redeyeone said:

---

The Young Ones and Keeping Up Appearances come to mind for laughs. Not necessarily an outright comedy, but I also liked Lovejoy. More serious shows I used to watch Cracker and Frost. Brits have so many good cop shows it's hard to list them all.

---

Sex Panther said:

---

I'm not sure if these are as old as you're talking but the IT Crowd and Spaced are great. Spaced is so good and set the table for Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

---

aggiebird02 said:

---

I.T. Crowd

season one of Red Dwarf

But the greatest British comedy ever is:
Are You Being Served

---

• Blackadder-As mentioned this is one of the best and so far ahead of it's time. Each season is set in a different time period, Late middle ages, Elizabethan, Georgian, and WWI. There's also a TV movie that sees a modern Blackadder time travel through all the different periods.

• Keeping Up Appearances-Classic British comedy about a woman who very prim and proper while rest of her family is middle to lower class.

• Fawlty Towers-Basil Fawlty runs a small hotel and is generally always trying to make a buck and super sarcastic.

• Open All Hours-Older man who is a notorious penny pincher runs a corner shop with his adult nephew. Its somewhat reflective about life at times.

• Lovejoy-Really liked this one. Lovejoy is an antiques dealer who has a certain moral flexibility and is always lucking into deals and ending up in strange situations (not filmed in front of a studio audience).

• Allo, Allo-This is a little strange but stay with me. It's a British Comedy, set in a French cafe, which is run by a member of the French Resistance, during WW2, in a town occupied by the Nazis. The various Axis powers are portrayed a idiots and are trying to find a valuable painting affectionately known as The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies.

• Only Fools and Horses-Basically the British version of Sanford and Son.

• Are You Being Served-Long running series set in British department store. It's pretty old and some of the humor doesn't hold up but still worth a watch. You get a good dose of cheeky/randy British Humor and was a bit edgy at times considering when it was filmed.

• Vicar of Dibley-Dawn French plays a modern Vicar of a small town full of funny and unique people. Fair amount of smart humor and pokes fun at British stereotypes from time to time.

• Chef!-Before there was Gordon Ramsey, there was Gareth Blackstock of Le Chteau Anglais. It centers around a two star Michelin restaurant in the countryside and while the insults are harsh, they are very funny.

• Mr. Bean-Not much to say about this other than it's a classic. What's really surprising is that for such an iconic show, it only ran for 1 season, 15 episodes.

• Absolutely Fabulous-Two single middle aged women best friends, one a PR exec the other former model turned fashion editor. Both kind of unlikeable. It's a bit like a caricature of the Kardashians except you are encouraged to laugh at them and their misfortune.

• Thin Blue Line-Another show starring Rowen Atkinson that centers around a local police department. It has a little bit of an Andy Griffith sort of feel, but funnier and more modern. It's about as far from gritty police drama as you can get.

• The Lenny Henry Show-It ran for a couple of seasons as a sketch comedy show which wasn't too bad. It was later revamped into a sitcom that follows a pirate radio DJ.