in this one? Or hate his guts?
3) Mind Your Language – This was one of those shows that, if broadcast today, would represent the opposite of political correctness. It was filled with enough stereotypes to make some people cringe. However, within its context, the multicultural banter worked really well and I enjoyed every minute of it!
4) The Two Ronnies – Another slapstick comedy show. More of a stand up/Daily Show kind of vibe but with lots of ‘dirty’ humor. I was particularly partial to “The Phantom Rasberry Blower of Old London Town” … classic!
5) Some Mothers Do ‘ave ‘em – All I can say to this is “BETTY!!!!! BETTY!!!!” Fans of Michael Crawford's character on this show would know what I mean.
6) ‘Allo ‘Allo! – Le Resistance!
7) Blackadder – Rowan Atkinson at his funniest. Better than Mr. Bean!
Does anyone remember any of these shows when they first came out? Am I too old to remember these? I’d like to know what your favorites were. Next time, I’ll blog about my favorite American sitcoms…
Angela Guillaume
Mile High to Heaven - Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
Mr. & Mrs. Foster - Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
Well, first of all, I’m ecstatic to be back on the PopCultureDiva bandwagon. It’s been several months that I haven’t contributed to this blog (feels like aeons)…and it feels good to be part of this crazy, fun world of PCD again.
These days I don’t watch a whole lot of TV. I haven’t been to the movie theater in ages (have a two-month-old at home – and by the way, please excuse me for the fact that this blog will be a short one :-D), an activity I truly miss. Yet after a long day there are still some shows I like to watch—shows that make me smile, laugh, and feel good all over.
So when I got to writing this blog I started thinking of all the comedies I loved while growing up. I always liked funny. Funny is a good thing. It puts you in a good mood and helps you remember shared, fun times with family. As a girl coming up on the island of Malta in the '70s and '80s (can you guess how old I am? ) I didn’t have much choice of channels. Back then we didn’t have cable, the Cartoon Network or the Comedy Channel. We just had the local channel (the ‘channel,’ as in singular) and a handful of Italian channels that broadcast Japanese cartoons and some British movies dubbed in Italian. On the local channel they showed UK sitcoms on weekend nights, and that was when I had the most fun with my parents. We lived for these evenings and usually gathered around the telly to watch with drinks and snacks and bellyfuls of laughter.
Here are my top five favorite UK comedies that I watched as a girl/teen:
1) Are you being served? – Mrs. Slocombe was my absolute favorite character. Even then, her puns with the word “pussy” were not lost on me, although my parents surely hoped they were.
2) Fawlty Towers – Who doesn’t love John Cleese in this one? Or hate his guts?
3) Mind Your Language – This was one of those shows that, if broadcast today, would represent the opposite of political correctness. It was filled with enough stereotypes to make some people cringe. However, within its context, the multicultural banter worked really well and I enjoyed every minute of it!
4) The Two Ronnies – Another slapstick comedy show. More of a stand up/Daily Show kind of vibe but with lots of ‘dirty’ humor. I was particularly partial to “The Phantom Rasberry Blower of Old London Town” … classic!
5) Some Mothers Do ‘ave ‘em – All I can say to this is “BETTY!!!!! BETTY!!!!” Fans of Michael Crawford's character on this show would know what I mean.
6) ‘Allo ‘Allo! – Le Resistance!
7) Blackadder – Rowan Atkinson at his funniest. Better than Mr. Bean!
Does anyone remember any of these shows when they first came out? Am I too old to remember these? I’d like to know what your favorites were. Next time, I’ll blog about my favorite American sitcoms…
Angela Guillaume
Mile High to Heaven - Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
Mr. & Mrs. Foster - Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
Welcome back, Angela! When my husband and I lived in Toronto, one of the neighborhoods we lived in was a sort of Little Malta.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on Monty Python, Fawlty Towers and some Carry On movies, and continued from there to love Blackadder and Father Ted. Just thinking of the daffy young priest Father Dougal is making me laugh, actually.
Welcome back Angela! I am familiar with most of these shows and watched them on occasion but I've got to say that I was more partial to the American shows. My parents just didn't care for the Brit stuff that much so we - as kids didn't watch it. Of course any time there was an Italian movie on - then it was a big deal! LOL ;D On the other hand we did watch all the Canadian shows that were on - King of Kensington, Beachcombers, Street Legal. They loved Littlest Hobo - about a dog - a German Shepherd who wandered from town to town helping people. I still know the theme song by heart. If someone re-made that show today - it would be a big hit - who can go wrong with animals!
ReplyDeleteOh my God, you made me remember all those shows my parents loved when I was very little, I didn't understand half of it coz I didn't know English, but then when I grew up I caught reruns and had the laugh of my life!
ReplyDeleteYou have 2 of my faves here - Mind your language was so funny and yet you're right, so full of stereotypes we'd cringe today. And who can forget the dreary Miss Courtney?
Allo Allo was another one I loved, especially remember the tall moustache-d officer who always went 'Good muuurrrning!' That was a riot!
Always loved British humour, and then too in Mauritius we had 'the' channel (do I hear ya on that!). Benny Hill was strictly off limits when I was growing up, too sexpot stuff, lol! And then when I was in my teens we found Mr.Bean! Back in those days we rented the videos and half of the time, ended up clutching our bellies so much we were laughing! Today my kids watch it too, and they've discovered the cartoon version which is, amazingly, funnier than the shows.
Lots of good memories here, Angela! Sure missed ya, girl, and great to have you back!
Hugs
Z(Aasiyah/Nolwynn)
It wasn't until college that I was introduced to Monty Python. The Holy Grail was the first movie of theirs that I saw and it is still my favorite. Actually it's my favorite movie of all time. I've seen it so many times with my ole college buds that even 20 yrs later we still quote bits to each other. I've also found a couple of friends on Facebook that we quote back and forth with. My husband got me the Anniversary edition of the Grail on DVD, and the Grail computer game and the entire flying circus on DVD. I also have the other Monty Python movies as well.
ReplyDeleteI love John Cleese but never got into Fawlty Towers. Never watched Jeeves and Wooster but now that I'm a huge Hugh Laurie fan I've watched some of the DVDs and I can't really get into them. Stephen Fry reads an audio version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that I love.
Whenever I'm blue I just think of the 'killer rabbit' scene in the Grail and I laugh and laugh. I'm the mother of 3 cats and a HUGE animal activist but I can't help but laugh when the old lady hits the cat against the wall in the 'bring out your dead' scene.
Another great british movie is Four Weddings and a Funeral -- it is one of my favorite movies. Rowan Atkinson is hilarious as the priest.
I am a huge Monty Python fan too, and it extends to Michael Palin's travel videos - it's amazing to watch him communicate with people from around the globe.
ReplyDeleteCould definitely use a laugh, so I'll have to check out the rest. Thanks Angela!
I had totally forgotten about The Two Ronnies! I used to watch that all the time as a kid. And Fawlty Towers was another favorite. Good choices!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!
ReplyDeleteI think my first taste of British humor came from both the Beatles and The Avengers, two tastes of wry Brits. Monty Python didn't come into my life until my twenties. Of course, now I'm a solid fan!
I might just check out some of these shows if they're available somehow, somewhere. Fawlty Towers is one that I've only caught a few times but I loved it! The other night, I stayed up late and caught the first episode on Netflix and the 'watch instantly' section and laughed my ass off. *snort*
Thanks for sharing your memories, some of those sound fabulous!
--Chiron