Did you know that British people are funny? Sometimes on purpose? And often in a rather dry, subtle, non-butt-related manner referred to as “wit”?
Ever heard of SHAKESPEARE? Well he’s dead. But there are still, like, 300 funny British people, and a lot of them are funny on British TV every week, or whatever they call a unit of seven Earth days over there. (A “welly”? I think it’s called a “welly.” Have a good welly-end, as they say! Put it in the boot! Lorries, innit? Haha! Crazy Brits.)
Our silly American cable networks don’t want us to know it, but it’s true. Thankfully, that’s where the Internet comes in. And this week, while American TV hibernates and strengthens up (like a bear!) for the spring, some funny stuff was happening over in jolly ol’ England. Let’s watch some of it!
Fun fact: Unlike in America (excepting Andy Rooney), in England old people are allowed to stay on TV as long as they continue to make sense and/or good things. And so revered 80-year-old British comedian Ronnie Corbett has his own show called The One Ronnie, in which he writes sketches like this one that combine his ever-sharp sense of humor with a joke we can all understand: Grandpas be not understanding technology!
Technological fruit puns! They’re adorably hokey in any language (as long as it’s English English or American English).
Elsewhere, on the QI (Quite Interesting) Holiday Special, host Stephen Frye looked on as well-known Irish Person About the UK Graham Norton chopped off Daniel Radcliffe’s head. “You’ll live on forever in films!” he said. And then he sliced Harry Potter’s head into a little basket. Neat! (Note to slow people: This is a magic trick.)
A last note about Funny British People: Did you know that The Ricky Gervais Show returns to HBO on January 14? And that you can own season 1 on DVD now? And that Ricky Gervais will host the Golden Globes on January 16? Well, now you do. And you should watch, because as far as Funny British People go, he’s one of the funniest. And the British-est.
(Image: BBC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Meghan hails from Walla Walla, WA, the proud home of the world’s best sweet onions and Adam West, the original Batman. An avid grammarian and over-analyzer, you can usually find her thinking too hard about plot devices in favorites like The Office, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and How I Met Your Mother. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys drawing, shopping, trying to be funny (and often failing), and not understanding the whole Twilight thing. She’s got a BA in English and Studio Art from Whitman College, which makes her a professional arguer, daydreamer, and doodler.
