The biggest driver of humor over there is still class, mixed with a little xenophobia and smut, and the UK's social structure: what the Brits call "The Establishment". The other driver, and what Gervais taps into, is what the Germans call Shadenfreude, or taking pleasure at the misery of others. And also the Brits long tradition of satire, with people like Swift, Holbein, Peter Cook and many others. Here are a few links from the 60's->80's for your enjoyment, of things most of you may not have seen (so only one python link), but some are not safe for work. Dudley Moore: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZEEgIti8sM Python: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIAdHEwiAy8 Yes Minister: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eikb2lX5xYE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNw0P5ZMbA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL_m5Czneno Billy Connelly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKMQKgSnGy8 Fawlty Towers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78b67l_yxUc Carry On: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvs4bOMv5Xw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXImN77fadE Ronnie Barker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RwyPDPlFA8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY1x5gPTEJ4 Classic sketches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3E5vYNzrds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JSahEDRjvw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty68LPKRQQQ

If there is a distinctive quality about Scottish humour that distinguishes it from British humour in general, it's that Scottish humour tends to be much darker. Here's a recent example from "Limmy's Show", an excellent sketch show by Scottish comedy writer/performer Limmy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MxsBsHdhW4

quite right. I apologize a little for my list, because aside from the Connelly clip, it's all London/Home counties oriented humor from the BBC and Rank studios. Part of the reason, of course, is that back in the day (before the standup revolution of the early 80's) the entertainment industry was based entirely out of London. With the Carry-On movies, for example, there's not only a cockney sensibility to the humor, but also a London Jewish sensibility, which we don't see nowadays. In any case, I'm not sure it would be appropriate to add a Bernard Manning clip.

I don't think a lot of the perceived difference is less philosophical - it's just that BBC as a network is much more willing to take a chance on Gervais' vision than NBC. TV comedy is just much more mature over there in Great Britain, with a robust network and an enthusiastic audience - and Gervais didn't break grounds on his own either, his predecessors like Alan Partridge and the likes have set some great precedents for The Office to exist. I mean, just take a look at the top stand up comics that have been coming out of the UK - stand up as a form isn't as fully developed over there as it is in the US, because the structure that supports the form isn't robust as the USA. And our TV comedies are the reverse of that. Plus, these things have been vastly influencing each other across the pond for ages now. So in conclusion - I doubt the Americans are any less capable of glum (or any less appreciative of hopelessness), though it's quite obvious that our TV execs are deathly afraid of too many things.

I'm British - and I couldn't watch the original UK The Office - because it was too real. (Except the utterly beautiful last episode.) I could watch the US version, for the reason's others have stated. I think the age of the nation has something to do with it. You Americans are still very young, as a nation, (we have pubs that are older than you). But I think that means you have a cultural enthusiasm which is hard to beat, but perhaps still the embarrassment that teenagers have when forced to look at themselves. Britain, as a whole, is old, Scotland and Wales even older, so we no longer get embarrassed at our own issues (of which there are many). You know, like the old guy who insists on telling everyone about their latest operation - out of malice, not senility.

I don't know about top stand ups. imho, Eddie Izzard, Russell Brand and Ricky Gervais' stand up is as good as anything from this side of the pond, including Louis C.K., Chris Rock or Patton Oswalt. And Billy Connelly is still a genius. The point wrt BBC is well taken, but there are two things to bear in mind: 1/2 hr comedies in this country usually run 23 or 24 episode seasons, whereas the UK office was *6* episodes; secondly, sitcoms in the US are usually made by independent production companies, whereas BBC comedies are made by BBC personnel. I think these things go in cycles. When I left the UK back in 1990, there was a definite sense that the best comedies on TV were American (with the possible exception of Blackadder).

I think Gervais pretty much nails it for one side of British comedy. I'd disagree with Pliny that class is the main driver. Status is a better candidate for the main driver of that kind of comedy, and whilst class is certainly an important element of the status game, other things like being liked or earning respect are equally important. The other side of British comedy is just being silly. The Pythons were masters of course, but more importantly before them the Goons used a surrealistic sense of foolishness to raise laughter without any kind of political or social message. The best current exponent of The Silly is probably Eddie Izzard's standup, but there's still a direct connection to the old school available in Radio4's longrunning I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue series. Smuttiness of the British kind is normally an outgrowth of the silly approach to comedy, rather than the social awkwardness that Gervais does so well.

If I have understood it correctly, American's in general don't like church related humour, like the episode wiht Mr Bean at Mass and "Mr H is late".

Class vs Status. In my mind they're the same thing, because the dominant class struggle in the UK is middle class vs working class. I'm ok with the distinction, but class and the Establishment infuses every single aspect of English life, especially in the south. Anyway, the reason I linked to those specific clips is that acts like the Pythons, while hugely influential, are not typical of English humor, and I wanted people on this blog to get a taste of stuff they wouldn't otherwise see. For every Python (and remember it ran on BBC2 back in the day, so it wasn't considered mainstream humor), there were 3 Terry and Junes, Allo Allo or even Only Fools and Horses type shows, which given their ratings success, imho actually do represent the English sense of humor. Many of those sitcoms derive their structure from Whitehall farce. imho, it's difficult to understand English tv/movie humor of the last 20 years if one doesn't get Morecombe & Wise, Dad's Army, the Carry-On movies, Tommy Cooper, or any of the stuff that came out of WWII, English Music Hall, and Will Hay/Ealing comedies, because those acts and those movies/shows are what people like Gervais, Ben Elton, etc... all watched growing up (likewise, for US comedy and the Honeymooners, Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks, Bob Newhart, Lucille Ball, etc...). The other massive homegrown influence in British comedy, over the last 30 years is Derek and Clive (Peter Cook & Dudley Moore), which demolished long standing barriers.

America's relationship to Christendom is different as we never had state controlled religion -- the impact of which may figure culturally into the differences Gervais points out.