British Sitcom History Podcast

Gareth continues his look at what The Young Ones did after The Young Ones with Roll Over Beethoven. A Liza Goddard vehicle that in retrospect feels like Nigel Planer should have been the bigger name, Roll Over Beethoven ran for two (rushed) series in 1985. Written by the esteemed Marks and Gran, it has no laugh track and not that many laughs and it falls apart half way through. But is it worth a r...

It's Part 2 of our look at Extras and we continue to journey through the Patrick Stewart episode and look at all the things that changed in series 2. Was it for the better? No. But we'll go into a bit more detail than that.

This week we're looking at Extras, the Gervais/Merchant follow up to global sensation The Office. So what do you do after you've changed the world of comedy? And how badly has it aged in just fifteen years?

When the Whistle Blows was a big hit with audiences but hated by the critics. It's ultimate downfall, however, was a personal one. In this episode of Forgotten Sitcoms we take a look at the show and the man behind it, Andy Millman.

It's Part 2 of our look at political satire The New Statesman and Alan B'Stard's plan to drain Hackney Marshes of its rich oil deposits. We also take a closer look at some of the other cast members and the legacy that B'stard has left across the world of British politics.

This week we take a look at the Rik Mayall vehicle The New Statesman, written by sitcom stalwarts Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. After only two series of their biting political satire, Thatcher was toppled. Coincidence? You decide.

For part 2 of our look at To the Manor Born, we continue on with our dissection of an episode of the classic sitcom and take a journey through the career of Peter Bowles. And then we throw in a little bit of politics. Everything comes back to Thatcher, don't you know.

To the Manor Born starred Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles and was the smash hit of the late seventies and has stayed in the national consciousness as the classic "will they, won't they" story. But given that it exists in a strange rural upper class bubble and it was already out of date forty years ago, will it stand up to the rigours of a 2022 examination?

It's Part 2 of our look at just one slice of the epic Red Dwarf. Here we continue to break apart episode 3, Balance of Power, and we look at the early work of Danny John-Jules and Chris Barrie. This is a really personal one for us but will the series live up to our fond memories?

This week we tackle the enormous Red Dwarf. In fact, it's so big that we've had to break it up a bit. So here we deal with just the first two series. The awkward growing years when it was still figuring out what it was. We take a deep dive on a specific episode and have a look at the brief pre-Dwarf careers of the main cast.

It's part 2 of our look at the not exactly fondly remembered oddity Sean's Show, which graced our screens courtesy of Channel 4 back in the early nineties. This week we discuss some of the guest appearances and have a chat about other stand ups who made the transition to the world of sitcom.

This week we take on our most obscure choice yet. Sean's Show was an early nineties sitcom that lasted two series and tried to capture the comic talents of Sean Hughes. Is it as good as we remember it or is it a load of post-modernist nonsense?

It's Part 2 of our look at Till Death Us Do Part and we try to get to grips with Alf Garnett and his somewhat outdated views. How did the character develop as he went from 1965 to 1998?

To start out the new series we've gone back to a classic, Till Death Us Do Part. But the show is not without its controversies. How well does it hold up after fifty years of societal change?

For this bonus episode we're teaming up with SADDO Podcast to talk about the first American attempt to remake Fawlty Towers, Snavely, starring Betty White and Harvey Korman.

It's Christmas so we're going back to where we started a year ago and visit Steptoe and Son as they plan a holiday. This was the last episode ever of Steptoe and it's a great send off after ten years.

In his pre-Only Fools and Horses days, David Jason had several attempts at starring roles over at ITV. Lucky Feller was a one series wonder made in 1976 but does it stand up to scrutiny 45 years later?

To cap off series 2 we've put together a quiz to test your general sitcom knowledge as well as how much you can remember from the shows we've talked about. Play along with Gareth and see if you can beat him.

The spiritual middle child between The Young Ones and Bottom, Filthy Rich & Catflap managed one lonely series in 1987. With Ben Elton writing and the funny three from The Young ones all involved, what could possibly go wrong? Gareth steps up to the mic to give his analysis of the show and his controversial opinions of Rik Mayall.

It's Halloween and that means it's time for a spooky special. Unfortunately, British sitcoms haven't particularly embraced this particular holiday so it's slim pickings. But a good excuse to look at Bottom.

Starring Prunella Scales and Joan Sanderson, After Henry was a big hit for ITV back in the eighties but it's pretty much forgotten now. Perfect fodder for a new episode of Forgotten Sitcoms.

After our recent look at The Inbetweeners, we decided to team up with our friends at Diminishing Returns Podcast to review the film spin-offs. They were some of the most successful British comedies of all time but how do they measure up to the series?

It's Part 2 of our look at The Inbetweeners and this week we conclude our review of the episode "The Field Trip" and see what the actors have been doing since the show ended.

To round out series 2, we're taking on a modern classic. The Inbetweeners seemed to speak to every 6th former in the country and spawned new catchphrases with every episode. But does it still hold up after ten years?

In part 2 of our look at Sorry! we continue our analysis of an episode and take a look at the other actors as well as a sitcom spotlight on Ronnie Hazlehurst.