"At Last the 1948 Show" (1967) TV series

Writers:

Graham Chapman (writer)
Marty Feldman (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

15 February 1967 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Surreal, sketch based TV comedy series. Two series were produced in 1967 by the commercial company Associated Rediffusion...

Plot Keywords:

Sketch Comedy | Number In Title

Cast

John Cleese	...	Himself - Various Characters (13 episodes, 1967)
Graham Chapman	...	Various Characters (13 episodes, 1967)
Tim Brooke-Taylor	...	Various Characters (13 episodes, 1967)
Marty Feldman	...	Various Characters (13 episodes, 1967)
Jo Kendall	...	Various (13 episodes, 1967)
Aimi MacDonald	...	Herself - Host (13 episodes, 1967)

Runtime:

30 min (13 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-3 (2006)

Company:

Associated-Rediffusion Television

Trivia:

All but three episodes of this show were accidentally erased. By 2003, six complete episodes (of the 13 editions made) now exist. Some film extracts from six of the seven remaining "missing" episodes exist in the form of some "compilation" episodes that were sold to Swedish TV years ago. Complete audio recordings exist for all episodes.

Quotes:

Various Characters: I've got a ferret sticking up my nose. How it got there I can't tell But now it's there it hurts like hell And what is more it radically affects my sense of smell. I've got a ferret sticking up my nose. I can almost stand the noise But at parties it destroys My hard-earned and carefully cultivated social poise...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bob Monkhouse's Comedy Heroes (2004) (TV)

Precursor to Monty Python and The Goodies

I watched the DVD release of the surviving material from "At last the 1948 show" and enjoyed it very much.

The show is a funny humor show, more "classic" in its form than Monty Python and The Goodies. Ami MacDonald is a self-centered hostess pushing herself at any possible moment, while Cleese, Chapman, Brooke-Taylor and Feldman do sketches in-between.

MacDonald is really the most daring part. Otherwise, much is classic punchline-driven sketches. However, beyond the punchlines and laughter tracks, you can feel the humor of what was to come. There are sketches very much in Monty Python-style (for example, "Let's speak English"), as well as Goodies style "Chartered accountant dance"). The show is most famous for including the original "Four Yourshiremen", which was written by Feldman and Brooke-Taylor, later used by Monty Python despite not really being their style. (There shouldn't be a punchline in a Monty Python sketch.)

Fans of Marty Feldman, Monty Python or the Goodies (or why not all three?) will like this both for its humor and its historic/nostalgic value.