Home › Forums › Ganymede & Titan Forum › Chris Talking About Bringing Back Brittas Search for: This topic has 45 replies, 17 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 9 months ago by hummingbird. Scroll to bottom Viewing 46 posts - 1 through 46 (of 46 total) Author Posts April 23, 2009 at 1:14 am #3451 littlesmeggerParticipant Yes the interview was pre-Dwarf so none of that is as interesting as it would’ve been at that point. However, the end question about The Brittas Empire [and even more amusingly, how he answers] is worth a listen in my book. Surely Dave are thinking about this? Not only has he said he’s willing himself, but it was mentioned A LOT in the forum they made on their site about a week ago. April 23, 2009 at 6:12 am #97861 TheLeenParticipant I’d watch it, but I’d prefer more Dwarf, obviously. Hm, actually, I’ve got all the DVDs, but I haven’t seen Brittas beyond series 3 yet… April 23, 2009 at 6:53 am #97863 Ben PaddonParticipant I never really got into Brittas. April 23, 2009 at 7:26 am #97864 WilburParticipant I borrowed two series of Brittas to show my wife, who’s Australian, what the show was after introducing her to Red Dwarf. Now, I remembered not ranking it highly at the time, but the episode I watched was appalling! I guess it was the 90s equivalent of My Family- gained a fanbase, lost its humour, but was easy and cheap to make, so loved by the BBC execs in charge. April 23, 2009 at 7:43 am #97866 Ian SymesKeymaster Hm, actually, I?ve got all the DVDs, but I haven?t seen Brittas beyond series 3 yet? Watch Series 4 & 5 (and the first Christmas special), then burn all subsequent discs. April 23, 2009 at 7:49 am #97867 SkyAndSunParticipant I imagine Dave are considering this. But I’d rather they concentrate on Red Dwarf. April 23, 2009 at 7:54 am #97868 WilburParticipant >Watch Series 4 & 5 (and the first Christmas special), then burn all subsequent discs. That’s worrying- series 4 and 5 were the two I borrowed. April 23, 2009 at 8:11 am #97870 TheLeenParticipant I like episode 1×02 because Gordon Brittas is doing a salute. And then everything goes boom. April 23, 2009 at 8:24 am #97871 WilburParticipant Just out of interest- would anyone here actually give Brittas a second thought if it wasn’t for Chris Barrie’s Red Dwarf connection? April 23, 2009 at 8:26 am #97872 TheLeenParticipant I can answer this with an immediate and honest: not really, no. April 23, 2009 at 8:29 am #97873 Ian SymesKeymaster Yes, but then I was at just the right age when it was originally on. April 23, 2009 at 8:30 am #97875 Seb PatrickKeymaster Would you ask the same question about Maid Marian? April 23, 2009 at 8:31 am #97876 TheLeenParticipant I would ask the same question about Captain Butler, but it seems noone wants to see that despite of Craig Charles. April 23, 2009 at 8:34 am #97877 John HoareParticipant Brittas is quite literally one of my favourite sitcoms ever. April 23, 2009 at 8:46 am #97878 WilburParticipant I really want to track down Maid Marion actually- I’ve seen the full dvd set, but I can’t trace it in Oz. Mind you, I saw Maid Marion way before Red Dwarf, and only in the past few years twigged that Barrington = DJJ. But I was also the right age for Brittas, and even then it just felt like the lazy formulaic option. April 23, 2009 at 9:37 am #97880 littlesmeggerParticipant I love Brittas. It’s that farfetched it’s funny, especially when someone is dying around every corner and noone thinks anything of it, cause Gordon has his dream. I didn’t expect it to get the biggest reaction when being spoken about on a non-Brittas website, but I think it’s better then the reception it’s getting. It’s certainley not burning worthy! Not many other sitcoms get away with crushing their main character to death, only for him to walk in come the next season perfectly fine, just half titanium inside! :P April 23, 2009 at 9:42 am #97881 Turk ThrustParticipant > Would you ask the same question about Maid Marian? The difference for me would be that Chris`s character is the best thing in Brittas whereas Danny`s character is the worst thing in Marian. April 23, 2009 at 9:44 am #97882 Ian SymesKeymaster It?s certainley not burning worthy! Just the last two series, I meant. I love the first five. April 23, 2009 at 9:50 am #97883 littlesmeggerParticipant Ah right, I ‘might’ let you off then :P I can see what’s meant for the last couple of series, but I still like the first episode of series 6 where they all react to him coming back. April 23, 2009 at 9:50 am #97884 WilburParticipant >I didn?t expect it to get the biggest reaction when being spoken about on a non-Brittas website There are Brittas websites/ forums? I was kinda suprised there were DVDs in an Australian library!! April 23, 2009 at 10:36 am #97893 Zombie Jim UndeadParticipant Really really tried to get into Brittas. But the comedy’s just too broad for my liking. (Chris is good in it, though) April 23, 2009 at 10:47 am #97900 siParticipant I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – the end of Brittas was amongst the worst TV I’ve ever watched (I don’t watch My Family) – it was just awful. Brittas was silly and fun, which is all you can really ask of a sitcom. April 23, 2009 at 1:06 pm #97905 Seb PatrickKeymaster I can see what?s meant for the last couple of series, but I still like the first episode of series 6 where they all react to him coming back. The main problem is that it wasn’t done by Fegen and Norris – they’d finished it, it was meant to end with him dying. It was then brought back for no good reason by completely different writers. April 23, 2009 at 1:07 pm #97906 Seb PatrickKeymaster Oh, also : >Brittas… just felt like the lazy formulaic option. I’m not the biggest fan of the show, but I’d never call it lazy or formulaic. April 23, 2009 at 1:31 pm #97907 littlesmeggerParticipant Well if the interview was anything to go by, it’s the latter team that decided to eventually bring it back on a cruise ship. And as for bringing it back for the last 2 series, yeah it wasn’t the same standard. But at least they left it open, never liked the death angle at the time. Seemed a bit too much of a full stop. I prefer the “never say never” mentality in television, so an out right NO by getting rid of a main character like Brittas. Although saying that, I’d prefer it to end then carry on without them. Which is why after season eight Scrubs is going to die a slow painful death I think, which is a shame. April 23, 2009 at 2:07 pm #97908 Ian SymesKeymaster And as for bringing it back for the last 2 series, yeah it wasn?t the same standard. But at least they left it open, never liked the death angle at the time. Seemed a bit too much of a full stop. I prefer the ?never say never? mentality in television, so an out right NO by getting rid of a main character like Brittas. This is all arse-about-tit. Series Five ends with Brittas knocking on the lid of his coffin, having being resurrected because St Peter was fed up of him. Whereas Series Seven ended with the revelation that the whole thing was a dream, and none of the characters actually worked at the leisure centre. So Series Five was open-ended, and Series Seven most definitely wasn’t. Besides which, the first Christmas Special had the team reuniting twenty years down the line, which hinted at unlimited adventures that took place in the meantime. April 23, 2009 at 2:13 pm #97909 littlesmeggerParticipant Fair point… although we are discussing this on a forum dedicated to a programme with more continuity errors then an episode of columbo. So they’re both well suited really when you think about it. Perhaps the whole dream was brought on by dispair ink or something… April 23, 2009 at 4:15 pm #97913 hummingbirdParticipant I only ever saw Brittas when it was first broadcast. I saw one or two early eps, but I never really rated it. I’d be prepared to give it a chance again, purely because some people on this site have recommended later series. Anyone know where I could stream? April 23, 2009 at 4:17 pm #97914 Ian SymesKeymaster You can buy each series for a fiver: http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/3514704//Product.html?P36=DMRKGV April 23, 2009 at 4:25 pm #97915 hummingbirdParticipant Yeah, I know, but I’m tight. OK, so hypothetically … if I were to buy just one series, which would people recommend? April 23, 2009 at 4:28 pm #97916 Ian SymesKeymaster *waits for John to arrive with definitive answer* April 23, 2009 at 4:54 pm #97917 littlesmeggerParticipant Is it not best to start from the beginning if you’re not really ontop of it all? I personally liked 4 and 5, but I would still reccommend starting from the start. Might not be definitive, but it’s an answer nonetheless! April 23, 2009 at 5:00 pm #97918 Seb PatrickKeymaster Is it that plot-driven? Admittedly I only have hazy memories of watching it when I was a kid, but it was pretty dip-in-and-out-of. People forget this about sitcoms – by their very nature, they should generally be accessible for the new viewer. Obviously there are exceptions (Arrested Development just isn’t funny if you watch a random episode from the middle of it), but still, I think it’s largely a pretty general rule. April 23, 2009 at 5:24 pm #97920 Danny StephensonKeymaster Arrested Development just isn?t funny if you watch a random episode from the middle of it I don’t know, mate. I remember being at your flat watching a fair few episodes and absolutely pissing myself with laughter… April 23, 2009 at 5:26 pm #97921 AnonymousInactive Hi Seb I’d recommend you DL a few eps from something like youtube to see how you get on with it. Not one to advocate piracy, but despite opinions here and it’s popularity in general, I’m really not too keen on it. HTH April 23, 2009 at 5:28 pm #97922 AnonymousInactive >”I don?t know, mate. I remember being at your flat watching a fair few episodes and absolutely pissing myself with laughter?” This. I got into Arrested Development after watching just a couple of random episodes during a flight. Genius. April 23, 2009 at 5:29 pm #97923 John HoareParticipant *waits for John to arrive with definitive answer* I’d say you couldn’t go too far wrong with any series from 1-5, although 1 is certainly the weakest of the first five series. (Still bloody great, though – but Julie is a most welcome addition to the series for 2.) I’d say either Series 2 or 3. 3 starts with one of my favourite ever episodes, The Trial – but that’s a format-breaker that’s maybe better appreciated once you’ve seen some other eps. So I’d plump for 2. 4 and 5 probably *are* the strongest, but whilst they’re as far from being inaccessible as you can get, they do build on character work from earlier series, so I’d not barge straight in with them. April 23, 2009 at 5:40 pm #97924 John HoareParticipant Oh, and as for the last two series of Brittas… they’re a case study in how something can ostensiably look the same… and yet do a few vital things wrong, and it all starts falling apart. It’d take a whole essay to explore, mind you. But I do find enough to enjoy in them to watch once – but not that much to keep returning, like the first five series. There’s some good stuff there, though – We All Fall Down ends with a spectacularly tasteless electrocution of a bunch of schoolkids amidst the roasting of birds of peace by a ceremonial flame – and The Disappearing Act has Colin doing his magician act, which is extremely amusing. (And also contains one of my favourite Brittas jokes ever, although it loses it completely written down…) April 23, 2009 at 5:49 pm #97925 Pete Part ThreeParticipant Start with “Not a Good Day” from Series 4. It’s as farcial (and as good) as the show ever got, and is good indicator on whether you’d like the rest of 1-5. April 23, 2009 at 7:20 pm #97930 pfmParticipant Surely it’s worth watching even if it’s just to have wank fantasies about Linda in her shorts. And who the hell could forget that scene where she’s just got a towel around her? April 23, 2009 at 7:46 pm #97936 Nick RParticipant I have fond memories of The Brittas Empire. When I was about 10, I did an impression of him as my entry in my primary school’s talent contest (somehow I came third!). However, it must have been at least 10 years since I last saw an episode, so I have no idea what I’d make of it now, and whether it’d live up to my memories of it… But having just checked Wikipedia, most of the epsiodes I remember (the leisure centre being computerised, the lion within, the magician one John mentioned) were in the last series. And I enjoyed those a lot. So maybe I hadn’t seen many of the early, good episodes at all… April 24, 2009 at 9:41 am #97970 siParticipant A fiver a series, you say, Ian? That sounds like a deal worth following up… April 24, 2009 at 10:32 am #97973 littlesmeggerParticipant Although if you’re considering them all, the boxset is sliiiiiightly cheaper: http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/689015/The-Brittas-Empire-The-Complete-Series-1-7-Boxset/Product.html April 24, 2009 at 6:18 pm #97997 hummingbirdParticipant even cheaper on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brittas-Empire-Complete-BBC-1-7/dp/B000A3OOQ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1240596950&sr=8-1 I watched s2/ep2 of Brittas on youtube last night. I found it entertaining, but laugh-out-loud funny? No. Whereas I followed up by watching s4/ep1 of Blackadder, which *was* laugh-out-loud funny. I guess that’s the issue I have with Brittas. April 24, 2009 at 6:23 pm #97999 littlesmeggerParticipant Well to be fair they’re two entirely different products in my opinion… Blackadder is generally quite a sophisticated sitcom using words for comedy, Brittas is more of a physical sitcom, using slapstick antics to make the audience laugh. If anything, and even this isn’t spot on, the closest comparison in styles would be Fawlty Towers. Lots of staff running around, customers being treat horribly, and the odd slapstick moment you just have to laugh at. April 24, 2009 at 8:00 pm #98007 hummingbirdParticipant I can see what you’re saying, and I sort of agree, that wasn’t really a fair comparison. Lots of staff running around, customers being treat horribly, and the odd slapstick moment you just have to laugh at. But Fawlty Towers has it’s share of verbal gags too, and I think it’s a combination of all those things that makes it such a winner. Whereas I’ve alsways seen Brittas as an attempt to remake FT, but lacking the same level of ‘wit’ (for want of a better word). Author Posts Viewing 46 posts - 1 through 46 (of 46 total) Scroll to top • Scroll to Recent Forum Posts You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Log In Username: Password: Keep me signed in Log In