British comedy is an entirely unique
entity that, it appears, cannot be easily described without making long lists. Although many
Americans and other strange creatures seem to think that it starts and ends with
Monty Python and
Fawlty Towers, in
actuality British comedy is a thriving genre (if not
industry) in its own right spanning back, ooh, a good few years at least. In fact it is difficult to pin down the origins of British comedy, as it stems from the British outlook on life and attitudes to love, death, and
falling through lifted up bar tops.
But if the shape of the modern comedic landscape had to be blamed on one individual, it would undoubtedly be Spike Milligan. Milligan absolutely rewrote the rules as to how comedy was supposed to work (according to Alexei Sayle: "Yeah, it could be like jazz, without punchlines, you know, utter wank."), most profoundly with his first major comedy outing, The Goon Show.
Although frequently British comedy goes through lean patches, we still have several of the mechanisms that allow new comedy ideas and fresh talent to get an audience that would be denied them in any country with a logically thought-out broadcasting system. Radio Four, BBC2, Channel 4 (well sometimes), and the Edinburgh Festival still manage to unearth the occasional diamond in the rough.
Many major contributors to British Comedy are listed (sorry, lists again) under Comedy Gods.