Room 101

Red Dwarf.

Fraiser has been crap recently, though the last episode currently broadcast was really good.

I think Season 7 of Frasier was very good myself. It's not *quite* up to the standards of Season 1-5, but still the best thing on television.

And as you say, the finale was wonderful.

True confession: I actually remember enjoying Last Of The Summer Wine, round about 1980-82, I think, but I must have stopped watching it soon afterwards.

Only Fools & Horses was good till the end of series 6 (1989), but subsequently became a bit tired and obvious in its humour. (The only one I really like after that is the Stage Fright one from 91 with Phil Pope, and even that's based on the most slender quirk of a man who can't say the letter 'r'.)

One Foot remained good until the 1997 Christmas Special, where we think Margaret's died, except she hasn't. I don't have high hopes for the new series.

Come to think of it, there are only a handful of shows that stayed good right to the end:
Not The Nine O'Clock News
Cheers
Seinfeld

There are others, but usually only things that lasted two series (Fawlty Towers the most obvious example).

Although a lot of people are probably going to disagree, but I'd add the League of Gentlemen to the list. First series, good, first episode of the second series, very promising, especially Papa Lazaru. After that, the show seemed to concentrate more on being 'dark' than actually funny. And it relyed too much on the Hale-&-Pace-exploding-animals-shock-factor.

Men Behaving Badly went off in its last few episodes.

South Park is now almost terrible.

And much as I hate to say it, I don't think The Simpsons is quite as superb as it used to be.

>Although a lot of people are probably going to disagree, but I'd add the League of Gentlemen to the list. First series, good, first episode of the second series, very promising, especially Papa Lazaru. After that, the show seemed to concentrate more on being 'dark' than actually funny. And it relyed too much on the Hale-&-Pace-exploding-animals-shock-factor.
>
I agree, papa lazarou was the best thing about series two, whereas the charity shop women weren't.

I nominate this thread. It's just not as good as it used to be.

Then again, maybe it never was...

I agree The Simpsons is starting to lose it. Getting too self-referential, and using that as a joke too much (cf. "worst episode ever")

Viz comic, though the last edition improved over the previous, which was the poorest I can remember.

Shooting Stars, which was a good subversive game show for around half of it's first series.

Have I Got News For You which I'm sure used to be funny once.

and I also agree with the poster who's older relative thought Last of the SUmmer Wine used to be quite funny. When the beeb wheeled out an old episode as a tribute to Bill Owen when he died, it was obvious that there did used to be genuine, if still very soft and easy going, comedy in it.

The Fast Show was good when it started but became almost unwatchably bad, and the third series of Father Ted wasn't much cop either.

The Simpsons, definitely.
And One Foot In The Grave.

No way on The Simpsons. I'm afraid. Just saw 'Trash of the Titans' and watched 'Simpson Tide' the other night - two of the funniest I've seen. For me it's the self-referentiality that makes it funny etc. etc.

Any series which I liked before my mates did and, then, once they'd seen it and decided they liked it too, I went off.

Any comedy show before they started using synthesisers and sold out to a big label.

Any comedy show that wasn't presented in its entirely unexpurgated form with pre-title clocks, 'alternate' endings and director's commentary.

Oh, and TV Go Home. It's not as funny as it used to be before everyone got the joke.

Cheerio

Steve

I thought Trash of the Titans was a bit ropey.

And of the few new episodes I have seen (on video), they're just too...predictable and don't produce as many laughs as the classic seasons 2-8 (ish).

Still better than almost everything else on television, of course.

This thread is DEFINITELY getting worse. Not like it was in the old days.

The Mary Whitehouse Experience & Richard not Judy.....shame.

Casting Couch...

...oh no wait, that was shite from start to finish.

South Park went off the boil but is now simmering nicely - that Chinpokomon thing was great, if only for the parody Japanimation.
The most severe examples as far as I rememeber:
A Bit of Fry and Laurie final series (but still better than most BBC comedy).
Absolutely (unrecognisable)
I also remember Last of The Summer Wine being good, but then I was young and stupid when it came out.

I still reckon South Park is pretty terrible. It doesn't seem to have the impact it once did.

Now Babes in the Wood with Denise Van Outen. *That* had impact.

Who Dares Wins started out well but soon got crappy.
On the other hand KYTV was much better than its radio predecessor Radio Active.

Controversial...

They had different targets. RA did stuff about R4 that wouldn't translate well to TV.

CF. OTH/TDT.

I was gutted when Porridge went off the boil.

The thing I disliked about Radio Active was that it didn't have the high-octane humour of The Burkiss Way.