UK vs. US comedy One of the cultural labels we’re most well known for and proud of in the UK is our comedy genius. Some would say (usually British people!) that UK comedy is the best in the world. Now that’s quite a title to behold… so here a Cube we decided to look at what makes UK comedy so good… and how it compares to that of our next biggest source, the US. James Grant and Thomas Clayton put comedy under the magnifying glass of laughter!
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Stand-Up Usually a comedian can go to an open mic session and perform their routine for free, but Stand-Up can also be very hard to perfect. Past comedians who got it right include… Bill Cosby, Woody Allen and Tommy Cooper. For them, Stand-Up provided a spring board for later achivements in TV and film. Present day UK Stand-Up geniuses include, Peter Kay, Lee Evans, Jimmy Carr and Jonny Vegas. |
Even though Stand-Up originated in the US, it has always been very popular in the UK and it seems US stand-up comedy does not compare to the modern UK Stand-Up comedy scene. British Stand-Up Comedian, Actor and Radio Presenter Toby Foster told us “I did a lot of shows in New York and their Stand-Up scene is RUBBISH! It’s all geared to getting on telly. They haven’t got a Stand-Up who can do more than 5 minutes. They just hope they’ve got someone from HBO who’s watching”
Well folks, I think we’ll take Toby’s word on that, so it’s a 1-0 to the UK!!
Satirical cartoons
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Animated Cartoons first started in 1926. There was a time when all cartoons were pain-steakingly hand draw, but thanks to the blessing off new technogioy, they have come speeding into the 21st Century. Making the advent of the satirca cartoon (a youngster in cartoonary) much more instant. The most well-known is, without doubt, The Simpsons, which is a surprising 17 years old. The success of the show opened the floodgates to a whole new world of comedy cartoons such as, Futurama, Family Guy, and American Dad. |
Comedian Toby Foster gave us his view on why the Simpsons still rocks, “It’s just so well written. They take it a lot more seriously than we do. Every show that ends up on US TV has about 50 writers!” And I think this is true because the UK doesn’t even have a really good cartoon industry… the only cartoon we seem to have is 2DTV, which is pretty tasteless, whereas the US is churning them out.
Ok guys, you win…Homer will be celebrating with a beer no doubt.
I think that is 1-1 to each country!!
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Sketch Shows Evolving from stage and radio, the sketch show has a proud history in UK comedy. The pioneers have to include Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which was in fact one of the earliest to air in 1969. The sketch show tends to involve short observational scenes or skits, parodying everything from boring everyday life to politics and even these days’ the celebrity spoof. Earlier shows include The Two Ronnie’s, Not the Nine O’clock News and Morecambe and Wise. Yep we sure have mastered them with recent shows already being considered classics, such as Little Britain, which has spawned some of the today’s most popular catchphrases and characters. ‘I want that one’ and ‘yeah, I know’ are just a couple of immortalised phrases weaved into every Lou and Andy sketch. ‘The Fast Show’s’ Ken and Kenneth sketches also gave birth to the remarkably famous catchphrase, ‘Suits You Sir’. |
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American sketch shows, however, seem to be non-existent, at least on UK terrestrial TV, and we are certainly less aware of any American counterparts. So...I’m afraid, it’s a big fat one to us...not the US!
Sitcoms
Taken from the term ‘Situation-Comedy’, sitcoms began in the 1920’s. Originally created for radio, they now have a firm place on TV. Sitcoms both here and in the US use a ‘Laugh Track’ or as it’s more commonly known, ‘canned laughter’. This is the artificial sound of audiences laughing and is used as a ‘cue’ for the viewing audiences to laugh at the right moment in a show.
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Sitcoms made in Britain differ from those of the US. For starters their storylines and locations tend to be a lot more imaginative and interesting. More notably British sitcoms have irony - one thing people think is missing from that of the American sitcom! British sitcoms include Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and The Young Ones. They have created some of our much loved comedy heroes such as the lovable wheeler-dealer Del Boy Trotter, and the paranoiac ex-militant hotel owner, Basil Fawlty. |
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American sitcoms are, unlike their sketch shows, remarkably popular in Britain. The 10 year running series Friends, being the most famous on both sides of the pond. US sitcoms have brought lovable character into audience’s lives with the likes of the prude Raymond Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond) and the lazy-but-successful Charlie Harper (Two and a Half Men). And of course, millions wept goodbye to obsessive cleaner Monica and Joey “how you doin’ Tribiani when Friends finally ended in May 2004.
Americans generally take more care when writing their TV shows and this is also where we see their observational skills missed through an absence of sketch shows. So we’ll be nice, and give this one to them!
I’m afraid that equals the scores at 2-2!
Comedy varies from country to country, and the UK and US are both high contenders for the top spot. Britain has high standards for its comedy but here at Cube we’ve come to appreciate that each is good at it’s own thing! We have our stand up and our sketch shows and the US has its sitcoms and cartoons. Anyway, who cares who it is that’s making us laugh?
By James Grant and Thomas Clayton