The Comedians (1971)

Genre

comedy television series

Country

United Kingdom

Length

11 seasons, 79 episodes

Rated

PG

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 3 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This series showcased stand-up comedians from British working men's clubs. Each episode edited together short sets from multiple performers recorded in front of a live audience. The show gave TV exposure to many comics who later became famous.

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What happens

The Comedians is a British television show of the 1970s, later reprised in the mid-1980s, and early 1990s (1972–1993) produced by Johnnie Hamp of Granada Television. The show gave TV exposure to nightclub and working men's club comedians of the era, including Russ Abbot, Jim Bowen and Bernard Manning, many of whom went on to enjoy mainstream success in the 1980s. Filmed before a live audience in Manchester, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows featuring up to thirteen stand-up comics, and lasted a total of 81 episodes. Working men's clubs were numerous in Britain, especially in the North of England and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians. Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (Working Men's Club and Institute Union) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly. There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the Royal British Legion. The Comedians began as an experiment for Granada TV on Saturday 12 June 1971 at 7pm on ITV1, and the last was a Christmas Special (60 mins) The Comedians Christmas Cracker shown on 28 December 1993, Tuesday at 10.45pm. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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