Classic sketch comedy show satirising the news and culture of the late 70s and early 80s which introduced Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones and Pamela Stephenson.
Social & External
The people behind it
Rowan Atkinson
Mel Smith
Pamela Stephenson
Griff Rhys Jones
Chris Langham
A British sketch comedy series with the shows being composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines.
A British television comedy series, written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. Following an initial pilot episode in January 1976, it ran for two subsequent series of five and three episodes in October 1977 and October 1979 respectively. Each episode had a different setting and characters, looking at a different aspect of British culture and parodying pre-World War II literature aimed at schoolboys.
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.
A British comedy sketch television series featuring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones that ran on BBC One and BBC Two from 31 January 1984 to 14 October 1998. From series 5 in 1989 the 'Alas' title was dropped and became simply Smith and Jones.
Baddiel and Skinner unplanned was a free-form talk show hosted by British comedians/personalities David Baddiel and Frank Skinner and produced by Avalon Television. Its concept was developed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and had a run in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2001. The show features the two hosts sitting on a couch on-stage and responding to questions from the audience — at times rather seriously, but usually with bizarre digressions into satirical comedy. An audience member is chosen as "Secretary" and has the job of keeping a note of the topics covered on a white board. In practice, the personality of the secretary will also prompt many jokes — usually at his or her expense. At the end of the show, Skinner asks either the secretary or the audience to choose between two song books, and to pick a page number between 1 and 20. This process determines which song is performed by the duo, sung by Skinner with Baddiel accompanying him on piano. Topics of discussion are wholly mandated by the audience and have ranged from discussions of the war against Iraq and other political events to comments on the latest plot twists of popular soap operas and the Atkins diet. Skinner's Catholicism and Baddiel's Jewish faith are also occasional targets of humour.
Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.
A sketch comedy show featuring some of Britain's great comedic talents of the 1980s and 1990s in one of their earliest TV appearances.
A satirical six-part sketch comedy.
Vic Reeves Big Night Out is a British cult comedy stage show and later TV series which ran on Channel 4 for two series in 1990 and 1991, as well as a New Year special. It marked the beginnings of the collaboration between Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and started their Vic and Bob comedy double act. The show was later acknowledged as a seminal force in British comedy throughout the 1990s and which continues to the present day. Arguably the most surreal of the pair's work, Vic Reeves Big Night Out was effectively a parody of the variety shows which dominated the early years of television, but which were, by the early 1990s, falling from grace. Vic, introduced by Patrick Allen as "Britain's Top Light Entertainer and Singer", would sit behind a cluttered desk talking nonsense and introducing the various segments and surreal guests on the show. Vic Reeves Big Night Out is notable as the only time in their career where Vic solely took the role of host, while Bob was consigned to the back stage, appearing every few minutes as either himself or as a strange character. The two received equal billing in the series credits. On 3 October 2007, the first episode was re-broadcast on More4 as part of Channel 4 at 25, a season of classic Channel 4 programmes shown to celebrate the channel's 25th birthday.
An offbeat revue of quickfire sketches in the 'Cribbins style', this fast-moving mixture of comedy and song (including chart hits Hole in the Ground, Gossip Calypso, and Right Said Fred) featured a gallery of outrageous characters in a myriad of seemingly inexhaustible situations! Bank clerk, burglar, tramp, librarian, cowboy and even spaceman – Cribbins is all these, and many more!
Multi-talented Kate Robbins and her comedian brother Ted appeared in their own Saturday night tea-time show from Granada TV. Here Kate impersonates, amongst others, Victoria Wood, Cilla Black, Tina Turner, Carmen Miranda and Fergie, Duchess Of York!
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."
The fortunes of a former chat show host who is reduced to a lowly slot on Radio Norwich. Alan Partridge is divorced, living in a travel tavern, and desperate for a return to television.
Magical girls: strong, cool, the ultimate dream job. College student Kana Sakuragi is job hunting - without much luck! One day, she is caught up in an attack by a "Kaii." Fiesty magical girl Hitomi Koshigaya flies to the rescue, and Kana uses her excellent memory to help her take it down. Hired as a magical girl by Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc., Kana takes her first step into the working world!
A weekly hour-long program hosted by Cher, featuring music, comedy sketches, and a different female guest star each week, with notable guests including Bette Midler, Carol Burnett, and Tina Turner.
Twisted and original sketch show from the minds of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, starring Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap.
Wonder Showzen is an American sketch comedy television series that aired between 2005 and 2006 on MTV2. It was created by John Lee and Vernon Chatman of PFFR. The show is rated TV-MA. The show's format is that of educational PBS children's television shows such as Sesame Street and The Electric Company, parodying the format with adult-oriented content. In addition to general controversial comedy, it satirizes politics, religion, war, sex, and culture with black comedy. Every episode begins with a disclaimer, accompanied by the sound of someone screaming "Don't eat my baby!", which reads: "Wonder Showzen contains offensive, despicable content that is too controversial and too awesome for actual children. The stark, ugly and profound truths Wonder Showzen exposes may be soul-crushing to the weak of spirit. If you allow a child to watch this show, you are a bad parent or guardian."
Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family. Bumbling Peter and long-suffering Lois have three kids. Stewie (a brilliant but sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and taking over the world), Meg (the oldest, and is the most unpopular girl in town) and Chris (the middle kid, he's not very bright but has a passion for movies). The final member of the family is Brian - a talking dog and much more than a pet, he keeps Stewie in check whilst sipping Martinis and sorting through his own life issues.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is an American sketch comedy television series, created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which premiered February 11, 2007 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim comedy block and ran until May 2010. The program features surrealistic and often satirical humor, public-access television–style musical acts, bizarre faux-commercials, and editing and special effects chosen to make the show appear camp. The program featured a wide range of actors, spanning from stars such as Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Will Forte and Zach Galifianakis, to alternative comedians like Neil Hamburger, to television actors like Alan Thicke, celebrity look-alikes and impressionists. The creators of the show have described it as "the nightmare version of television."
Casper & Mandrilaftalen was a Danish cult TV program aired on DR2 in 1999.
A zany sketch comedy featuring many wacky characters hosted for kids and by kids.
An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.
The Fast Show is a multi BAFTA award winning sketch comedy show written and produced by Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson.
Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Paul Whitehouse and others take on an array of oddball characters and old-time favorites in this sketch comedy show.
A zany comedy show with Matt Lucas and David Walliams, featuring characters from all over Little Britain.
A British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s, combining surreal sketches and situation comedy.
Comedy legend Catherine Tate plays all her best-loved characters in this riotous sketch show. Expect sulky teens, offensive nans and the most tactless women in the world.
A comedy sketch show featuring David Mitchell and Robert Webb.
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.
LOOK AROUND YOU. Look around you. Just look around you. What do you see? A tree. A weather-vane. A discarded lollipop-wrapper. A traffic shop. All of these things, and any other things you may care to mention, have one thing in common. Can you work out what it is?
The Two Ronnies is a British sketch show which aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.
The Dick Van Dyke Show centers around the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie. The plots generally revolve around problems at work, where Rob got into various comedic jams with fellow writers Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers and producer Mel Cooley.
Matt is a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop. When Matt's estranged daughter Riley and her teenage kids move into his house, the real restoration begins.
The Amanda Show is an American live action sketch comedy and variety show that aired on Nickelodeon from October 16, 1999 to September 21, 2002. It starred Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell, and Nancy Sullivan, along with several performing artists who came and left at different points, such as John Kassir, Raquel Lee, and Josh Peck. The show was a spin-off from All That, in which Bynes had co-starred for several years. The show was unexpectedly cancelled at the end of 2002, according to creator Dan Schneider's blog. Writers for the show included John Hoberg, Steven Molaro, Andrew Hill Newman, and Dan Schneider. Two years after the end of The Amanda Show, Dan Schneider created a new series, called Drake & Josh, featuring Drake Bell, Josh Peck and Nancy Sullivan.
In this cult parody of cop dramas, replete with farce and sight gags, Lieutenant Frank Drebin and his fellow officers from Police Squad bungle their way though crime investigations.
Mad is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Kevin Shinick and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Based upon the magazine of the same name, each episode is a collection of short animated parodies of television shows, movies, games, celebrities, and other media using various types of animation instead of the usual animation style that Warner Bros. Animation is known for. The series premiered on the evening of September 6, 2010 on Cartoon Network. It has been described as a "kid-friendly version of Robot Chicken".