Comedy A-Z Pages:
A short-lived but extremely influential weekly sketch show which marked the start of the "satire boom" in the UK during the early 1960s.
The programme was ground-breaking in many ways, particularly as far as its "tone" was concerned. It began a move away from the rather reverential and often over-tolerant approach to politicians and other "authority figures" which had previously predominated on British television.
Every week, topical events were covered using a mixture of sketches, monologues and musical items. Politicians and other prominent people were subjected to close inspection and, as often as not, were well and truly "debunked".
A notable exception to the normal humorous, satirical tone of the programme took the form of an extended tribute to John F Kennedy, broadcast the day after his assassination.
Series: 2
Episodes: 37
Transmitted: 1962-1963
Channel: BBC-TV
BBC Television