Time Gentlemen Please

Pretty much found this series by accident after looking up Al Murray's YouTube channel. Am up to episode 10 and loving it.

Murray isn't mentioned at all here in New Zealand on mainstream media, maybe because he isn't PC enough, which is a shame as he's very funny. At least we have youtube to get our fix.

This series is like a cross between Bottom and Cheers, well, more like Bottom and quite a bit ruder but funnier for it.

I suspect it has been swept under the carpet because it is so un-pc but that is what makes it so funny. Worth a watch imo.

Set in a no name pub somewhere in England, it was a brilliant sitcom full of satire such as the guv's speech on proper food after insulting the Germans and the Koreans "bangers and mash...the genitals and offal of a pig mashed up and stuffed into an intestinal sheath...now thats proper food". The amazing catch phrases that sprang up and not bothering to give half the characters proper names such as the old man and up to a point which gave birth to a wonderful line.

(on the phone) Old man: Yes its the old man with no name...at the pub with no name.

It was a sitcom completely unafraid to be non-PC, poking fun at religion and countries whilst making fun of the Guv's small mindedness and ignorance. I believe this to be one of the best sitcoms to ever be made definitely in this day and age. I hope its released on DVD one day.

Shear genius!!! This sitcom just keeps getting better!!! 18 Episodes in (18! - you don't get that on terrestrial) & it still has me wetting myself every week. Catchphrases abound: "Its not normal","never confused","I'm cheeky me","Look at his face - its a picture","Back off Brussels","Damn my bean shaped face","COW! Never pulled a pint in her life","Mustards Yellow - not Brown!","They play bowls on gravel for pitys sake!" and "Do you remember when the Prof won £2 out of that machine". Funniest telly since the Fast Show.

One of the funniest British comedies in a while. It has more episodes per series than the usual six so naturally it is less consistent than some comedies but most of the episodes are pure TV gold, the last episode in series 2 has to be one of the funniest pieces of television ever made.

Unfortunately, it was first shown on sky one, and as far as I know sky one has never released any of it's programmes onto DVD, so the only way you're going to be able to see this is a repeat. If you do see it scheduled you really should find some time to watch it, because deep down in every Englishman's heart, behind all of that fluffy, new labour PC, we all know that the best jokes are extremely xenophobic.

I don't know what Teotihuacan was watching, but it obviously wasn't Time Gentlemen Please.

My wife is American and it's about the only British comdy she watches, laughs at and really enjoys. The programme has now moved on and Julia is no longer there, so any other Australians put off by Teotihuacan's comments can rest assured that they won't be cringing at her accent, not that I thought it was that bad. The strong characterisations (slutty Aussie, maloderous Drunk, still in the closet gay pervy guy, failed-at-everything landlord) and catchphrases add immensly to the humour of this thoroughly hilarious show. Perhaps it's just *too* British for Teotihuacan to understand.

Give it a try!