# Forum About Russia Culture and History  Russian humor

## BETEP

Somebody said, 'If you want to understand Russians learn humor'. I have too small time for Russian television now and some jokes (for example КВН) seems to me not so funny (but public applauds them). It's very interesting for me, how much of Russian humor is actual funny for Russian people and people who learn Russian language and culture.

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## Dimon

> Somebody said, 'If you want to understand Russians learn humor'. I have too small time for Russian television now and some jokes (for example КВН) seems to me not so funny (but public applauds them). It's very interesting for me, how much of Russian humor is actual funny for Russian people and people who learn Russian language and culture.

 I would say when people are sitting on that kind of concerts like KBH they are laughing 'cause of "crowd's effect" - everybody laughs  :: 
Yes, there're cool jokes sometimes. 
 Think there're much more humour in a routine day  ::

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## VendingMachine

It's difficult for me to evaluate the Russian sense of humour being a Russian citizen myself, but I must say that IMO the British have a most superb sense of humour and their sitcoms and shows really rock. Unfortunately, I can't really say the same about American sitcoms and shows, but that's probably because I tend to get more exposure to British English and culture than American English and culture watching the telly here...

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## NYgirl3

umm...I would say the opposite, I don't really get the British humor. The shows that I watched I didn't really like that much. Maybe again the same thing as you, I'm more exposed to American culture...Oh and I think russian humor rocks, my dad is really funny,lol

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## VendingMachine

> umm...I would say the opposite, I don't really get the British humor. The shows that I watched I didn't really like that much.

 Which ones did you watch? My favourite ones are The Fast Show, Perfect World, Red Dwarf, Brittas Empire, Blackadder and what's the name of the one about Mandy, Martin and Mathew, a guy who had a problem with going out - it had me in stitches, especialy Mathew's sarcasm! For those who have seen the last one - my favourite bit is when Clair brings Martin his baby to look after and Mathew, seing her (the baby) for the first time goes 'Oi! No one told me she was a ginger tosser'  ::     

> Maybe again the same thing as you, I'm more exposed to American culture...

 Could be. 
It's not that I don't get the American humour, it's just that I tend to find it just a little bit too superfluos for my taste, too much on the surface really, whereas the British humour, again IMHO, is more multilayered if you know what I mean... 
Could you (or anyone else) possibly recommend me any good American sitcoms?

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## JB

I can't think of any American sitcoms that would be funny to a Russian. Most of the jokes are based on American culture and life style and would not be funny to anyone who doesn't have experience with this. Of course most of the shows aren't that funny anyway, even to Americans. 
When I'm in Russia I love to watch the TV comercials. They are very clever and very funny. One of my favorites is the coffee comercial where 2 guys are in a cabin buried in snow in the middle of nowhere, dressed in their winter coats drinking coffee. All of a sudden they yell Душ!!! and start ripping off their clothes. One guy runs just outside the door and stands with his arms outstretched. Then the other one slams the door and a giant snow blob falls off the roof onto the guy out side. They switch places but when the second guy slams the door there is no more snow on the roof so the guy outside is looking really upset. Next you see them back in the cabin all dressed and drinking coffee when the guy who didn't get buried in snow says "Tomorrow I get to be first."  ::

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## VendingMachine

> I can't think of any American sitcoms that would be funny to a Russian. Most of the jokes are based on American culture and life style and would not be funny to anyone who doesn't have experience with this.

 Yeah, right, which makes them soooooo different from those British ones, sure... How come the British sitcoms are so funny (to me) then? I don't even live in the UK... The thing is that I do understand what people find funny about American sitcoms it's just that it doesn't make me laugh - it's like listening to a bunch of kindergarten kids telling jokes, really... I fear it's the lowest common denominator at work here again... Or maybe it's because we don't get the good ones over here.... I wish someone could name some titles...

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## JB

I watched Sex in the City in Moscow last week. But even though I  think it's the funniest sitcom on American TV now it really didn't come out funny in the Russian translation. 
Also saw the The Lord of the Rings DVD that has the translation and sound track dubbed over in Russian by some guy named Gremlin or Goblin(? not sure about the name of the guy). The translation was a spoof of the movie with a Russian rock music soundtrack. Now that was VERY funny.  ::

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## waxwing

American comedy writers aren't keen on taking risks, but they write very slick comedies.
I don't know if it counts, being a cartoon, but I think the Simpsons has been the best thing to come out of American TV in the last 10-15 years. Things like 'Friends', 'Frasier' are very watchable too but hardly earth-shattering. 
The best thing to come out of British comedy recently, I think, is 'the Office' .. recently won some kind of award in the US ('Golden Globes'?). But I haven't watched much TV in the last 5 years.

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## NYgirl3

OMG My favorite comedy show is Friends and I read a translation into russian and they totally misinterpreted most of the jokes, to the point where they're not even funny...I gotta admit that I mostly watch dramas or reality shows on TV, because comedies are filled with what I would call "cheap shots". Meaning all they want is laughs, even if the jokes aren't that funny...I still love Friends though ::

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## VendingMachine

> I watched Sex in the City in Moscow last week. But even though I  think it's the funniest sitcom on American TV now it really didn't come out funny in the Russian translation.

  Actually, I do not watch English/American/Australian/Canadian/Irish films in Russian, I watch them in English (on the dish). I wasn't discussing sitcoms dubbed into Russian, hell, I don't even watch TV in Russian, I'm not even paying for the aerial anymore, I unsubscribed cos I hate terristrial and the local cable is cr@p and I want to watch stuff in a variaty of languages, I hear enough of Russian during the day. 
Yes, I've seen Sex and the City. Mildly boring, but, of course, tastes differ..   

> Also saw the The Lord of the Rings DVD that has the translation and sound track dubbed over in Russian by some guy named Gremlin or Goblin(? not sure about the name of the guy). The translation was a spoof of the movie with a Russian rock music soundtrack. Now that was VERY funny.

 The imbecil's name is Goblin. Now that was VERY STUPID. I couldn't quite understand why on Earth they had that Rammstein's soundrack, Die Sonne, in that scene there - as long as my minimalistic German (been studying it for almost 2 weeks now) is telling me correctly the lines 
Hier kommt die Sonne,
Hier kommt die Sonne,
Sie ist der hellste Stern von allen
Und wird nie vom Himmel fallen, etc
(sorry if I mixed up a case ending or two) 
are a little bit too upbeat for the dark and gloom of the orcs' caves... now that was really silly.

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## VendingMachine

> OMG My favorite comedy show is Friends and I read a translation into russian and they totally misinterpreted most of the jokes

 I wasn't talking about sitcoms dubbed into Russian.   ::  Actually, I watch all British/American stuff in English only and tend to find the quality gags/cheap shots ratio a lot higher for British sitcoms... Alas, so far no one has produced a good list of nice American sitcoms. Pity.  ::   
BTW, I've remembered the name of that sitcom about Mandy, Mart and Mathew - it's 'Game On'.  ::   
IMO, British humour should be exported like some good French cheese   ::  or wine, the Americans, on the contrary, don't stand a chance with their  cheap plonker  ::  .... Plonker, eh? Whaddaya think about that, Rodney...   ::   ::   ::

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## VendingMachine

The Simpsons rock. I really like them. You see, I never said that I disliked all American comedies, cos there are some I do like. The Simpsons and South Park immediately spring to mind. But while I can quote for hours on end from a variety of British sitcoms, I can only name one or two mildly funny American ones. Sure, there's plenty of rather cheap British stuff around (such toss as Gimme Gimme Gimme for instance, where only the Borstal screw Fingers was a more or less solid character), yet, on a broader scale, the British sitcoms tend to be on a noticeably higher plain. Of course, this is only my opinion. It could be that I've never seen any really good American sitcoms, that's why I asked for a list of things to watch...

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## Tambakis

I love British comedy, and the Simpsons is great. It actually shows the writers have a bit of intelect and a massive amount of humor to complement  it. My English-Lit teacher refers back to it all the time. 
  I was watching some american show in Russian the other day, my cousin recorded some stuff off his dish, it was really sad, not an ounce of humor came through. Although, even in english it isn't all that funny.

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## VendingMachine

> I was watching some american show in Russian the other day, my cousin recorded some stuff off his dish, it was really sad, not an ounce of humor came through.

 Well, congratulations, *Tambakis*! You certainly have made some progress, you have!   ::  A few weeks ago you were telling us you were only setting out to study Russian, and now you're watching TV in Russian and commenting on the quality of gags there. Fantastic.   ::   Will you lend me your brain to learn German? 
Quite a blow, *Jaspertje*, innit? Getting some tough competition, eh. Dontcha let us down lad, you *must* win this language rat race, I've placed all my bets on you...

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## Jasper May

Oi, will you stop patronising me like that? I can't even _get_ Russian tv. Let's start anew. 
Hi, my name is Jasper. Who are you?

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## VendingMachine

> Oi, will you stop patronising me like that?

 Don't you oi me, laddikins.   

> I can't even _get_ Russian tv.

 Relax, no one's expecting you to compete with Tambakis, I was only joking. (I believe you can watch Russian TV on the Net...)   

> Let's start anew. Hi, my name is Jasper. Who are you?

 Nice to meet you, Jasper. I'm Vending Machine. BTW, Jasper as in jazz purr or as in я спер? 
P.S. I'm a lot older than you, therefore I can call you Jaspertje if I choose to (at least this version of your name doesn't sound dubious in Russian...) after all I'm Russian and supposed to be rude.

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## Cheerful

The shows I like that make me laugh are "The Cosby Show" (U.S)and "Mr.Bean".(G.B)
He is funny, yet he doesn't say much.
"Yes Minister" (G.B) is also very dry, very sutble and amusing.
Winston Churchill not renouned as a comedy actor, did have this brilliant reply to a lady M.P who was arguing with him in Parliament.
M.P"IF I were your wife I would poison your coffee."
Churchill"If I were your husband, I would drink it!"

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## JB

Vending Machine,
Here is a list of American sitcoms that(in English) I find to be funny, smart and clever:
Sex And The City ( but may be boring if you are not an American female in the age group of the main characters)
Third Rock From The Sun (the original first 2 seasons)
Murphy Brown (old and no longer in production, but a classic that you may find somewhere on your dish)
I Love Lucy (from the 1950's but still popular all over America)
South Park
My all time favorite British sitcom = Faulty Towers
I have only bunny ear antenna on both my TVs in Moscow and the US. Can't afford dish, cable and plane tickets too  ::  . So I have a very limited number of TV shows available.

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## VendingMachine

> The shows I like that make me laugh are "The Cosby Show"

 The Cosby Show, eh? Thanks, I'll make a mental note of this one...   

> "Yes Minister" (G.B) is also very dry, very sutble and amusing.

  Not bad, that one.    

> Winston Churchill not renouned as a comedy actor, did have this brilliant reply to a lady M.P who was arguing with him in Parliament.
> M.P"IF I were your wife I would poison your coffee."
> Churchill"If I were your husband, I would drink it!"

 Yep. And Queen Ann is dead...

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## VendingMachine

*JB*, thanks for the list.    

> My all time favorite British sitcom = Faulty Towers

 Yep, this one's great. You know, when John Cleese was staying in Germany, someone shouted at him across the road - "Mr Cleese, don't mention the war!"   ::     

> Can't afford dish, cable and plane tickets too  . So I have a very limited number of TV shows available.

 Actually, a satellite dish doesn't have to cost a fortune. Mine set me back less than a good VCR, believe it or not. But you must know what hardware to choose...

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## JB

In America we can usually get the dish and installation free if we sign a contract that we will guarantee payment for a year of service. But the basic channel package has a poor selection and when you start upgrading to the good channels it can cost anywhere from $50-$200 a month. I tried that once and found that you have to pay even if there are problems with the company's transmission signal. I fought with them for 6 months trying to get good reception and finally canceled my service.  But I still had to pay for the last 6 months even though I was disconnected!!  How does this work in Moscow?

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## bad manners

> Originally Posted by JB  My all time favorite British sitcom = Faulty Towers   Yep, this one's great. You know, when John Cleese was staying in Germany, someone shouted at him across the road - "Mr Cleese, don't mention the war!"

 Don't you find that one too repetitive... and extorted? The second part (following his breakup with Booth) is boring -- you can tell what a scene is going to end up with well in advance, and you can almost predict what they are going to say. It is also too brutal, the farther it goes the more so it gets. And you expect "Farty Towels" since the second episode. Speaking about subtlety here.

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## VendingMachine

> Originally Posted by VendingMachine        Originally Posted by JB  My all time favorite British sitcom = Faulty Towers   Yep, this one's great. You know, when John Cleese was staying in Germany, someone shouted at him across the road - "Mr Cleese, don't mention the war!"     Don't you find that one too repetitive... and extorted? The second part (following his breakup with Booth) is boring -- you can tell what a scene is going to end up with well in advance, and you can almost predict what they are going to say. It is also too brutal, the farther it goes the more so it gets. And you expect "Farty Towels" since the second episode. Speaking about subtlety here.

 Well, actually, I happen to like Fawlty Towers not on account of the great  Mr Cleese who can hardly move his swollen fingers making a Waldorf salad and whose boots we are not worthy to kiss, but on account of the Major and the talking moose.

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## VendingMachine

> In America we can usually get the dish and installation free if we sign a contract that we will guarantee payment for a year of service. But the basic channel package has a poor selection and when you start upgrading to the good channels it can cost anywhere from $50-$200 a month. I tried that once and found that you have to pay even if there are problems with the company's transmission signal. I fought with them for 6 months trying to get good reception and finally canceled my service.  But I still had to pay for the last 6 months even though I was disconnected!!  How does this work in Moscow?

 It works the same way as in St Petersburg... And here's how it works. There's NTV+, a Russian sat tv provider some folks subscribe to and it costs something like between $10 - $20 a month. But the repertoire is shite. Luckily enough much better solutions are available. These days I'm watching Viasat, a Scandinavian digital package from 5 East, plus the odd bits and bobs (among which some nice British programming in the shape of BBC Prime) from 13 East and two years ago also from 19 East (most of the Dutch and Spanish stuff).  Most interesting channels are encrypted but you can use a pirate smartcard - it's perfectly legal as long as there is no official subscription in your country. One drawback of pirate cards is that sometimes the provider changes the hardware and the encryption system and then the fun is over for you, but the good thing is that there's still something left in other packages and/or at other satellites to choose from and anyway sooner or later new hacks become available... Besides, there is now a technology which allows one to watch any channel you wish no matter what encoding they are using simply by logging the traffic between a sat receiver and a decoder with official subscription and then sharing this traffic accross peer-to-peer networks with the receivers of other "subscribers" who don't want to part with their money... would be a real pain in the @ss for those sat tv providers, but fortunately  it is highly unlikely to ever become a mass thing because in order to use it you need to be a bit of a computer geek, so chances are they will never crack down on it. But anyway, the good old multimac and goldwafer not to mention them funcards and suchlike still do the trick for most people, and those who have those nifty SkyStar PC cards simply run simulators on their PCs. And then, of course, there's the ubiquitos DreamBox, the sat hacker's swiss-army-knife-to-be - runs on Linux, unsinkable - will survive any software attack from the provider, scalable, you name it. The only bad thing about this toy is that it's quite expensive and that you really need to know what you're doing.
Anyway, my system set me back not more than $200 (I suspect I may well have got it for less than that but I remember I was choosy at the time) and I've been uprading it over the years, though it wasn't really that necessary, it's just that I'm a bit of a satellite bum. Though I must admit I knew where to look for good bargains (been to all them car boot sales, net forums, also some businesses sell second hand stuff so it makes sense to have a sniff around). But since there's no subscription (unless you're watching the cr@ppy NTV+) it's almost a give-away.

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## Tambakis

I dont have the dish, like I said I convinced my cousin to record somestuff and mail it to me from California. I figure getting one might cost less than having to "convince" my family with a few green backs.  ::  Hahaha theres no way I could compete with that whiz kid Jasper, saying I am competition is like saying a door knob could outsmart Einstien  ::  
But hey I got excited tonight, I was flipping through the channels on Tv, and I just happened to stop on NYPD blue. I caught the tail end of it, but this guy was telling some one on the phone to call something off in russian. If anyone saw that, I'd like to know what exactly happened in the first part of the show  ::

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## VendingMachine

Still, Tambakis, I'm very curious, how could you tell if the Russian version of the sitcom wasn't funny  ::   ::   ::   Not meaning to be rude, but...

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## Jasper May

Actually, Tambakis only said that the jokes didn't come through. Which means s/he didn't understand them.  ::   
Anyways, I was just getting peed off because of the Jaspertje. It sounds incredibly patronising in Dutch, not in any way endearing like in Russian. But you weren't to know. And it's pronounced 'Yuss purr'.  ::  Or you can just say 'Jassr purr', as in English.

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## VendingMachine

[quote=Jasper May]Actually, Tambakis only said that the jokes didn't come through. Which means s/he didn't understand them.  ::  
Lol, yeah, that must be it, ha-ha.   

> Anyways, I was just getting peed off because of the Jaspertje. It sounds incredibly patronising in Dutch, not in any way endearing like in Russian. But you weren't to know. And it's pronounced 'Yuss purr'.  Or you can just say 'Jassr purr', as in English.

 [/quote:sdhg3wcl]
As a matter of fact I knew that Jaspertje sounded patronising, and no, it doesn't sound endearing in Russian - it sounds bloody patronising too, at least that's how I perceive it. Actually, I was writing you a pm when your post came through so I decided to do this openly. Jasper, lad, I'd like to apologise to you - I have gone a bit over the edge speaking to you in this semi-friendly semi-patronising tone, I'm sorry dude. I need someone to keep me in check, I fly off the handle easily.

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## Jasper May

Ah, ничего, ничего.  ::  Now I must apologise as well of course, on account of my touchyness concerning my level of Russian. I always get irritated when I'm compared unfavourably to anyone. It's stupid, I know. Mustn't take things personally and such. 
Beim Weg, how come you're so interested in British comedy? It's nice to see not all 'foreigners', if I may call you that, are brainwashed by American shite. Not to say that everything American is shite (the Simpsons and Spongebob Squarepants are fantastic, for example), but most is.  ::  
[EDIT:] Why can you write s*hite and I can't? I'm being discriminated against, that's it.  ::

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## bad manners

> [EDIT:] Why can you write s*hite and I can't? I'm being discriminated against, that's it.

 These shitty conspiracy theories of full of shite, really. We are all equal here.  ::

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## VendingMachine

> Beim Weg, how come you're so interested in British comedy?

 Dunno really, just happen to find it funny. Seems to be my type of humour.   

> Why can you write s*hite and I can't? I'm being discriminated against, that's it. )

 I bribed the administrator... Well, actually I didn't. What you do is mix in some self-cancelling tags and Roberto is your parent's relative.

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## bad manners

Betrayer!

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## VendingMachine

> Betrayer!

 He would've figured it out sooner or later... at least by quoting us...

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## Propp

Well, and how about typing Russian letters? 
shite
сrap
fuсk
(sorry, I didn't mean to)

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## scotcher

Haha   ::   
That scene from The Blues Brothers where Jake and Elwood go to visit the Mother Superior just popped into my head for some reason  ::  
Proof that even 'generally-hostile-to-American-rubbish' Brits like me can appreciate US humour when it's actually funny, though I'd still take Blackadder/ Porridge/ Yes Minister/ Only Fools And Horses/ Faulty Towers etc over any US TV sitcom, any day of the week.

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## Jasper May

Not to mention Monty Python, 'Allo 'Allo (even though it is incredibly corny  ::  ) and such quizzes as Never mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and QI.
PS: Wait a minute, here: fuck shit cunt crap! Whaaahahahahahhahaha!!!

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## scotcher

... Trigger Happy TV, The Office, Alan Partridge, Chewing The Fat...

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## Jasper May

Never heard of Chewing the Fat or Trigger Happy TV (presumably they're on ITV, Channel 4 or such crap channel BBCThree), but let's not forget 
...Dead Ringers, the Fast Show (really fantastic), Dad's Army, Goodness Gracious Me, The Goon Show... 
And foo to 
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, the Alan Clark Diaries, Absolute Power (even though it does star Stephen Fry), Little Britain

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## bad manners

> Originally Posted by bad manners  Betrayer!   He would've figured it out sooner or later... at least by quoting us...

 But then it would've been black wizardry, the wondrous arcane rites of the initiated. 
And you... you... you made it mundane trivia!

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## Tambakis

Trigger Happt tv! I love that show, the giant pigeons are great!  ::   They used to have it on Comedy central I think, I can never find it on anymore  ::  I miss the ginormous cell phone, and the interveiw and runs. good times  ::

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## waxwing

On the subject of British TV, some truly incredible news .. they're making a film of the magic roundabout!!!

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## joysof

And just _look_ at some of the cast:  
Jim Broadbent - Brian 
Joanna Lumley - Ermintrude 
Richard O'Brien - Zebedee (!) 
Hope it comes to Moscow.

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## VendingMachine

So, *Tambakis*, the board is still waiting for your explanation - how could you tell that "not an ounce of humour" got throught, huh?
Ох и не люблю же я мелких хвастунишек-брехунишек, которые вот ляпнут абы что кабы как, а как пригвоздят, так они шмырк и во кусты...

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## Lucas

I like  this discussion and I want to express my opinion. I had got the oportunity to watch a comedy from russian I must say that I like it. However You should be awared  and prepare yourself that you are not going to  watch a Superproduction like in USA are done but in my opinion much interesting. 
they are goint to tell you a story well done. 
One the other hand, I love british humour  Benny HIll, and Mr Ben are two examples of my favorites comedy. I am sure there are people hate them. I dont mind .
However, for instance, comedy from USa doesn't make me pay any attention.

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## 44 Canon

> It's difficult for me to evaluate the Russian sense of humour being a Russian citizen myself, but I must say that IMO the British have a most superb sense of humour and their sitcoms and shows really rock. Unfortunately, I can't really say the same about American sitcoms and shows, but that's probably because I tend to get more exposure to British English and culture than American English and culture watching the telly here...

  I as an american agree with you. I've alwayse been a fan of British humor. 
 In russian humor, I like their common sense diolect. it can be really funny at times.

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## Sean

Maybe I'm jumping in here waaay too late but  You people did not even mention one of the greatest shows to grace the small screen, I talking about seinfeld. C'mon don't tell me you don't like it, it's hilarious. also, Saturday night live is good and Mad TV. Do you guys get any Aussie TV? Some of it is pretty good. And I'm not talking about neighbours.

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## BJ

Does anyone actually like Neighbours apart from teenage girls and old ladies!  I don't know of any Oz programs on British TV apart from Neighbours. What funny ones are there? BTW I think Seinfeld is very good too .

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## Kamion

> BTW I think Seinfeld is very good too .

 I think so too, but I would scarcely call it a regular american sitcom, and that is exactly what makes it great. It

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## Sean

Yeah I think  a lot of people must watch neighbours it's been running for more that 2 decades now so it must have good ratings. I somtimes watch it myself although I don't have enough time to follow it religiously. In Australia we have some pretty good sketch shows We get the"Sketch show" which I like but we have simmilar Aussie versions like skit house,  a really good aussie sitcom was "Lano and Woodly" with a lot of slapstick comedy.

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## Alexi

> Does anyone actually like Neighbours apart from teenage girls and old ladies!  I don't know of any Oz programs on British TV apart from Neighbours. What funny ones are there? BTW I think Seinfeld is very good too .

 I know a girl at uni who is from Zimbabwei (wrong spelling?). She seems to really like watching Neighbours but, she says, only to laugh at it.. Damn teeny-boppers   ::  
Anyways, British comedy is the best! Stuff like _Faulty Towers_ and _Monty Python_ is awsome!  
Can't forget the guy in my profile pic, though. He's pretty mad, too!  _"Mein Fuher... I can walk!" 
"I'yam Inspetor Clesau; dere iz ze krime!?"_

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