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non angelus, sed anglus!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

why we British are funnier than all the rest of you…

When it comes to making the British laugh, there is nothing more effective than a hearty insult or a good joke about something wholly inappropriate - like the war.

The nation’s obsession with sarcasm and self-deprecation has long been the source of bafflement to other nations, but now scientists have discovered just what makes our sense of humour so unique.

Researchers claim that the British penchant for cruel comedy at the expense of others is dictated by our genes.

Dr Rod Martin, who led the research, said television shows like Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and The Office, proved how Britons enjoyed cruelty more than those from other countries.

And he said the difference between the character played by Ricky Gervais in the UK version of The Office and the less wince-inducing US version, played by Steve Carell, illustrated the point.

He said: “It is possible that differences exist between nations in their sense of humour and that these may be the results of different genetic and environmental differences.

“The British may have a greater tolerance for a wide range of expressions of humour, including what many Americans might consider aggressively sarcastic or denigrating, like in Fawlty Towers and Blackadder.

“In the North American version of The Office, the lead character is much less insensitive and intolerant than in the original UK version.“

Dr Martin’s researchers, from the University of Western Ontario, in Canada, surveyed 5,000 people - 2,000 pairs of twins in the UK and 500 pairs in North America.

“Positive humour” - which looked on the bright side of life - was found in twins on both sides of the Atlantic.

However, “negative humour”, which ranged from gentle teasing to racist and sexist humiliation, was only genetically linked to Britain. When evidence of cruel jokes was found among the American twins, it was judged to have been “learnt” rather than inherent behaviour.

The comedian Charlie Higson, who wrote and starred in the successful comedy sketch show The Fast Show, agreed there were unique aspects to the UK’s sense of fun but said American comedy was wittier and more sophisticated.

He said: “What the Americans don’t understand is the British desire to keep putting themselves down - but they fully understand irony.

“Their humour is considerably more sophisticated than British humour. Look at their sitcoms - the level of wit and sophistication in Friends - we don’t have anything to match that.

“Ours tend to be about silly people doing silly things whereas in America it’s clever people doing clever things.“

So it’s not our fault. We’re superior by dint of our birth.

And the objects of our derision don’t really get it. Well, not until now…

Sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo, about France under the Nazi occupation, is to be screened on German TV for the first time.

All eight series of the BBC comedy, which ran from 1982 to 1992, have been sold to broadcaster ProSiebenSat1.

A BBC spokesman said the show “had not been picked up in Germany until now due to the subject matter”.

The show’s 85 episodes, which poke fun at the Gestapo, French Resistance and the British, will be dubbed into German for its new audience.

It is unclear whether the original show’s comedy accents will be replicated in the German version.

Isabelle Helle, head of German-speaking territories at BBC Worldwide, said: “‘Allo ‘Allo is one of the most successful BBC comedies ever made and is already loved in over 50 countries.“

She added they were “really excited” that ProSiebenSat1 had decided to take the entire run.
The Nazis were often portrayed as bumbling buffoons

The long-running comedy, written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, became famous for the Germans’ pursuit of an elusive painting called The Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies.

The show also gave rise to catchphrases such as “listen very carefully, I shall say this only once” from a sultry Resistance fighter, while a British agent who spoke poor French regularly used the greeting “good moaning”.

The central figure in the show was French cafe owner Rene Artois, played by actor Gorden Kaye.

His on-screen wife was played by Carmen Silvera, who died in 2002.

The Germans finally understand British humour? Not these ones…

A British cruise ship captain was facing an inquiry after criticising passengers who reserved sun loungers with towels for “Germanic behaviour”.

Christopher Wells, 52, the captain of the 77,000-ton Oceana, caused controversy when he used the ship’s loudspeakers to ask passengers not to reserve loungers they were not using.

The captain, whose wife, Hedda, is German, announced: “We don’t want that kind of Germanic behaviour here!“

Captain Wells apologised to Germans on board during the 15-day P&O Caribbean cruise last month, but now faces an inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission over whether his remarks were racist.

The row began a few days into the cruise, when some of the 2,000-plus passengers on the ship began to complain about sun loungers in prime spots being “reserved” with towels, books and bags.

One female passenger said the crew had tried unsuccessfully to put a stop to the “bed bagging”. She said: “There were enough loungers for everyone, provided they were not reserved when not in use.

“Crew members did their best, sometimes removing the towels, which were P&O property, but then passengers reserved the sunbeds with their own items.“

The grumbles came to the captain’s attention and he tried to defuse the situation by allowing passengers to reclaim sunbeds which had remained unused for 20 minutes.

However, that only led to more confrontation when some holidaymakers used stopwatches to monitor how long beds were unoccupied.

The female passenger, who asked not to be named, said: “This led to heated arguments and complaints - some people nearly came to blows.“

Finally, in exasperation, Capt Wells grabbed the ship’s microphone and made his controversial announcement over the Tannoy.

A spokesman for P&O said: “Captain Wells apologises unreservedly for any offence caused.“

Right you are then. Not that the Germans will apologise for annexing the deckchairs…

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