The original post: /r/television by /u/Deserana12 on 2024-06-02 22:07:19.
Me and my SO both came down with covid, she hasn’t seen it so I thought for nostalgia sake we can give one episode a go and see how we fair. We ended up watching the entire show in two and a half days. It’s still an absolute classic 49 years later and I can’t believe how hard they still go in terms of escalation in craziness.
The best part though is how it’s a multi camera sitcom yet it never ever stops for laughs. You have to keep up or you’ll miss even more carnage or a one liner. The recordings must have been a blast.
The show is just so damn well written, a testament to how writing is the basis of any good show and how satisfying story structure can be when it’s done well. The payoffs in this show hit so damn hard. There’s usually a big moment in the end that’s signposted in the first act, that’s stays in the background until it’s big moment.
Then you have John Cleese as Basil, growing up he was always seen as the gold standard for a comedy performance (in the UK at least), and I’d say that’s still true to this day. It’s incredible how much of a sympathetic asshole he comes across as, you hate him but not enough to not want to see him succeed but then he’ll shoot himself in the foot.
Those who haven’t seen it, if you can see past dated looking camerawork, do search it out.