Social & External
The people behind it
Val Doonican
Self - Host
In the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio, suburban housewife Mary Hartman seeks the kind of domestic perfection promised by Reader’s Digest and TV commercials. Instead she finds herself suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: mass murders, low-flying airplanes and waxy yellow buildup on her kitchen floor.
Investigative reporter Chris Morris puts modern Britain under the spotlight, and smacks the issues of the day till they bleed. He tackles weighty issues including animals, drugs, sex and skewered celebrities and politicians alike - and in a later episode in 2001, paedophiles.
The Armando Iannucci Shows is a series of eight programmes focused on specific themes relating to human nature and existentialism, around which Iannucci would weave a series of surreal sketches and monologues. Recurring themes in the episodes are the superficiality of modern culture, our problems communicating with each other, the mundane nature of working life and feelings of personal inadequacy and social awkwardness. Several characters also make repeat appearances in the shows, including the East End thug, who solves every problem with threats of violence; Hugh, an old man who delivers surreal monologues about what things were like in the old days; and Iannucci's barber, who is full of nonsensical anecdotes.
Dolly is a television variety show that ran on ABC during the 1987-1988 season featuring Dolly Parton.
Absolutely is a popular UK television comedy sketch show shown on Channel 4 between 1989 and 1993. The cast and crew were mainly Scottish; the principal writers and performers were Moray Hunter, Jack Docherty, Peter Baikie, Gordon Kennedy, Morwenna Banks and John Sparkes. It was directed by Phil Chilvers, Alan Nixon, Alistair Clark, and Graham C Williams. The show's producers were Alan Nixon, and David Tyler
The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting aspires to take sketch comedy in a different direction. With longer-form scenes, less traditional material, and surprising cast, it will be at times random, often ridiculous and occasionally surreal.
The Mario Rosenstock Show is an Irish topical sketch comedy show that first aired on RTÉ Two television in Ireland on 12 November 2012. The show features Mario Rosenstock's performing as characters from the world of sports, politics and entertainment. A second series of the show had been confirmed in December 2012. The second series began on Monday 16 September 2013.
Frozen in ice since 1902 by his nemesis, Edwardian adventurer Adam Adamant is revived in 1966, where he must adapt to the 'Swinging Sixties' with the help of his new companion, Georgina Jones.
A groundbreaking, splendidly silly, surreal sketch comedy series written by and starring The Goodies' Tim Brooke-Taylor, Monty Python's Graham Chapman and John Cleese, and comedy legend Marty Feldman.
A British comedy television series with turns of phrase and elaborate wordplay, written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
Twenty years after seeing his family decimated by gunmen, Ben Silver returns to Albuquerque to take revenge on the person responsible for the massacre, but falls in love with his rival's daughter.
The Hui Brothers Show is a Hong Kong sketch comedy television series produced by TVB and hosted by and starring brothers Michael Hui and Samuel Hui that ran for 52 episodes from 1971 to 1973.
The Funny Half Show is a funny program produced by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited from 1990 to 1991. The first series began on January 6, 1990, and aired on Emerald Channel every Saturday at 8:35 pm, with a total of 13 episodes. The content of the program is mainly funny and satirical, and it was very popular when it was broadcast.
Texaco Star Theater is an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Milton Berle the nickname "Mr. Television". The classic 1940–44 version of the program, hosted by radio's Fred Allen, was followed by a radio series on ABC in the spring of 1948. When Texaco first took it to television on NBC on June 8, 1948, the show had a huge cultural impact.
David Letterman uses mature humor to appeal to his audience in this weeknight series, which gets its music from a house band led by Paul Shaffer. Among the show's most-famous segments are the Top Ten List and Stupid Pet Tricks, the latter of which subsequently led to an additional recurring segment called Stupid Human Tricks.
Co-anchors Emma Hunter and Miguel Rivas deliver critical blows to the unrelenting news cycle, hitting above, and when necessary, below the belt, casting a Canadian lens on global issues.
Quadruple Professor Adonis Cnut is the cleverest man in Britain and Oxford's leading moral philosopher. He is paid huge amounts of money for his views, consulted by the government, but he is bored and wants adventure, so he joins the shadowy organization The Council which controls everything going on in the world.
Clarissa Darling is a teen girl dealing with typical pre-adolescent concerns such as school, boys, pimples, wearing her first training bra and an annoying little brother Ferguson.
The Kumars at No. 42 is a British comedy show. It won an International Emmy in 2002 and 2003. It ran for seven series totalling 53 episodes.
Mock the Week is a British topical celebrity panel game hosted by Dara Ó Briain. The game is influenced by improvised topical stand-up comedy, with several rounds requiring players to deliver answers on unexpected subjects on the spur of the moment.
A comedic talk show from an alternate reality featuring unstable hosts, a variety of celebrities—both real and fake—and unusual studio action.
A British sketch comedy series with the shows being composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines.
Comedian Billy Eichner, unfiltered and unapologetic, hits the streets of New York City to test unsuspecting strangers on their knowledge of music and pop culture. With microphone in hand and money in tow, Eichner gives contestants the chance to win cash by answering a series of hilarious and spontaneous questions. The catch? The final round is subjective - Don't agree with Billy? You lose.
A British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s, combining surreal sketches and situation comedy.
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show that starred Benny Hill and aired in various incarnations between 15 January 1955 and 30 May 1991 in over 140 countries. The show focused on sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody, and double-entendre. Thames Television cancelled production of the show in 1989 due to declining ratings and large production costs at £450,000 per show.
The big-collared comic gives his own spin on TV clips from recent programmes, plus contributions from a set of regular characters
Michael Che shares his unique perspective on controversial topics with the help of fellow Saturday Night Live stars, sketches, and vignettes to illustrate what it feels like to experience various every-day situations including racial profiling, unemployment, falling in love and more.
The misadventures of four lunatic students who live in a shared student house. There's Rick, the overblown political one addicted to Cliff Richard, Vyvyan the experimental scientific one/part-time anarchist, Neil the worried hippy, and Mike the ladies' man (at least he is in his mind).
There is no such thing as an ordinary interaction in this offbeat sketch comedy series that features a deep roster of guest stars.
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act.
Celebrity pairings ride along in a car together as they sing tunes from their personal playlists and surprise fans who don't expect to see big stars belting out tunes one lane over.
A narrative series set in a limitless magical reality full of dynamic, hilarious characters and celebrity guests presenting sketches performed by a core cast of black women.
Nick Cannon and an A-list celebrity lead a team of improv comedians as they compete against each other.
A zany comedy show with Matt Lucas and David Walliams, featuring characters from all over Little Britain.
Satirical sketch comedy set and filmed in Portland, Oregon that explores the eccentric misfits who embody the foibles of modern culture.
A sketch comedy series starring and hosted by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. The pair introduce most episodes as heightened versions of themselves before transitioning to a mixture of live sketches and pre-taped segments.
A zany sketch comedy featuring many wacky characters hosted for kids and by kids.
The Carol Burnett Show is an American variety/sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33. The series won 25 prime time Emmy Awards, was ranked No. 16 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002 and in 2007 was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All Time."
Created by stars Keenen Ivory Wayans and Damon Wayans, this Emmy-winning sketch series offers cutting-edge satire and features a host of talent, including Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, David Alan Grier and Tommy Davidson.
