Quote: Pingl @ October 14 2012, 8:34 PM BST

It was kind of the stock state of mind in the seventies. Clive James crafted a whole career at laughing at foreign TV. That was until our TV became as ludicrous, Big Brother etc. BBC costume dramas, classic adaptations, sitcoms, even ITV with Brideshead etc. But the thing is, I look back on the best of US output and it is every way as good. Taxi, Cheers, Mash, Columbo, Mission Impossible, Maverick I could go on and on. But in this country we had the feeling we were superior I was just thinking was it all in our over inflated egos.

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Mind you, Big Brother was a Dutch invention. You should see the shit shows we have here.

My local PBS station played Are You Being Served? and Allo Allo. I loved both shows, and they were the shows that got me into British comedies. Then I watched the other British comedies that they aired over the years. I saw Blackadder, Mr. Bean, Keeping Up Appearances, As Time Goes By, Barbara, Last of the Summer Wine, and Father Ted (among others) on PBS and liked them all. So PBS was what really got me started on British comedies. The shows were just plain funnier than most of the American network shows!

For me it started with watching Monty Python on German TV (I still wonder why Monty Python was so popular in Germany) and from there on I started watching any British comedy that was shown on Dutch and German TV (The Young Ones, Blackadder, The New Statesman, The Brittas Empire, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, 'Allo 'Allo). Then we got cable TV which included BBC, we had a little AM receiver on which we could get Radio 4 (before internet and iPlayer) and me and my brother went on trips to England to buy huge amounts of videos.

I kind of miss those days of carrying very heavy luggage and the funny looks of the customs people

bob and margaret, monty python had an early influence

Not sure. It was always there, I suppose. On telly. Also, I am an anglophile. It is a bit embarrassing really, but I am.

Quote: reds @ October 14 2012, 11:00 AM BST

I remember Mr Bean and Keeping up Appearances on telly when I was a kid, so guess that was the first ones I saw.

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I ditto that. Also, I remember Brittas Empire.

Then as an early teenager, I remember them airing Bottom. I thought that was hilarious.
And Monty Python. I remember renting the Holy Grail with my older siblings and watching it. And there was nothing like it, really.

*edit: Oh, I can't believe I forgot. Drop the Dead Donkey was also on telly a lot. I loved that show. And that Prime minister one, too.

I think it was my parents making me watch Fawlty Towers. Then I became a sitcom addict! VHS Boxsets everywhere oh yes

I've always loved comedy so I wouldn't say there was a defining momemnt but from what I can remember I'd say watching 'Only fools and horses' with my dad was a big one. I'm on the younger side of people on here I think so I grew up with reruns of Only fools and horses and Porridge and then shows like My family and My hero