Do You Enjoy Brit Humour? Watch These Shows...

To be honest, I've always thought that I was born in the wrong country.  I love America but I feel such a strong affinity for another country - England - that I swear I must have lived there in another lifetime.  My ultimate desire would be to move "back home" to England, but there is such a small chance of that happening that I've nearly given up hope. So what do I do to simulate living in England - I drive on the left hand side, I spell words with extras u's, I frequently use British colloquialisms to the confusion of many, and I watch a lot of British television. British television is fantastic and I thought I'd share some recommendations of my favourite British shows; starting with my all-time best-loved comedies:

1. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1974):  I find it hard to believe that there are people in this world who have never heard of The Pythons, but I suppose it's possible.  In my opinion, The Pythons are the best sketch comedy troupe of all time. Yes, I love the original Not Yet Ready for Primetime Players, but SNL cannot hold a candle to The Pythons. I still howl at their sketches.  Customer: "'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!  THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!"  [Probably my favourite sketch - see below!]
2. Father Ted (1995-1998): This crazy sitcom is about three priests and their housekeeper who live on a remote island (fictional Craggy Island) off Ireland's west coast, but it is anything but peaceful and quiet. The three priest have been banished to the island for various transgressions and as a result, hilarity ensues.  Father Ted: "Fascists dress in black and go around telling people what to do, whereas priests... more drink!"
3. Absolutely Fabulous (1992-2012): Take a heavy-drinking drug-abusing PR agent, add her straight-laced, serious daughter, mix in an alcoholic, drug abuser magazine editor and what do you get? One of the funniest sitcoms I have ever seen! Yes, the two lead characters (Edina and Patsy) have no redeeming qualities, but they are a laugh riot!  Eddie: "Had two husbands, one was too short - one was gay. Still sweetie if you want to know how to peck a dwarf on the cheek as he's walking out of the house to the disco in your dress, then I'm your girl."
4. Black Books (2000-2004): Meet Bernard Black. Anti-social, chain-smoking, heavy drinking Bernard runs his own bookshop even though he doesn't much like people who buy books and hates having customers. Next door to Bernard's shop is the Nifty Gifty gift shop run by Fran, Bernard's only friend and drinking companion. When Bernard's accountant goes on the run Bernard employs stress victim, Manny to help in his shop. This leads to a series of surreal adventures around the shop. Bernard: [selling a book]  "Enjoy. It's dreadful, but quite short."
5. Blackadder (1983-1989):  I'm not certain how to explain Blackadder.  Set in various eras, the series follows the misfortunes of Edmund Blackadder, who in each series is a member of a British family who is present at many significant periods and places in British history. Starring comic genius Rowan Atkinson, this series is a scream.  Blackadder: "Leave me alone, Baldrick. If I wanted to talk to a vegetable, I would have bought one at the market."

As with some of my other entertainment recommendations, coming up with only 5 suggestions was brutal. Naturally, I need to give you some honourable mentions:  The Office (the UK version is a hundred times funnier than the US), Are You Being Served?, The IT Crowd, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, The Inbetweeners, My Family, and Fawlty Towers.  If you like British humour, then you will love these shows.  If not, give them a try anyway.  They're really terribly funny!

Here's the Dead Parrot Sketch:

Updated; 2/17/13, 5:56pm:  At the insistence of a friend (see comments), I spent most of today watching Coupling.  You can definitely add this to the list of Must See Brit TV. It can be streamed on Netflix and Hulu. Although, I would recommend Hulu due to the fact that Netflix cuts about 6 minutes from each show.  Why??  Don't know.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize this fact until I was partway through Season 2. I now feel compelled to go back and re-watch the episodes.