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Best 70's TV sitcom on the big screen?

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In the 1970's it was common for TV sitcoms to hit the big screen. This trend started in the late 60's with movie versions of hit series like TILL DEATH US TO PART, and continued in the early 70's with a whole host of movies based on ON THE BUSES (3 films in the series), THE LIKELY LADS, STEPTOE AND SON (2 movies), LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR, DADS ARMY, FATHER DEAR FATHER, BLESS THIS HOUSE, NEVER MIND THE QUALITY, PLEASE SIR, MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE (2 films), thro the mid 70's with classics like RISING DAMP movie, ARE YOU BEING SERVED, and the whole fad culminating around 1980 with the movie version of PORRIDGE.

 

After that, TV sitcoms fail to reach the big screen en masse......

 

if I have to pick a favourite, it would have to be the whole ON THE BUSES trilogy, for pure comedy classic qualities. However, some big screen versions of sitcomes often just used scripts from some of the TV series episodes and wove them together. One of the BUSES films combines 3 TV episodes into one movie with some adjoining continuity...RISING DAMP movie was the same....the best are original script versions for the big screen, I especially like the BLESS THIS HOUSE movie too....

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argh my OH is obsessed with On The Buses, I've never heard of them until I met him, now I'm sick of them :hihi:

In all honesty though, are there really any sitcoms around at the moment that anyone would want to see made into a film? I can't think of any!

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argh my OH is obsessed with On The Buses, I've never heard of them until I met him, now I'm sick of them :hihi:

In all honesty though, are there really any sitcoms around at the moment that anyone would want to see made into a film? I can't think of any!

 

from the early 80s onwards there was nothing that was really suitable for big screen versions....this is true....but the exceptions that missed out the big screen might be MEN BEHAVING BADLY, VICAR OF DIBLEY, FATHER TED, etc....they MIGHT have worked on the big screen if the script was good enough....

 

And classic 70's sitcom that failed to make the big screen, and in my opinion SHOULD have reached it, were FAWLTY TOWERS, GOOD LIFE, REGINALD PERRIN, CUCKOO WALTZ, et al

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yes fawlty towers would have been good! A great shame that so few episodes were made of that.

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In all honesty though, are there really any sitcoms around at the moment that anyone would want to see made into a film? I can't think of any!

 

Just the thought of a My Family film makes me cringe :gag:

 

Shaun of the Dead was sort of like having a film of Spaced but then Spaced was already miles ahead of most of our sitcoms anyway.

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On The Buses! I have all 3 films of that on DVD, absolute classics! Half the jokes on it wouldn't be screenable nowadays, cos everything has to be oh-so politically correct and all that.

 

Current sitcoms? A Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps movie would rock! Especially with the Chavtastically funny Ralf Little in the role of Jonny (which is hard seeing as they killed him off at the beginning of the last series, eaten by Sharks! Eh?!)

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In the 1970's it was common for TV sitcoms to hit the big screen. This trend started in the late 60's with movie versions of hit series like TILL DEATH US TO PART, and continued in the early 70's with a whole host of movies based on ON THE BUSES (3 films in the series), THE LIKELY LADS, STEPTOE AND SON (2 movies), LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR, DADS ARMY, FATHER DEAR FATHER, BLESS THIS HOUSE, NEVER MIND THE QUALITY, PLEASE SIR, MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE (2 films), thro the mid 70's with classics like RISING DAMP movie, ARE YOU BEING SERVED, and the whole fad culminating around 1980 with the movie version of PORRIDGE.

 

After that, TV sitcoms fail to reach the big screen en masse......

 

if I have to pick a favourite, it would have to be the whole ON THE BUSES trilogy, for pure comedy classic qualities. However, some big screen versions of sitcomes often just used scripts from some of the TV series episodes and wove them together. One of the BUSES films combines 3 TV episodes into one movie with some adjoining continuity...RISING DAMP movie was the same....the best are original script versions for the big screen, I especially like the BLESS THIS HOUSE movie too....

 

the best ones are the 2 steptoe movies.... but 2 man about the house movies maybe your mixing it up with the film version of george and mildred ?

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the best ones are the 2 steptoe movies.... but 2 man about the house movies maybe your mixing it up with the film version of george and mildred ?

 

yes, thats right...my error there......

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Current sitcoms? A Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps movie would rock! Especially with the Chavtastically funny Ralf Little in the role of Jonny (which is hard seeing as they killed him off at the beginning of the last series, eaten by Sharks! Eh?!)

 

The Jumping the Shark reference they did there was the only funny thing they ever did but probably lost on most of their audience.

 

The idea of a 2 Pints film is possibly worse than a My Family one :rolleyes:

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Fawlty Towers were perfectly crafted 30 minute scripts.Stretching them to 90 would have been sacrillage. Indeed this is the problem with most sit.com. spin-offs. 30 minutes jokes spread out over 90 minutes.

If I was forced to choose on it would be Porridge

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Best has got to be On The Buses.

 

Classic line from the first O.T.B is near the end when Jack is eating a packet of KP nuts and he looks at Blakey and says "Britain's number 1 nut? Cor blimey they never met him".

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The Jumping the Shark reference they did there was the only funny thing they ever did but probably lost on most of their audience.

 

The idea of a 2 Pints film is possibly worse than a My Family one :rolleyes:

 

The musical episode at the beginning of the third series > everything.

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