[Hammerite]

Anyone watch this new sitcom by Graham Linehan (father ted guy) on Channel 4?
I think its kewl.

[Starflux]

I read "The Idle Thumbs crowd". But as far as I know there's no father Ted running around there

[Lucien21]

Watched first episode wasn't impressed.

Not patch on Father Ted

[Hammerite]

the first episode was iffy but later episodes are better.
and i agree, father ted does kick its arse though.

[Jake]

I heard Chris Morris was in it (a plus in my book), but that the show wasn't actually all that great.

As far as British nerd/geek-culture-related comedy shows go, I'll stick with Spaced.

[SakSquash]

I'm so confused...

[stuboy]

Spaced is excellent but not a patch on Ted. I haven't watched the IT Crowd but I'll give it a go tonight...

[Aj_]

It rocks, and you can download the episodes free from http://www.channel4.com. I've had a quote from the show in my sig for about 2 days. There are a load of geek references, business-speak jokes, office politics, and general office jokes(like you find in The Office).

[stuboy]

Myeh. Quite amusing, but no Father Ted.

[Manhunter71]

Cool show - beats Father Ted for geek comedy value

It's the highlight of my friday evening - apart from "My Name Is Earl" - American comedy at its best

[Gordon Bennett]

I didn't care for it. The comedy is somewhat reminiscient of Father Ted, in that it arises from the interplay of characters that are drawn as extreme caricatures, but in this case (the first episode, at least) the are all so obvious that it fails. There is the sloppy, desperate geek, the nedy geek with no social skills whatsoever, the girly-girl who knows nothing about computers but is a "people person" and can talk about shoes, and the domineering idiot of a boss who fires people at the drop of a hat. Father Ted worked well in part because even though the charaters were almost cartoonish in their extremes, they weren't drawn so blatantly on common stereotypes.

It's all far too predictable. I'll give it another chance to see if it picks up a bit, but so far I'm quite unimpressed.

[squarejawhero]

My problem is that the delivery is forced but the writing is good. Even Morris misfires his lines... plus, what's up with the geek? He looks and sounds like someone pretending to be a geek. Dougal was convincingly dumb. This guy seems like a hip actor trying to be funny.

[Hammerite]

"Ah! Its the new Harry Potter book! I got the children's edition and the adult's edition to make sure there are no differences in the text!"

[stepurhan]

Originally Posted by Manhunter71

It's the highlight of my friday evening - apart from "My Name Is Earl" - American comedy at its best

The IT crowd is likeable enough but I wouldnt' be heartbroken if I missed an episode.

But "My name is Earl" I love for the simple reason that it encourages a positive approach to life. So many shows seem to promote the idea that screwing people over will get you ahead in life. Its refreshing to have a lead character doing well by doing good.

Plus Earl and his brother are likeable (good Earl that is, not the bad Earl you see in flashbacks)

[Lucien21]

My Name is Earl is the funniest programme I'v seen in years.

Damn Hilarious.

The one where he faked his death to get away from the clingy girlfriend was hilarious

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by stepurhan

The IT crowd is likeable enough but I wouldnt' be heartbroken if I missed an episode.

I agree with that. I actually watched the entire episode without feeling robbed of my twenty-five minutes (an all-too-rare experience with Channel 4 comedies), but I wouldn't be crying myself to sleep if I didn't get to see one.

Of course, being able to watch it online is a bonus for those of us who otherwise would have a hard time seeing it. I'm looking forward to being able to watch The Apprentice online, too .

[Huz]

"Better than Hyperdrive." "What isn't? Really, what ISN'T?" - two people on Digital Spy.

It's great to see a traditional studio-bound sitcom back on the TV, and it does have some gems - although I think more or less all of them have been quoted in this thread! - but it is fairly forgettable, so far. Not a patch on Father Ted, although its pedigree is fairly obvious. I like the running joke with the phone and the tape machine, and the "profanity buzzer" made me laugh far too much.

Still, Peep Show is where it's at!

[stuboy]

Peep Show is rather good;

If you section me, Mark, so help me God, I'll section you!

Incidentally, what do all the non-british/irish people on this forum think of these shows? I watched one of the funniest episodes of Father Ted with an American, and she barely giggled.