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The British sitcom that swept through the Balkans (2023)
- hahamaster 2y agoI think it was so popular in the Balkans because A) it was hilarious, B) people could actually watch it (on state TV, with subtitles). B is as important as A. Seinfeld would probably become very popular too, but no one could see it in the Balkans at the time.
- senko 2y agoThis is because it served as an accidental documentary and/or field guide for many micro entrepreneurs trying to break out during the autumn years of communist Yugoslavia. The feeling lingers up to present - many still associate the word "entrepreneur" with at least slightly shady dealings. If you work in tech in the valley, imagine how easily you could relate to Sillicon Valley (the show). It's the same for Only Fools and Horses for the 90s-00s Balkans.
- dingaling 2y ago> Fools was not only popular, it was > well-liked. And I mean really well-liked. Maybe outside London, but it wasn't well-liked in much of the capital. OF&H was seen as mocking and stereotyping the Cockney trader, whereas Minder ( which inspired it ) paid much more respect. The difference between laughing at and laughing with.
- _tariky 2y agoAs someone from Bosnia this is 100% true.
- radicalbyte 2y agoThere is something very similar to 80s Britain and Eastern Europe. It's why a lot of us who grew up (or had formative years in that decade) have a kinship with people from there.
- pkal 2y agoI expected this to be about Allo Allo.
- Daviey 2y agoI heard this was oddly popular in France and Germany. Only surprising because I wasn't sure the language inversion, self-deprecation and cliché would translate well.
- rsynnott 2y agoI was expecting it to be Keeping Up Appearances, which is, bizarrely, the BBC's best-selling export show, and which is particularly popular in parts of Eastern Europe (the show came out just as the iron curtain was falling, so that must have been, ah, a confusing intro to the West...)
- drno123 2y agoYep. In Croatia it has a cult following. Similar to obscure Italian comic “Alan Ford”, and Hungarian-Israeli writer Ephraim Kishon.
- defrost 2y agoAnyone still listen to Roddy Radalj and Boris Sujdovic there? ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZCuCg-UM-U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZCuCg-UM-U )
- hnlmorg 2y agoFrom what I recall from my backpacking days near 20 years ago, Mr Bean used to be hugely popular in places like Thailand.
- CarRamrod 2y agoYou might not like it, but this is what peak bri'ish comedy looks like. https://youtu.be/B74_ZoniuPE https://youtu.be/B74_ZoniuPE
- chrislo 2y agoOr is peak British comedy Stuart Lee satirising that scene as a quaint village folk tradition? https://youtu.be/7J1J_iHC2Qw?si=kUy3aQvZ4p2PjLG8 https://youtu.be/7J1J_iHC2Qw?si=kUy3aQvZ4p2PjLG8 Or maybe both?
- dazzawazza 2y agoHere is peak Bri'ish philosophy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAh8HryVaeY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAh8HryVaeY
- mellosouls 2y agoFirst time I saw that I thought it was the cleverest joke I'd ever seen - took me a while to realise it's philosophical origin.
- AndrewOMartin 2y agoYour common or garden philosopher will refer to the Ship of Theseus, or Theseus paradox, and those with a foot in the '90s will call it Trigger's Broom. Those truly tuned in to popular culture will indeed refer to The Sugarbabes, a UK Girl Group who presented a similar situation when all their original members were replaced one by one. This is the superior reference because eventually all the original members returned, elevating the situation to new levels of paradox.
- ddmf 2y agoThe round round baby round round paradox?
- gilleain 2y agoPeak ... or peep comedy ... (Peep Show, I would argue is some of the best recent comedy from us)
- encom 2y agoSaved you a click: It's "Only Fools and Horses".
- radicalbyte 2y agoFools, Dad's Army, 'Allo 'Allo, Red Dwarf, Men Behaving Badly, The IT Crowd, Father Ted, The Office, Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Bottom, The Young Ones, The Thick Of It, Alan Partridge, Some Mothers Do Have 'em, Mr Bean, Yes Minister, The Inbetweeners... British (and Irish) comedy was the best in the world for three decades.
- rasz 2y agoGirls on Top, Absolutely Fabulous
- petepete 2y agoFlebag, Toast, This Country, Detectorists, People Just Do Nothing, After Life. Maybe four.
- walthamstow 2y agoI'd add Peep Show to that list of 2010s. Even the funniest American show of the current decade, Succession, was written by an Englishman.
- rwmj 2y agoThere's definitely some indefinable quality of Peep Show lurking in Succession.
- walthamstow 2y agoI enjoyed this panel at the BFI with Armstrong, Bain, Mitchell and Webb, filmed around the time the Succession finale was on TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwO1HP7ZS-c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwO1HP7ZS-c
- switch007 2y agoBecause Jesse Armstrong co created Peep Show too
- petepete 2y ago
- seanalltogether 2y agoI always wondered why so many British shows were never broadcast in America. I think the most I ever saw growing up in the 80s and 90s was a bit of monty python, mr bean and fawlty towers on PBS, but otherwise nothing. Were the licensing fees so high that it just wasn't worth it? I suppose you could argue that the style wasn't a perfect fit for American audiences, but even then, having a large source of already produced tv shows must have been worth it to one of the tv stations?
- rwmj 2y agoBudgets maybe? British shows (especially from the 80s) are cheaply made and a bit grubby, especially in comparison to US shows with their comparatively enormous budgets, beautiful people etc.
- Ylpertnodi 2y ago>beautiful people etc. Red Dwarf usa suffered such a fate.
- tm-guimaraes 2y ago> beautiful people I’ve watched both the original british “Ghosts” sitcom and the still running american one. And to be honest this is the american quirk that i found the most odd. I’ve actually like the fact they have created different characters to make more sense to be stuck in an american manor, but the main ones dont hide the beautifull actors appeal, which is weird. Also, the american ghosts chatecters seem to have less depht, or at least their deph is rarely shown, ie, deph is there, but ignored or forgotten in most eps. I miss the “cavern ghost” that while he had very primitive behaviours, he was actually smart, but more than that, he showed the pain, experience and how he grow detatched from partimgs and the lime due to the millenia he has been stuck, his mirror “thor” also has noce things, but doesn’t compare, or at least they dont play to them enough. The english boy scout is a more mature and melancolic as well, and acts as a father feature to the female lead occasionally, while the american younger seems much more steriotipical. I really like the american finance bro, it is no way similar to his british politic counterpart, and they do show his nice guy side often, I think the fact that they made them so opposite made me enjoy it more. I guess that the difference in episode count per season might also justify why in most eps the americans are just steriotypes. But the “beauty” of the american ghosts is just silly american obsession.
- rzzzt 2y agoThese always came with the Thames ident at ${HOME_COUNTRY}, not sure why: https://youtu.be/ikH9OLnU3ao https://youtu.be/ikH9OLnU3ao
- rvba 2y agoWasnt an early 90s show called "Tropical heat" absurdly popular in the Balkans? All I remember is that it had a pony-tailed detective called Nick Slaughter, who was solving cases with a red haired woman called Sylvia. The show was very 90s... How about The X-files? The show was popular everywhere, although it had very un-even writing. Could have a 10/10 episode followed by a 1/10 episode.
- bojan 2y agoThe Tropical Heat was indeed so popular that the Canadian actor, Rob Stewart, that played the main character visited Serbia back in 2009, talked to people, was signing autographs, took pictures with fans, etc. Since then he follows the country and has recently supported the ongoing students protests against the autocratic regime.
- dvh 2y agoIn Czechoslovakia in 80s and 90s the most popular British TV series was Dempsey and Makepeace
- tananan 2y agoThere actually is a “The Nag’s Head” in the Balkans - it’s in Montenegro
- ndsipa_pomu 2y agoI recall hearing (back in the day) that The Benny Hill Show was immensely popular in Germany even after its popularity had declined in the UK.