--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Growing up, there were TV shows that were…" description: "\"Growing up, there were TV shows that were very funny but very traditional. Classic things like 'Fawlty Towers,' obviously, and 'Blackadder' were pretty..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e1/edgar-wright-3794_ambitious_growing-up-there-were-tv-shows-that-were_2194430.jpg" --- # Growing up, there were TV shows that were very funny but… ![“Growing up, there were TV shows that were very funny but very traditional. Classic things like 'Fawlty Towers,' obviously, and 'Blackadder' were pretty traditionally shot. And then there were the ones that start to break the mold or be really ambitious. The ones that spring particularly to mind…” quote by Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e1/edgar-wright-3794_ambitious_growing-up-there-were-tv-shows-that-were_2194430.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e1/edgar-wright-3794_ambitious_growing-up-there-were-tv-shows-that-were_2194430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e1/edgar-wright-3794_ambitious_growing-up-there-were-tv-shows-that-were_2194430.jpg) > “Growing up, there were TV shows that were very funny but very traditional. Classic things like 'Fawlty Towers,' obviously, and 'Blackadder' were pretty traditionally shot. And then there were the ones that start to break the mold or be really ambitious. The ones that spring particularly to mind would be 'The Young Ones.'” [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Traditional comedies rely on familiar formats, while later shows experiment with style and content. **In simple terms:** Old shows are classic; newer ones push boundaries. Key Takeaway Embrace both tradition and innovation. Themes humor tradition innovation media culture Mood reflective analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - TV programming - writing workshops - media studies - creative brainstorming Key Concepts Comedy theory genre evolution cultural shift Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance respect for tradition with creative risk? - What makes a comedy timeless? A Different Perspective Innovation may alienate audiences accustomed to familiar formats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Fawlty towers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fawlty-towers/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Funny Traditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-traditional-4793704/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Pretty Traditionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-traditionally-4793705/) [Shows Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows-funny-629310/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Traditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditional/) [Traditional Classic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditional-classic-4793706/) [Tv shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tv-shows/) [Young ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-ones/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like I'm still learning the ropes of how television works. Obviously I have good folks surrounding me on different shows. It's funny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schneider/i-feel-like-i-m-still-learning-the-ropes-of-how-television-works/) [Paul Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-schneider/) > [I'm a fan of half-hour shows that can be both funny and dramatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-stuever/i-m-a-fan-of-half-hour-shows-that-can-be-both-funny-and-dramatic/) [Hank Stuever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-stuever/) > [ No one ever asks me about Breeze O'Rourke! I did the pilot for\[Payne\] right after Jawbreaker, or at least right around the same time,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-benz/no-one-ever-asks-me-about-breeze-o-rourke-i-did-the-pilot-for-payne/) [Julie Benz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-benz/) > [I feel very grateful for Sybil. 'Fawlty Towers' was very hard to make, but it was very stimulating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prunella-scales/i-feel-very-grateful-for-sybil-fawlty-towers-was-very-hard-to-make/) [Prunella Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prunella-scales/) > [When you watch some old sitcoms, however charming they are, they have often lost speed over the years. The speed of 'Fawlty Towers' has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prunella-scales/when-you-watch-some-old-sitcoms-however-charming-they-are-they-have/) [Prunella Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prunella-scales/) > [The repeat run of Fawlty Towers drew bigger audiences than ever and deservedly so. Statistical surveys reveal that only the television critic of The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-repeat-run-of-fawlty-towers-drew-bigger-audiences-than-ever-and/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [A satisfied customer. We should have him stuffed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/a-satisfied-customer-we-should-have-him-stuffed/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [There was a lot of terrible, terrible comedy in the seventies along with 'Fawlty Towers.' It's easy to forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/there-was-a-lot-of-terrible-terrible-comedy-in-the-seventies-along/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [Carla Lane's 'Butterflies' seemed to be on in our house at all times when I was a kid, as did 'The Good Life.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/carla-lane-s-butterflies-seemed-to-be-on-in-our-house-at-all-times/) [Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/) > [All comedy is funny because it tells us truths that we recognise through laughter, but that doesn't mean it can't be unnerving. Think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/all-comedy-is-funny-because-it-tells-us-truths-that-we-recognise/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [As a kid I watched television 24 hours a day and loved every minute of it. The two shows that always make me laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-mochrie/as-a-kid-i-watched-television-24-hours-a-day-and-loved-every-minute/) [Colin Mochrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-mochrie/) > [Manuel will show you to your rooms - if you're lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/manuel-will-show-you-to-your-rooms-if-you-re-lucky/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [The thing about the BBC is I've grown up with it. It's 'Hancock,' Leonard Rossiter, Morecambe & Wise, 'Blackadder,' 'Fawlty Towers'... I just feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/the-thing-about-the-bbc-is-i-ve-grown-up-with-it-it-s-hancock-leonard/) [Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/) > [When I was in my late teens, I discovered 'Fawlty Towers' and 'Monty Python,' and they still make me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-evans/when-i-was-in-my-late-teens-i-discovered-fawlty-towers-and-monty/) [Shaun Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-evans/) > ['Fawlty Towers' was a huge influence on me. I mean, it was so slapstick, too. 'Are You Being Served?' was on 15 times a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-krisel/fawlty-towers-was-a-huge-influence-on-me-i-mean-it-was-so-slapstick/) [Jonathan Krisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-krisel/) ## More by Edgar Wright > [You cannot put 50 years of the Marvel universe into a movie. It's impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/you-cannot-put-50-years-of-the-marvel-universe-into-a-movie-it-s/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [There have been recorded cases of people learning how to fly a plane after playing a flight simulator, but there's never been a case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/there-have-been-recorded-cases-of-people-learning-how-to-fly-a-plane/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [I first saw Walter Hill's second film, 'The Driver,' as a teenager, late at night on the BBC, quite possibly sitting too close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/i-first-saw-walter-hill-s-second-film-the-driver-as-a-teenager-late/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [A lot of recent comic book adaptations have gone two ways: either they're striving for some kind of realism, like 'Iron Man' or 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/a-lot-of-recent-comic-book-adaptations-have-gone-two-ways-either-they/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [If you have ever driven around London and seen the amount of one way systems... they basically rubbed out all car chase crime. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/if-you-have-ever-driven-around-london-and-seen-the-amount-of-one-way/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [Sometimes, some things have to settle, and you have to think about the intention of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/sometimes-some-things-have-to-settle-and-you-have-to-think-about-the/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [Now I'm back in LA, it's high time to finish a little something I've been working on...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/now-i-m-back-in-la-it-s-high-time-to-finish-a-little-something-i-ve/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [I'd rather try and cram in another two gags than leave a pause to say, 'Hey, wasn't that bit funny?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/i-d-rather-try-and-cram-in-another-two-gags-than-leave-a-pause-to-say/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [Television was essentially my college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/television-was-essentially-my-college/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [I have this theory about science fiction movies in that, when the space race sort of died, a lot of people sort of lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/i-have-this-theory-about-science-fiction-movies-in-that-when-the/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [Near my apartment in London, a lot of the pubs kind of look identical, which is very strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/near-my-apartment-in-london-a-lot-of-the-pubs-kind-of-look-identical/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [If you ever watch police chases on, like, helicopter cams, they very quickly become nightmarish when you start to see the police coming in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/if-you-ever-watch-police-chases-on-like-helicopter-cams-they-very/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [I don't want to get them in trouble for crimes in the early '90s - but there was usually like one pub that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/i-don-t-want-to-get-them-in-trouble-for-crimes-in-the-early-90s-but/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [I think where the criticism of videogames come from is where videogames are just Xeroxes of films, and when you get a film adaptation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/i-think-where-the-criticism-of-videogames-come-from-is-where/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [I'm a big fan; I like all sorts of genres. I do like an occasion to just switch my brain off and enjoy some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/i-m-a-big-fan-i-like-all-sorts-of-genres-i-do-like-an-occasion-to/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) [Explore all 122 Edgar Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) ## More Ambitious quotes > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [I want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/) [Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [“Getting rich is easy, staying rich is impressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-trip/getting-rich-is-easy-staying-rich-is-impressive/) [Don Trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-trip/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/) [Chris Kirubi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kirubi/) > [I am ambitious to do more than what has been offered me. I want to be the best in whatever career I choose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uday-chopra/i-am-ambitious-to-do-more-than-what-has-been-offered-me-i-want-to-be/) [Uday Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uday-chopra/) > [There are four varieties in society — the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/there-are-four-varieties-in-society-the-lovers-the-ambitious/) [Hippolyte Taine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippolyte-taine/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I'm not ambitious. Not a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-not-ambitious-not-a-bit/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I understood early on that I was not the best-looking girl in the room. But I knew my advantage was a hard work ethic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-understood-early-on-that-i-was-not-the-best-looking-girl-in-the/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [To talk only about national security, national defense, means to be selfish, ambitious. It is discrimination, isolation. "It is just me. What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/to-talk-only-about-national-security-national-defense-means-to-be/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) [Browse all 1,269 Ambitious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Growing up, there were TV shows that were very funny but very traditional. Classic things like 'Fawlty Towers,' obviously, and 'Blackadder' were pretty traditionally shot. And then there were the ones that start to break the mold or be really ambitious. 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