1 9 7 6 (UK)
13 x 30 minute episodes
A quick-fire comedy sketch show from Yorkshire Television continuing in the style of the long-running 1970s BBC radio comedy program of the same name.
Goodies star Tim Brooke-Taylor joined comedy writer and Jokers Wild host Barry Cryer, and writer and actor John Junkin, with composer Denis King providing musical accompaniment (and frequently becoming the object of ridicule for the other three).
The half-hour shows were pre-recorded in front of a live audience and replicated the original series’ trademark mix of preposterous sketches, appalling jokes and general silliness.
Improvisation abounded, with the occasional blunder retained in an irreverent approach summed up by Cryer as “Laugh-In without the gloss . . . only desperation and rot”.
A typical show might feature advice on looking after an armadillo, teaching your dog to samba or making your very own space rocket from a yard of lint.
12 remaining episodes from 1976 are available on DVD. Unfortunately, episode 10 no longer exists.
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Barry Cryer
John Junkin
Denis King
