Modern TVs

Is modern TV comedy as crap as I think it is?

I was brought up on some of the great sitcoms of the past, Steptoe and Son, Rising Damp, The Good Life, Porridge. When I watch, or try to watch, "modern" comedies like The Peep Show and The Royle family, I can't find a single thing to laugh at. Its just people in everyday situations, not humorous ones. If people laugh at this, then isn't there some air of cruelty about it? Some voyeuristic sense of superiority because someone acts like a prat? Yes there were such things in the older sitcoms, but the characters were fantasy, not so documentary realistic. Is it me or are these shows really the pretentious shite I think they are?

Public Comments

1. yes! friends, and all american teenage comedies. make life seem deluded! lol
2. i think generally the older stuff is better, but there is some good modern stuff about which i like.
3. yep, its rubbish, hundreds of chanels to choose from but nothing good to watch,
4. These "comedies" are total B.S.! I know where you're coming from, I grew up on Growing pains, Mork and Mindy,Cheers,Alf,Happy Days....the stuff they call comedy...did u know Saturday Night Live was actually FUNNY at one time?? I kid you not! Dan Akroyd, Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase...now it's a joke yes, but not a funny one!
5. no, you are right, i find nothing funny at all about the modern sit com, i thought i was the only one who must have had a sense of humour bypass in my sleep, so glad i'm not alone :-) 2 ronnies, fork handles sketch :-)
6. I find much present British comedy as laboured, obvious, and poor copies of American type comedy (many of them are just a series of one-liners). You can`t beat those old classics. I have no idea what has happened - is it because us Brits are not so innocent as we once were ? It all seems about making fun of people these days, sarcasm, and taking the pee.
7. no its not your just watchin the wrong comedies... id reccommend my family pint of beer and a packet of crisps lil britain the vicar of dibley 8 out of 10 cats friends but there's not a lot of these anyomre! also! gavin and stacey
8. It's worse than you think....far worse
9. And i would go as far as to say it is muck
10. Well, I think as time passes, people change. And some things that older people liked to watch back in the day are not what people like to watch nowadays. Remember, we are in a more modern world now. And everyone is different. Some people may agree with you and some may not. But I love most of the shows that I watch that have recently come out or are about 10 years old and younger. I can't speak about the shows that you have named because I have never heard of any of them. I grew up watching The Fresh Prince, Martin, The Cosby Show, Amen, 227, etc. It may be that some things that are not funny to you may be funny to others and vice versa. But I do agree that some of the newer are pretty whack...
11. If you think it's bad in the U.K. you ought to see the cesspool that American TV has become. Half of it soft core T & A reality crap. . I agree with you Rising Damp was funny. They ran it on on American TV in the 80s on A & E.
12. the old ones were the best but the recent Benedorm was OK