Each episode involves performers walking through a door into an unknown situation, greeted by the line "Thank God you're here!". They then had to improvise their way through the scene. At the end of each episode a winner was announced.
Social & External
Self - Host
Innovative and influential, and originally envisaged as children’s show, Do Not Adjust Your Set was a madcap early-evening comedy sketch show that quickly acquired a cult following with Swinging Sixties adults, who rushed home from work to see it. Written by and starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, with great performances and additional material by David Jason and Denise Coffey, it also provided an early showcase for the hilarious animations of Terry Gilliam, and the brilliantly bizarre musical antics of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
Doggy Fizzle Televizzle is a sketch comedy show that was produced by, and starred, the rap musician Snoop Dogg. It was aired on MTV in 2002 until 2003. Snoop Dogg stated that according to the contract, the show was to air six times, but it turned out to be a series of eight parts. The second season was canceled due to payment negotiation issues, since Snoop Dogg asked for $1 million for his role, which MTV refused to pay him. In the beginning of every show Snoop is seen sitting bored in a leather armchair in an empty room while switching channels from Jerry Springer to a cart race then to black and white burlesque figure skating after that to a strip show and finally to a Richard Marx music video when he decides to change the situation and the idea of Doggy Fizzle Televizzle comes to his mind. This ends the intro and the main theme follows with Snoop rapping.
Spitting Image is an award winning British satirical puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. The series was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV from 1984 to 1996. The series was nominated and won numerous awards during its run including 10 BAFTA Awards, including one for editing in 1989, and even won two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities famous during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and fellow Tory politicians, American president Ronald Reagan, and the British Royal Family. The Series was the first to caricature the Queen mother.
Goodness Gracious Me is a BBC English language sketch comedy show originally aired on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998 and later televised on BBC Two from 1998 to 2001. The ensemble cast were four British Indian actors, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia. The show explored the conflict and integration between traditional Indian culture and modern British life. Some sketches reversed the roles to view the British from an Indian perspective, and others poked fun at Indian stereotypes. In the television series most of the white characters were played by Dave Lamb and Fiona Allen; in the radio series those parts were played by the cast themselves. The show's title and theme tune is a bhangra rearrangement of a hit comedy song of the same name. The original was performed by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren reprising their characters from the 1960 film The Millionairess. The show's original working title was "Peter Sellers is Dead", but was changed because the cast generally liked Peter Sellers. In her 1996 novel Anita and Me, Syal had referred to British parodies of Asian speech as "a goodness-gracious-me accent". One of the more famous sketches featured the cast "going out for an English" after a few lassis. They mispronounce the waiter's name, order the blandest thing on the menu and ask for twenty-four plates of chips. The sketch parodies often-drunk English people "going out for an Indian", ordering chicken phall and too many papadums. This sketch was voted the 6th Greatest Comedy Sketch on a Channel 4 list show.
2DTV is a British satirical animated television show that was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom from March 2001 to December 2004. Lasting a total of five series and thirty-three episodes, 2DTV became the successor of popular 80's TV series Spitting Image, and the predecessor of 2008 ITV satirical animation Headcases.
Popzilla is an animated TV series in production for MTV. with a premiere air date of Sunday, September 27, 2009 following America's Best Dance Crew. The show is produced by SCTV alum Dave Thomas. The show is an animated sketch comedy show focused on pop culture, celebrities, and famous figures. Each episode consists of about 30 sketches, each under a minute. Celebrities such as Britney Spears, K-Fed, Criss Angel and even fictional ones like Harry Potter have all been targets in some of the early sketches released on YouTube. Popzilla is animated in Flash by Animax Entertainment in order to provide for fast turnaround to cover celebrity news.
Fiona Wallice is a therapist with little patience for her patients. Tired of hearing about people's problems for fifty long minutes, she devises a new treatment, the three-minute video chat. And still, the sessions end up being largely about her. If she's your therapist, you've got problems.
Wonder Showzen is an American sketch comedy television series that aired between 2005 and 2006 on MTV2. It was created by John Lee and Vernon Chatman of PFFR. The show is rated TV-MA. The show's format is that of educational PBS children's television shows such as Sesame Street and The Electric Company, parodying the format with adult-oriented content. In addition to general controversial comedy, it satirizes politics, religion, war, sex, and culture with black comedy. Every episode begins with a disclaimer, accompanied by the sound of someone screaming "Don't eat my baby!", which reads: "Wonder Showzen contains offensive, despicable content that is too controversial and too awesome for actual children. The stark, ugly and profound truths Wonder Showzen exposes may be soul-crushing to the weak of spirit. If you allow a child to watch this show, you are a bad parent or guardian."
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson.
Twisted and original sketch show from the minds of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, starring Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is an American sketch comedy television series, created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which premiered February 11, 2007 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim comedy block and ran until May 2010. The program features surrealistic and often satirical humor, public-access television–style musical acts, bizarre faux-commercials, and editing and special effects chosen to make the show appear camp. The program featured a wide range of actors, spanning from stars such as Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Will Forte and Zach Galifianakis, to alternative comedians like Neil Hamburger, to television actors like Alan Thicke, celebrity look-alikes and impressionists. The creators of the show have described it as "the nightmare version of television."
Harry Enfield's Television Programme was a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse. It was first broadcast on BBC Two in 1990 in the Thursday 9 pm slot, which became the traditional time for alternative comedy on television. Enfield was already an established name due to his 'Loadsamoney' character, but the series gave greater presence to his frequent collaborators Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke – so much so, that in 1994 the show was retitled Harry Enfield and Chums.
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."
The show where everything's made up and the points don't matter. Not a talk show, not a sitcom, not a game show, Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a completely unique concept to network television. Four talented actors perform completely unrehearsed skits and games in front of a studio audience. Host Drew Carey sets the scene, with contributions from the audience, but the actors rely completely on their quick wit and improvisational skills. It's genuinely improvised, so anything can happen - and often does.
Fast paced comedy with Anna Blomberg and her famous celebrity impressions and original characters.
A topical comedy show, mixing stand-up with sketches and impressions, starring David Baddiel, Robert Newman, Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt.
Blue Collar TV is a television program that aired on The WB Television Network with lead actors Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy. The show's humor dealt principally with contemporary American society, and especially hillbilly, redneck, and Southern stereotypes. The show was greenlighted on the heels of the success of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which the series' three lead actors toured with in the early-mid-2000s. It was created by Fax Bahr and Adam Small, in addition to J.P. Williams and Jeff Foxworthy. Blue collar is a US phrase used to describe manual laborers, as opposed to white collar for office or professional workers. Fellow Blue Collar Comedy Tour costar Ron White declined to star on Blue Collar TV due to a fear of being typecast as "blue collar." However, he guest-starred on many episodes of the show. On his 2006 comedy album, You Can't Fix Stupid, White jokingly cited his own lack of work ethic as a reason for not participating more on the show. Unlike most sketch comedy programs, each episode of Blue Collar TV was generally centered around a theme, which Foxworthy revealed at the start of each episode. Themes included "Food", "Kids", and "Stupidity", among others, with Foxworthy generally performing a short comedic monologue based on the theme. Most sketches in each episode featured at least one of the three Blue Collar Comedy Tour veterans in an acting role, but the second season saw more sketches featuring the 6 other cast members exclusively.
Australia – a land as massive as it is vast. And when it comes to outback adventurers they don't come any better, bigger or more reckless than Russell Coight. Winner of the prestigious Ocker Award for services to khaki shorts, Russell takes us on a unique blend of over-the-top, off-road, outback, in-your-face Aussie Adventures!
Owner Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, a chambermaid Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel attempt to run their hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding guests.
David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting desire to secure his family's financial future at any cost as he enters the dangerous world of drugs and crime.
A single-camera ensemble comedy following the lives of an eclectic group of detectives in a New York precinct, including one slacker who is forced to shape up when he gets a new boss.
When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl.
Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits — with deadly high stakes.
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?
Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
During the reign of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, embarks on a crucial mission to confront allies turned enemies and face the wrath of the Empire.
Smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside, Wednesday Addams investigates twisted mysteries while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy.
The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.
Six young people from New York City, on their own and struggling to survive in the real world, find the companionship, comfort and support they get from each other to be the perfect antidote to the pressures of life.
In 1960, seven outcast kids known as "The Losers' Club" fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
A hedonistic jingle writer's free-wheeling life comes to an abrupt halt when his brother and 10-year-old nephew move into his beach-front house.
To carry out the biggest heist in history, a mysterious man called The Professor recruits a band of eight robbers who have a single characteristic: none of them has anything to lose. Five months of seclusion - memorizing every step, every detail, every probability - culminate in eleven days locked up in the National Coinage and Stamp Factory of Spain, surrounded by police forces and with dozens of hostages in their power, to find out whether their suicide wager will lead to everything or nothing.
Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond.
A vampire hunter fights to save a besieged city from an army of otherworldly beasts controlled by Dracula himself.
The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.
Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital's surgical unit. Unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues.