Kurt at 16:46, 20 February 2023

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	~~{{For\|other uses of the term\|Comedians (disambiguation)}}~~
	~~{{EngvarB\|date=November 2017}}~~
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	~~{{More citations needed\|date=February 2016}}~~
	{{Infobox television		{{Infobox television
	\| image = The Comedians (1971 TV series).jpg		\| image = The Comedians (1971 TV series).jpg

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en>Jkaharper at 14:56, 19 February 2023

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{{For|other uses of the term|Comedians (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox television
| image = The Comedians (1971 TV series).jpg
| caption =
| alt_name =
| genre = Comedy
| creator =
| developer =
| writer =
| director = Walter Butler/Dave Warwick
| creative_director =
| starring = [[Russ Abbot]] [[Don Adams]] [[Lennie Bennett]] [[Stan Boardman]] [[Jim Bowen]] Jimmy Bright [[Duggie Brown]] Mike Burton Al Robbins Dave Butler Brian Carroll [[Frank Carson]] [[Johnnie Casson]] Eddie Colinton Mike Coyne [[Colin Crompton]] Bob Curtiss Pauline Daniels Charlie Daze [[Les Dennis]] [[Vince Earl]] Steve Faye Ray Fell Eddie Flanagan [[Stu Francis]] Mike Goddard [[Ken Goodwin (comedian)|Ken Goodwin]] [[Jackie Hamilton]] Jerry Harris [[Jimmy Jones (comedian)|Jimmy Jones]] Mike Kelly George King [[Bobby Knutt]] [[Bernard Manning]] Jimmy Marshall Mike McCabe [[Paul Melba]] [[Mick Miller (comedian)|Mick Miller]] Pat Mooney Hal Nolan [[Tom O'Connor (comedian)|Tom O'Connor]] Tom Pepper Bryn Phillips Don Reid [[Mike Reid (actor)|Mike Reid]] [[George Roper]] Harry Scott [[Paul Shane]] Sammy Thomas Johnny Wager [[Roy Walker (comedian)|Roy Walker]] Jos White [[Charlie Williams (comedian)|Charlie Williams]] [[Lee Wilson (comedian)|Lee Wilson]] Lenny Windsor
| judges =
| voices =
| narrated =
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| composer = Derek Hilton
| country = United Kingdom
| num_series = 12
| num_episodes = 81 (including 3 specials)
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer =
| producer = Ian Hamilton [[Johnnie Hamp]]
| editor = D .L. Hayes Ron Swayne
| location = [[Granada Studios]], Manchester
| cinematography =
| camera =
| runtime = 30 minutes (including adverts)
| company = [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]]
| distributor = [[ITV Studios]]
| channel = [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| picture_format = [[4:3]]
| audio_format =
| first_aired = {{start date|df=yes|1971|6|12}}
| last_aired = {{end date|df=yes|1993|12|28}}
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| related =
}}

'''''The Comedians''''' is a British television show of the 1970s (later reprised in the mid-1980s and early 1990s) produced by [[Johnnie Hamp]] of [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]]. The show gave a stage to nightclub and [[working men's club]] comedians of the era, including [[Russ Abbot]], [[Jim Bowen]] and [[Bernard Manning]]. 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.

[[Working men's club]]s 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 and was popular during the earlier series, with an [[Gramophone record#Common formats|LP]] recording of the show reaching the best-seller charts, and several sell-out national tours following, including a season at the [[London Palladium]]. The programme won the [[London Film Critics Circle|Critics' Circle]] Award.

The comedy frequently took the form of anecdotes or jokes and often involved [[racism|racist]] or [[sexism|sexist]] stereotypes. Like other British comedy successes of the day, notably, ''[[Love Thy Neighbour (1972 TV series)|Love Thy Neighbour]]'', this kind of entertainment was acceptable on British television during this period but would not be so today. Viewing the series in retrospect it stands as a major social document of the times.

==Cast==
Comedians appearing on the show included [[Russ Abbot]] (initially as Russ Roberts, later as Russ Abbott), [[Lennie Bennett]], [[Stan Boardman]], [[Jim Bowen]], Jimmy Bright, [[Duggie Brown]], Mike Burton, Dave Butler, Al Robbins, Brian Carroll, [[Frank Carson]], [[Johnnie Casson]], Eddie Colinton, Mike Coyne, [[Colin Crompton]], Bob Curtiss, Pauline Daniels, Charlie Daze, [[Les Dennis]], [[Vince Earl]], Steve Faye, Ray Fell, Eddie Flanagan, [[Stu Francis]], Mike Goddard (known as Mike Goodwin in the early years of the show), [[Ken Goodwin (comedian)|Ken Goodwin]], [[Jackie Hamilton]], Jerry Harris, [[Jimmy Jones (comedian)|Jimmy Jones]], Mike Kelly, George King, [[Bobby Knutt]], [[Bernard Manning]], Jimmy Marshall, Mike McCabe, [[Paul Melba]], [[Mick Miller (comedian)|Mick Miller]], [[Pat Mooney]], Hal Nolan, [[Tom O'Connor (comedian)|Tom O'Connor]], Tom Pepper, Bryn Phillips, Don Reid, [[Mike Reid (actor)|Mike Reid]], [[George Roper]], Harry Scott, [[Paul Shane]], Pat Tansey, Sammy Thomas, Johnny Wager, [[Roy Walker (comedian)|Roy Walker]], Jos White, [[Charlie Williams (comedian)|Charlie Williams]], [[Lee Wilson (comedian)|Lee Wilson]] and Lenny Windsor.<ref name="Express">{{cite news|last1=Gillespie|first1=James|title=Return of the Comedians|url=http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/355947/Return-of-the-comedians|accessdate=8 February 2016|work=[[Daily Express]]}}</ref><ref name="Perry2014">{{cite book|author=Chris Perry|title=The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937–2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IJQACAAAQBAJ&pg=PA150|date=10 November 2014|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-900203-60-9|pages=150–}}</ref>

Also featured on the series were [[Shep's Banjo Boys]], a seven-piece band comprising (for the first five series) Charlie Bentley (tenor banjo), John Drury (sousaphone), Andy Holdorf (trombone), John Orchard (piano), John Rollings (drums), Graham Shepherd (banjo) and Howard Shepherd (lead banjo). In 1973, the line-up was Mike Dexter (banjo), Tony "Tosh" Kennedy (sousaphone), Ged Martin (drums), Tony Pritchard (trombone), Graham Shepherd (banjo) and Howard "Shep" Shepherd (lead banjo).<ref name="Perry2014" />

==DVD releases==
The first seven series including a DVD set (containing the first seven series broadcast 1971–74) have been released on DVD by Network.

==Transmissions==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Series !! Start date !! End date !! Episodes
|-
| '''1''' || 12 June 1971 || 24 July 1971 || 7
|-
| '''2''' || 18 September 1971 || 30 October 1971 || 7
|-
| '''3''' || 19 February 1972 || 1 April 1972 || 7
|-
| '''4''' || 7 July 1972 || 2 September 1972 || 8
|-
| '''5''' || 10 November 1972 || 29 December 1972 || 8
|-
| '''6''' || 6 April 1973 || 25 May 1973 || 8
|-
| '''7''' || 26 January 1974 || 16 March 1974 || 8
|-
| '''8''' || 21 July 1979 || 1 September 1979 || 5
|-
| '''9''' || 23 November 1979 || 15 February 1980 || 8
|-
| '''10''' || 2 June 1984 || 16 June 1984 || 4
|-
| '''11''' || 1 June 1985 || 6 July 1985 || 6
|-
| '''12''' || 9 June 1992 || 23 July 1992 || 5
|}

===Specials===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Date !! Entitle
|-
| 24 December 1971 || The Comedians' Christmas Party
|-
| 22 December 1973 || Christmas Special
|-
| 28 December 1993 || The Comedians' Christmas Cracker
|}

==See also==
*[[The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb title|id=0202723|title=The Comedians}}.
*[http://www.classictelly.com/programme.php?Programme=The%20Comedians Classic Telly: Tributes to ''The Comedians''.]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comedians, The}}
[[Category:ITV comedy]]
[[Category:1971 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1993 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1970s British comedy television series]]
[[Category:1980s British comedy television series]]
[[Category:1990s British comedy television series]]
[[Category:Television series by ITV Studios]]
[[Category:Television shows produced by Granada Television]]
[[Category:English-language television shows]]

The Comedians (1971 TV series) - Revision history

Kurt at 16:46, 20 February 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Jkaharper at 14:56, 19 February 2023