Posted: Jun 03, 2013 7:53 am
Mike_L wrote:There was plenty of clever humour in Frasier... including irony, sarcasm, double entendre, puns, etc.
The excellent Seinfeld relied mainly on comedy-of-the-absurd.
But most of the American sitcoms seem to rely on innuendo as the chief mechanism for humour.
I think it's a generalisation to suggest that American sitcoms are somehow lacking. But yes, they're certainly different to British fare.
American sitcoms rely on basic primitive humour and as you say plenty of innuendo.
British sitcoms vary so much. Some of the junk on BBC3 is so Americanised.
BBC 1 still manages to keep a good standard of comedy. Lee Mack's "Just not Going Out" is a good example.
Comedy never translates well. Tommy Cooper and Benny Hill did well here but they did not have that much dialog and were very 'visible' comedians. The Dutch dont do satire very well. I think the same can be said about the Germans.
One type of comedy that is seldom seen in Britain is 'cabaret'. The Dutch love it and it has been popular since the '50's.
It is full of sarcasm.
Hier is a fairly long article but it does describe it well.
http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_low001199301_01/_low001199301_01_0034.php
Dutch cabaret is unique in the world. That at least is what Dutch people believe. In a country that has always been a melting pot of cultures and influences owing its existence to its neighbours, this cannot be true.
What is true is that Dutch people apparently have strong opinions about what cabaret is and can easily argue whether some theatre performance is really and truly cabaret. The English music hall is not, nor is the American musical or show, nor the French café chantant. Cabaret in the Dutch sense is in the first place play with language. The theatrical aspect comes second. The play with language should preferably have some impact, i.e. be part of a political, social or religious statement. We think that cabaret must be about something, and that something is usually ourselves, the microcosm we live in, our ethical and political views, our social opinions. Cabaret must be something personal, and that is why we think that the performing artist must be the creator of its text and songs.