Paul Merton profiles some of the great stars of silent comedy, examining their lives and works, and uncovering seldom-seen material
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Mammamia! is an Italian television series that aired between 2003 and 2004 , written and directed by Maurizio Nichetti. The series unfolds in thirty episodes of eight minutes each, and no dialogue. The heroine is Angela Finocchiaro, who plays the part of a mother struggling with the problems of the daily life of her children of 4, 7 and 13 years.
A series about the life, career and works of the movie comedy genius.
A 1980 documentary series exploring the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture.
Spanish documentary series.
Arnie Cole and his wife Maud are an odd couple, having entered into the state of matrimony for purely practical reasons. However, their marriage of convenience gives way to genuine partnership as Maud becomes caught up in Arnie's ambitions to start his own film production company.
The Spike Jones Show was the name of several separate American comedy and variety series that aired on NBC and CBS in the 1950s and 1960s. The series was presented by actor and musician Spike Jones.
Chefs from across the country tell their personal stories.
Leave It to Larry is a 1952-1953 CBS sitcom starring Eddie Albert as Larry Tucker, a shoe salesman who lives with his own family in the residence of his employer and father-in-law, played by Ed Begley, Sr., in the role of Mr. Koppel. Begley though only five years older than Albert was still cast as the father-in-law. Joining Albert and Begley on the short-lived series were Betty Kean as wife Amy Tucker; Glenn Walken as 7-year-old Stevie Tucker, and Lydia Schaffer as daughter Harriet Tucker in her only acting role. The program aired five years before Jerry Mathers starred in the similarly titled Leave It to Beaver, originally on CBS and later ABC. Leave It to Beaver also had a character named “Larry" – Larry Mondello played by Rusty Stevens, the son of Margaret Mondello, played on the series by character actress Madge Blake. Leave It to Larry aired on Tuesday at 8 p.m. before The Red Buttons Show on CBS and opposite Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theater on NBC. In the 1953-1954 season, The Gene Autry Show replaced Leave it to Larry on the CBS schedule, and Red Buttons yielded to the long-running The Red Skelton Show.
A modern update of the classic show about a family band. Pilot episode.
Comedy series about the antics of a police precinct.
Life on a Stick is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from March 24 to April 27, 2005. Thirteen episodes of the show were completed, but Fox only showed the first five before pulling the show due to poor ratings.
Home to Roost is a British television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television in the 1980s. Written by Eric Chappell, it starred John Thaw as Henry Willows and Reece Dinsdale as his 18-year-old son Matthew. The premise is that Henry Willows is forty-something, who has been divorced from his wife for seven years and is perfectly happy living alone in London. That is, until his youngest child, Matthew arrives to live with him, after being thrown out by his mother. The plots generally revolved around Henry's annoyance at having his solitude disturbed, and the age gap clash. Henry employed two cleaners throughout the show's life; first Enid Thompson, and, in the third season, Fiona Fennell.
Ben Harper is a moderately successful family man and dentist. He is also undergoing a mid-life crisis and trying to cope with the bizarre reality of raising teenage children. His wife Susan seems quite happy, enjoys her job as a London tour guide, however at home her ability to find her way around a cookbook or pantry is less successful. Their three children Nick, Janey, and Michael are as different as chalk and cheese. Nick (19) is on his gap year, but doesn't get much further than the sofa or job centre, Janey is as sharp as a tack and 16 going on 25, while Michael is a very bright, computer-nerdish 12 year old who is just discovering girls.
Paris By Night is a popular Vietnamese language musical variety show, produced by Thúy Nga and hosted by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, featuring musical performances by modern pop stars, traditional folk songs, one-act plays, and sketch comedy.
The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.
This daring original series stars postmodern bad boys of magic Penn & Teller as they question many of our culture's most cherished and widely held beliefs. From the truth about palm readings and TV psychics to the reality behind Feng Shui and Ouija boards, the archly comic masters of misdirection host this eye-opening analysis of the middle-ground between perception and reality.
A famed major league baseball announcer who suffers an embarrassing and very public meltdown live on the air after discovering his beloved wife's serial infidelity decides to reclaim his career and love life in a small town a decade later.
Host Adam Conover employs a combination of comedy, history and science to dispel widespread misconceptions about everything we take for granted.
Tim Heidecker reviews the latest movies in theaters with a special guest.
British comedian Richard Ayoade (later taken over by Joe Lycett), accompanied by a celebrity guest, takes a ruthlessly efficient approach to travel, covering everything top tourist destinations have to offer in just 48 hours.
Everyone else sees Wilfred as just a dog, but Ryan sees a crude and somewhat surly, yet irrepressibly brave and honest Australian bloke in a cheap dog suit. While leading him through a series of comedic and existential adventures, Wilfred the dog shows Ryan the man how to overcome his fears and joyfully embrace the unpredictability and insanity of the world around him.
Self-proclaimed business expert, writer, director and comedian Nathan Fielder helps real small businesses turn a profit with marketing tactics that no ordinary consultant would dare to attempt. From driving foot traffic to an off-the-strip souvenir shop by using Hollywood flair and a Johnny Depp impersonator, to creating a rebate that can only be redeemed by climbing a mountain, to founding a coffee shop called "Dumb Starbucks,” Nathan has always gone to the limit to make his ideas come to life. With his unorthodox approach to problem solving, Nathan’s genuine efforts to do good often draw the real people he encounters into an experience far beyond what they signed up for.
A British comedy television series with turns of phrase and elaborate wordplay, written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
Nick Cannon and an A-list celebrity lead a team of improv comedians as they compete against each other.
Charlie Brooker's acerbic take on recent TV contains reviews of current shows, as well as stories and commentary on how television is produced.
The lives of a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star unexpectedly collide, exposing America’s obsession with true crime, murder and the slow-close toilet seat.
The big-collared comic gives his own spin on TV clips from recent programmes, plus contributions from a set of regular characters
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act.
This new chapter of “Sex and the City” follows Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.
The Carol Burnett Show is an American variety/sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33. The series won 25 prime time Emmy Awards, was ranked No. 16 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002 and in 2007 was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All Time."
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.
Twisted and original sketch show from the minds of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, starring Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap.
Follow the life and crimes of five diverse and treacherous manicurists working at the Nail Artisan of Manatee County salon, where there is a lot more going on than silk wraps and pedicures.
A 2009 television documentary series in six parts that covers 40 years of the surreal comedy group Monty Python, from Flying Circus to present day projects such as the musical Spamalot. The series highlights their childhood, schooling and university life, and pre-Python work. The series featured new interviews with surviving members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, alongside archive interview footage of Graham Chapman and interviews with several associates of the Pythons, including Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes and Chapman's partner David Sherlock, along with commentary from modern comedians.
