With the BBC recently announcing remakes of classic TV comedy shows such as ‘Steptoe and Son’ and ‘Till Death Us Do Part’, ‘Are You Being Served?’, ‘Porridge’, ‘Up Pompeii’, ‘The Good Life’ and ‘Keeping Up Appearances; including the re-development of the lost ‘Hancock Half Hour’ tapes, you wonder whether some top TV executive has fallen into their comedy Tardis and taken us back to the seventies, flared trousers intact. Comedy Playhouse to the rescue?
Where have all the new sitcoms gone?
But where is the new situation comedy? The new ‘Steptoe’ or ‘Good Life’ script. There must be one from the many thousands that are sent in to Broadcasting House? Or are they too lazy to read them? The fact is developing fresh new Comedy is a risk, not just artistic but financial. Giving the ‘green light’ to a new script, especially if it’s a new writer, is nearly always met with reticence.
Comedy Playhouse Returns
Yet the BBC in their broadcasting wisdom chose two years ago to bring back its Comedy Playhouse series which had in the past been successful in finding new sitcoms. This year brought us new scripts played by experienced casts, with all the comedies written in mockumentary style.
Broken Biscuits
All three sitcoms lacked narrative but certainly not characterisation as with ‘Broken Biscuits’ co-written by Craig Cash which follows five disparate groups of people, friends, partners and parents, watching their everyday lives as their individual stories unfold. The humour is subtle and comes very much from the character and their observations in life. All well observed as with Brenda the small time Guest House owner played beautifully by Alison Steadman; shouts up the stairs to the housekeeper “…and Mable make sure you give the toilet in that room a good slug of bleach… we had vegetarians in their last night”.
Stop / Start
‘Stop / Start’ a studio based sitcom with a laughter track was the least favourite of the three. It offered us three marriages in various states of disrepair starring John Thompson and Nigel Havers. This work did not seem to have the depth of the others and the constant references and short monologues to camera were too many, irritating and not particularly amusing.
Comedy Playhouse History
The Comedy Playhouse series began in 1962 at the initiative of Tom Sloan, Head of BBC Light Entertainment. Galton and Simpson were no longer writing for Tony Hancock and Sloan got them into his office, offered them a ten-part series and told them they could write whatever they wanted. Sketch, sitcom or monologue. It was up to them. An Executive decision that would never happen in today’s television.
This form of artistic TV freedom went out with black & white set. Galton and Simpson concentrated on sit-com, a format both of them liked and from the first ten episodes one caught the public’s attention called ‘The Offer’. This went on to become ‘Steptoe & Son’ spurning 58 episodes in 8 series (1962-1974) and two films. It also was remade in America under the title ‘Sanford & Son’ played by two black actors.
Comedy Playhouse Success Stories
The first two series of Comedy Playhouse were written by Galton and Simpson, but further episodes were created by various writers. In all, 27 series started from a pilot in the Comedy Playhouse slot, these included:
- Steptoe and Son
- Meet the Wife
- Till Death Us Do Part
- All Gas and Gaiters
- Up Pompeii!
- Not in Front of the Children
- Me Mammy, That’s Your Funeral
- The Liver Birds
- Are You Being Served?
- Last of the Summer Wine (world’s longest running sitcom, from January 1973 to August 2010 with changing casts and personnel).
Early Episodes Lost
The first eight series of ‘Playhouse’ were in black-and-white, with the rest being in colour. Like many TV shows from the time, many of 1960s episodes are missing presumed wiped. This comedic conveyor belt of one-off unrelated sitcoms aired for 120 episodes from 1962 to 1975. It was brought back in 2014 as a further vehicle for new material, continuing this year with some interesting and aspiring scripts and characters.
We can only hope that one of these new shows meets with public and executive approval; to go on and make the impact others made in the past.
Matthew Willetts MA is the Director of Comicus who has over 35 years experience in television, film, theatre, and comedy club/cabaret entertainment, working as a performer, screenwriter, producer and agent. He’s lectured at University in Comedy, Screenwriting, Television, Theatre & Radio. Matthew can sometimes be seen and heard on TV & Radio and often quoted in the national press and media publications. As well as speaking regularly at festivals and industry conferences. He has been a judge at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Montreux Television Festival.
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