Time Gentlemen Please

i have been watching this show, which is on it's first series, after seeing interviews with Al Murray in a lot of the monthly magazines. Al plays a sexist, narrow minded, stubborn landlord of what must be the scruffiest pub in Britain, where only the 5 regulars seem to be the only customers! The laughs come thick and fast as Murray rants about women, the French('they're up to something!!') Brussels, and pub theme nights('the only theme a pub needs is BEER!!!') Julia Sawahla(Absolutely Fabulous) plays the brash, foul mouthed Aussie barmaid who never gets paid, and Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia) plays the local slob who keeps getting barred out!If you like the humour of 'Harry Hill' and 'Bottom', then you'll love 'TGMP'.

I don't know what Teotihuacan was watching, but it obviously wasn't Time Gentlemen Please.

My wife is American and it's about the only British comdy she watches, laughs at and really enjoys. The programme has now moved on and Julia is no longer there, so any other Australians put off by Teotihuacan's comments can rest assured that they won't be cringing at her accent, not that I thought it was that bad. The strong characterisations (slutty Aussie, maloderous Drunk, still in the closet gay pervy guy, failed-at-everything landlord) and catchphrases add immensly to the humour of this thoroughly hilarious show. Perhaps it's just *too* British for Teotihuacan to understand.

Give it a try!

One of the funniest British comedies in a while. It has more episodes per series than the usual six so naturally it is less consistent than some comedies but most of the episodes are pure TV gold, the last episode in series 2 has to be one of the funniest pieces of television ever made.

Unfortunately, it was first shown on sky one, and as far as I know sky one has never released any of it's programmes onto DVD, so the only way you're going to be able to see this is a repeat. If you do see it scheduled you really should find some time to watch it, because deep down in every Englishman's heart, behind all of that fluffy, new labour PC, we all know that the best jokes are extremely xenophobic.

This is without a doubt one of the funniest shows British television has produced in ages. Al Murray is superb as he translates perfectly his stand-up character, the landlord, into a sitcom star. His unusual and un-PC rantings almost always hit the spot and though his supporting characters are rarely given any material to work with who cares? He carries the show on his own with only Terry and, more recently, The Prof lending any comic support. Julia Sawalha is completely wasted. Steve is equally unfunny, and he's a stand-up comic apparently, but to be fair to them they haven't much to work with. The gags come fast and often and with most of them revolving around the pub trade (which has been meticulously copied, go to a real pub during the day and you'll see what I mean), the French and the landlord's own take on life, they're always good. A rare treat and I've become quite hooked, here's to a second series.

The sheer amount of racism, sexism and general bigotry in this series is unbelievable - and it's all the better for it. Other shows water down their comedy to make it "acceptable", but this one doesn't bother and is absolutely hilarious. Great performances and some great lines.