Laugh lines
How comedy classics inspired the TV shows we watch today
Laugh Lines: From The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Accidentally On Purpose
Bruce Dessau on television comedy: E4's latest American import harks back to one of the most resonant female-led sitcoms of the 1970s
Laugh Lines: from Sergeant Bilko to Father Ted
Bruce Dessau's guide to TV comedy: Forget Steve Martin, it is the spirit of Phil Silvers that is resurrected on Craggy Island
Laugh Lines: from Bob Martin to Extras
Bruce Dessau's guide to TV comedy: If Extras reminded me of the mostly forgotten Michael Barrymore sitcom, it may be because they were inspired by the same source...
Laugh Lines: From Asylum to The Mighty Boosh
Bruce Dessau's guide to TV comedy: A low-budget 90s satellite sitcom that had big consequences for 21st-century comedy
Laugh Lines: from Dad's Army to Hippies
Bruce Dessau's guide to TV comedy: Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews' underrated sitcom Hippies, starring Simon Pegg, could have been fathered by Dad's Army
Laugh lines: How Garry Shandling inspired Miranda
Bruce Dessau: One of the few recent laugh-out-loud sitcoms, Miranda showed a comedic shift away from the neo-naturalism of The Office
