Comedy Playhouse
| Comedy Playhouse | |
|---|---|
 Titlecard for the 1961/62 series episode "The Offer". This episode was the pilot for Steptoe and Son. | |
| Starring | Various |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 121 (as of 29 April 2014) |
| Production | |
| Running time | Usually 25 minutes, 30 minutes or 35 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC |
| Release | Original Series 15 December 1961 - 9 July 1975 – Revived Series 29 April 2014 - present |
Comedy Playhouse is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served? and Last of the Summer Wine, which is the world's longest running sitcom, having run from January 1973 to August 2010.
In March 2014, it was announced that Comedy Playhouse would make a return that year with three new episodes. [1]
Background
The first two series of Comedy Playhouse were written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, but after that the episodes were written by various writers. In all, 27 series started from a pilot in the Comedy Playhouse. The first eight series were in black-and-white, with the rest being in colour. Like many television programmes from the time, many of 1960s episodes are missing presumed wiped.
Episodes
Series One (1961–62)
The pilot episode of Steptoe and Son was broadcast as an episode.
Series Two (1963)
Series Three (1963–64)
The pilot episodes of The Walrus and the Carpenter and Meet the Wife were broadcast as episodes.
Series Four (1965)
The pilot episode of Till Death Us Do Part was broadcast as an episode.
Series Five (1966)
The pilot episodes of All Gas and Gaiters and Beggar My Neighbour were broadcast as episodes.
Series Six (1967)
Series Seven (1968)
Series Eight (1969)
The pilot episode of The Liver Birds was broadcast as an episode.
Series Nine (1969–70)
The pilot episode of Up Pompeii! was broadcast as an episode.
Series Ten (1970)
Series Eleven (1971)
Series Twelve (1972)
The first episode of Are You Being Served? was broadcast as an episode.
Series Thirteen (1973)
Specials (1973)
The first episode of the longest-running sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine was broadcast in an episode.
Series Fourteen (1974)
The pilot episodes of Happy Ever After (1974–79) and Mr Big (1977) were broadcast as episodes.
Series Fifteen (1975)
Series Sixteen (2014)
Scottish Comedy Playhouse
The BBC aired six comedy pilots in 1970 in Scotland only under the title Scottish Comedy Playhouse, none of which developed onto a full series. While these were being aired, Monty Python's Flying Circus was broadcast in the rest of the UK. The episodes were
- Stand In For A Hearse (22 September 70)
- The Siege of Castle Drumlie (29 September 70)
- The Dinner Party (20 October 70)
- To Grace A Son (28 October 70)
- Stobo Takes The Chair (3 November 70)
- Take Your Partners (10 November 70)
See also
- Armchair Theatre
- Theatre 625
- The Wednesday Play
- ITV Playhouse
- Play for Today
- The Afternoon Play
- Seven of One
- Screen One
Notes
- ^ Ian Burrell (17 March 2014). "BBC1 to revive 'Comedy Playhouse' after 40 years". The Independent. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
References
- Mark Lewisohn, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
- British TV Comedy Guide for Comedy Playhouse
External links
- Use dmy dates from December 2012
- 1961 British television programme debuts
- 2014 British television programme debuts
- 1974 British television programme endings
- 1960s British television series
- 1970s British television series
- 2010s British television series
- British anthology television series
- BBC television comedy
- Comedy Playhouse
- Lost BBC episodes
- Black-and-white British television programs
- English-language television programming