History YMMV / LittleBritain

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Sir Norman Fry was probably the only new character in Series 3 who got a generally positive reception, and even then, all the sketches he appeared in followed the same basic formula of him giving increasingly implausible excuses for how he got caught having sex with other men, rather than mocking any number of other common types of political scandal. Admittedly, it didn't help that the Conservative Party weren't in power at the time, meaning that outside of scandals involving the personal lives of their [=MPs=], Lucas and Walliams didn't have much to work with; indeed, after UsefulNotes/BorisJohnson's government was hit by a series of scandals in late 2021, several memes with Sir Norman explaining how these scandals were perfectly innocent misunderstandings started popping up on the internet.

* CriticalDissonance: The show is often served as a punching bag for critics for its lowbrow humour, but it didn't stop it from being popular with viewers. The fact that the show won a total of ''28'' awards throughout its run, and how it spawned a lot of merchandise doesn't help either.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Bernard Chumley trying to seduce an aspiring actor. In the 2010s (particularly 2017), numerous men in the film industry have been outed as coercing young actors into sex in exchange for getting their careers off the ground.

* AcceptableTargets: ''Everyone'', but most prominently homosexuals, overweight people, invalids, old people, and trans people. Really, the series' attempts to offend everyone was why critics eventually turned on it.

* CondemnedByHistory: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for its satire of contemporary British life, {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow humour relying on shock value. It was popular enough to create a live tour combining re-enacted sketches and new pieces and merchandise. By Series 3, however, the established characters and running gags had become [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] and overdone, with new characters only being introduced for the sole purpose of shock value, and the show had become so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of it. The combination of critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format and the failure of Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) were enough to kill off the show. In addition, its content didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any British teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time. Notably Lucas eventually [[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/matt-lucas-little-britain-big-issue-interview-regrets_uk_59d602dce4b0380b6c9a673b outright apologized for the content and admitted it was rather insensitive]]. The BBC eventually stopped broadcasting reruns of the show and removed streaming copies in 2020, completing its fall from grace.

* CondemnedByHistory: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for its satire of contemporary British life, {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow humour relying on shock value. It was popular enough to create a live tour combining re-enacted sketches and new pieces and merchandise. By Series 3, however, the established characters and running gags had become [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] and overdone, with new characters only being introduced for the sole purpose of shock value, and the show had become so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of it. The combination of critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format and the failure of Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) were enough to kill off the show. In addition, its content didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time. Notably Lucas eventually [[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/matt-lucas-little-britain-big-issue-interview-regrets_uk_59d602dce4b0380b6c9a673b outright apologized for the content and admitted it was rather insensitive]]. The BBC eventually stopped broadcasting reruns of the show and removed streaming copies in 2020, completing its fall from grace.

* CondemnedByHistory: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for satire of contemporary British life, {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow humour relying on shock value. It was popular enough to create a live tour combining re-enacted sketches and new pieces and merchandise. By Series 3, however, the established characters and running gags had become [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] and overdone, with new characters only being introduced for the sole purpose of shock value, and the show had become so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of it. The combination of critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format and the failure of Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) were enough to kill off the show. In addition, its content didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time. Notably Lucas eventually [[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/matt-lucas-little-britain-big-issue-interview-regrets_uk_59d602dce4b0380b6c9a673b outright apologized for the content and admitted it was rather insensitive]]. The BBC eventually stopped broadcasting reruns of the show and removed streaming copies in 2020, completing its fall from grace.

* AcceptableTargets: Homosexuals, overweight people, invalids, old people, trans people... Really, the series' attempts to offend ''everyone'' was why critics eventually turned on it.
* CondemnedByHistory: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for its of-the-moment satire of British life, colourful {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow, shock-driven humour. It was popular enough that a live tour combining reenacted sketches and new pieces was a success as well. However, keeping up its momentum was tough. By Series 3, the established characters and running gags had worn themselves into the ground, the new characters seemed to have no purpose except shock value, and the show and its actors were now so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of them. Combine that with a critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format with the success of ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and Creator/RickyGervais, and its days were numbered. The total flop of the retooled Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) was the last nail in the coffin. In addition, it didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time. Notably Lucas eventually [[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/matt-lucas-little-britain-big-issue-interview-regrets_uk_59d602dce4b0380b6c9a673b outright apologised for the content and admitted it was rather insensitive]]. All of this culminated in the BBC taking repeats and streaming copies of the show out of circulation in 2020, completing its spectacular fall from grace.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Both intentional and PlayedForLaughs on the creators' part. Just about every character is either repugnant or weak. The Prime Minister seemed to be the exception, until it was revealed that [[spoiler: he cheated on his wife, illegally sold weapons to Iran (and tried to have the evidence destroyed), and was eventually {{flander|ization}}ised into sleeping with everyone except Sebastian]]. With nobody to cheer for, audiences understandably got tired of watching horrible people get what they want while honest people suffer.

* DeaderThanDisco: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for its of-the-moment satire of British life, colourful {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow, shock-driven humour. It was popular enough that a live tour combining reenacted sketches and new pieces was a success as well. However, keeping up its momentum was tough. By Series 3, the established characters and running gags had worn themselves into the ground, the new characters seemed to have no purpose except shock value, and the show and its actors were now so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of them. Combine that with a critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format with the success of ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and Creator/RickyGervais, and its days were numbered. The total flop of the retooled Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) was the last nail in the coffin. In addition, it didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time. Notably Lucas eventually [[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/matt-lucas-little-britain-big-issue-interview-regrets_uk_59d602dce4b0380b6c9a673b outright apologised for the content and admitted it was rather insensitive]]. All of this culminated in the BBC taking repeats and streaming copies of the show out of circulation in 2020, completing its spectacular fall from grace.

* TheScrappy: Nearly any character introduced after Series 1 has had a pretty frigid reception compared to the characters introduced from the aforementioned series, and they notably have an increasing dependence on shock-humour. Carol Beer was the major exception, with "computer says no" and variants thereof achieving MemeticMutation status for a while, and Sir Norman Fry was considered somewhat amusing by the standards of series 3, albeit the "sleazy Tory" stereotype that he embodied was getting old even in 2005.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: This was likely invoked on the creators' part. Just about every character is either repugnant or weak. The Prime Minister seemed to be the exception, until it was revealed that [[spoiler: he cheated on his wife, illegally sold weapons to Iran (and tried to have the evidence destroyed), and was eventually {{flander|ization}}ised into sleeping with everyone except Sebastian]]. With nobody to cheer for, audiences understandably got tired of watching horrible people get what they want while honest people suffer.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: ''Little Britain: The Video Game''. A game so bad that it gained a score of ''16%'' on [=GameRankings=], making it the ''second lowest-rated game'' on the site, only to be beaten by ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing''. With its uninspired gameplay and glitches, it's no surprise that it's often considered to among be worst games ever made. It was also published by Blast! Entertainment, a company notorious for producing shovelware licenced video games of extremely poor quality.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Just about every character is either repugnant or weak. The Prime Minister seemed to be the exception, until it was revealed that [[spoiler: he cheated on his wife, illegally sold weapons to Iran (and tried to have the evidence destroyed), and was eventually {{flander|ization}}ised into sleeping with everyone except Sebastian]]. With nobody to cheer for, audiences understandably got tired of watching horrible people get what they want while honest people suffer.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: ''Little Britain: The Video Game''. A game so bad that it gained a score of ''16%'' on [=GameRankings=], making it the ''second lowest-rated game'' on the site, only to be beaten by ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing''. With its uninspired gameplay and glitches, it's no surprise that it's often considered to among be worst games ever made.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: ''Little Britain: The Video Game''. A game so bad that it gained a score of ''16%'' on [=GameRankings=], making it the ''second lowest-rated game'' on the site, only to be beaten by ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing''. With its uninspired gameplay and glitches, it's no surprise that it's often considered to be the worst game ever made.

* ValuesDissonance:
** There's a couple of sketches featuring Matt and David wearing {{Blackface}} or its variants, often with little justification. While blackface and its variants were known to have survived in Britain longer than it did in, say, the United States,[[note]]Such as ''Series/DoctorWho'' using {{Yellowface}} on the [[TheSeventies '70s]] serial [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang "The Talons of Weng Chiang"]].[[/note]] with awareness of ethnic actors being underrepresented in film and television, there's no way you'd get that on public television in the late 2010s. Eventually, in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests against racism, this resulted in the [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] and Creator/{{Netflix}} pulling the series out of their platforms, citing its use of blackface.
** The series also took off just a few years before trans rights became well known to the mainstream. Being more aware of the issues surrounding UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} people (especially trans women) trying to exist in public makes the "I'm a lady!" skits/catchphrase come across more as an outright mockery of OnceAcceptableTargets. Even after Matt Lucas apologised, he was still criticised for directing his apology towards "transvestites".

** Anne has a fixation on one of the therapists and has an ambiguous gender.
** In ''Little Britain Abroad'' Maggie tries to seduce Judith, only to throw up when it's pointed out that this makes her a lesbian.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Andy's new caretaker Mrs Mead is [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Dolores Umbridge]].

%%* ValuesDissonance:

** The fatfighters take a lot of abuse. They stand up to Majorie and leave in the series 2 finale, but are back in series 3 because they can't lose weight on their own.

* ValuesDissonance:

* DeaderThanDisco: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for its of-the-moment satire of British life, colourful {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow, shock-driven humour. It was popular enough that a live tour combining reenacted sketches and new pieces was a success as well. However, keeping up its momentum was tough. By Series 3, the established characters and running gags had worn themselves into the ground, the new characters seemed to have no purpose except shock value, and the show and its actors were now so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of them. Combine that with a critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format with the success of ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and Creator/RickyGervais, and its days were numbered. The total flop of the retooled Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) was the last nail in the coffin. In addition, it didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time. Notably Lucas eventually [[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/matt-lucas-little-britain-big-issue-interview-regrets_uk_59d602dce4b0380b6c9a673b outright apologised for the content and admitted it was rather insensitive]]. All of this culminated in the BBC taking repeats and streaming copies of the show out of circulation in 2020, completing the its spectacular fall from grace.

* DeaderThanDisco: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for its of-the-moment satire of British life, colourful {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow, shock-driven humour. It was popular enough that a live tour combining reenacted sketches and new pieces was a success as well. However, keeping up its momentum was tough. By Series 3, the established characters and running gags had worn themselves into the ground, the new characters seemed to have no purpose except shock value, and the show and its actors were now so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of them. Combine that with a critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format with the success of ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and Creator/RickyGervais, and its days were numbered. The total flop of the retooled Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) was the last nail in the coffin. In addition, it didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time. Notably Lucas eventually [[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/matt-lucas-little-britain-big-issue-interview-regrets_uk_59d602dce4b0380b6c9a673b outright apologised for the content and admitted it was rather insensitive]].

* MemeticMutation: Virtually every single catchphrase in the show was this for a while between 2003 to 2008.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: ''Little Britain: The Video Game''. A game so bad that it gained a score of ''16%'' on [=GameRankings=], making it the ''second lowest-rated game'' on the site, only to be beaten by ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing''. With its uninspired gameplay and glitches, it's no surprise that it's often considered to be the worst game ever made of all time.

* SeasonalRot: By the time it got to Series 2, the show got a lot of flak for introducing [[TheScrappy unlikable characters]] and for its cheap gags just for the sake of shocking the audience. Series 3 is often considered to be just as if not ''worse'' than Series 2.

** There's a couple of sketches featuring Matt and David wearing blackface or its variants, often with little justification. With awareness of ethnic actors being underrepresented in film and television, there's no way you'd get that on public television in the late 2010s.

* TheScrappy: Nearly any character introduced after series 1 has had a pretty frigid reception compared to the series 1 characters, due to the series' increasing dependence on shock-humor. Carol Beer was the major exception, with "computer says no" and variants thereof achieving MemeticMutation status for a while, and Sir Norman Fry was considered somewhat amusing by the standards of series 3, albeit the "sleazy Tory" stereotype that he embodied was getting old even in 2005.

** Sebastian, the prime minister's right hand man. Come on, guys!

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: ''Little Britain: The Video Game''. A game so bad that it gained a score of ''16%'' on [=GameRankings=], making it the ''second lowest rated game'' on the site, only to be beaten by ''VideoGame/BigRigsOverTheRoadRacing''. With its uninspired gameplay and glitches, it's no surprise that its often considered to be the worst game ever made of all time.

* TheScrappy: Nearly any character introduced after series 1 has had a pretty frigid reception compared to the series 1 characters, due to the series' increasing dependence on shock-humour. Carol Beer was the major exception, with "computer says no" and variants thereof achieving MemeticMutation status for a while, and Sir Norman Fry was considered somewhat amusing by the standards of series 3, albeit the "sleazy Tory" stereotype that he embodied was getting old even in 2005.

** The series also took off just a few years before trans rights became well known to the mainstream. Being more aware of the issues surrounding UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} people (especially trans women) trying to exist in public makes the "I'm a lady!" skits/catchphrase come across more as outright mockery of OnceAcceptableTargets. Even after Matt Lucas apologised, he was still criticised for directing his apology towards "transvestites".

* AcceptableTargets: Homosexuals, overweight people, invalids, old people, trans people...Really, the series' attempts to offend ''everyone'' was why critics eventually turned on it.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Just about every character is either repugnant or weak. The Prime Minister seemed to be the exception, until it was revealed that he cheated on his wife, illegally sold weapons to Iran (and tried to have the evidence destroyed), and was eventually {{flander|ization}}ised into sleeping with everyone except Sebastian. With nobody to cheer for, audiences understandably got tired of watching horrible people get what they want while honest people suffer.
* DeaderThanDisco: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for its of-the-moment satire of British life, colorful {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow, shock-driven humor. It was popular enough that a live tour combining reenacted sketches and new pieces was a success as well. However, keeping up its momentum was tough. By Series 3, the established characters and running gags had worn themselves into the ground, the new characters seemed to have no purpose except shock value, and the show and its actors were now so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of them. Combine that with a critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format with the success of ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and Creator/RickyGervais, and its days were numbered. The total flop of the retooled Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) was the last nail in the coffin. In addition, it didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time. Notably Lucas eventually [[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/matt-lucas-little-britain-big-issue-interview-regrets_uk_59d602dce4b0380b6c9a673b outright apologised for the content and admitted it was rather insensitive]].

** There's a lot of sketches featuring Matt and David wearing blackface or its variants, often with little justification. With awareness of ethnic actors being underrepresented in film and television, there's no way you'd get that on public television in the late 2010s.

* SubbingVersusDubbing: In Austria, Little Britain is shown with subtitles. In Germany, it's dubbed by comedians Oliver Welke and Oliver Kalkofe, who used to have a similar radio show.

* SubbingVersusDubbing: In Austria, Little Britain is shown with subtitles. In Germany, it's dubbed. '''But:''' the dubbing is done by comedians Oliver Welke and Oliver Kalkofe, who used to have a similar radio show.

* TheWoobie: Lou. He's little more than a slave to Andy and has at one point had to risk his life for the ungrateful lout. [[http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/to-do-l-little-britain.jpg Here's his to-do list.]] Check out the last line.

* DeaderThanDisco: The series was a hit at the TurnOfTheMillennium for its of-the-moment satire of British life, colorful {{catchphrase}}-driven characters, and lowbrow, shock-driven humor. It was popular enough that a live tour combining reenacted sketches and new pieces was a success as well. However, keeping up its momentum was tough. By Series 3, the established characters and running gags had worn themselves into the ground, the new characters seemed to have no purpose except shock value, and the show and its actors were now so overexposed and overmarketed that audiences were sick of them. Combine that with a critical backlash against the traditional BritCom format with the success of ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and Creator/RickyGervais, and its days were numbered. The total flop of the retooled Series 4 (''Little Britain USA'', co-produced with Creator/{{HBO}}) was the last nail in the coffin. In addition, it didn't age well; its constant pokes at minority groups were controversial enough even at the time, and are now seen as [[ValuesDissonance outright cringeworthy]]. If you ask any teenager who didn't watch it when they were younger, chances are they don't know about it, and if you ask someone who ''did'' grow up with it, chances are they regret it. While its leads/creators Creator/DavidWalliams and Matt Lucas have gone on to other successes (the former as a children's author, the latter as an actor in a variety of productions), ''Little Britain'' is just a relic of its time.

* ValuesDissonance: There's a lot of sketches featuring Matt and David wearing blackface or its variants, often with little justification. With awareness of ethnic actors being underrepresented in film and television, there's no way you'd get that on public television in the late 2010s.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: If the audience's reaction is anything to go by, it's [[spoiler:the PM and Gregory kissing]] in season 3.
** Any time someone puts Marjorie Dawes in her place.
** [[spoiler: Computer says "Yes!"]]