British Sitcom History Podcast

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But given that it exists in a strange rural upper class bubble and it was already out of date forty years ago, will it stand up to the rigours of a 2022 examination?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?