The last decade or so has offered very little in great comedy and all we ever see is the same old established faces on every satirical show.
Why do we never see fresh stand-up comedy? Where's the risqué stuff or anti establishment political satire? Where's the young British Bill Hicks or Mark Thomas & Chris Morris clones or any comedy that pushes the boundaries?
Sketch shows are pretty bland and repetitive, mainstream sit-coms are too safe and we only ever seem to get America's crap.
It's so bad that Peter Kay's one-liner "Garlic bread - it's the future, I've tasted it" - had been named the greatest one-liner in TV comedy history! (must be a northern thing).
What do you think?

British comedy is stale if not dead. The dross that is served up as humour these days on TV makes me cringe - do I sound like a grumpy old man?
Well I am!!!!

"Must have been a bad thing to get shot down"

Sitcom-wise there's been some good stuff e.g. Inbetweeners and How Not To Live Your life, which might be a bit strong for sensitive PC types. Agree that there hasnt been a half decent sketch show since the Fast Show. There's been some pitiful c@ck on both TV and radio over the last 5 years esp Kevin Bishop, a 5th rate John Culshaw who's a 2nd rate
As for UK stand up I think the current scene is the best it's been since the early 80s - Frankie Boyle, Dara O Briain, Stewart Lee and Rob Newman for starters.

Have to say I found Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle the funniest thing on TV in many years. I know he is not exactly a fresh faced newcomer but it does show that at least the Beeb are still prepared to make room for innovative British comedy if it's out there. Question is; is it out there? Being based near London, I am able to attend a few showcase nights at Jongleurs but always seem to leave shaking my head at the same old booze, sex and bodily function based material that may have been considered 'cutting edge' when Billy Connolly was delivering it nearly 40 years ago, but is now just totally predictable and altogether underwhelming. I do my best to watch as much coverage of Edinburgh as I possibly can every year in the hope of catching a new face delivering something that is fresh, incisive and genuinely funny but nothing has really struck that chord with me in I don't know how long. Maybe this year???

Great British comedy dead??? What about al murray, the pub landlord is one of, if not the quintessential BRITISH comic of our times. And what about the wonderful "Psychoville", absolutely the dogs bollocks of dark humour (especially Mr. Jolly, sorry JELLY!!!).

I thought we had a great thing going with Simon Pegg. Now I don't wish to begrudge him his continuing success, but I really wish he wasn't pandering to the Americans nowadays. After the divine 'Spaced', 'Shawn of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz', 'Run Fat Boy Run' was predictable and over-sentimental slush. What a shame.

Still, we do have 'Psychoville' and Bill bailey... for now...

I'd just like to point out to mr lizard, that 'peep show' is a mainstream sitcom that really isn't in my opinion 'too safe'. Black books, extras, and also we are klang aren't all that conservative either. As for fresh stand up comedy how about; Rhod Gilbert, Mark Watson, Michael McIntyre, Ed Byrne, Russell Howard and so on? I'm a massive fan of classic comedy, especially Peter Cook, but i honestly think that british comedy is really the best it's been for many years.

British comedy is indeed dead or dying.

Look at the remake of red dwarf, that was about as funny as having you hand nailed to a table, look at the current state of the once highly enjoyable my family on the bbc. Top Gear, once the most amusing thing on TV, the last series was the worst in many many many years.

About the only decent comedy left on TV is hislop and merton on have I got news for you.

What this country needs is a revival of the great british bawdy comedy along with a new series of spitting image.

Lets face it there will never ever be anything in Britan again like the carry on team and the boys from monty python.

I think Mark Thomas helped to kill comedy. Comedians aren't political activists, or they can be, but just not funny at the same time while they're pandering to one wing or the other.

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easy to write off the current generation of comedy shows but we should remember that in the "golden era" for every Morecombe and Wise we had a Mike & Bernie Winters, for every Porrdige and Fawlty Towers we had a Love Thy neighbour and On the Buses. In recent years the mockumentary has been a great development - from Alan Partridge and The Office to The Thick of It. Hindsight has a wonderful foreshortening effect - in fact the really classic comedies rarely overlapped. Sure we miss the great characters - Peter Cook, Monty Python, Two Ronnies etc but they will be replaced by ones more relevant to future generations and meanwhile we'll always have our Likely Lads and Blackadder (and Benny Hill?) DVDs to treasure.

Peep show, the Mighty Boosh, the IT Crowd, the Office, League of Gentlemen, Green Wing... "very little in great comedy"?! I disagree.

I agree, there is very little that appeals to me just lately but one has to ask the important question .... why?

Is it because as we get older our tastes change?

Could it be that as comedy develops over the years we don't move/associate with it?

Or are todays comedians and/or scriptwriters just not funny?

I feel it is unfair to pin it on the last option hence the truth probably lies somewhere between the first two. However while I am happy to acknowledge that there is plenty of talent about I have to ask the question "how do they build up their experience and get to the top"?

A touch of the "during the war" coming up but most of the great comics served what I suppose you could call an apprenticeship, some doing the armed forces circuit, others on the working mens clubs etc, radio sketch shows like "Round the Horne" etc, etc usually working under established comics and obviously learning their trade before they hit the big time. By the time they had managed to get a position either in a film or on tv the rough edges had been sorted out giving them at least a chance of a) being funny b) making a name for themselves.

Theres talk of a new "Carry on" film in the pipeline, I hope they find a better bunch than the last one, too many comics all trying to be funny at the same time, the originals knew that sometimes it was funnier to be not funny if you get my meaning.

Frday night there's a cracking trio of current UK sitcoms on C4..Peep Show, the It Crowd and Inbetweeners (rpt), as good as anything from the supposed heyday of 70s comedy. The last episode of the IT Crowd was laugh out loud funny where they're taken to see a gay musical. Add How Not To Live Your Life, Gavin and Stacey, Jam and Jerusalem (err..maybe not) and we're probably in a bit of a golden age for UK sitcoms

America happened to British comedy.

Sorry to single individuals out but....Michael McIntyre?? Do me a favour!!
He reminds me of an unsuccessful candidate from some poor variety show who's determined that he's funny no matter what the people say. (There's a sitcom idea right there....nah! been done - King of Comedy!)
I agree with Vic & Bob on this - he's way too safe!
Like one of those charity workers in the street. Not funny.
I bet his grandmother encouraged him.

Sure thing. He's no Jerry Sadowitz

TV producers and commissioning editors have far more power than they ever did and control the output with an iron fist. When Galton and Simpson and Carla Lane were in their heyday the writers were able to see the big wigs directly and basically did what they wanted. TV producers scoured venues such as universities, working men's clubs and theatres for diverse writers. It now seems to be a clique of people that we are told are funny. While I enjoy Psychoville, Mitchell and Webb and Peep Show. The current world of of comedy lacks the divesity which allows writers to feed off each other.

You do need the likes of Jim Davidson, Bernard Manning contrasted with Benny Hill and Morecambe and Wise. While I could not abide Terry and June you need this type of unfunny dross for the likes of the Monty Python Brigade to feed off.

I watch Katy Brand last night and her entire show seemed to be a fat girl using the same voice to rip the michael out of contemporary pop stars and the old timers. Last episode she performed a skit about Blur being old and this episode there was a skit about U2 being old, the next episode she might do one about Oasis or the Rolling Stones - I understand her point which means after two shows she is predictable.

even though we have more TV the variety has been reduced lazy and greedy TV Execs chancing audience figures instead of trying to put out a great product. 'Only Fools and Horses' , ' Steptoe and Son', 'Butterflies', 'Last of the Summerwine' would never be made in todays climate for instant viewing figures therefore it is easier to commision a program that laughs at pop stars and celebs than to comission a well written situation comedy with characters that can evolve over a period of time- hence many programs repeat the same formula or go for shock value where the nation's media demons are mocked. Disposable comedy for the disposable generation.

In forty years time people will have forgotten all this stuff and they will be watching 'Benny Hill', 'On the Buses', 'Rising Damp', 'The Two Ronnies', ' The Fast Show' etc . The reality show that has replaced comedy in the world of light entertainment will be as boring to the next generation as they are now - they can only be watched once ...if at all.

You right there M.Mcintyre not funny i wish he sod off from the stage.

Try 'Mock the Week' - absolutely brilliant.

The new series of Shooting Stars has been brilliant so far. Vic and Bob have never been better. I wish they'd being back Jonny Vegas instead of that Angelos guy though. Frankie Boyle is the only reason to watch Mock the Week. Russell Howard isn't funny - too much of a student. But the best British comedy of the last 10 years hands down is Peter Kay's Phoneix Nights. Absolutely brilliant!

I think we're in a good place at the moment - yes there's a fair bit of dross, but in recent years there's been some real gems. Some have been quite well hidden..

I think "That Mitchell & Webb Look / Sound " is as good as a sketch show as has ever been (and yes I loved Monty Python) it's intelligent, sometimes off the wall, well written, beautifully executed and overall very funny. "Big Train" had quite afew strong moments too.

Other shows I think rank highly are (in no particular order):

The Green Wing
League of Gentlemen
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
Spaced
Peter serafenowicz Show
Stewart Lee
Armando Ianucci's spoof documentaries (e.g. 2004-the stupid version, Time Trumpet, Clinton - his struggle with dirt)
The Armando Ianucci Show
Look Around you
The Mighty Boosh
Bo' Selecta

I could go on ... !

As for stand-up there's plenty of good stand-up comedians - most of whom have been mentioned in this thread - with one exception who IMHO stands head and shoulders above all the others - and that's Ross Noble.

At the end of the day it's all subjective and what I like won't be what you like - but there is a very wide variety of stuff out there of varying quality. I don't think British Comedy is by any means dead...

British comedy is only starting to recover, but will never be as good as it once was. 'The Thick of It' has been the best series of the last decade - we need more sitcom/serial-comedies like this. 'The Smoking Room' and 'Getting On' also come to mind.

As for stand-up, am I the only one here that believes that a stand-up comedian should NEVER be positive. OK, it may sound depressing, but true comic timing doesn't come out if you're smiling with the audience. We need a new Bill Hicks.

The sketch show - unfortunately, looks very dead now.

Then again, after seeing an episode of 'We Are Klang', I think every aspect of British comedy has fallen to its grave. Definately, the WORST SITCOM EVER!!!

People will always look back to the so-called 'Golden Age', and set it in a time that they feel relevant. There is, and always will be, a wealth of comic talent out there. I know that as I age I probably will hearken back to what I see now. Suffice to say British humour is not dead, or ruined by America (a wonderfully predictable thing to say). Although it will take some searching to find another Spike Milligan. Or Peter Cook for that matter.

I don't know....where did you last see it?