I actually vaguely remember having seen The Last Salute after clicking on the link. I had never heard of the others before. Being a comedy-junkie I shall have to see if I can find an episode to see what they were like.
And I've just remembered First Of The Summer Wine as well.
The Grimleys - some would say comedy-drama, others sitcom
Like a couple of others here I was going to "do" the English Civil War. (Not the Clash.) I'd planned it in a similar format to 'Allo 'Allo!. Going to be called Goosy Gander because apparently the nursery rhyme referred to Roundheads. (No - not those!)
I don't think I've heard of one relating to British India yet, although I'm trying to think if Goodness Gracious Me did any sketches about it. It could be called something like 'Sun Never Sets' I can just imagine it:
Calcutta, 1858, India is reorganized as the British Raj. First episode could follow an Indian Prince (Sanjeev Bhaskar?) who is bankrupt because of the recent rebellion trying to find an appropriate gift to send to Queen Victoria to show loyalty, but failing miserably. Another episode could be a failed attempt at making money from tea planting. Risque, but possibly a good chance to explore issues of race, orientalism, clash of culture and really take the piss of old British Empire types.
Secondary character could be a blithering Oxford orientalist student who works as a civil servant (Simon Bird?), the princes' wife who spends an innumerable amount of time scheming to get close to the Viceroy's office, and for good measure a humble charioteer (Om Puri?)
Well there's Carry On... Up The Khyber of course, but some interesting ideas there! Doubt such a show would stand a chance today though. Already It Ain't Half Hot Mum is deemed too racist to broadcast.
Quote: Aaron @ August 20 2013, 10:18 AM BSTWell there's Carry On... Up The Khyber of course, but some interesting ideas there! Doubt such a show would stand a chance today though. Already It Ain't Half Hot Mum is deemed too racist to broadcast.
I didn't even know about Carry On... Up The Khyber! I have to majorly get caught up with the Carry On films, I adore Joan Sims.
I think something like this would need to be done sensitivly yes, but I think it's all in the underlying theme and the jokes. They have to be tasteful without being belittling, historically true because it's so easy to laugh at Clive of India types, and certainly exploring the pain of that colonial past through shared humour. Something like Goodness Gracious Me worked well because it took the piss of both South Asian stereotypes by Brits, of Brits, and included many in-jokes of the community itself. It used themes very relevant to the community, but in a way everyone could enjoy. Of course the major issue I can think of with history comedies is the understanding of the history behind them. A joke about say, Catarina Sforza's personal baby making factory isn't funny unless you know who Catarina Sforza is... and WHAT her personal baby making factory is.
I don't disagree. Had David Croft made such a show in the 70s, perhaps instead of It Ain't Half Hot Mum, it could've been great and perhaps exactly that. But I think the very nature of British media today means such a project would be a complete non starter from the off.
You have a definite point.
Quote: Aaron @ August 18 2013, 9:55 PM BSTNot familiar with Demob
I remember Demob, had Griff Rhys Jones, Martin Clunes and Samantha Janus. The thing I remember most was Samantha Janus topless in it 
but in my defence I was only 14 at the time. It was more of a comedy drama though.
There's also Hunderby by Julia Davis set in Victorian times. Quite good I think.
Was there ever a comedy about the Norman conquest?
Quote: BenS @ August 23 2013, 5:28 AM BSTThere's also Hunderby by Julia Davis set in Victorian times.
Pre-Victorian, actually.
Holocaust-The Golden Years.
Quote: Aaron @ August 23 2013, 10:40 AM BSTPre-Victorian, actually.
yes, yes it is.
OK, because I'm a colossal geek, I have updated my list
Cavegirl - stone age
Plebs - ancient Rome 27 BC - 1453 AD
Up Pompeii! - ancient Pompeii pre 79 AD
Chelmsford 123 - 123 AD
Kröd Mändoon And The Flaming Sword Of Fire - mediaeval Arthurian 6th century
Sir Gadabout: The Worst Knight In The Land - mediaeval arthurian 6th century
Dark Ages - 999 AD
Whoops Baghdad - mediaeval Baghdad 5th and 15th centuries
The Black Adder - 1485
Blackadder II - reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
Blackadder: The Cavalier Years - English Civil War (1642-1651)
Let Them Eat Cake - 1770s to 1780s
Haggard - 1777-1778
A Touch Of The Casanovas - 18th century
Blackadder The Third - Regency 1811 and 1820
Hunderby - 1830s
The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff - Victorian (1837-1901)
Blackadder's Christmas Carol - Victorian (1837-1901)
Up The Women - 1910
Blackadder Goes Forth - First World War (1914-1918)
Chickens - First World War (1914-1918)
You Rang, M'Lord? - 1920s
Blandings - 1929
Jeeves And Wooster - 1920s and 1930s
Clarence - 1937
First Of The Summer Wine - 1939
Backs To The Land - 1940
'Allo 'Allo! - Nazi-occupied France during World War II (1940 to 1944)
Dad's Army - Second World War (1939 to 1945)
Yanks Go Home - Second World War (1939 to 1945)
Over Here - Second World War (1939 to 1945)
Goodnight Sweetheart - Second World War (1939 to 1945 to post war)
Then Churchill Said To Me - 1940 - 1945
It Ain't Half Hot Mum - 1945
Get Well Soon - post-World War II
Demob - late 1940s and early 1950s
Hi-De-Hi! - 1959 and 1960
Get Some In! - late 1950s/early 1960s
Rock & Chips - 1960
The Last Salute - early 1960s
Oh Doctor Beeching! - 1963
Hippies - 1969
Days Like These - 1970s
The Grimleys - mid-1970s