I'm surprised to many people think you can only find this funny if you are from Glasgow. I think they are selling this program short. Yes, the accents are thick and, at times, difficult to understand, even with the subtitles on. And, yes, there are a lot of local jokes that we won't get. But we still laugh our butts off! My husband and I have been making a point of watching Chewing the Fat on Netflix and we've really enjoyed it. So much of the humor translates better than the Glaswegians think, ... or wish. Many of the recurring sketch taglines have become part of our own jokes. No one we know watches the show so no one gets us on this, but that's OK. Funny is funny, whatever the language.

Before "Still Game", there was "Chewin' The Fat", a hilarious sketch show which amongst its umpteen characters indeed introduced the long-running Jack and Victor to the viewer. For my money though, they're not even in the top 10 of the numerous comedy creations that Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill foist on us here.I suppose it is fair to say that all non-Scots should abandon hope and not enter here, not only as they're unlikely to understand the plain-talking broad Scottish accents on show, never mind share much sense of identity with the characters displayed. There's no doubt though that for me and most of my fellow countrymen and women, it was a riotous, must-watch show, employing catch-phrases which are still recalled today like "Gonnae no dae that", "Good guy / w*#k", "I'm on the night shift", "M'oan the fishes", "Taxi for Saracen Street", "Ya couple of f*nnies", "Individual fruit trifle" "I smell sh*te" and loads more.I grew up in Dennistoun, a district of Glasgow, like Ford Kiernan, almost at the same time as him in fact so I particularly get the Glasgow strain to much of the humour. Of course there were occasional misses, for example the too-crude lifeboat sketches, but as for the rest, they're laugh-out-loud funny and as humorous to watch today as when first aired. Just from memory, my favourite characters would comprise "The Big Man", inept actor Ronald De Villiers, Rab McGlinchey interpreting for the Neds, the work-shy painter and decorators, Big Jock, the golf club bore and the forever-fleeing party-girl doing the walk of shame. Favourite sketches, well how about the Tayside "Star Trek" ("Phasers to Malky!"), "Do you come for the bounce?" and the substitute court-room sketch artist amongst many others.Kiernan and Hemphill take most of the parts in various guises, ably supported by Karen Dunbar and it's all great knockabout stuff. There are so many really funny characters and situations here that could maybe have been developed further that I think it's something of a shame that the F and G pair locked onto the Jack and Victor characters ever since at the exclusion of some of the gems here.

Just got turned on to Chewin the fat. Absolutely brilliant Glaswegian comedy. Burned through every Still Game episodes and found this precursor. Though not from Scotland, having been multiples of times to Bonhill and Islay, found this one piece that made it all make sense. Laugh out loud comedy, crude or not. For those with tender mercies on their sleeves, leave this be. For others, like me, who found the comedic locale of Glasgow forbidding and hilarious, this hit the spot. Indeed, not for everyone. Yet, if you want to peer into the Glaswegian wit and lack of sensibility, this is the ticket. Give it a go if you have the patience for not so mainline sketch comedy. Worth every minute.

The BBC must have been drunk when they approved this show. 20 years ago people might of found it funny and I suppose some 8 year olds today probably do. These guys should stick to Christmas panto. The "humour is seriously dated. Long sketches that end with the weakest punchlines since sooty threw a cream pie at sweep are given ridiculous canned laughter. I was initially looking forward to this programme as I had heard it compared to the great Scottish sketch show "naked video". a comment I find insulting to the naked video team.