Wow some seriously strange/funny/interesting stuff... Laughed my ass off at "Thick People as a Service"
American here. Reminds me heavily of Monty Python. I didn't realize there were other shows in such a similar vein. Will def checkout Jam / Blue Jam. Can you recommend any other shows I might not be aware of?
Look Around You [0] is little known even in the UK, but I think a lot of HN readers might love it. It's a surreal but perfectly observed parody of the 80s/90s educational videos we used to watch in school science classes.
One that I absolutely loved, but which rarely comes up, is Mr Don & Mr George by two Scottish comedians Moray Hunter and Jack Docherty. I think there was only one series, but it has a beautifully gentle, slightly surreal, slightly slapstick humour.
Edit: And for a much more brutal sense of humour, I don't think any political comedy has bettered The Thick Of It.
I recommended Still Game to an American colleague and he found it hilarious even though I thought it would be a bit crude at times for an older gentleman. I guess the fact they're pensioners themselves softens the humour a bit.
They were Edinburgh's answer to Glasgow's Naked Video (Gregor Fisher, Elaine C. Smith, Andy Gray, Helen Lederer, etc.) although the welsh John Sparkes was in both, and had is own spin-off series, Barry Welsh is Coming
Love Big Train, some seriously good sketches. Here's some more of my favourites (outside of the ones you've already mentioned).
Unfortunately my favourite sketch, 'Cake Factory', isn't on Youtube any more. That was where I first realised how brilliant Simon Pegg was as a comedy actor.
I’d recommend anything by Julia Davis, who was in the ‘thick people’ sketch. Her comedies are pitch black and very good, including Nighty Night and Hunderby.
For a sketch show I’d recommend Big Train - it went slightly under the radar, but has an absolutely incredible lineup of talent.
Slightly different, but Charlie Brooker (of Black Mirror fame) had a series called Screenwipe, which lampooned the tropes of television in the mid 2000s. It was pretty funny, and quite dark in places.
American here. Reminds me heavily of Monty Python. I didn't realize there were other shows in such a similar vein. Will def checkout Jam / Blue Jam. Can you recommend any other shows I might not be aware of?