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[Music]
merry christmas everyone
and with hot chocolate in hand and tree
in the background
we are going to explore the witty yet
sophisticated art
of the british christmas special
[Music]
[Laughter]
now this was originally going to be a
countdown but
i found that british christmas specials
are so diverse in what they offer in
terms of seasonal spirit that
there's really no point in ranking them
so in no particular order
[Music]
my family has always been an interesting
highlight of british comedy
because if you know anything about
british comedy you'll know that it takes
its roots and often its cues
from theatre which means either
outrageous pageantry or
dramatic subject matter which is why a
lot of british comedies are also
tragedies my family is interesting
because
american comedy with their snappy
dialogue and their gag
driven humor were becoming more and more
popular in the uk
so the bbc decided to restructure their
writer's room
to make american style comedies for
british audiences
it's got all the archetypes we've got
the micromanaging mother the grumpy
father the spoiled daughter the
know-it-all son and the village idiot
and it is very recognizably american in
style
if you take one small scene and count
the jokes they are numerous and rapid
fire
whereas british comedy focuses more on
long setups before it hits you
with the punchline this is not a hard
and fast rule just an interesting
deviation i've noticed
critics didn't think highly of it but
audiences
loved it evidenced by the fact that it
had 11 seasons
which is an eternity by british comedy
standards
though there is a noticeable dip in
quality after season 5.
anyway on to the christmas special
there are all the hallmarks of a typical
american holiday special
mother wants dinner to be perfect father
is indifferent or even outright annoyed
by it
then a problem shows up usually a
relative
mother tries to solve the problem father
tries to ignore it
characters who aren't involved putter
about in the background there is a
bonding moment and everyone sits down to
christmas dinner which is in some way
ruined
it's comfortable it's consumable
it's christmas
[Music]
only fools and horses is one of the most
beloved british sitcoms in history
the basic premise is a wheeling and
dealing wise talker named dale boy who
dreams of becoming a millionaire
and his long-suffering brother rodney
this character is so essential to
british culture that if you come across
as a smart talking wheeler dealer type
you may be called a dale boy in contrast
to american shows that may be more
likely to have their characters slowly
work their way up the ladder
delboy's schemes usually go his way
but he never climbs higher than the step
he was born on
because like stephen fry says
the american comic hero is a wisecracker
who is above his material and who is
above the idiots around him
all the great british comic heroes are
people
who want life to be better and on whom
life craps from a terrible height
and whose sense of dignity is constantly
compromised by the world letting them
down
and that is why british comedies are
also tragedies
even if you win you never move
unless you are very very
lucky so on to the christmas special
it's another uneventful christmas in
poverty stricken london until
dale boy and rodney's deadbeat dad shows
up claiming to have an
illness and suggesting that dale and
rodney get tested
rodney doesn't really remember him so
he's willing to give him the benefit of
the doubt and granddad is just happy to
see his son again
but dale isn't falling for it the
results of their tests come back and
apparently
dell is not his father's son dell goes
through
shock confusion isolation and eventually
suspicion as he decides to investigate
his father's
illness only to find out that he
doctored the results to change dell's
blood group
out of sheer nastiness
he is kicked to the curb but dale even
though he'll swindle you out of your
lunch money
he'll also give you his last penny
damn that is
quite far removed from the comparatively
banal
problem of your young but still adult
daughter coming home pregnant
this one is not full of happy christmas
spirit
but it does embody the importance of
family you love and who love you
and that blood doesn't mean there's a
place for you at the christmas dinner
[Music]
table
the vicar of dubli is the standard
comedy setup of an intelligent person
being surrounded by idiots
the premise is a female vicar assigned
to a very insulated possibly inbred
village parish
you are expecting a bloke beard bible
bad breath
and instead you got a babe with a bobcat
and a magnificent bosom
they are all shocked to get a female
vicar but episode 1 is all that's ever
said about it
the christmas special consists of the
vicar geraldine who is at this point
very beloved in the village
being invited to everyone's christmas
dinners and because she doesn't want to
disappoint anyone
she eats all of them
years ago i was watching a countdown of
the greatest british christmas specials
and the writer of this one
said that comedy is populated by
and he wanted to prove that you can make
nice
people funny and well
isn't that just lovely
[Music]
from british politeness to british
cynicism we have black adder
black adder is pretty famous but in case
you don't know
it's a historical sitcom where rowan
atkinson plays the wisecracking
blackadder who will deliver the most
colorful
long-winded insults you have ever heard
ask them who they prefer to meet
squadron commander flash heart and the
man who cleans out the public toilets in
aberdeen
[Music]
as poor as a church mouse that's just
had an enormous tax bill
on the very day his wife ran off with
another mouse taking all the cheese
about the weakest practical joke since
cardinal woolsey got his knob out at
hampton court
and stood at the end of the passage
pretending to be a door
every season takes place in a different
time period making use of class-based
humor and it's so
so clever every season rowan atkinson
plays a different descendant in the line
of blackadder
that is to say a heartless
except for the christmas version
where he is kind and generous
and a complete sucker
he gets visited by a ghost who praises
him for his generosity but inadvertently
reveals to him that if he keeps going
the way he's going
his ancestors will end up destitute
and the story ends with blackadder
learning a valuable lesson
bad guys there have been better stories
from this show
but it's a fun parody of a beloved
christmas story told in its uniquely
black adder way
[Music]
now most entries in this list are
sitcoms
because well they tend to do the best
christmas specials
especially if you're cynical but there
is a different one
i wanted to share with you you know
those cheesy
studio christmas shows where they just
have a host
play games talk to celebrities bring on
singers to sing christmas songs and milk
the season for all it's worth
well we have a tv host duo in britain
called anton deck who are the kind of
guys who can for some reason get away
with telling the dumbest
jokes they would be so unfunny if
said by anyone else but i'll be real
with you
i mostly chose this special because of
this moment
they bring on robbie williams to sing
white christmas and
i don't want to spoil it just watch
and i am fully convinced that he
genuinely didn't know that was going to
happen
and bless him he tries to keep going but
his performance
is over the rest of the special is
really just more of what i said before
but
best christmas prank
ever
[Music]
mrs brown's boys is quite contentious in
current british comedy
if you ask people about it it's either
the funniest thing you've ever seen or
the worst thing to ever grace british tv
it's melodramatic it's for the most part
poorly acted
and it's a one-and-one-out structure of
storytelling
one person comes in conversation the
person leaves
next person comes in conversation leaves
rinse repeat looking at it from that
point of view i can understand why some
people think it's trash
but here's why i think that's unfair
pantomime pantomime is a british theater
tradition of
melodrama absurdity and audience
participation
in the last half century it has mostly
been confined to the christmas season
and for many people including myself
it's an essential part of the season
not this year though it's really hard to
describe panto to someone who hasn't
seen it but it's usually a retelling of
old folk and fairy tales incorporating
fourth wall breaking
pantomime dames which is just men in the
most
obvious drag ever and regional humor
it means that pantos are going to be
wildly different from one city to the
next
and everyone's city is going to think
theirs is the best
though glasgows are the best highlights
of recent years include
ali balbag and cinderella two i married
and umpty
mrs brown's boys is very much like that
the situations
are absurd mrs brown a man in drag by
the way
talks to the audience and even though
it's recorded for tv if the actors make
a mistake
they'll leave it in anymore
did you just bang your breast off the
table now so i have a real fondness for
it especially during christmas time
their best christmas special is the one
with the most standard plot
one of mrs brown's children is a priest
away on the missions
and this will be the first christmas
he's been home in four years
the rest of her children get the news
that he won't be able to make it and
none of them can bear to tell her
meanwhile one of her son's dodgy friends
sells her a live turkey and he keeps
trying to kill it but can't bring
himself to
all the while mrs brown is preparing for
her audition for the nativity play
there is no room at the inn and she said
but i am exhausted
i have come across the desert on my ass
eventually her other son's boyfriend
accidentally tells her that the priest's
son won't be coming home
she gets her part in the nativity i
spend the whole
it ends with all her family around her
and a lovely
christmas surprise there's even a song
at the end
just like there is in pantomime so
this is going to be entirely down to
what you think of this
absurd theater-based style of comedy
and whether this very very british
christmas tradition
holds a special place in your heart
dear red-nosed fat bastard
still game is a scottish comedy because
i just
had to include one here and like i said
about pantomime maybe i'm biased
because it's my region the humor comes
from but
it is hilarious
it's one of those funny because it's
true scenarios
if you've ever met scottish people
especially old scottish men
this is how they interact you're putting
a beef on jack
ah actually every time i shag your wife
she makes me a sandwich
[Laughter]
you have to be quick with a comeback or
you will be eaten
alive and there's also this thing at
least
my family do where you take the piss by
putting on your posh voice
which is really just your normal glasgow
drawl but
more enunciated what would you like
oh that is a big question what would we
like victor oh what would we like jack
we would like it to be warmer than here
and to lose the stale smell of pish
yes and for the decor to be a bit more
inviting
we would like to come in here and no
want to kill ourselves
mr jarvis the gauntlet is down once more
yes i thought furthermore beside it i
place
one shiny golden nugget indeed a king's
ransom
bar keep fetching the arrows
shut it up your prick and give us the
dance
i would like to inform the right
honorable gentleman
that he is an object so that should make
for a pretty festive christmas special
funnily enough this is a pretty standard
christmas story
the main characters jack and victor join
their local community choir and get a
real slagging for it at their local pub
but oh dear asbestos was found in the
community centre so there's no place to
practice
so they convinced the owner of the pub
to give them the function room
meanwhile a friend of theirs winston
works as a lollipop man outside of a
posh school because the parents give him
posh christmas gifts
mean meanwhile one of the more infamous
locals is trying to get a space in the
choir
i was told i'll get the voice of an
angel yeah for any of yous out there who
are under the impression that scottish
people look like
karen gillan or sean connery or jared
butler because
yeah he's called jared not gerard
you are dead wrong you go to some of the
rougher parts of scotland and
you will think i've seen things
the story is not really what's engaging
it's the characters
they like so many people i know can turn
any situation into an excuse to in
colloquial terms
take the piss like when tam tries to
cheat at the slot machine
well she's not a slapper tam she's not
going to get you at home the first night
but there is real heart here too
especially when winston gets switched to
a rough end of town and gets reminded
how hard some kids have it
when the heating breaks causing the
whole choir to lose their voices we get
a very wholesome
but still hilarious ending
[Music]
carry on is a beast of a series in terms
of british culture
there are series of movies ranging from
historical to contemporary to horror
using a pool of the same actors the
weird thing is
despite how old they are you will be
hard-pressed to find someone of my
generation or even younger
who hasn't seen at least one carry-on
film
and the best way i can describe the
humor is british people think
innuendo is really really
really really really really funny it
took me a long time to get all that
in there a bit
my own sister ravaged before my very eye
i demand immediate satisfaction there
seems to be a failing in your family
remember your position thank you
a sextant what are you doing lieutenant
merely showing her my instrument
your what my instrument mom when you
raise it up
[Laughter]
in the air one can tell from its angle
[Music]
one's exact position
[Laughter]
oh i'm really useful the movies
even though they are unconnected are
just so
carry on you've got barbara windsor's
laugh
[Laughter]
said james being a dirty old man if they
get any shorter they'll have two more
cheeks to powder
and the ever famous matron
[Music]
please i'm not that kind of doctor
matron take them away
if you are ever in the unlikely
situation where you produce a double
entendre and a british person says
oh matron you'll know why
so on to the christmas special and for
any of you who think that old british tv
is going to be all proper and
tea and crumpets and all that don't navi
style nonsense no
old british tv is
[Music]
naughty
[Music]
[Applause]
the story is basically a bunch of wealth
of victorians get together in what they
call the pudding
club to celebrate the festive season and
tell tales to pass the time
they proceed to tell their tales all of
which involve some sort of sex
they include a pantomime a christmas
horror mystery
christmas in a british colony and an
authentic
tudor christmas carol
any of the specials i mentioned in this
video that are available on youtube i'll
leave links below but if you're going to
check out the carry-on one be warned
there are jokes in there that just
simply
would not fly today in fact if you're
going to watch the carry-on special just
skip the pantomime section because
glasgow pantomimes are really the only
ones that are worth seeing
[Music]
but if you guys want to know my favorite
british christmas special you have to
look
no further than the royal family
my ass not the one you're thinking of
most of you will know the word sitcom
comes from situation comedy
well this deviates from that because bar
a couple of episodes that include
weddings and birthdays
nothing happens every episode is just
watching people
watching telly i know you're probably
wondering who the hell green led
that but it is based on the truth
that normal people are funny you could
be sitting with your family
and your dad or your granny will come
out with something hilarious
dad stop fiddling with yourself
i'm not fiddling with myself paying a
quid for these underpants got 50 pence
with stuck at my ass
and it's only when looking at normal
conversation from the outside
that you realize how funny it is how was
your dad dave
nice all right yeah
has he still got that dry crevice yeah
it's not the smooth back and forth of
some sitcoms or the absurdity of others
these are things real people say
five pence for the carrier bag it's
disgusting
you could get one of those bags for life
i've got one
just sitting next to you
people repeat what they say a lot
because this is how
real people talk me and my family
love this show we are this
family we are a
slightly more intelligent infinitely
more hygienic
version of this family every now and
then
one of us will come out with something
absolutely hilarious and we will be
rolling on the floor and i will be
thinking we
are the bloody royal family i once said
that i liked ham but i didn't like ham
and pork
i was 11 when i said that and my dad
still hasn't let it go we don't just
love this show we
are the show we quote the damn thing to
each other
and i swear literally before i started
recording this video i was eating mince
pies with brandy clotted cream
with my mum and dad and my mum commented
on how
potent the brandy clotted cream was and
i
said can you taste the ambience in it
mom oh yeah
i don't know if this will be funny to
anyone other than a british working
class family
but it is pure
genius fair point one medium bro the
christmas special sees the royals lazy
daughter denise
actually host christmas she forgets that
the turkey needs to be defrosted
overdoes the potatoes leaves her parents
and her husband's parents to make small
talk before they are rightly and
properly drunk
thankfully they have a solution to that
balloon on blue vodka
blue wicked then seven up you know for
those who don't drink
good idea the conversation is about as
riveting as you would get at any real
christmas dinner table
dave said you were in hospital a few
months ago yes
i've had an unruly bowel barber helen
mirren do you know she's 79 years of age
now
and still picky is ever anti-twig
hasn't your gym got a lovely big head
for hats barbara
ooh everybody says that jocelyn and it
ends with the wife crying over the
dinner
shouting at her husband everyone
politely saying what is edible is
wonderful
and everyone singing like loons
that is the truest depiction
of christmas
[Music]
of course doctor who had to be on this
list somewhere i mean
what do i even say the doctor who
christmas special is practically
essential viewing at this point
so which one did i choose all of them
call it a cop out if you want but every
fan
has a favorite doctor a favorite season
a definitive
version of who they believe the doctor
to be
the same has to be applied to the
christmas specials
some are artistically better than others
but in
terms of what they provide at christmas
well
that's down to you is your idea of
christmas david tennant sword fighting
for the fate of the world
is it matt smith being chased by creepy
snowman
is it peter capaldi being stuck in a
memory library whatever it is
good bad cheesy or disappointing
doctor who is a fixture of christmas
it is a fixture
of christmas and if you would like to
know which one is my favorite
well maybe i'll rank them next year
subscribe merry christmas
and an extra special double merry
christmas to
my patrons spaceman spiff and jake
rittner
and you guys just your support
has been invaluable especially
feedback and just it's so hard to
explain
just how much it means to me because
this has been a year since i've been
doing this
and i can see how i've improved
with people's help and people's
constructive feedback and that makes me
want to keep going
so i promise i will be back in the new
year
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to
tackle
reign of the superman right through to
apocalypse war be
finished with my dc amu retrospective
and hopefully
do far more beyond that
thank you once again everyone and i hope
2021 is a good year for all of us
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