A British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s, combining surreal sketches and situation comedy.
Social & External
The people behind it
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Graeme Garden
Bill Oddie
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.
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
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.
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.
A satirical six-part sketch comedy.
Ripley Holden is a small-time entrepreneur desperate to make it big with his new state-of-the-art amusement arcade. The opening extravaganza is overshadowed by the find of a dead body on the premises. DI Carlisle is called in and quickly finds he has more on his mind than murder, when he falls in love with Ripley's long-suffering wife.
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."
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!
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.
Gifted with special powers, fighting skills and slick hair, the rowdy KO One navigates tough friendships and high school romance.
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.
Harry Enfield's Television Programme was a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse. It was first broadcast on BBC Two in 1990 in the Thursday 9 pm slot, which became the traditional time for alternative comedy on television. Enfield was already an established name due to his 'Loadsamoney' character, but the series gave greater presence to his frequent collaborators Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke – so much so, that in 1994 the show was retitled Harry Enfield and Chums.
Comedians Jimmy Carr, D.L. Hughley and Katherine Ryan tackle the world's woes with help from a rotating crew of funny guests and an actual expert.
Smiling Friends Inc. is a small company whose main purpose is to bring happiness and make people smile. The series follows the day-to-day lives and misadventures of its representatives, the lazy, cynical Charlie, and the cheerful, optimistic Pim, as they try to cheer up and comfort the troubled people who call their company's hotline. They receive seemingly simple requests but the jobs turn out to be more complicated than they seem, making it difficult to bring happiness to the world.
Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.
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?
Twisted and original sketch show from the minds of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, starring Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap.
A zany sketch comedy featuring many wacky characters hosted for kids and by kids.
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.
A zany comedy show with Matt Lucas and David Walliams, featuring characters from all over Little Britain.
The League of Gentlemen is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC Two over three series from 1999 to 2002. In the fictional Northern England town of Royston Vasey—based on Bacup, Lancashire—the lives are explored of dozens of bizarre citizens, much of whom are played by three of the show's four writers—Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith—who, along with Jeremy Dyson, formed the titular comedy troupe in 1995. The programme was followed by a film in 2005, and a three-part revival miniseries in December 2017 to celebrate the group's 20th anniversary.
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.
An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.
Five strangers receive blackmail notes from an anonymous source, leading them on a dark and surreal journey as their lives unravel, featuring bizarre characters like a man-child, a one-handed clown, and a blind millionaire.
A British comic fantasy containing humour and pop-culture references. Episodes often featured elaborate musical numbers in different genres, such as electro, heavy metal, funk, and rap. The show has been known for popularising a style called "crimping"; short acappella songs which are present throughout all three series.
Spitting Image is an award winning British satirical puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. The series was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV from 1984 to 1996. The series was nominated and won numerous awards during its run including 10 BAFTA Awards, including one for editing in 1989, and even won two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities famous during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and fellow Tory politicians, American president Ronald Reagan, and the British Royal Family. The Series was the first to caricature the Queen mother.
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.
A comedy sketch show featuring David Mitchell and Robert Webb.
Tim and Eric's dark comedy anthology series.
Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Paul Whitehouse and others take on an array of oddball characters and old-time favorites in this sketch comedy show.
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.
Mr Bean turns simple everyday tasks into chaotic situations and will leave you in stitches as he creates havoc wherever he goes.
The Fast Show is a multi BAFTA award winning sketch comedy show written and produced by Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson.
