Britain's Best Sitcom
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| Britain's Best Sitcom | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Written by | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Directed by | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Presented by | See text |
| Country of origin | England |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Producer(s) | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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| Running time | 60 minutes (180-min. premiere; 90-min. finale) |
| Production company(s) | BBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Original release | 10 January[1] – 27 March 2004 |
Britain's Best Sitcom was a BBC media campaign in which television viewers were asked to decide the best British situation comedy. Viewers could vote via telephone, SMS, or BBC Online.[2] This first round of voting was conducted in 2003, after which the BBC published a list of the top 100 selections.[3][4] From this list, they produced a 12-episode television series broadcast by BBC Two from January through March 2004.[1]
The series, which was also called Britain's Best Sitcom, was a retrospective that examined the history and qualities of the contending programmes. In the premiere episode, Jonathan Ross summarized the progress of the poll, and presented video clips from the 50 sitcoms that received the most votes.[2] Each of the next ten weekly episodes, one hour in length, focused on one sitcom.[1][2] In each episode, a different celebrity presenter advocated for a sitcom, delivering 20 reasons why it deserved viewers' votes.[1][2] The show's writers and actors, as well as celebrity viewers, shared their own perspectives and memories. The 90-minute series finale, transmitted live, was also presented by Jonathan Ross; he announced the top sitcom to be Only Fools and Horses.[5]
Episodes
| # | Title | Presented by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Launch" | Jonathan Ross[2] | TBA | 10 January 2004 |
| Jonathan Ross recaps the 50 top British sitcoms, as determined by an electronic poll conducted in 2003. | ||||
| 2 | "Blackadder" | John Sergeant[2] | TBA | 17 January 2004 |
| John Sergeant advocates Blackadder, an historical farce that premiered in 1983 on BBC1. | ||||
| 3 | "Fawlty Towers" | Jack Dee[2] | TBA | 24 January 2004 |
| Jack Dee advocates Fawlty Towers, a comedy of errors that premiered on BBC2 in 1975. | ||||
| 4 | "The Good Life" | Ulrika Jonsson[2] | TBA | 31 January 2004 |
| Ulrika Jonsson advocates The Good Life, a sitcom about a middle-aged English couple who make an attempt at farming at their house in the southwest London suburb of Surbiton. The first episode premiered on BBC1 in 1975. | ||||
| 5 | "Yes Minister" | Armando Iannucci[2] | TBA | 7 February 2004 |
| Armando Iannucci advocates Yes Minister, a political satire that premiered on BBC2 in 1980. | ||||
| 6 | "One Foot in the Grave" | Rowland Rivron[2] | TBA | 14 February 2004 |
| Rowland Rivron advocates One Foot in the Grave, a dark comedy about the trials of an elderly curmudgeon and his longsuffering wife. | ||||
| 7 | "Porridge" | Johnny Vaughan[2] | Johnny Vaughan, Steve Punt | 21 February 2004 |
| Johnny Vaughan advocates BBC1's Porridge (1975–78) and its sequel, Going Straight (1978). The programmes concern different aspects of prison life, including—in Going Straight—acclimation to a changed family life and outside world. | ||||
| 8 | "Only Fools and Horses" | David Dickinson[2] | TBA | 28 February 2004 |
| David Dickinson advocates Only Fools and Horses, which centres on an ambitious Cockney market trader called Del Boy. Only Fools and Horses premiered on BBC1 in 1981. | ||||
| 9 | "Open All Hours" | Clarissa Dickson Wright[2] | TBA | 6 March 2004 |
| Clarissa Dickson Wright advocates Open All Hours, which premiered on BBC2 in 1973. This comedy concerns a South Yorkshire shopkeeper and his wistful nephew. | ||||
| 10 | "The Vicar of Dibley" | Carol Vorderman[2] | TBA | 13 March 2004 |
| Carol Vorderman advocates The Vicar of Dibley, in which Geraldine, the buxom new vicar of a small village in Oxfordshire, lives among a colourful cast of characters there—and encounters some opposition. BBC1 premiered The Vicar of Dibley in 1994. | ||||
| 11 | "Dad's Army" | Phill Jupitus[2] | TBA | 20 March 2004 |
| Phill Jupitus advocates Dad's Army, a comparatively long-running comedy that first aired on BBC1 in 1968. Set during the Second World War, Dad's Army introduces viewers to an unlikely group of Home Guard volunteers on England's south coast. | ||||
| 12 | "The Live Final" | Jonathan Ross[2] | TBA | 27 March 2004 |
| Jonathan Ross announces which British sitcom received the most votes from viewers. | ||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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Further reading
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External links
- Britain's Best Sitcom at BBC Online
- 'Britain's Best Sitcom' at British Comedy Guide
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Britain's Best Sitcom at IMDb
- Britain's Best Sitcom at TV.comLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Classic British Sitcoms Forum
