US TV Comedy recommendations please!


Amy_Amp

 

Posted

Hey all

I made a thread a long time ago asking for suggestions on what great and recent TV Comedy shows to watch from the US and try as I might, I can't find the darn thing, so I thought I'd start a new one

I've watched several shows already from start to finish, including

Friends
Big Bang Theory
How I Met Your Mother
Two and a Half Men
Frasier
Modern Family

And thanks to the previous thread I can now add to that list

30 Rock (took a few eps for me to get the hang of, but now I love Tina Fey!)
Community (Oh dear lords, thank you to whoever it was who told me to watch this!! )

Now I need more suggestions. I especially love shows with pop-culture references, as well as intelligent comedy, as opposed to fart/vomit jokes, so would really love the help. I'm a MASSIVE fan of the original UK version of the Office, so was put of by the idea of a US remake, but it seems to be getting favourable comments elsewhere, so would that be worth me trying out?

Feel free to post anything I may have missed


We built this city on Rock and Roll!

 

Posted

I'm a big UK and US office fan. The pilot episode of the US should seem familiar to a UK fan, but from there they diverge in good ways. Michael Scott is more the good natured bumbling idiot compared to Gervaise's more self centered and callous David Brent. Both are similar and completely different at the same time. The cringe factor is there but not as dark for the most part as the UK version. And like the UK version is to some Yanks, some of the US humor may be lost on our Brit friends. Give at least the first season a shot and see what you think. The dynamic between Jim and Pam (Our Tim and Dawn) is sweet and their arc over the course of the show is very rewarding. Where the US office really does well is the secondary cast. How it's going to fair now sans Michael Scott is still up in the air.

If you haven't tried Arrested Development give it a whirl. Easily, in my opinion, the funniest and smartest original US series of the last decade. Cut way too short (thanks again Fox) but completely hilarious. Three solid seasons.

Californication- watching a brilliant mind find completely new ways to self destruct every week. Duchovny at his best and most charming.

You may like Episodes as its about a British writing duo brought over to the states to redo their award winning and uber smart Brit Com in America..... You can probably guess where it goes. Not sure if it's out on video yet as it just had its first season.

Curb your Enthusiasm has a slightly similar cringe worthy vibe to the Office and darker like the UK version.


@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff

 

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Its not recent but it is great.... The Phil Silvers Show.

(alot) More recent: The Life and Times of Tim is very funny.


Always remember, we were Heroes.

 

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Not really a pure comedy series, but Psych has a lot of funny in pretty much every episode. Even some of the more dark/serious eps have their fair share of chuckles. Scads of pop culture references, too.


There is an art, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. --The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

 

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I enjoy the US version of The Office and South Park. And if you've got Netflix I'd suggest catching The Chapelle Show on there too.

I tried Parks and Recreations on there, but it seemed too much like The Office that it was distracting. And I also tried Arrested Development but didn't find it all that funny.


- CaptainFoamerang

Silverspar on Kelly Hu: A face that could melt paint off the wall *shivers*
Someone play my AE arc! "The Heart of Statesman" ID: 343405

 

Posted

Better off Ted- only two seasons, travesty it was canceled.
Dead like me - Showtime series, three seasons i think, plus a two hour movie.
Pushing daisies - same writer as dead like me
Wonderfalls - also same writer

i re watch all of these, all are intelligent comdey, witty fast paced banter, i think it goes over most folks heads, think that's why they don't do so well......


Oh yeah, that was the time that girl got her whatchamacallit stuck in that guys dooblickitz and then what his name did that thing with the lizards and it cleared right up.

screw your joke, i want "FREEM"

 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Traegus View Post
Better off Ted- only two seasons, travesty it was canceled.
Dead like me - Showtime series, three seasons i think, plus a two hour movie.
Pushing daisies - same writer as dead like me
Wonderfalls - also same writer

i re watch all of these, all are intelligent comdey, witty fast paced banter, i think it goes over most folks heads, think that's why they don't do so well......
I found that the last three you posted, Dead like Me, Pushing daisies and Wonderfalls all start out great, then as things go on, they get less good. I liked them all quite a bit when the shows first started, then as things went on, they seemed to lose focus. I have wondered if it's a weakness of the writer. He comes up with great and interesting idea, does a good job putting it together, but doesn't manage the long run as well.


 

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Ugly Americans - A social worker in a universe where Hell, demons, tree people, sentient robots, land whales, bird people, zombies, etc., exist. Said social worker is having an affair with his boss, Callie Maggotbone, who just happens to be a half-demon, half-human succubus. Pretty funny with the taking of political correctness to the extreme. Lives with a zombie roommate. Starting a new season this summer on Comedy Central.

Drawn Together - Unbelieveably raunchy animated program on Comedy Central. Different stereotypical characters, like the Superman-knockoff, the gay elf, the princess, the Pokemon-type creature, etc all live in a house together. Reminiscent of Big Brother in its execution.

Robot Chicken - 15 minute episodes show on Adult Swim. Done by Seth Green from Buffy/Family Guy/Greg the Bunny. Takes classic toys like He-Man, GI Joe, Transformers, and puts the in snippet scenes. My favorites tend to be the Skeletor ones.

Night Court - Late 80's-ish show about, you guessed it, a night court in New York. You have the wisecracking, magic-doing judge, the womanizing prosecutor (who also happened to be a womanizing CIA agent on Chuck), the somewhat dim-witted baliff, amongst others.



 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainFoamerang View Post
I enjoy the US version of The Office and South Park. And if you've got Netflix I'd suggest catching The Chapelle Show on there too.

I tried Parks and Recreations on there, but it seemed too much like The Office that it was distracting.
That's only true for most of the first season, the characters really come into their own from around the midpoint of season 2 on.


 

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Have you ever watched M*A*S*H? The first 5 seasons in particular are quite good, but there was excellence throughout. It's not always funny, though.

I second the Psych recommendation. Excellent show.

Scrubs is terrific.

Definitely try NewsRadio, but stop after Season 4. Season 5 is them clumsily trying to carry on after Phil Hartman was murdered.

Soap is very smart but completely wacky.

Doctor, Doctor with Matt Frewer. A bit ahead of its time, which consigned it to an early cancellation.

I would tentatively recommend Sports Night, which is brilliant, but the DVD release utterly ruined it by adding a laugh track. No idea what moron decided that was a good idea. But you might like it if you've never seen it before.


The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction

 

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Strangers with Candy.


"the reason there are so many sarcastic pvpers is we already had a better version of pvp taken away from us to appease bad players. Back then we chuckled at how bad players came here and whined. If we knew that was the actual voice devs would listen to instead of informed, educated players we probably would have been bigger dicks back then." -ConFlict

 

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Married With Children, full of everything you seem to appreciate.

In Living Color, Sketch comedy show from the Wayans Brothers. Early Jim Carrey as Fire Marshall Bill! Lots of hip-hop and urban references, entirely entertaining.

Tracy Ullman Show, More sketch comedy from fox in the late 80's. Early simpsons shorts, wonderful Brittish wit.

Soap, Best comedy show of the 70's but ends on a cliffhanger...

Which leads me to...

My Name is Earl. Ended way too soon, but full of smart humor dressed up in a trailer-park shell (always wished Kevin Smith would have jumped in and helped his buddy out by keeping the show on air till they at least tied off some loose ends. Maybe someday a movie... R-rated... with lots of sunbathing Jamie Pressley at a nude beach.... But I digress... :P)




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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainFoamerang View Post
I And I also tried Arrested Development but didn't find it all that funny.
It's not "all that funny". It's hilarious!


@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff

 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MentalMaden View Post
It's not "all that funny". It's hilarious!
Meh. More weird than funny.


- CaptainFoamerang

Silverspar on Kelly Hu: A face that could melt paint off the wall *shivers*
Someone play my AE arc! "The Heart of Statesman" ID: 343405

 

Posted

Well, if no longer airing shows are on the table...

Taxi. Ensemble cast of taxi drivers in NY. Hillarious funny.

WKRP in Cincinnati. Radio station hillarity before Newsradio (which I also reccomend) If you only watch one episode make it the Thanksgiving one. So funny!


Le Blanc 50 Dark/Dark Scrap
High Huntress 50 Archery/NRG Blast
And a goatload of others. On a goatload of servers.
Official Rickroller of Hero Con 1

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Blanc View Post
Well, if no longer airing shows are on the table...

Taxi. Ensemble cast of taxi drivers in NY. Hillarious funny.

WKRP in Cincinnati. Radio station hillarity before Newsradio (which I also reccomend) If you only watch one episode make it the Thanksgiving one. So funny!
For the life of me, I thought turkeys could fly.


@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Blanc View Post
Well, if no longer airing shows are on the table...

Taxi. Ensemble cast of taxi drivers in NY. Hillarious funny.

WKRP in Cincinnati. Radio station hillarity before Newsradio (which I also reccomend) If you only watch one episode make it the Thanksgiving one. So funny!
Do not, I repeat do not bother with WKRP. Yes it was a hilarious series in it's time but what they did to it on the dvd release is a crime. The studio didn't want to pay licensing fees to keep the original music (actual rock hits from the time period and earlier) so they instead replaced it with generic trash from some studio band.

I suppose if you've never seen it before it wouldn't matter to you but it does drastically change the entire mood of the series.

But, as somebody said up above, Better off Ted. Beyond hilarious and it's a crime that it was cancelled. But at least it lasted longer than Firefly.


Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!

 

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Reader is a great about a dude that has to become Satan's Bounty Hunter... unfortunately it was canceled after 2 seasons and the last episode sets up a 3rd rather than having an end to the series.

The part of scrubs i have seen is awesomes.

Dead Like me... the half I've seen is great.

Home Improvement isn't a serial, but it's a great sit-com


 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mandu View Post
Do not, I repeat do not bother with WKRP. Yes it was a hilarious series in it's time but what they did to it on the dvd release is a crime. The studio didn't want to pay licensing fees to keep the original music (actual rock hits from the time period and earlier) so they instead replaced it with generic trash from some studio band.
Did they do that if you Hulu it? Or is the same music there? I know they did that on the DVD's (made me sad), but the writing is still spot on. I just watched the "Turkeys Away" episode last night and it was still just as funny! Watched on Hulu though.


Le Blanc 50 Dark/Dark Scrap
High Huntress 50 Archery/NRG Blast
And a goatload of others. On a goatload of servers.
Official Rickroller of Hero Con 1

 

Posted

"...like sacks of wet cement..." *chuckle*


@Mental Maden @Maden Mental
"....you are now tackle free for life."-ShoNuff

 

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Grossly disappointed there is no mention of Seinfeld.

Greatest sitcom of all time... greatest TV show of all time.

No other sitcom comes anywhere close. All of your irreverent, anti-feel-good sitcoms like Arrested Development, The Office, etc. They all owe their success to Seinfeld. It pioneered the genre; they did it first and they did it the best. Almost every episode has an unforgettable moment... at least beyond the rough first season, which is still funnier than most sitcoms.


 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coin View Post
I'm a MASSIVE fan of the original UK version of the Office, so was put of by the idea of a US remake, but it seems to be getting favourable comments elsewhere, so would that be worth me trying out?
My limited impression of the US Office is that it's very much a network-friendly adaptation and takes a long time to get into its groove.

A series that captures the spirit of the UK Office far better is Party Down, the chronicles of a semi-competent Los Angeles catering crew, all trying variously to break out in the entertainment industry. On top of numerous gold-star cameos, its amazing cast features Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation), Jane Lynch (Glee), Lizzy Caplan (True Blood*), Martin Starr (NTSF:SD:SUV), Ken Marino, and Megan Mullally (both now on Childrens Hospital, which I'd also recommend highly). Naturally, something so good couldn't last more than two seasons, but it's available on Netflix streaming and iTunes.

* Come on, this counts as a comedy.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Blanc View Post
Did they do that if you Hulu it? Or is the same music there? I know they did that on the DVD's (made me sad), but the writing is still spot on. I just watched the "Turkeys Away" episode last night and it was still just as funny! Watched on Hulu though.
I'm pretty sure the Hulu episodes are the same as the DVD. I can't imagine them paying the fees for Hulu but not the dvds. If you heard classic rock while watching it then it's the original music. If you heard cover bands or some unidentifiable music then it's the replacement. About the only place you are likely to find the originals is if somebody uploaded something they recorded off broadcast to youtube.


Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!