TV series

One-Upmanship

1976–1978 · 3 seasons

A dry, talky sitcom of verbal jousting and petty social climbing, amusing in a wry, very British way.

Overview: A quintessentially British comedy-of-manners. Based at the fictional Yeovil College of Lifemanship, Richard Briers plays Stephen Potter and is joined by Peter Jones as the snooty Gatling-Fenn and Frederick Jaeger, complete with monocle, playing Cogg-Willoughby. "The world is divided into two types of people," Potter says, "winners and losers, the one-up and the one-down. He who is not one-up is surely one-down".
How it feels: Satirical, cynical, absurd and light. Measured and needs your attention.
About: Class, identity, power, work
Content: Mild sexual content and language. No violence or gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: satiricalstrength 3 of 3
cynicalstrength 2 of 3
absurdstrength 2 of 3
lightstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: class
identity
power
work
deception
Places: school
workplace
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: ensemble
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence none
Sex mild