TL:DR Britain is weird okay?
Wow, points for probably being one of the most interesting and hard to answer questions I’ve had to date, and yes, I know precisely what you mean. Probably shouldn’t be flattered that you get that from the comic too, but cheers all the same ;)
I’ve considered the fact myself a couple of times, and really I can only suppose it’s because death is such an integral part of our history and culture. It’s not something that we gloss over or pretend doesn’t happen- I was always very aware of what death was and what it meant to people from a very early age. Certainly, you use phrases like ‘kicked the bucket’, 'pushing up the daisies’, 'joined the choir invisible’ etc. but that doesn’t diminish the concept for us. It’s a part of everyday conversation, it’s a part of our childhood stories, it’s a part of the games we play and the nursery rhymes we sing in the playground. British comedy, too, is obsessed with it. Taking one of the heaviest taboos of philosophy and turning it into something hilarious is an everyday activity; because that’s how humans deal with things like that. Laughter really is the best medicine, and death is an ever present fact of existence.
There is also a very prominent obsession with time, and how little of it we have. When I moved to Vancouver one of the hardest things I had to get used to was the more casual approach to time. Showing up 'on time’ included being five minutes late, later for some people, depending on where they were from, and even now at my job they don’t mind if you show up at half past the hour as long as you work that extra half hour in the evening. In the U.K. being late is one of the worst sins imaginable- or, at least, that was how I was brought up to see it. School, work, even just meeting up with friends to see a movie. The idea of being late, wasting time, not wearing a watch- it’s just not done. I’ve seen people boasting to each other about how accurate their timepieces are, it’s that big of a deal.
The U.K. also has a long standing reputation for murders, ghost stories, fairy tales that would scare you right out of your wits- but there’s no real way to tell where the myths and facts cross over. My country has a horribly bloodstained history. A lot of the time the blood was on our hands, but, being an island, we’ve also been a gigantic target since the dawn of time. Vikings, Romans, Normans, you name it- why do you think the English language is such a mad mashup?
So, yes, Britain is dark, and there is always an acknowledgement of death in what we do- be it ominous or absurd. It was a country built on blood and salt water; there’s was never going to be any way for it not to be dark and twisted, but it’s still home. It’s a charming, welcoming, ravenous little beast of a country with a crooked smile that’ll go for your jugular as soon as offer you a cup of tea.
Do visit some day if you have the time.