PODCAST · tv
British Sitcom History Podcast
by British Sitcom History Podcast
Looking back at the wonderful world of British sitcoms.@britcompod
Episodes
-
To Hull and Back (Only Fools and Horses)
You can't talk about Only Fools and Horses without getting stuck in to one of the many christmas specials. We've chosen a fan favourite in To Hull and Back, which involves our boys getting involved with diamond smuggling. We also take a closer look at the career of John Challis.
-
Only Fools and Horses (Series 4+5) Part 2
This week we delve further into series 4 and 5 of Only Fools and Horses as well as everybody's least favourite special, A Royal Flush. We also take a closer look at some of the major supporting characters like Trigger and Mickey Pearce.
-
Only Fools and Horses (Series 4+5) Part 1
We are back in Peckham! Having previously looked at the "Grandad Years", now we take on Uncle Albert and some of the other players who are starting to populate the world of Del and Rodney. Are these the peak years of Only Fools and Horses?
-
The Savages
This week we are following on from our Simon Nye connection to take a look at a much more obscure sitcom. 2001's The Savages is a pretty basic domestic sitcom but has some interesting elements, including Marcus Brigstocke as the lead and Geoffrey Palmer as his dad.
-
Is It Legal? (Part 2)
Here is Part 2 of our look at Simon Nye's Is It Legal? starring the great Imelda Staunton. This week, we take a close look at Patrick Barlow and have good things to say about the physical comedy in the show.
-
Is It Legal? (Part 1)
This month we are looking at the somewhat forgotten mid nineties sitcom Is it Legal? Coming from Simon Nye while still riding high on the success of Men Behaving Badly, the show features theatre star Imelda Staunton in a relatively rare lead role.
-
James Gilbert Deep Dive
As part of our look at early Last of the Summer Wine, we came across the name of James "Jimmy" Gilbert, who was a big cheese at the BBC for many years. He played a big part in the satire boom of the sixties, brought The Two Ronnies together, and commissioned some of your favourite sitcoms. I…
more -
Spanner's Eleven (Seven of One)
This week we're having a look at one of the episodes from Seven of One, an anthology series designed to find sitcoms built around Ronnie Barker. The series spawned two huge successes, Porridge and Open All Hours. But this one didn't. Written by Roy Clarke at the same time he was birthing Last of...
-
Last of the Summer Wine (The Blamire Years) Part 2
Part 2 of our look at just the tip of the long-running Last of the Summer Wine. We finish our analysis of the episode, marvel at the technical set dressing of a church, and take a closer look at the work of Michael Bates.
-
Last of the Summer Wine (The Blamire Years) Part 1
This week we begin an epic journey into the world's longest running sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine. We'll start by looking at just the first two series, after which Michael Bates left. Here, we talk about the meandering and pointless nature of the first series, and we get a closer look at the...
-
Sex Lives of the Potato Men
This month we've been looking at Ideal so what better opportunity to take a look back at an early acting appearance from Johnny Vegas in the infamously bad Sex Lives of the Potato Men. Co-starring Mackenzie Crook, hot off The Office, and featuring surprisingly large supporting roles from Dominic...
-
Ideal (Part 2)
This week we continue our in-depth investigation into what exactly Ideal is and what it became as it carried on for several years. We also look at the career of Johnny Vegas and try and parse the blurred line between comedian and comedy character. And to top it all we have a report from the Ideal...
-
Ideal (Part 1)
This week we find ourselves in the 21st Century to take a detailed look at cult favourite Ideal. Written by Graham Duff and starring Johnny Vegas, Ideal enjoyed a surprisingly long run for a slightly weird little show with more interest in music than story structure. This is definitely one of the...
-
Career of Caroline Aherne (with David Scott)
Writer David Scott has just released a new book looking at the career of Caroline Aherne so we got him into the virtual studio for a discussion. We go on at length about how much we love The Royle Family but also take on Mrs Merton, The Fast Show, The Fattest Man in Britain, and Dossa and Joe....
-
Man About the House (film)
Released in 1974, the Man about the House film drops right in the peak of seventies Britcom film spin-offs. Usually that means reworked material and a few pairs of Bristols but that's not what we get here. Join us on a journey of discovery to see Robin and Chrissy getting closer than ever before...
-
Man About the House (Part 2)
It's part 2 of our look at Man About the House and this week we're focusing on Richard O'Sullivan and what happened as the series progressed. In a fairly unusual move for a sitcom, the show has a definitive ending, not that we necessarily like where it goes. We address the "Norman Eshley problem"...
-
Man About the House (Part 1)
Now in video! We're back and it's a soft relaunch as we go full time into the sitcom game. We start up with an absolute classic of the early seventies in Man About the House. Ostensibly about the absolute scandalous idea of two birds living with a fella, the series soon becomes a will they/won't...
-
I'm Sorry, Prime Minister (theatre review)
Allen has been to see the latest sitcom related stage show - I'm Sorry, Prime Minister. An updated look at the characters from Yes, Minister, the play is written by the show's original creator Jonathan Lynn and stars Griff Rhys Jones and Clive Francis. Is it a faithful addition to the canon or a...
-
Ghosts Christmas Special
It's christmas so we're heading back to Button House for a family get-together. Julian finds that the true meaning of christmas is learning to love again and Mike's family have come round to wind him up. All this and more in our special festive edition looking at Ghosts!
-
Are You Being Served? 2016 Reboot
We promise this is our last venture into the world of Grace Brothers but this 2016 reboot was too good to miss. Loads of top comedy actors and a seemingly genuine attempt to recreate the magic that actually works pretty well. But at the end of the day, what's the point?
-
Blackadder II Historical Context
As we recently looked at series 2 of Blackadder, we thought we'd go over it in a bit more detail and see just how historically accurate it all is.
-
Grace & Favour (plus Beane's of Boston)
To get even further into the Are You Being Served universe, we take a look at the frankly unnecessary retooling that was Grace & Favour, getting the band back together for one last tour. But before that, we take a quick look at the failed pilot for an American remake, entitled Beane's of Boston,...
-
Are You Being Served? Film Spinoff
If you had a successful sitcom in the seventies then the only logical thing to do was to send your characters on holiday for the silver screen version. Are You Being Served was no exception and in the 1977 film spinoff we get all our favourites enjoying the baking hot sun of Elstree Studios.…
more -
Trollied (Part 2)
This week we pop into Valco in Warrington for a big shop that includes Carl Rice and Beverly Rudd. We also take a look at what happens in the later series as the show goes from sketch-like o soap-like. But we still like it for some reason.
-
Trollied (Part 1)
This week we're taking a look at the Sky sitcom Trollied. Set in a supermarket in Warrington, the show ran for several years in the 2010s but because it wasn't on proper telly we didn't really notice. But it's actually quite good so let's get up to speed.
-
The Marriage Lines (Part 2)
In part two of our look at The Marriage Lines, we get up close and personal with the career of Prunella Scales and get nostalgic about the 1960s (even though neither of us were born then).
-
The Marriage Lines (Part 1)
This week, we take a look at early domestic sitcom The Marriage Lines. The first big hit for sitcom royalty Richard Briers and Prunella Scales, the show ran for five series but only two remain on record today.
-
Hippies (Part 2)
It's time for part 2 of our look at Hippies, in which we take a closer look at Julian Rhind-Tutt and Darren Boyd and make unnecessarily personal comments about their looks. We also get into Simon Pegg's childhood because Allen has read Pegg's autobiography!
-
Hippies (Part 1)
Hippies was a coming together of a lot of up and coming talent right at the end of the 20th century, but something about it doesn't quite click. We dig deep to see what's going on.
-
Blackadder II (Part 2)
It's Part 2 of our look at the second series of Blackadder, in which we take a closer look at Stephen Fry and Miranda Richardson. Plus, Gareth refreshes his hot take on Rik Mayall.
-
Blackadder II (Part 1)
After a disappointing first series, Blackadder was reborn with the help of Ben Elton and became one of the iconic pieces of British sitcom. Here we discuss how Blackadder got sexy and the evolution of the characters.
-
No Job for a Lady (Part 2)
Part 2 of our look at No Job for a Lady. Expect thirty year old political references and inevitable comparisons to Yes, Minister.
-
No Job for a Lady (Part 1)
No Job for a Lady may not be the best remembered show but it is a fascinating snapshot of the world of British politics in the early nineties. Here we get up close and personal with George Baker and ask the important questions, such as "How posh is Penelope Keith?"
-
Are You Being Served? (Part 2)
Part 2 of our look back at Are You Being Served? including an attempt to understand the strange and wonderful life of writer Jeremy Lloyd.
-
Are You Being Served? (Part 1)
Are You Being Served? is an absolute classic of British sitcom and part of the very large catalogue of work from David Croft. As such, it has way too many characters and goes on about five years longer than it should have... but does it hold up for today's sophisticated audience or is it as wet…
more -
Bonus Episode - Ghosts Timeline
We had so much to talk about when we watched Ghosts that we've come back for more. In this bonus episode, we take a deep dive on the timeline of the Ghosts and get a bit of contextual history around their specific time periods.
-
Bonus Episode - Live Comedy Events 2024
Just a quick bonus as we prepare for the new series. Allen has been immersing himself in the world of comedy and going to a few live events and meeting the big nobs from the world of light entertainment. Here he shares his experiences. In this episode we talk about Su Pollard: Fully Charged; An...
-
Till Death Us Do Part (Christmas special)
For this year's christmas special we are venturing back to the Garnett household in 1966 where the family are upholding all the christmas traditions such as falling out and throwing stuff at the wall.
-
Ghosts (Part 2)
Part 2 of our look at Ghosts, which we're classing as very recent history in the world of sitcom. This week we are taking a look at some more of the actors such as Simon Farnaby and (spoiler alert) going all the way to the end and discussing how they closed it all off. This is the end of our...
-
Ghosts (Part 1)
This week we are doing our most recent sitcom yet with Ghosts. They officially closed off the series with a christmas special in 2023 so now is our chance to look back at what is arguably one of the best mainstream sitcoms of the last twenty years.
-
The Other One (Part 2)
Part 2 of our look at The Other one in which we delve into the very odd second series and have a closer look at the comedy career of Michael Gambon.
-
The Other One (Part 1)
Thanks to a listener poll, this week we are taking on the relatively obscure seventies sitcom The Other One. Richard Briers teams up once again with the writers Esmonde and Larbey in the immediate aftermath of their biggest hit, The Good Life. Michael Gambon makes a relatively rare sitcom...
-
Phoenix Nights (Part 2)
Part 2 of our breakdown of Phoenix Nights as we continue to struggle with the urge to quote every single line. We do love it so but we take time to look at the further careers of writers Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice as well as asking the question: Peter Kay - git?
-
Phoenix Nights (Part 1)
Part 1 of our take on Phoenix Nights, a personal favourite for both of us so prepare yourself for some nostalgia and laughter but also we try and take an in-depth and completely speculative look at the psychology of Peter Kay.
-
Desmond's (Part 2)
Part 2 of our look at Desmond's and this week we get up close and personal with the writer and creator Trix Worrell and of course we take a look at the (lesser) sequel/spin-off, Porkpie.
-
Desmond's (Part 1)
Desmond's was the culmination of a big push in the 80s (mostly by Channel 4) to have wider cultural and racial representation on TV. But this was no box ticking exercise; at its heart it is a down-the-line family sitcom but it does it oh so well. Norman Beaton, Carmen Munroe, Rom John Holder…
more -
Whoops Apocalypse (Part 2)
Part 2 of our look at Whoops Apocalypse takes us to the White House and the Kremlin and we also take a look at the film version of the same idea (but it's not a spin-off). We also take a closer look at Richard Griffiths and find out he's not quite what we expected.
-
Whoops Apocalypse (Part 1)
Today we go back to the eighties and Cold War paranoia with the relatively obscure Whoops Apocalypse. More interesting for its position in the history of comedy than for its actual content, could this show be the glue between the sixties satire boom and the alternative comedy of the eighties?
-
Keeping Up Appearances (Part 2)
Part 2 of our look at Keeping Up Appearances and we do our best not to be too negative!
-
Keeping Up Appearances (Part 1)
Maybe it's just our age but it feels like Keeping Up Appearances was almost ever present when we were growing up. But how does it hold up in the cold light of day? Could it be a timeless classic or is Hyacinth Bucket a true britcom villain?
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does British Sitcom History Podcast have?
British Sitcom History Podcast currently has 139 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is British Sitcom History Podcast about?
Looking back at the wonderful world of British sitcoms.@britcompod
How often does British Sitcom History Podcast release new episodes?
British Sitcom History Podcast publishes regularly with 139 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to British Sitcom History Podcast?
You can listen to British Sitcom History Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts British Sitcom History Podcast?
British Sitcom History Podcast is created and hosted by British Sitcom History Podcast.
URL copied to clipboard!