"They said, they say..."
Please don't read the slop that American authors and journalists write about "the Americans" ~ and actually believe that's what we people who live in the U.S. are really like.

In general and from my own experience as a non-writer, I've found that the average person here thinks you guys in the UK are really "kickin!" and we love you.

And we think you are hilarious, even when you don't mean to be. ;P

Christine, Grandville, USA/Michigan

Brits have no sense of humour? Stone me, what a lie.

Tony Hancock, East Cheam, Railway Cuttings

Yank here - I love the funny old series "Jeeves & Wooster" in reruns. Of course there's always "Monty Python", Mr. Bean, et al.

You must keep in mind that in America we have much less class anxiety than in Britain, so some of the class-based humor does not translate over well.

Lewis, Chicago, USA

One Yank's view:

Very funny: Faulty Towers, The Office (BBC ed), 'Allo, Allo, Benny Hill

Somewhat funny: Are You Being Served

Not Funny: Father Ted (a spectacularly drunk priest is mildly amusing in one show, but in a series?), Couples.

jamesg, Lexington, USA/Virginia

We may not have a sense of humour, but with a name like Wiener, I don't think old Eric should comment on humour.

Sean, Birmingham, England

I live in Orange County California where many of us
watch BBC America. I find "Question Time" with the PM
to be very funny. It's the best show on TV.

John, Placentia, OC, California

I just want to say why compare anyway??? We British find our humour funny, so if you don't like it (get it) don't watch it.

One foot in the grave is the funniest, wittiest comedy show I have ever seen, its Quintessentially British and I love it. We do Love a good moan it's true, but then if we did anything more than that we would all be on strike like some other countries, mentioning no names!

James

James, Bournemouth,

hmmm - John Cleese lives in Montecito (Santa Barbara), California ... wonder what he thinks .... perhaps I'll ask him next time he performs at our UCSB Campbell Hall stage stage.

lyn, santa barbara, california usa

"...but only the British appreciated sarcasm, self-deprecation, teasing and ridicule, and the less pleasing aspects of racist or sexist humour"
That's true and we all love you Brits and your humor for this very reason!
Keep going!

Anna Bagnoli, Florence, Italy

Hmmm... Americans dont understand a typically British sense of humour, so it simply doesnt exist?

America is not funny, its narcisistic.

D Rogers, Nottingham, UK

I moved to canada more than a decade ago.

believe me: that's not a joke!

robert, vancouver, bc

A study of British humour by an American with a German name? Bit like a treatise by Basil Fawlty on customer care.

Barry Smith, Colomby, France

Not one comment about QI or Mock the Week? Dear me, you must all try to keep up. When in America I have to say I find it very embarrassing when a person who wishes to flatter my Englishness gushes on and on about Benny Hill. Only a few Americans watch PBS and see the better comedy shows. Otheriwise it's all Mrs Bucket and Benny.

John Rennie, Beare Green, Surrey

"...researchers at the University of Western Ontario in Canada – not a nation famed for its home-grown jokes – concluded that humour lies in the genes." Did I read that incorrectly or was a swipe just taken at Canada. Firstly, why was Canada dragged into this fight? We are passive and yet we are being attacked. As a member of the Commonwealth I can assure you that Canadians appreciate british humour immensely. As for the claim that we in Canada are unable to create humour, may I envoke the names of Mike Myers, Jim Carrey and Phil Hartman. Not to mention it was a Canadian that invented the pie in the face (I don't know if that translates well or if it is even a good example but it should count for something). In short, I think Canada is a funny place, funnier than the United States but no one is funnier than the Brits.

Chris Whitehead, Vancouver, Canada

Who cares if most American's don't get British humor? I wish we would stop remaking great comedies. The US version of The Office is horrible! Coupling (US version) was worse. I would watch One Foot In the Grave any day over the garbage we have on TV.

Amy, Columbus, OH USA

Hey! Why the Victor Meldrew picture??? That grumpy old man always put a smile on my face! As for British humour, most foreigners I meet tell me how much they love shows like Monty Python (I concur). English humour is so varied, it's not just sarcasm. There are obviously some decent enough US 'comedies' but to be honest I thought Simpsons was more cartoon than comedy, and Frasier and Friends were sitcoms rather than comedies.
If anyone wants to watch good, split-your-sides television, try Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder, Keeping Up Appearances, Monty Python, Porridge, Rab C Nesbit, Open All Hours... They all have something different to laugh at, I suppose what they have in common is that whilst being comedy, there is some intelligence behind the laughs (Blackadder is pure genius).
As for us all being miserable here, it's a laugh a minute where I work. Lots of sarcasm, pranks and innuendo, but it's innocent and gets us through the day with a smile.

Louise, London,

my goodness me, that guy should try a few years in paris...i know, it doesn't sound that way, the city of romance, fashion and all things chic...well, a mere trip down to the local supermarket can be hell if you are unlucky with the cashier, oh, and let's not even talk about the post office...at least the english can laugh at themselves...

mildred, paris, france

Well any one who has to live in the kind of weather that is being experienced currently in the UK could be forgiven for being grumpy.
Down here in Adelaide Sth.Oz we have been having a heat wave with nine days over 35 deg C. What a difference a hemisphere makes!!

Rosie Doolan, Adelaide, South Australia

Canada is "not a nation famed for its home-grown jokes"? Hmmm...what about Mike Meyers, Jim Carrey, Martin Short, John Candy, to name but a few

John , Toronto, Canada

Most of our favourite comedians are manic depressives....

Mark, Oxford, UK

I like the sense of humour my English friend has. Irma

Irma Hauschild, Duisburg, Germany

Brits have the best sense of humour on the planet ! This is proven by the fact that our island has turned into one big joke , run by comedians and the laughing policeman .

Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,

It is difficult to write a humourous book that is totally appreciated by Americans and British readers, simply because the humour i s different and so are the people,and everyone has a different sense of humour. In my first novel Three Cheers for Nothing I recounted funny stories: one English critic said "He cannot con his readers that these things can happen in real life", yet they had happened, it was simply that the reviewer had probably never been out of his office to meet real people, or he just did not see the joke. My sister had several schoolteacher friends who read it and said it was not funny at all and could not understand how it had been published. The following loved the book: Marty
Feldman, Peter Sellers, Peter Cook, Dudley Moor, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Evelyn Waugh and John Schlesinger who, unluckily for me, made Midnight Coiwboy instead of making a film of my book. I like Have I got News for You and I dislike 'Allo, 'Allo, not finding the Gestapo funny.

peter kinsley (www.peterkinsley.com, LONDON, england

I find it strange that benny Hill keeps getting mentioned. Not only was he not particulary funny to most Brits he wasn't even that popular compared to his say Morecambe and Wise. I believe his name keeps coming up when foreigners berate our humour as its all they know having imported and enjoyed Mr Hill's work themselves!

Humour is often used as a 'coping' mechanism and it seems to me that Yanks have less need for it, being ignorant of most things outside their front lawns. Whereas the French tend to be cruel and rude, to cope for their own shortcomings.

nix, Wirral, UK

"Mr Weiner may just not have noticed that England is, at the moment, a very miserable and bitter country. The humour is therefore appropriate." - Phil, Stafford, England.

I think this is his point exactly, Phil.

G., Gusty Brighton,

The nation that gave us everything from Carry On Camping to Benny Hill always gets so incredibly whiney the moment someone ELSE (like an American! or, god beware, a German!) turns the tables and makes fun of it. Geez. You can dish it out, but you can't take it, can ya?

krishna, London, UK

The relief! Up until today I thought I was the only one who found 'friends' totally unfunny.

dhrowlnads, cardiff,

I'm English, and I don't think one can keep pointing to shows like Blackadder for ever as evidence of the healthy state of our comedy. I've only watched One Foot In The Grave once, and though it might prompt some wry smiles from people who recognise a bit of themselves in it, it really wasn't that FUNNY! Last Of The Summer Wine was pleasantly amusing, but not as rolling-in-the-aisles hilarious as the inappropriate laughter track would have us believe, and even Blackadder, probably, in my opinion, as good as it gets, could be described by the uncharitable as a little reliant on the same kinds of jokes after a while. Fawlty Towers, too, gets a lot of mileage out of the audience being willing, even eager, to be amused - it's not surprising that no-one else finds it that comical. And don't get me started on the pretentiously limited number of episodes!
A lot of American comedies might be junk, as are most of ours, but for sparkling laugh-out-loud wit, give me the best of US any day.

Graham Rounce, London, England

I am totally addicted to Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, Leonard Rossiter, Marty Feldman, Terry Thomas and others and to books by Tom Sharpe and retired copper Harry Cole.

All solid gold humour in my opinion.

Dennis, Portland OR (US),

Brits sense of humour is lost on Brits half the time !!!

Ian Payne, WALSALL,

Maybe its true for some and not for others, maybe some Americans don't get it whilst others do. There are 60 million UK citizens and around 300 million American, is everyone suddenly the same? An obvious point but apparently needs to be made!

Adam, Bristol, UK

A lot of British humor is very. very good, but sarcasm and other forms of negative humor can be tricky. It's okay to put something dark into a joke, and difficult subjects can make the best material for humor. But it's important that there actually BE a joke in there somewhere. A lot of what passes for sarcasm is just nastiness, with the funny part left out.

When humor on innocuous topics goes wrong, it's just dull. When biting, negative humor goes wrong, it irritates everyone. But the solution in both cases is better craftsmanship. Any kind of humor, even the goofy kind that's all about body parts, can be very funny if done well.

M.C., Washington DC, USA

Nice to see that "British" means "English" yet again

billy, Caredydd, Cymru

David Brent was not "loathsome". He exposed a lot in society and in his own fragile character. Brilliantly drawn, I would say but not loathsome. The American version didn't cut it.

David, Bromley,

If "Friends" is the epitome of good humour then I'll stay grumpy thank you very much.

What about, "Black Books", "Operation Good Guys", "League of Gentlemen" , "Bo Selecta", "Ali G"?

What about the fact that two Brits cannot meet without cracking a joke within at least 60 seconds?

Doctor Mick, Royston Vasey,

I don't believe it!

John , Lindfield, UK

You can have your shows like "Friends", "Will and Grace" and "Married With Children". I'll take the subtlety, pathos and just brilliant acting and writing of "Extras" and "The Office"--uh...the Brit version of the latter, only, please!

Ed Pyle, Port St. Lucie, USA/Florida

So is it the English or the British that are supposedly humourless miseries? We Celts always get a wee chuckle at the way the two are constantly confused by some of our Anglo neighbours - until there's a problem with a specific Scots, Welsh or northern Irish person, in which case we suddenly aren't Brits any more, of course.

In my experience, there are wonderfully funny people and absolute bloody miseries wherever you go in the world and stereotypes are always extremely dodgy. Must say though that I've yet to see any foreign - American or other - movie that still makes me belly-laugh after the nth viewing like The L:ife of Brian or any sitcom as howlingly funny as Blackadder or Father Ted (before anyone says, I know the writers of the latter were Irish). - much as I love Third Rock from the Sun, Married with Children and Frasier. Doubtless some will eventually come along though - and who's to say they'll be British or American?

Ruth , Glasgow, Scotland

The reason we are "among the most humorless" is because we are not surrounded by a moat as are you Brits, but by Poles, Czechs, Italians(!), and French, which leaves us feeling permanently insecure. Did I forget the few Danes? Sorry! And Sarah Lafferty's "German friends have a great sense of humor," how unexpected, very funny!! Ha, ha, hah! ... Just trying to give you a taste of my refinedTeutonic humor. Now I will shut up because when I open my mouth, people compliment me for my German accent!

Hermann Burchard, Stillwater , Oklahoma

All the places mentioned in The Office from Slough to Reading via Winnersh are the pits. Grey and boring. The only good things about these towns is the railway, motorway and airports make it easy to get away.

quentin, Reading, UK

how dare they push slough into the ground like that... slough is a great place to live if you want to be low key and just get on with life... its not London, slough is better

Eloise Griffith, slough/langley, uk

Actually Latvia is the un-happiest county in the world, but why does this yank care? Has he not got better things to do than try and find how miserable people are? If he thinks Britian is such a miserable county then move back off to America, we dont want you here!

Matt, Hoylake, Wirral

It is the British humor that keeps me going, what with the trains ( in particular the met line)always running late, the weather unpredictable, surrounded by the sea and have to wait for a couple of days in August to go to the beech, sods law operating bang on each time you want things to go right, depressing news, government not keeping up with the piggy bank, banks closing, young soldiers dying, let me think have I left anything out, oh yes the car playing up starts when it wants to and then packs up when you need it most, oh! that's sods law is it not. What keeps me cheerful is British comedy and the BRITS SENSE OF HUMOUR. Just half an hour of something like have I got news for you has me in stitches, but hang on did someone say Friends is dreary, what was George and Midlred a real Brainer??

salma nasser, Gerrards cross,

Yet another "Americans are stupid" article? I don't *believe* it!.

Anyway, I don't think it's fair to look at shows like Friends or Fraiser as the best of American comedy. I think both of those shows were successful because they make you care about the characters.

KH, Boston, MA

Obviously, Brit humoUr is probably your country's most successful export to the U.S. Monty Python was a revelation here and it's finely honed sense of absurdity is still a huge influence on American comedy shows and films. And of course, there are many other examples.

I've always felt that quite a lot of American comedy is just Brit comedy, watered down.

gb, Austin, USA

IMO, the best of British humor is in the "carry on" films and John Cleese. Best of American humor is in the 'The Simpsons" and "Fred flintstones" cartoons.

Mohammed, London, UK

America produces some of the best comedy television in the world, for example: Frasier, Friends and Will & Grace to name but three. British humour is either brilliant as with One Foot in the Grave or infantile as with ....? actually I can't say I can recall anything else - it's so bad I don't watch!

But when it comes down to it I'd rather be stuck on a desert island with all the DVDs of One Foot..., with a wind powered player of course, than any of the American shows - Victor would keep me sane!

robertsandall, london, UJ

I think that each "national" sense of humor stems from the system expressing it. The BBC is a fairly well run state sponsered broardcast network that has the ability to step over the line with little fear of retribution. US broadcast humor is shaped by lawsuits from the religious right and liberal left (leaving a bland, non-offensive humor behind). Having traveled between the two countries a few times I can honestly say that there are quite a few funny people on either side of the Atlantic.

Brian W., Los Angeles , US / CA

We've been turning American for the last 20 years, maybe we've reached our destination and its now impossible to spot the difference.

Mark, Solihull,

How strange that all the Americans I know find English comedy so enjoyable, even the grumpy characters. As for the general populace in the 2 countries (half my life ine each of the two) i would most strongly disagree with the opinions of
Eric Weiner - who was probably unhappy outside his native country (as are so many Americans) and that tainted his judgement. I would say that both countries (and add to that a host of others, Northern and Southern hemispheres) are about equal on the misery scale.

Bill Atkins, Rehoboth Beach, USA

I just love the British sitcoms. I like the sarcasm, the self-deprecation and the personification of the loser, such as Basil Fawlty (Fawlty Towers), Alan Partridge.

Absolute Fabulous, Little Britain and Smack the Pony are excellent too.

Frank Honma, São Paulo, Brasil

That's what you get from a NEW YORK writer. Please..........that is not the whole of America!!! Now...if you come to Boston....you'd feel right at home....Humor is the same...the sarcastic whit is dripping! LOL....Boston is a hotbed of appreciated British humo(u)r......Keep up the great writing!

Paul Delaney, Woburn, MA

I'm getting very tired of these articles in The Times; every week there is an article which is basically 'country A says country B is ugly\unfunny\uncilised\whatever' which then invites hundreds of comments as people snipe at each other. Is this the best you can do Times writers?

Andy, Limerick,

As an American, now living in the delightful and economically depressed Detroit area, who has also had the pleasure of living in London, I would like to say that I have found the British sense of humor to be at turns, twsited, biting and altogether delightful.
Maybe it's because of my orientation to the more urban U.S. Northeast, including New York city where I also lived, but a healthy dollop of sarcasm, to me, is as necessary as yeast is to bread. You want dour? Try trudging around a suburban American supermarket this time of year and you'll see. If anything, the mood over here is anger that we've let a president who we (not I) elected and who proceded to borrow a trillion bucks from China to fight a miserable war that's sucked you chaps in as well--so maybe we have more to commiserate about than chuckle at!

Tom Stevens, Canton, MI

British comedy is the best in the world! Black Books, Spaced, The Day Today, Alan Partridge, Peep Show, Father Ted (alright, that one was Irish written)...I could go on.

Some American comedy is rather good but British is more original, honest and laugh out loud funny.

Nick, London,

Canada – not a nation famed for its home-grown jokes.

These people need to open their ears.

Look at our National Animal: the Beaver.
This water logged rodent is the only animal in the world that can start a war between Animal Activist and Environmentalists.
Tell us we don't have home grown sense of humour.

Nanook, Wainfleet, Canada

I have to say that in moving across the US, humor is regional and sometimes just familial. I personally don't get southern humor, I don't find it remotely funny. Mid-western humor is something acquired. Do easterners have humor? I am still looking into that, but am thinking it might be more ethnically inclined. So being a Californian, I am naturally inclined to think they are the funniest and as the butt end of many jokes, can laugh at themselves. I love British dry witted humor, I think stoicism, grumpiness or whatever they want to call it humorous in itself. To define a country's humor, you would have to be very generalized or really understand the regions. To compare Brit and American it's like apples to oranges, they are both fruit but taste is so completely different.

Northum, NYC, US

'orses for courses, innit ??

The Simpsons's stop me in my tracks each evening. Roseanne, years ago made me laugh out loud. 3rd Rock from the Sun, Frasier and early episodes of Cheers too.

But Friends ? Puleez... Not funny, but neither was the Royle Family or Black Books to me.

Maybe I've been living in France too long....Britain has changed and not necessarily for the better.

I'd agree with an earlier poster, Britain (all of it...) is a pretty miserable place to visit at the moment, and that must be reflected in its humour.

IkeNuma, Evian-les-Bains, France

I have to say I'm not a big fan of the States, but have been many times due to good British friends living out there. Everytime I go, the Amercians can't get enough of my English humour and are always asking me to move over there!!! I find it funny that a man from a nation, which shows programmes such as 'you've been framed' and has to circle the object that's about to fall or something - cos God forbid the yanks should miss it - writes about how miserable and dull we are. Least we don't have to have things explained to us every 10 seconds - like the Amercian TV show's which come back from the ad breaks and start to recall what you just saw three seconds ago! I can never wait to get home after being there to speak to people who know my sense of humour and get it straight away without being asked 'are you serious'? Also, it's mad they have flags outside their homes - is this incase they wake up and forget which country they're in? for those of you with no humour - that was a joke

Laughaminutegirl!, Slough,

Alan Partridge, The Office, The League of Gentlemen, Brasseye, Spaced, Peep Show, Big Train, Fifteen Storeys High, Jam, Garth Marenghi's Dark Place, Phoenix Nights, Saxondale, Bang Bang Reeves and Mortimer, Black Books, Marion and Geoff, Nathan Barley, The Mighty Boosh, Nighty Night, Top Buzzer. All of the above are bona fide gems of British comedy produced in the last fifteen years. A list now of quality American shows of the same era:
The Simpsons, South Park, Curb your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Frasier, errrm that's it. Just because the subtlety of British comedy is lost on the majority of an American audience, does not make it any less potent. Perhaps Americans are slightly troubled by the fact that we Brits are the world's finest comedy producers? Just a suggestion.

Daniel, Comedy Central, Laughsville

Obviously, Britain wins the sense of humor game and it's not because of what writers or performers do but because of the House of Commons. I could happily watch those guys and gals all day! The US Congress on the other hand...not so much...it's very boring, very tedious.

Ian, Washington DC, USA

I found amusing that all comments regarding the English humour and American humor were based on TV sitcoms. I enjoy GOOD English humour and GOOD American humor (books, movies and conversations with funny people). Taking the liberty to define "GOOD", I found plenty of humour (humor) in both countries and in many others, maybe excepting Germany.

Malvina, Roslyn Harbor, USA

In Minneapolis/St. Paul, our local PBS station has for over 20 years broadcast the great britcoms every night between 10-11 pm. And it's not just Monthy Python, but the whole range of britcoms on the BBC, ITV and Granada - including the "aggressively sarcastic or denigrating series ." What makes these britcoms so delightful and addicting appeals to thinking people everywhere who appeciate the human comedy.

Neal Buethe, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Well given tht the Daily Telegraph, Mail , Independent and Guardian are full of grumpy commentators is it no WONDER so many people are PERMANENTLY grumpy.

If you eat rubbishy food it makes you ill.

Read rubbishy grumpy newspapers (oh and the Today programme with the arch grumpy old man Humphrys) and is any wonder that we have these grumpy oldies spreadnig their depression.

What you read or listen to is BRAIN FOOD

Nicky , London SW1,

Just because someone wrote it in a book doesn't make it so!

If Americans don't understand British humor why do we have BBC America and why are British programs so popular on PBS (Public Broadcasting.)

If Britian is so grim why do so many Americans go there on vacation (multiple times?)

As a British Born American Citizen I say lets get back to making fun of the French!

K, Boston, USA

"Canada – not a nation famed for its home-grown jokes"??? Many of America's most beloved comedians are Canadian imports, from John Candy to Jim Carrey to Mike Myers, to name just a few.

STM, toronto, Canada

Lets face it Slough is one of the armpits of the world- however thanks for the humor - some visitors even thing the cooling towers at the Mars factory belongs to a newclear power station.

Steve, London,

To be honest im not a great fan of the american people or thier humour, for someone to say the british people are dull, run insipid lives and just lack everything the americans do, it just offends me.

For instance I have many friends who I consider to be side-splittingly funny, to others they may not be so entertaining. Everyone has thier own sense of humour, so maybe instead of stereotyping the british as 'bland' , I think you should change your study. why dont you try something more reliable have 200 british people compare thier own humour with 200 american people, I would like to hear the outcome of that study.

Robert, Hatfield, Hertfordshire

The key difference between Eric Wiener (the Americans) and me (the British) is that I do not take myself so seriously to the extent that I can't have a laugh when a bad situation exists rather than having to resort to suing someone. The mere fact that I can find humour in a grey day in Britain rather than have to travel for a whole year trying to find "the worlds happy places" I think goes a long way to prove that I am, at heart, a much happier person right where I am, Ta.

Yorke, Rainy Britain ,

Any nation that can elect Bush as president - twice - must have the best sense of humour in the world!!

We love British Humour, Surrey,

I love both British and American humour, and both nations have equally self deprecating and non-PC shows with a focus on misery. Britain has/had Peep Show, Blackadder, Partridge, Fawlty Towers, Black Books, and the masters - Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. America has Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Dilbert, King of the Hill, Futurama...

And both nations have crap comedy aswell.

Jay, Manchester,

An English friend once explained to me (a Dutchy) the difference between Continental and British humour. 0n the continent they say: there he was, with his trousers on his shoes. In England we say: here I was, with etc.
Best US comedy I remember is "Those were the days" with Archie Bunker as typical white conservative worker. I'll never forget the scene where he ran to a mirror after he had received a blood transmission with blood from a black, to see whether he was already becoming coloured.
For all things, let's continue laughing about this crazy world, it's the best remedy.

Constant, Brussels, Belgium

Eric Weiner should visit Wilmington, Ohio - miserable and decrepit in a horrible way. The food isn't any good either being much worse than anything offered in the UK. Cleveland and Detroit also have much to offer in the way of sunny yankee humour - not.

Let's be honest, Americans can't understand humour and consequently lack an appreciation of it instead preferring to sycophantically howl at mindbogglingly dull TV sitcoms in a grotesque act of bonding with their chums.

Susan T. (Expat), Wilmington, Ohio. USA

It does seem rather purile that Mr Weiner bemoans our happiness, when the US is, in the eyes of much of the world, a dysfunctional and miserable place.. Where black people could not vote and slavery was legal under 150 years ago, where inadequate and inferior health and welfare systems are a second priority to $12bn a month spent on Iraq, and 75% of the populace do not even have a passport, let alone travel beyond their borders.. If an American calls us unhappy, and the world calls Americans ignorant, then should we listen to the opinion of an ignoramus?

Edward, London,

I found in 2005 that the British people were so friendly (and it sure seemed sincere to me) that I became ashamed of myself at times. How many times I stopped to think, "why can't I be this nice to strangers, customers, students, etc..." I also caught a TV show that I found hilarious, but unfortunately I never knew the title, and my boyfriend just promised me last night that as soon as he saves the money, he's going to take me back to Canterbury to eat at my very favorite restaurant in the whole world. So... I like you, your humor, and your food!!

Laura, Pennsylvania, USA

Curb your enthusiasm is an American show but it as least as sarcastic/calamity prone as any British show and is easily as painful to watch as the office. For every great show there's lots of rubbish. Monty Python was a long time ago.

Most current British 'comedy' is not particularly innovative and relies on cultural class stereotypes. Shameless for example is turgid nasty patronising propaganda which has no relation to real life.

Rab C Nesbit was one of the best shows on TV simply because it actually represented some genuine gallows humour and had a rich language of it's own. Unfortunately the brilliant Tutti Frutti creator John Byrne had his funding cut by the Beeb or we might have had more quality Scots language shows.

If 'Little Britain' represents the soul of British comedy then it is destined to be flushed down the U-bend. Mocking every minority group all it represents is lazy stereotypes. Then again, I suppose it's quite reflective of British 'culture' after all!

Joe Middleton, Edinburgh, Scotland

I find american humour generally quite obvious and its kinda thrown into your face you have no choice but to acknowledge it. There is the same to be said for English programmes/commedians but give me the Victoria Wood/Dawn French anyday.

However saying that i do enjoy Family Guy and American Dad purely for the randomness of them!

Never really been into stand up comedy that much so unable to comment on that.

On another note, does it really matter all that much? find a sitcom/series or comic that you like and enjoy the work they produce!

Simon, Cambridge, Uk

I believe both sides of the pond have developed some of the most ingenious comedy as well as unwatchable garbage. There really is no need to have a running contest.

If you are looking for an excellent, and horribly unnoticed, comedy stateside check out Arrested Development. If you are looking for a great British sitcom try Extras (if you don't have HBO). I don't think I have ever laughed so hard consistently at any other show, Stephen Merchant is a genius in front of the camera as well.

Brian, Cleveland, USA

British humour is LOST on the average American. They just do not understand the subtle undercurrent, the...they just don't get it !
I love British humour "Fawlty Towers", "Monty Python", "Little Brtiain", "Keeping Up Appearences", Blackadder"...
Curiously, I did not like "The Office", and "Benny Hill" felt a little on the obvious side, but it made me laugh anyway-

Raquel Seabra, Lisbon, Portugal

Whats unique about Brits is the pervasiveness of humour. There's a joke in everything we say even if its almost subliminal.
Its all to do with the uniquely British sense of embarrassment Brits are a bit socially awkard (very generally) and humour helps to get round this.
Eg. When it comes to sex we ONLY ever talk about it in a jokey way.

Paul, London,

I get the feeling that Mr Eric Weiner, sees humor, jokes, comedy as something akin to vitamins that "positively" provide some positive, measurable self improvement. We Brits just see it as an amusing nonsense that doesn't need to add value or meaningfulness to anything. It has no need to be useful. Its doesn't need to do anymore than to make us laugh or reflect on an irony. I like to laugh at funny "stuff", not measure the positive impact and self improvement provided by a PC filtered high value unit of happy fun.

Walter, Bangor,

Well, you can learn something everyday. I thought Friends was a sitcom.

For me US 'comedy' is lacking any depth and is hardly sophisticated (I Love Lucy). There is just no 'bite'. Compared with Blackadder, Falty Towers. Have I Got New for You, Sensitive Skin,
The Office, Saxondale etc there is nothing there.

The only US comedy I can recall with joy was Sgt Bilko.

Mike, Norwich,

Friends has a few funny moments in it, but the British sitcom 'Coupling' makes it look lame, timid and frankly unfunny.

of course humour varies from culture to culture, while there are some things universally funny, stand up is not nearly as common in the rest of europe as it is in the UK, US and Oz. Japan loves slapstick and visual gags, but also the wordplay that is popular in English. But no other forms, particulalry.

smiler, in the grey of the UK,

I'm just about sick of reading about how people come to our country and then do nothing but criticise it when they've left! If you don't like the country then the answer is simple - please don't come back - apparently we are miserable enough -without needing to be told about it! Please give me the intelligent, subtle humour of the English any day.

Laura, London, UK

First of all, I would like to speak up in defence of the Germans. My German friends have great senses of humour and particularly love dry British comedy. American humour should be looked at on a regional basis. People on the East coast are more likely to have a British ironic sense of humour. Although the most darkly ironic and brilliant comedy, South Park, comes from Colorado. The influence of the great Jewish comedians like Mel Brooks and Woody Allen has resulted in some very self-deprecating, politically incorrect and ironic material. I do notice that most comdians are depressed so the fact that Britain has so many natural comedians, might be cause for concern!

Sarah Lafferty, London, UK

The Simpsons is satirical? It only has two jokes.

bob, London,

No wonder they do not understand our houmour when their very best endeavors are little more than childish rubbish such as Friends, Prince of BellAire. ect ect ect. God save me from from it. Please!

D Case, Newquay,

There's a difference between experiencing happiness and indulging in ostentation. Just because the Brits don't have a tradition of face-painting doesn't mean to say they're gloomy.

Edmund Burke, Kingston upon Thames, England

The United States has certainly been churning out better quality comedy in greater quantity than the UK, in the past fifteen, or so, years - The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Frazier, South Park, The Larry Sanders Show, Family Guy, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Much of this is down to giving the creators absolute freedom and a big team of script writers.

The UK? The Office, just about. Peep Show and the IT Crowd are cult gems. The rest is a morass of BBC commissioned, politically correct dross.

However, if you ask most American comic creators who their greatest influence was, Monty Python will inevitably be the reply.

Mark, London, UK

Someone mentioned that Dharma and Gregg is funny. Have I missed something here? I have watched a few episodes of this and it failed to bring even a slight smile to my face.

Monkey Dust is one of the funniest programs that has come out of the UK in years.

Nathan, Canterbury, UK

May I slip in a paradox when it comes to humour, or maybe humor for once. I have yet to come across another Briton who agrees with me that Linwood Boomer is a genius, a word I use sparingly. His "Malcolm in the middle" series is an unrivalled gem of condensed comedy, subversive wit, and most of all, sympathetic humanity. Naturally it had to end but there were enough episodes to explore just about every facet.

Jeff, London, England

Yeah, but he hasn't been to Kingsville, TX. Now that's a miserable little place.

Andy, Kingsville, TX

Speak for yourself, Eric Weiner. There are plenty us in the U.S. who appreciate humor when it contains an additional "u".

As for Slough, the American version of The Office is set in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which is not exactly Disneyland.

Klaatu, New York, U.S.A.

Is this a joke? The book is called the geography of bliss, but the conclusions appear to be about the genetics of it. I am unhappy because I live in Britain, and it's crap. If I lived somewhere cheap and sunny I'd be smiling every day. But the responses to the book seem to confuse funny with happy. I think we _are_ less happy than the Americans, the Australians (and the expat Brits) but for damn good reasons. We need our negative sense of humour simply to survive here.

John H Woods, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK

It's all true. We are not a happy nation. Grumpy, miserable, tired, sarcastic, bitchy, insecure, overworked, angry and downright uncaring are just a few words to describe the majority of people in this country. What do we have to be happy about? Rising theft, serious violent crime, awful public transport, high taxes, ferrel out-of-control teenagers, expensive everything, overwhelming political correctness, terrible weather, self centered politicians, dull concrete cities, no-go estates, no national pride. Unless you are one of the 'jolly hockey sticks, silver spoon in the mouth, champagne and dinner parties' upper middle class brigade, this is your lot and there is bloody nothing we, the general public, can do about it. We do not live in a democracy, our public money is wasted left, right and centre by loony left wing liberals. I generally hate most the people in this bloody crap country our 'leaders' have the audacity to call Great Britain. It was great once, it never will be again

Chris Reilly, Birmingham,

It's quite simple, really, and not genetic, in my opinion. We here in multicultural, "salad bowl" America (forget the meltiing pot -- passe) are no longer allowed to have biting, sarcastic, racist or feminist humor -- it's not PC. One who practices it can lose his or her career, and that really is the bottom line. We are not homogeneous like most other countries and this type of humor is very divisive in our culture. I think it's a good thing, if people cannot separate humor from insults (and here, they cannot). But I predict that it won't take too many generations before your British humour undergoes the same cleansing -- after all, 500,000 or so immigrants every year will ultimately make (if not already) your homogeneous culture a thing of the past. Too bad, because it is one of the things I enjoy most about the Brits.

Rebecca, Bluffton, USA / SC

And yet again we have one individual giving his opinion and making it come across as solid fact. Opinions are simply opinions--no more no less. Let's not get our dander up over it. I'm sure that anyone with half a wit can recognise that not all things amuse all people and it is purely opinion. He doesn't get british humour. Fine. I think he comes across as a twit--that's my opinion. Have a nice day!

Helen, Liverpool, UK

Don't say the Brits aren't funny. Humor is all them poor sods is got.

American, London,

Before you deride Slough, just remember that it is only a matter of geography that stops the Royal Family being known as the House of Slough.
The name was changed in 1917 from Saxe Coburg-Gotha to Windsor to avoid any anti-German feelings.

GJB, SLOUGH (3 miles from Windsor), BERKSHIRE

Perhaps it takes someone fairly humourless to go on a quest for happiness. I have always loved wit and humour in many forms, and some of the great comics and cartoonists have enriched my life and helped me to get through some difficult times. Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, Peter Sellers, the Carry On gang, John Candy, Tom Lehrer, Beyond the Fringe, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Monty Python, Mel Brooks, Gary Larson (The Far Side), Scott Adams (Dilbert), Charles Schultz (Peanuts), Flanders and Swann (At the Drop of a Hat), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean)... the list goes on and on and on. Everyone on that list is either British or American, and I really can't say which country contributed more. Nor does any clear distinction emerge - as others have pointed out, Tom Lehrer's humour has a lot in common with the "British" cynicism of Monty Python or Pete and Dud. America seems to produce more prolific cartoonists and good comic TV series, but then it's much bigger.

Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,

I suspect this bloke spent weeks touring round Britain having the proverbial ripped out of him and never even noticed!

I work with Americans quite a bit, and they are typically lovely people, but many of them simply don't realise when the British are being funny. They can't quite grasp sometimes that we have the ability to slip a joke or an absurdity into almost every sentence.

Analyse your next day at work: how many humourous remarks get passed in the first hour. It's almost non-stop.

But Slough - now that's not even remotely amusing.

Eric Ambleside, Yorkshire,

There's good and bad on both sides of the Atlantic. I adored Frasier, MASH, Sienfeld, classy comedy full of wit and irony. Some of our own homegrown comedies are dire these days.

And yes, we Brits are a moany lot on the whole, the glass is always half empty, which although it can be the source of much black humour, is a pain to have to live with.

Do we think too highly of ourselves? Doesn't every nation?

Bev, Bucks, UK

Friends? Friends is funny? The Simpson's is not only satirical, it is one of the great works of modern art. Dharma and Greg are funny, as well as King of Queens. But dreary ol' Sponge Bob is funnier than Friends or Seinfeld.

eugene, heidelberg, germany

I never knew that 'Friends' was supposed to be a comedy.

David Hadley, Cradley Heath, UK

Coincidentally, this week I bought audio books by James Thurber and Tom Lehrer. Old, but as funny, grim and self deprecating as any English author/performer has ever been.
My US favourites have also included "Married with Children" , "Rhoda" and "Third Rock from the Sun" none of them exactly fell into the "feel good" genre. "Roseanne" when it stayed out of the slough of mawkishness, or Halloween was pretty hard hitting.

The first 15,000, or so, episodes of Friends were also excellent.

In my limited experience, the common strand of humour that arose in conversations in widely spaced parts of the US was always The Benny Hill Show. Deemed too vulgar by some needle butt at ITV. (I hope that I used that term correctly.)

"People who tend to be more negative, depressed and anxious tend to use that kind of humour,” "

Mr Weiner may just not have noticed that England is, at the moment, a very miserable and bitter country. The humour is therefore appropriate.

Phil, Stafford, England

Eric Weiner makes me laugh. He must be a very serious fellow. When I visit America I feel I am in a foreign land. All those cheerful voices exhorting me to have a 'nice day' while their eyes slide over to the next victim. And their use of conversational euphemism can be very puzzling indeed. An Australian friend living in the US once told me of her momentary bewilderment when the young mother of a bed-wetting toddler informed her that her little boy had 'gone to the bathroom in his bed'. How we chortle still. Don't let Eric get under your skin. The British have made be laugh more than any other group of people except Jerry Seinfeld, George, Elaine and Kramer.

dianne, melbourne, australia

Just as the article says, the Brits have always had a keener sense of humor than we Americans. Just look at Who's Line? and The Office that we've imported. Barely recognizable once they make it to air here. The Office will go down as one of the top ten funniest shows ever made. Period.

Richard, Denver, CO

Americans often do have a keen sense of humor, but it varies somewhat across it's various peoples.
Sometimes to such a certain degree that Americans do not get their own.
Some deadpan comments intended with a satirical view from an individual from one state, will be taken with dead seriousness when encountered by someone from another.
Creators of American sitcoms will naturally try and deliver in a style that bridges the gaps, with subtlety and irony being a unfortunate but natural casualty.

Sandy, Christchurch,

I think American's "get" English humour they just find it crude.
You don't need any kind of sophistication to "get" Benny Hill.

Americans, as well as other nationalities,are not the only one's who find English humour humourless. It may be the reason why English sitcoms are not as popular as American sitcoms are throughout the world.

Mr. Glen Davies, if American humour is so obvious and expected of a nation stereotyped as not wanting to think much; it's ironic that the depressing, negative, insensitive, intolerant, biting and crude English humor comes from a nation whose people are stereotyped as people who think too highly of themselves.
Judging from this article and its comments Canadians, Americans, French and Germans are deemed so unsophisticated that they don't "get" English humour.

I agree with Annabelle every humour is only understood fully by the country from where it originates, which in itself says a lot about the conditions in your country.

Ruth , Bogota , Colombia

I agree wholeheartedly with Nona! As an American who lived in England for 14 years, I find English humor to be preferable in every way. I rarely watch anything anymore that is supposed to be American comedy -- but I could probably exist forever with only reruns of 'Allo, 'Allo and Blackadder.

Cindy, Carlisle,

There are plenty of Americans who love British humour. I believe that our PBS stations would have gone under long ago without repeated airings of your great comedies from the past. And fortunately, we can enjoy your more contemporary comedies on HBO (The Office, Extras) and BBC America.

Keep 'em coming!

cerwen, NH, USA

Although it does not fully explain humorlessness or stupid humor, both in ample supply in the US, Americans may not have had a lot to laugh about lately. There is nothing like the weekly report of troop deaths in Iraq to dampen my sense of humor. My observation is that particularly clever or dry humor goes largely unnoticed, not just unacknowledged, here in the US. For some of us, telling a joke is simply a chance to become embarrassed, or to labor far beyond reason in an attempt to explain. The audience for sophisticated humor in the US is quite small, and that is not funny.

Eric, Las Vegas NV, USA

"Eric Weiner, a former New York Times journalist, spent a year travelling the world in search of the planet’s happy places." Sounds like a total twerp. How in God's name does one find a "happy place"? How does one identify it - little fairies dancing around sprinkling flower petals?

I find what passes for humor in the states to be rather insipid. Give me Blackadder, Last of the Summer Wine, Fawlty Towers, even Waiting for God, etc., for excellent acting, characters, and hearty laughter.

Nona, New York City, USA

Weiner should have noticed that Britain was the nation that come up with Marvin the Paranoid Android, in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,

Cathy, Grayling, MI, USA

Personally, I don't find US humour funny. It's over-obvious and requires no thought. I always thought Friends one of the most dreary programmes ever to grace British television.

Perhaps that's why it suits a nation who are stereotyped as not wanting to think much.

Glen Davies, Nottingham, England

Hey at least we can laugh at ourselves! You don't see my friends getting mad when i call the my female dogs, in fact they see it as en endearment. Said to a californian friend once in a VERY pleasant manner and she looked like she was about to cry.. Almost as bad as the German woman who stayed with us and almost had a rage when we laughed (not in a nasty way) because she fell over..
In brief, English humour is the win, but pretty much every humour is only understood fully by the country it originates from. And I'm pretty proud we can not only mock ourselves, but see the humour when pretty much everything goes wrong in this bloomin' country!

Annabelle, London,