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These pages serve as part of a greater campaign to get people analysing TV and radio comedy programmes more closely, and - in particular - to get them pondering on the significance of cuts, changes and general interference which may be apparent in the comedy they watch.

Ignoring all unimaginative accusations of being ‘trainspotters’ or ‘taking comedy too seriously’, we’ll make a note of any evidence which demonstrates how certain comedy shows have been tampered with on the short journey between the rough draft and the broadcast edit. Aside from being staggeringly interesting to us, it will also provide a fairly decent reflection of changing attitudes over the years towards censorship, comedy aspirations, technical possibilities, and producer-politics.

Taking comedy too seriously? Don’t mistake seriousness for solemnity. Rest assured that we’ve fallen off a hundred sofas laughing at the shows we mention. If you laugh at comedy, you are - by definition - taking it seriously. It proves you care.

Trainspotters? There’s a big difference between being smug because you’ve spotted that the writers of Red Dwarf tend to forget which of their characters have had their appendix out, and being genuinely concerned that material has been cut from a programme because it may offend an imaginary social group in a big orange folder on the desk of a TV exec who only listens to Radio 2 anyway. Facts are good things.

Each of the following has its own full entry. Click on and learn...
  • AN INTRODUCTION TO EDIT SPOTTING - Keep your eyes open...

  • ABSOLUTELY - Channel 4’s stupendously under-appreciated masterpiece ...

  • THE ALAN DAVIES SHOW - A 1998 Radio 4 sit-com written by Alan Davies and Alan Francis, of little merit or interest.

  • ALAS SMITH AND JONES - The first post-Not The Nine O’Clock News vehicle for Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones...

  • NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE - That girl with the tissues up her bra - you would wouldn't you? Let's face it.

  • THE BEATLES - Yes, the Beatles. You got a problem with that?

  • BEN ELTON - THE MAN FROM AUNTIE - Elton’s first solo stand-up vehicle...

  • A BIT OF FRY AND LAURIE - The four series demonstrate diminishing returns.

  • BLACK ADDER - Oh, bless the Lord for the gift of laughter.

  • BLUE JAM / JAM - Devised and produced by Chris Morris...

  • THE BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND - ‘Comedy Group’? Don’t you believe it.

  • BOTTOM - Mayall and Edmonson disappear up their own arses.

  • BRASS EYE - Morris does the media.

  • BRIDGE ON THE RIVER WYE - Every home should have one.

  • CARRY ON - Pinewood’s finest, 1958-78.

  • THE CHRIS MORRIS MUSIC SHOW - More original scripts...

  • COMIC RELIEF - Starvation in the third world - a small price to pay for some excellent comedy.

  • THE COMIC STRIP - Back when 'new-wave's were something to get excited about.

  • DAD'S ARMY - Despite its clumsy plots and pleb-tugging party pieces, the legacy of Dad’s Army is pretty much deserved.

  • THE DAY TODAY - Did this programme really happen or did we dream it?

  • DEREK AND CLIVE - The blanket name for Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s whimsically shocking dialogues ...

  • DON'T FORGET YOUR TOOTHBRUSH - Depressing plebgasm of a quiz show from 1994 ...

  • DOON YOUR WAY - Excellent radio comedy vehicle for Doon MacKichan.

  • THE 11 O'CLOCK SHOW - The most offensive programme ever broadcast on TV. But not in the way that they thought...

  • THE FAST SHOW - Sketch show, most of which presumably goes over the kids’ heads.

  • FATHER TED - Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews’ masterwork.

  • FAWLTY TOWERS - Sacred cow status more or less justified...

  • THE FRANK SKINNER SHOW - BBC comedy from the Birmingham boy who grins his way through sodomy jokes.

  • FRENCH AND SAUNDERS - Bop-a-doowee-oooh....

  • THE GOODIES - Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie's feast for the eyes and ears ...

  • GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME - Asian sketch show with humour....

  • THE GOON SHOW - Can a million old fuckers be wrong?

  • HANCOCK'S HALF HOUR - Comic genius who never heard the White Album.

  • HAPPY FAMILIES - Ben Elton’s masterwork. This existed. Face reality.

  • THE HARPOON - Peter Baynham and Julian Dutton’s underrated gem.

  • HARRY ENFIELD - Another case of diminishing returns.

  • HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU - Oh no, they're back.

  • HIPPIES - Simon Pegg's finest hour...

  • HITCH HIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY - Douglas Adams' social satire with robots.

  • I'M ALAN PARTRIDGE - Poorly conceived, badly-written narrative vehicle for Steve Coogan’s once-great creation.

  • THE JACK DOCHERTY SHOW - A chat show for people who like Jack Docherty, but don’t want to watch something really good...like Absolutely repeats.

  • JASPER CARROTT - The Guvnor....

  • KEVIN TURVEY - Early Rik Mayall character, responsible for stream-of-consciousness monologues on A Kick Up The Eighties .

  • KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU - Chat show vehicle for Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge character...

  • KYTV - The TV adaptation of Radio Active ...

  • LEE AND HERRING - Making the comedy world a little more bendy...

  • LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS - Frank Oz’ 'Rocky Horror for the 80s'...

  • MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE - It really was chaos.

  • THE MARY WHITEHOUSE EXPERIENCE - Superb radio series, followed by tepid TV adaptation.

  • MEN BEHAVING BADLY - Described as ‘politically incorrect’ by people who don’t understand comedy, words or life.

  • THE MONKEES - Love 'em or hate 'em, if you hate 'em we kill your children. Simple as that.

  • MONTY PYTHON - THE TV SERIES - NOW FEATURES UNBROADCAST 'FLYING CIRCUS' SCRIPTS!

  • MONTY PYTHON - THE ALBUMS - Python LPs entered the public conciousness more than the TV shows ever could ...

  • MONTY PYTHON - THE FILMS - Stay on your jaded, video-sated arses...

  • THE MRS MERTON SHOW - Chat show vehicle for Caroline Aherne's stage creation.

  • NEWMAN AND BADDIEL - Enjoyable 1993 sketch/stand-up vehicle for David Baddiel and Rob Newman.

  • NOT ONLY BUT ALSO - ‘Most of it wiped. Hmm.’ - Dudley Moore, 1990.

  • NOT THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS - Vaguely topical sketch show featuring Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Pamela Stephenson and Chris Langham. And Griff Rhys Jones.

  • THE NOW SHOW - Punt and Dennis piss on their legacy while Dan & Nick watch from their back pockets.

  • THE NUALAS - Scary Irish singing trio.  Will shortly kick Danny Wallace's speccy face in if he's not careful.

  • ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES - The plebs love it, and so do we.

  • ON THE HOUR - Sometimes, when you're not looking, a comedy show gets it completely right.

  • THE PEOPLE VS JERRY SADOWITZ - Gong-show vehicle for the man with the plastic cigar, running from 1998.

  • RED DWARF - Hardly worth bothering really.

  • RIPPING YARNS - Palin and Jones' corking tales for boys of all ages.

  • THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW - Richard O’Brien’s cult camp sci-fi comedy.

  • ROSEANNE - If she’s so rich, why does she use that typeface?

  • THE ROYLE FAMILY - Edit-spotting, my arse...

  • RUTLAND WEEKEND TELEVISION - All six Flying Circus members have produced at least one excellent non-Python project in their careers, and - in Eric Idle's case - it was Rutland Weekend Television.

  • THE RUTLES - Eric Idle and Neil Innes’ wonderful homage to The Beatles.

  • THE SEX PISTOLS AND BILL GRUNDY - 'What a fucking rotter...'

  • THE SLITS - All-girl punk band, 1976-81. Became famous for not being able to play their instruments, despite the fact that they obviously could.

  • SMACK THE PONY - Sketch show featuring an all-woman cast (except for the blokes), led by Sally Phillips, Doon MacKichan and Fiona Allen.

  • SPICEWORLD - (It’s comedy as far as we’re concerned...)

  • THE SIMPSONS - Want to know a secret? The Simpsons is often butchered to pieces by the British taste police before transmission.

  • VIC REEVES BIG NIGHT OUT - So many opinions on Reeves & Mortimer, all of them completely wrong.

  • VICTOR LEWIS SMITH - Sometimes reviled as a bitter TV reviewer, Victor Lewis Smith is a genuine one-off in the world of comedy.

  • WHY BOTHER? - Peter Cook and Chris Morris revisit an old character.

  • THE YOUNG ONES - Elton, Mayall and Meyer's early-80s assault on comedy...


    • © 2000 - 2001 some of the corpses are amusing