I have just realised I have the same taste in TV comedy as an elderly British white man. Sitting around a table full of pints after a recent football match (we lost), the conversation turned to our favourite comedy shows. There I was, extolling the humour of Blackadder II and the joys of a Morecambe and Wise skit when my teammates started talking with glee about the loudly humourless It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and, eugh, The Big Bang Theory.
It’s not that my tastes are morally superior, but my relationship with TV comedy is an odd one. For much of my childhood, despite allowing me unfettered access to the internet, my parents did not own a TV set. What they did have was a projector and a VHS player, which meant much of my screen time was spent playing old tapes, on a loop. By the age of 11, my comedies of choice were Rising Damp, a bit of Only Fools and Horses (early seasons only) and some relatively modern Father Ted.
Thanks to this TV diet, I have very specific tastes in comedy. I like it to be a touch absurd, with some physicality, but not to the extreme of, say, Mr Bean. I like humour that is playful but still grounded in reality and I much prefer comedy that punches across or upwards, rather than down (unless, of course, the person punching down will ultimately get their comeuppance, as often seen in Blackadder). I find most of the US comedies loved by my peers too cruel, too brash and generally unfunny.
Of course, a lot of the comedies I loved as a kid haven’t aged well. The racism is explicit, and some of the jokes are at the expense of women, disabled people and pretty much any other minority you can think of. So it is not with a sense of pride that I claim my title as an old-school comedy fan. British comedy has historically been aimed at a white male audience. That is changing – but slowly. I love Derry Girls, and a new BBC series called Boarders – featuring a group of Black British kids sent to boarding school, but I’m off to rewatch Dad’s Army. Don’t panic!
• Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff is a freelance journalist
• Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
