Old UK comedies that have stood the test of time

Comedy about the staff of a northern English factory. Bren (Victoria Wood), a kindly woman, tries to help everyone with their problems, while attempting to ignore her drunken mother who lives in a fantasy world where she hobnobs with the rich and famous. Her boss Tony (Andrew Dunn) likes to make out that he's an ultra-laddish sexist pervert, although it's all just a cover for being too shy to ask Bren out. The older members of the team, Dolly (Thelma Barlow) and Jean (Anne Reid), live only for the not-so-subtle bitching war they have with each other. Dolly is preoccupied with her weight, and Jean's fed up with her husband. Meanwhile, Twinkle (Maxine Peake), described sarcastically by Tony as "The Pixie With The Laughing Face" is always in a foul mood, and Anita (Shobna Gulati) simply hasn't a clue. Add in Stan (Duncan Preston) the handyman, who busies himself with "toaster emergencies" and "canine faces alerts" and Philippa (Celia Imrie), the neurotic human resources officer, and it's an unusual day when "any blooming work" gets done.

Only one week to go before the marriage of Howard and Mel which quickly escalates into the week from Hell. The series follows the bumbling Howard as he lurches from one appallingly embarrassing disaster to the next in the week leading up to his wedding.

Set in the corridors of power and spin, the Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.

The irreverent Monty Python comedy troupe present a series of skits which are often surreal, bawdy, uncompromising and/or tasteless, but nearly always hilarious.

This BBC comedy skit show is the brainchild of longtime comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Each episode featured satire on British life, television, and parodies on big box-office movies such as Batman Forever (1995) and Pulp Fiction (1994). The duo also invited notable Brits such as Patsy Kensit, Lulu, and Kate Moss.

This quintessentially British sitcom is about Grace Brothers, a department store in London which is owned and kept traditional, almost pre-war (e.g. precise dress code for ladies frills and gentlemen's hats according to rank), by two brothers who look old enough to have fought in the Boer war but rarely appear, as most scenes play on one floor where Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold is the executive (meaning he enjoys an endless parade of foxy but stupid secretaries) in charge of management while his dignified floor walker, Captain Stephen Peacock, has daily charge over two small sales teams. The bossy, implicitly man-hungry widow Mrs. Betty Slocombe supervises the attractive Miss Shirley Brahms (with a terribly common Cockney accent) -with first choice of customers, on commission- the sale of women's clothes and accessories; the sales star at the gentleman's side is Mr. Wilberforce Clayborne Humpries, an implied closet-gay true gentleman, whose successive superiors are first obviously nearly retired Mr. Ernest Grainger and later formerly independent Mr. Grosman while the successive cheeky juniors are Mr. Dick Lucas and Mr. Bert Spooner. A regular visitor, and the only manual laborer but apparently best paid, is union representative Mr. Mash. Their interaction with each-other and the customers is quite formal in principle, but turns out comical in practice.

Mark and Jez are a couple of twenty-something roommates who have nothing in common - except for the fact that their lives are anything but normal. Mayhem ensues as the pair strive to cope with day-to-day life.

Tommy Saxondale is an ex-roadie with anger management issues and his own pest control business in Stevenage. Having survived a hostile divorce, Tommy now lives with his girlfriend Magz. Tommy regards himself as a maverick and free thinker and takes the opportunity to impart his wisdom to his naïve assistant Raymond.

British comedy series about the Harper family. Father Ben is a dentist who'd like to see his children move out of the house as soon as possible because all he wants is peace and quiet. His eldest son Nick - who later on in the series does move out - is a complete idiot and a no-good who can't hold on to any of the various jobs he has. Daughter Janey is very shallow and not very picky when it comes to boys while son Michael is way too smart for Ben and doesn't feel the need to communicate much with his father. His curious wife Susan clearly makes all the decisions in the household. Later on in the series Ben gets an assistant at work, goofy and naive Roger, and when Janey finally moves out, no-brainer Abby moves in, while Janey keeps visiting, sometimes bringing along her little son, Kenzo. So much for Ben's peace and quiet.

Arkwright is a tight-fisted shop owner in Doncaster, who will stop at nothing to keep his profits high and his overheads low, even if this means harassing his nephew Granville. Arkwright's only weakness is his love - Nurse Gladys Emanuel.

Traders and brothers, Rodney and Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, work from the streets of London buying what they can from the auctions and flogging it down at the market, always saying "This time next year, we'll be millionaires". Their Granddad and, later in the series, Uncle Albert also live in their council flat as the wise old man saying their next scheme won't work and offering in their jokes.

Frank Spencer's more than just a accident-prone; everything he touches falls apart, and he can't keep a job for more than a day. The only thing which keeps him going is his long-suffering wife Betty, who somehow manages to cope with his disaster-prone life-style.

Gordon Brittas is the manager of the Whitbury-Newtown Leisure Centre. Despite his good intentions, everything seems to go wrong when he's around, despite the best efforts of the center staff and his long-suffering wife, Helen.

Political satire about television news company Globe Link and its team of workers such as anchors Henry and Sally, reporter Damien, editor Dave, execs George and Helen, assistant Joy and manager Gus Hedges.

Alan Partridge, a failed television presenter, is now presenting a programme on local radio in Norwich. He desperately tries to revive his broadcasting career.

James Hacker is the British Minister for Administrative Affairs. He tries to do something and cut government waste, but he is continually held back by the smart and wily Permanent Secretary of the Department, Sir Humphrey Appleby. Private secretary Bernard Woolley is caught in the middle, between his political master, and his civil service boss.

When Mr. Grace is killed in a tragic scuba diving accident, the Grace Brothers store is closed down. Being faced with the option of finding new jobs or early retirement on a minuscule pension, the staff takes over the running of a large manor house/hotel in the English countryside, where all manner of humorous things take place.

Tells the adventures of Conservative MP Alan B'Stard, a man who doesn't have any morals at all. He stops at nothing to make himself richer and more powerful in the party and is involved in drugs, adult films, fraud (making up charities with the initials C.A.S.H when writing on cheques) and even murder but believes that he will never be caught as he is a Conservative MP and therefore all powerful. He has almost complete power over another MP - Piers Fletcher-Dervish who is nearly completely brainless. His wife Sarah B'Stard has very loose morals (both of them have affairs mostly every day) and has hated her husband from five minutes after they got married and tries to use Alan to get anything she wants. Each episode contains recent news items and Alan moves with the times with things like the end of the cold war, the Nazi hunt in the late 80's as well as the Animal Freedom Party. Keeping up with the huge amount of cash, Alan moves (in the 4th season) to the European Union to continue to make herself richer and to climb to the most powerful position he can reach...