Peep Show, The Inbetweeners, The Office – we're good at making people laugh over here in the UK. Your Brents, your Partridges, your Vic and Bobs – all well-known for busting guts around the British Isles. But what of the others? The unsung heroes? The underdogs? What of the TV shows that slipped under the radar?
1. Early Doors
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The Royle Family is a UK comedy mainstay – everyone and their cat has seen at least one episode. But what of writers Craig Cash and Phil Mealey's later sitcom, Early Doors? It never got the ratings or recognition that Jim Royle and co. got, yet it was just as good, arguably even better. It's set in a small pub in Manchester, and never ventures outside its doors. It's a slow-burn affair, so slow in fact that you might not even realise it's on fire. But it really is - look closer and the smallest things will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. This is subtle character comedy done to perfection. Also, it might make you cry too, you baby.
2. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
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To put it simply, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is one of the best things to have ever been on television. Taking its premise as a recently-discovered '80s horror TV show, Darkplace is the most hilariously inept thing you'll ever see, but it's all on purpose. Creator Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade (yes, modern Hollywood royalty Richard Ayoade) flawlessly aped the look and feel of a horrendously cheesy and cheap shlock-show and interspersed it with present day 'interviews' with the cast and crew. Just watch it. It's like a deliberate The Room, and it's wonderful.
3. Trollied
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We've all known someone who's worked at a supermarket, which is why Trollied resonates with the viewer so well. It focuses on a bunch of bored, disinterested employees of a fictional supermarket up North, and it's bloody great. It was made specifically for Sky 1, which doesn't sound too promising, but Trollied is a BBC-style sitcom at heart, even down to the cast of recognisable faces (many who are to be found in Early Doors). It's not the edgiest comedy on the block, but sometimes it's nice just to have a little chuckle in lieu of having your mind blown.
4. Pulling
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At some point, you'll have seen something on TV that Sharon Horgan has had her hand in. She's written for, presented on and produced an endless stream of quality comedy work, but her most favoured brainchild is Pulling. It's a sitcom about three eternally unlucky 30-somethings who potter about London getting into the kind of awkward situations you can imagine three eternally unlucky 30-somethings getting into. It was cancelled after two seasons, the only explanation being that EVERYBODY IS AN IDIOT, but at least it returned in 2009 for a one-off special to tie up the loose ends.
5. Operation Good Guys
6. Limmy's Show
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Limmy's a hero in Scotland, but south of the border he's not had as much luck, which is tragic, because he's fucking funny. His sketch show is unlike any other you'll have seen, most down to its absolute nonchalant absurdity. It's another case of surrealism and weirdness that might put off some people, but those open to his particular brand of madness will find a hell of a lot to enjoy. Also, while you're at it, you can follow Limmy on Twitter and Vine, where he's also being a lot funnier than you.
7. The Armando Iannucci Show
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Armando Iannucci is behind some of the greatest comedy on television. Think The Day Today, Alan Partridge and The Thick Of It, but back in 2001 he made and starred in his very own series. It comprised a series of sketches interspersed with Iannucci talking to the camera, and although a lot of it aimed a little too high, there was some absolute gold to be found. Namely, Alan Ford (that's Brick Top from Snatch FYI) as the 'East End Thug' who fixes a washing machine just by hurling cockney threats at it and has major issues with people not reading the whole of the Sunday Observer.
8. Adam Buxton's Bug
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This is the newest entry on the list, having only been shown in 2012. Only thing was, it was shown on Sky Atlantic, which was probably the reason nobody saw it. It was essentially a TV version of Adam Buxton's popular live shows, in which he showcases music videos and then talks through the YouTube comments underneath. It is BRILLIANT. Everybody knows how ludicrous internet arguments are, and seeing them highlighted up on a big screen just amplifies their pointlessness - something which is even further emphasised when Buxton takes the piss out of them. It's also a handy way to discover new music, if you're into that kind of thing...
9. Bellamy's People
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Paul Whitehouse is a comedy legend and The Fast Show is a classic. In fact, much of what he does can be considered classic comedy (if we ignore the AVIVA adverts, obviously), yet one series in which he starred wasn't as popular as his others – Bellamy's People. It began life as a radio show co-written with that other comedy legend, Charlie Higson, and eventually evolved into a TV show. It follows a fictional presenter called Gary Bellamy as he travels the length and breadth of the UK interviewing the interesting characters that he meets along the way. It starred a wealth of comedy stalwarts and created some fantastic characters of whom it would've been great to see more, had it not ended after one series.
10. The Peter Serafinowicz Show
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You won't be able to pronounce his name (it's Sera-fin-a-witch), but you'll have seen his face (in Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, even Guardians Of The Galaxy) or heard his voice (as Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace). He's been in the comedy business for yonks, and it all finally paid off in 2007 when he was given his own show, which he obviously named after himself, because why wouldn't you? It contained a raft of brilliant characters, but the best were Michael 6: The Robot Talk Show Host and Brian Butterfield, an overweight 'entrepreneur' who tries and fails to sell a number of duff products. In fact, Serafinowicz is working on a Butterfield movie...
