Television series
Please Sir!
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
A British sitcom about a young, idealistic teacher trying to maintain order at a rough inner-city school while his pupils run rings around him. Gently anarchic, warmly observed, and genuinely funny about the daily absurdities of classroom life. Perfect if you love gentle period comedy with heart and a fondness for loveable chaos.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy classroom sitcoms built on a put-upon teacher and a gang of cheeky pupils, where the comedy comes from small schemes and the sheer chaos of an overcrowded room.
Skip it if you want quick edits and sharp modern gags, because this is a gentle, studio-bound 1960s comedy whose pace feels leisurely by today's standards.
What it asks of you: Thirty-minute episodes, four seasons and fifty-five episodes in all, so it's easy to dip in, but the humour tends to build slowly and rewards steady, unhurried viewing.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Likely Lads1964
Two working-class lads navigate adulthood in Newcastle with sharp wit and genuine affection for each other. The chemistry between the leads and the script's ability to find comedy in small moments is superb.
But It's very much a product of its time, and some of the casual attitudes feel dated now in ways that occasionally jar.
Grange Hill1978
A school-based ensemble comedy-drama that captures the genuine messiness and politics of secondary school. It respects its young characters' dilemmas while staying funny, which is surprisingly rare.
But It runs for multiple series and the tone shifts as it matures; the early episodes are lighter, later ones much darker.
Rising Damp1974
A slumlord and his misfit tenants in a decaying house create a perfect storm of social awkwardness and terrible decisions. Frances de la Tour is magnificent, the writing is cruel in the best way.
But It handles race and sexuality in ways that belong firmly to the 1970s, and not always sensitively even by the standards then.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Please Sir!
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Best Pair of Legs in the Business1973
Both find comedy and humanity in the daily life of ordinary people grinding through jobs in British institutions—schools and theatres run on the same exhausted goodwill.
A retired dancer stages a comeback in a seaside variety show as the chaos of theatrical life swirls around her. Gentle, character-driven, with real warmth for performers and their struggles; British cinema at its most unshowy.
But It's a story about middle-aged people doing unglamorous work with no car chases or stakes higher than whether the show will go on. Patience required.
More like this (7)
Open All Hours1976
Ronnie Barker as a stammering grocer with a wandering eye, trading innuendo and physical comedy with his long-suffering assistant. Endlessly inventive and Barker's comic timing is impeccable.
But The stammer can feel like the joke's being repeated; it wears thin if you're not already charmed by Barker's other skills.
On the Buses1969
Bus drivers and conductors bunk off work, chat up women, and irritate management. It's silly and smutty in that very specific 1970s way, and somehow never feels mean-spirited about it.
But The humour is very broad and the plots are basically identical each week; requires a mood where you're not looking for wit.
The Tomorrow People1973
A ragtag group of telepathic teens fight aliens and evil scientists from a junkyard HQ. Proper Saturday morning fun with genuine stakes, surprisingly good chemistry among the young cast.
But The budget shows in every frame and some of the special effects are embarrassingly cheap; you have to meet it in its earnestness.
Are You Being Served?1972
Department store staff trade double entendres and deal with ridiculous customers. It's silly, relentlessly cheerful, and the ensemble cast gives everything to material that could easily be nothing.
But It's essentially the same joke for twenty-odd minutes every week, which means missing even one episode loses nothing.
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin1976
A middle-aged man has a breakdown and decides to reinvent himself, dismantling his respectable life with methodical glee. Darkly funny about burnout and conformity in ways that feel contemporary.
But It pivots between cringe and pathos quite sharply; if you hate watching awkwardness it'll be difficult to sit through.
Walkabout1971
Both use young people and education—formal and otherwise—as their lens, but where Please Sir! is about the chaos of teaching, Walkabout is about the failure of everything taught.
Two middle-class children lost in the Australian outback encounter an Aboriginal boy. A visually stunning meditation on culture clash and survival that's part adventure film, part philosophical poem.
But Long stretches have almost no dialogue, the pacing is deliberate rather than driven, and the ending is deliberately unsettling rather than reassuring.
The Night Circus
A completely different genre and tone, but both are ensemble pieces where a collection of distinct personalities coexist in one space, each with their own agendas, and the real story is watching how they fit together.
A magical competition unfolds in a mysterious circus where the stakes are hidden and reality itself seems negotiable. Visually rapturous, beautifully paced, with genuine romance woven through genuine danger.
But It's a fantasy with a slow burn and relies on mood and spectacle over plot; if you need a clear narrative drive it will frustrate you.
People
Cast
Recommended by
Grange Hill, Metal Mickey, Bad Education, Big School, Father, Dear Father