Cosmic Schwung
Member
Black Books would probably be a better suggestion since it has more parallels. I would say, as much as I like it, I think The IT Crowd is the weakest of Linehan's sitcoms.
Why is the Big Bang Theory so reviled, yet the IT Crowd is considered good?
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Black Books would probably be a better suggestion since it has more parallels. I would say, as much as I like it, I think The IT Crowd is the weakest of Linehan's sitcoms.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Love The IT Crowd so much. But you have to actually listen to the jokes and laugh yourself instead of doing so because a laugh track or audience is doing it.
See, IT Crowd is funny because of the jokes. If there were no laugh track it would still be funny.
BBT however has a lot of "jokes" that just don't make sense and aren't funny, but the editors will put audience laughter there to give it the illusion of a joke.
I don't hate a laugh track. But I do hate when they use it as a sort of.. what's the word? It's there to subconsciously make the viewer think something funny happened. Or something.
BBT isn't funny. Bottom line. I've said my piece.
Man, I wish they would make another season of IT Crowd. 4 seasons with 24 episodes total isn't nearly enough. Especially with the boss. Both of them were amazing. But it does go to show that the 24 episodes of IT Crowd are funnier overall than most of BBT.
Come on, guys. Just 6 more episodes? And maybe 6 more after that? Come on! Red Dwarf gave us more! You can too!
I really should have picked Moss as my persona. But I bet it's taken.
See, IT Crowd is funny because of the jokes. If there were no laugh track it would still be funny.
BBT however has a lot of "jokes" that just don't make sense and aren't funny, but the editors will put audience laughter there to give it the illusion of a joke.
I don't hate a laugh track. But I do hate when they use it as a sort of.. what's the word? It's there to subconsciously make the viewer think something funny happened. Or something.
BBT isn't funny. Bottom line. I've said my piece.
In before "Ho ho ho your Abed ho ho ho You like Community and its not funny ho ho ho. Derpy derp.
Man, I wish they would make another season of IT Crowd. 4 seasons with 24 episodes total isn't nearly enough. Especially with the boss. Both of them were amazing. But it does go to show that the 24 episodes of IT Crowd are funnier overall than most of BBT.
Come on, guys. Just 6 more episodes? And maybe 6 more after that? Come on! Red Dwarf gave us more! You can too!
I really should have picked Moss as my persona. But I bet it's taken.
Cosmic Schwung
Member
Red Dwarf should have quit whilst it was ahead. Leave them wanting more and not with the feeling that you've overstayed your welcome.
Arjen
Member
Okay Sheldon.
Discotheque
Banned
i think it crowd was nearing bbt levels of awful in it's last season. but prior to that it was pretty funny.
their supporting cast has awesome people like chris morris, the dude from darkplace and the dude from mighty boosh
big bang theory had awesome cameos too but i don't like that show.
edit: peep show is consistent as fuck tho. still funny today.
their supporting cast has awesome people like chris morris, the dude from darkplace and the dude from mighty boosh
big bang theory had awesome cameos too but i don't like that show.
edit: peep show is consistent as fuck tho. still funny today.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
I enjoyed series X as it was really good and the "movie" for what it was. I mean this is a show that reboots itself every few seasons without explanation to make itself enjoyable after they've written themselves into a corner.
HappyBivouac
Member
Better writing, better actors. and most of the humor in the IT Crowd is not in the vein of "lol it's funny because nerds," it's more along the lines of sheer absurdity a lot of the time. Which I love.
starchild excalibur
Member
IT Crowd has Berry and Ayoade.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
You oughta be careful boy - there's alotta weirdos around 'ere, lotta nasty people...
... lotta nutters. But I'm gonna protect you boy. 'Cos I love you. In fact if you weren't a geezer I'd be rapin' you be'ind the counter right now.
Discotheque
Banned
lmao. mighty boosh and darkplace >>> this
i love the vibe of early mighty boosh. it was something to fall asleep to, and i mean that in a good way actually.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
League of Gentlemen,Brass Eye and Jam, Spaced as well, ohh and father ted, black books
so much love for these shows, plus peep show and alan partridge...okk better stop there before I derail.
I love the dark/twsited element in some british comedy
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Subject: Fire
Dear Sir stroke Madam. I wish to inform you of a fire which has broken out at the premesis of-- No, that's too formal...
Dear Sir stroke Madam;
FIRE exclamation mark
FIRE exclamation mark
HELP ME exclamation mark
123 Carondon Rd.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
All the best, Maurice Moss
Dear Sir stroke Madam. I wish to inform you of a fire which has broken out at the premesis of-- No, that's too formal...
Dear Sir stroke Madam;
FIRE exclamation mark
FIRE exclamation mark
HELP ME exclamation mark
123 Carondon Rd.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
All the best, Maurice Moss
Discotheque
Banned
i still need to see father ted and league of gentleman. soon...
Also because British sitcoms (Graham Linehan's work, more particularly) tend to play a bit more with physical comedy. I.e. Richmond hiding in the corner; the fire extinguisher catching fire; Jen's feet; the 'profanity buzzer'; anything Douglas does with his body, etc...
There aren't many American sitcoms I know that try such levels of physical comedy. (Newsradio comes to mind) It wouldn't surprise me if someone found the humor in the IT Crowd too cartoony and too out of place for a sitcom. But I greatly welcome it.
Sephiroth503
Member
I personally love the IT Crowd and got into it because Graham Linehan was writing.
If anyone listens to the Father Ted commentary, he goes into a lot of detail on what he wanted Ted to be about and how they wanted it to be perceived - not making fun of priests or religion but on how a priest (confined by public perception of what a priest is/should be) would react in ludicrous situational comedies.
In Linehan's own words he felt Season 3 of Ted was exactly where himself and Arthur Matthews wanted it to be all along - in terms of structure, strong supporting characters, plot development within an episode, etc. and when I started watching the IT Crowd I could see exactly what he meant. I think someone mentioned it earlier in the thread but IT Crowd feels like an evolution of the Ted formula and given Ted's success the IT Crowd resonates with audiences (Britain and Ireland anyway) better than TBBT.
If anyone listens to the Father Ted commentary, he goes into a lot of detail on what he wanted Ted to be about and how they wanted it to be perceived - not making fun of priests or religion but on how a priest (confined by public perception of what a priest is/should be) would react in ludicrous situational comedies.
In Linehan's own words he felt Season 3 of Ted was exactly where himself and Arthur Matthews wanted it to be all along - in terms of structure, strong supporting characters, plot development within an episode, etc. and when I started watching the IT Crowd I could see exactly what he meant. I think someone mentioned it earlier in the thread but IT Crowd feels like an evolution of the Ted formula and given Ted's success the IT Crowd resonates with audiences (Britain and Ireland anyway) better than TBBT.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
make time to watch it
, hope you enjoy it ^ This, QFT
No not really, Arrested Developement is one of the greatest show I have ever scene.
it's all subjective, they shouldn't have to compete, if a show grabs my attentions and makes me laugh, then I am hooked.
I dont mentally weight them up against each other, they all have a place in my viewing habbits
to me it doesnt matter if one is more slapstick or surreal or dark, so long as the show on it's own gets me laughing. I am willing to watch and champion it to anyone who would listen
this is my view on all comedy shows I love.
Jezbollah
Member
I love the IT Crowd. The episode where they all went to the theatre had my sides aching from all the laughing. It's a piss-take show about stereotypes about the IT culture in the same way the writers did a piss-take out of religious culture in Father Ted.
Don't take it too seriously. It was never made to earn awards - it was made to make people laugh.
Don't take it too seriously. It was never made to earn awards - it was made to make people laugh.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
anyway i will get back on topic, i have tried to get into the big bang theory but I cant, I might try again now it has a number of series, wasnt it made by the people who made third rock from the sun?
I love Third Rock.
I kinda automatically had to love the IT Crowd because of Father Ted (yeah I kinda went against my own points, but back in the day, Father Ted was massive during my College Years)
I love Third Rock.
I kinda automatically had to love the IT Crowd because of Father Ted (yeah I kinda went against my own points, but back in the day, Father Ted was massive during my College Years)
Nose Master
Member
BBT gets a bit too much hate on GAF. It's a perfectly fine, run of the mill sitcom. Something to have on in the background while you do dishes, or something.
IT Crowd is legitimately hilarious, though.
IT Crowd is legitimately hilarious, though.
I can't dispute that but I'm curious to know if you believe that the Sheldon clones on this forum act the exact same way in real life.
Exterminieren
Banned
Only in the simple, most basic reading are the two shows even remotely comparable. The IT Crowd has a distinctly absurdist tone to it that I haven't seen anyone other than Linehan bring to a sitcom in a good long while.
If you're going to do a sitcom about nerds, absurdism seems to me to be a better place to go with it than the more straightforward style of TBBT.
If you're going to do a sitcom about nerds, absurdism seems to me to be a better place to go with it than the more straightforward style of TBBT.
How come on TV.com, the obvious authority of televised entertainment, The Big Bang Theory gets a 9.0 for the series while none of the episodes rate above 8.8? Meanwhile, The IT Crowd gets an 8.6 - even though the vast majority of their episodes rate at least 8.8 or higher? Some blatant shenanigans going on there. I'm just about to write my Senator.
I remember when Big Bang Theory came out, I watched it with a group of friends (all geeks) for the first time, everyone excited about a new comedy show centred around geeks like us. We laughed a couple of times, and I noticed my flatmate only giving a smile every now and then. When I asked him why after one particular joke, continuing to smile, he said that he felt like the show was insulting him. And I knew what he meant.
Today none of the group watch it - I will occasionally if it's on tv, and it'll get a chuckle or two out of me, but really it feels like it's laughing at me all the time. I don't feel too seriously about it, but there is that element to it, and I can't shake it. None of the guys watch it not because they feel insulted, but because they genuinely don't find it funny. They change the channel whenever it comes on, or skip over it in the listings. Shows like Community, on the other hand, are loved by all of us.
IT Crowd, on the other hand, is one of my favourite shows, and I agree with everyone who says that it's laughing with us, instead of at us. It may be somewhat more offensive if it wasn't for the absolutely ludicrous or absurd situations the characters find themselves in - Moss and Roy trying to set up Jen with "the Internet" joke and failing when all the corporate suits are so dense when it comes to computing that they think she's doing brilliantly, Moss with his laptop and flight sim gear in the park, getting on with a group of guys talking about soccer ("The thing about Arsenal is, they always try to walk it in!" is still one of my favourite lines from any show), Richmond hiding in the server room and getting scurvy (not to mention all of his idiosyncrasies), Denholm's absurd behaviour... it's wonderful stuff.
The fact that it followed on from Father Ted is just the icing on the cake, from one pants-wettingly hilarious show to the next. Thank you, Graham Linehan.
This. I would laugh at IT Crowd if there were no laugh track - maybe a little less, as laughter inspires laughter it seems, but still. I've watched those clips on YouTube of Big Bang Theory and I was scratching my head over it - what is there to actually laugh at the majority of the time? Every nerd reference gets huge gales of laughter for no reason at all.
Edit - Just to note, I work in IT.
Today none of the group watch it - I will occasionally if it's on tv, and it'll get a chuckle or two out of me, but really it feels like it's laughing at me all the time. I don't feel too seriously about it, but there is that element to it, and I can't shake it. None of the guys watch it not because they feel insulted, but because they genuinely don't find it funny. They change the channel whenever it comes on, or skip over it in the listings. Shows like Community, on the other hand, are loved by all of us.
IT Crowd, on the other hand, is one of my favourite shows, and I agree with everyone who says that it's laughing with us, instead of at us. It may be somewhat more offensive if it wasn't for the absolutely ludicrous or absurd situations the characters find themselves in - Moss and Roy trying to set up Jen with "the Internet" joke and failing when all the corporate suits are so dense when it comes to computing that they think she's doing brilliantly, Moss with his laptop and flight sim gear in the park, getting on with a group of guys talking about soccer ("The thing about Arsenal is, they always try to walk it in!" is still one of my favourite lines from any show), Richmond hiding in the server room and getting scurvy (not to mention all of his idiosyncrasies), Denholm's absurd behaviour... it's wonderful stuff.
The fact that it followed on from Father Ted is just the icing on the cake, from one pants-wettingly hilarious show to the next. Thank you, Graham Linehan.
This. I would laugh at IT Crowd if there were no laugh track - maybe a little less, as laughter inspires laughter it seems, but still. I've watched those clips on YouTube of Big Bang Theory and I was scratching my head over it - what is there to actually laugh at the majority of the time? Every nerd reference gets huge gales of laughter for no reason at all.
Edit - Just to note, I work in IT.
My all-time favourite episode.
Arjen
Member
Yes pretty sure, they way some people act and talk about social interactions and women on here is exactly like Sheldon.
This one was comedy gold. Gold I say.
And
0118 999 881 999 119 725....3
Not only that, but most of their IT related dialogue makes SENSE.
For example here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs47y97tCSU
It's funny for a computer nerd and it's also funny if someone else without special knowledge watches it. And that's great.
"I'm using Windows 7" isn't funny. And I would even say that most normal users know about Windows 7, so it's not funny at all.
Saying "What operating system are you using for that bomb disposal robot?" - "Vista" - "We are going to die" is funny.
Even their "did you try turning it off and on again" isn't bullshit-dialogue. Rebooting a workstation because of a problem is not a great solution, but it's not uncommon for IT support. Or that IT support is treated like crap. That's just true. That's why IT crowd is funny even to someone who actually works for IT department. And it's also funny to someone who gets support from that IT department. It was insanely well written (except Season 4 - went downhill).
British Monsoon
Member
The Big Bang Theory hate is so overblown on the internet, it's pretty amusing. More than the show itself, to be fair, but that's not to say I don't crack a smile or let out a chuckle here and there when watching an episode. It's a fairly unambitious sitcom, but (awkward referential nerd humour aside) has some genuinely smart dialogue, here and there. The IT Crowd is good (with certain episodes bordering on masterful), but I wouldn't hold it to such high esteem as many here seem to.
No, we just find the fact that you refer to trousers as 'pants' funny.
No, we just find the fact that you refer to trousers as 'pants' funny.
jufonuk
not tag worthy
if you like insane situations like this, you have to watch coupling, I cannot recommend that show enough
Awesome, sorry I am currently getting flash backs to all the comedy shows I love, so many..
Watched that before IT crowd and loved it as well.
I like how there's a perfect example of Unfunny Thing Followed By Uprorious Laughter Because the Audience (or whoever has their hand on the button) Already Knows The Punchline From The Last 20 Times They Saw It in the first 20 seconds of that video.
Gummifaust
Member
/thread
This is the voice of Neogaf.
När du vill ringa, en vän eller dummer, behöver du bara ett endaste nummer. 079 75! 079 75!
I wish that ad was on youtube
MightyHealthy
Banned
I used to hate Big Bang Theory, but my gf loved it and I eventually caved and enjoyed it as well.
After watching a couple of IT Crowd videos, I plan to watch the series. Seems like it can be really funny.
Thanks OP
After watching a couple of IT Crowd videos, I plan to watch the series. Seems like it can be really funny.
Thanks OP
Incontinentia Buttocks
Banned
This.
Also, the 'Work Outing' episode of IT Crowd pisses all over anything TBBT has done or ever will do.
What I will say is that IT Crowd isn't a patch on Father Ted, that's for sure.
I'd say only Fawlty Towers beats Father Ted. It's that funny.
Discotheque
Banned
oh shit man. y'all are hyping this father ted to oblivion. time to watch an episode.
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