I got mocked by the guide on a ghost tour for watching Bottom.
Plus “The Day Today”. Bomb dogs! Peter O’Hanrahahahanrahan! The Grand National!
One more vote for Father Ted. It’s one of the funniest shows I’ve ever watched, although experience has taught me that it’s not for everybody.
Some good ones listed, but The Vicar of Dibley is absolutely fantastic. Dawn French and a hilarious ensemble cast.
Doc Martin, more of a dramedy is another series with a great ensemble cast. City doctor moves to eccentric seaside town after his fear of blood drives him from the big city.
It’s not strictly a comedy, but I find Top Gear to be one of the most consistently amusing shows out there.
Lots mentioned already - here’s a few obscure additions:
Not technically an addition, since someone already mentioned it, but it’s good to have backup. ;)
I wouldn’t say you can learn everything you need to know about the show from its intro, but you [i]can[/i] learn a lot.
Dark Place, League of Gentlemen and Mighty Boosh are all REQUIRED WATCHING for all Americans. You need to understand that a sitcom isn’t required to be a family X lounging around their house quipping and learning important morals.
By all means, though, steer clear of the League of Gentlemen movie.
Quick recommendation for Outnumbered, a semi-improvised sitcom about a family and their everyday life. Its semi-improvised because 2 of the kids are under ten and aren’t neccesarily going to deliver the lines the way intended, but somehow it still ends up being hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG7bWzWYEWg - should give you a small taste of it, but frankly for the full effect you need the entirety of an episode for the build-up.
I really love IT crowd, I’ve watched all the seasons at least twice. It went full bizarre in some episodes of the last season, but it was actually funny. The episode about Countdown is amazing.
Although there are some “Oh look they’re nerds HARR HARR” jokes it also has a lot of original humor. I’m not a big fan of Richmond but otherwise all the main characters are great.
Another vote for Coupling.
A couple of shows that haven’t been mentioned here are Big Train and Smack The Pony.
Big Train spawned this, of course, and Smack the Pony could be just brilliant.
My favourite Big Train sketch was this classic, featuring Simon Pegg before he was even a British TV star:
I love this one, myself.
for some stuff you might not have seen:
world of pub
15 storeys high (just spotted someone else suggested this, so i will add my backing)
how do you want me (yes, this is fucking amazing, nothing like black books)
stewart lee’s comedy vehicle (not a sitcom, but you should watch it anyway. he is the most original and divisive british comedian at the moment, loved and loathed in equal measure - the second series is quite astonishing and much more creative than the first)
Coupling!!
how do you want me (yes, this is fucking amazing, nothing like black books)
Bummer, it’s not on Netflix :(.
Another vote for The IT Crowd. The characters are really likable, and the situations are almost all very original. Though, yes, it gets very bizarre at times.
Kitchen Nightmares.
I refuse to accept that most of those people are non-fictional.
Seconded. One of our favorites.