High-brow acts Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie were on a British sketch show, A Bit of Fry and Laurie. This show set itself apart from the other sketch comedies of the time as they incorporated elaborate wordplays and innuendos. Often bordering vulgarity. The first three series of the show were well received by audiences. What made this sketch show most different from the others of the time was the actors deliberate incorporation of breaking the fourth wall during their sketches. Breaking the fourth wall is when actors break the characters they’ve been portraying to address or interact with the audience. In this article, the writer looks at a sketch entitled “Chicken”, where Fry & Laurie begin to converse about the sketch within the sketch during the middle of their sketch. There are dozens more sketches that example breaking the fourth wall but also include Fry and Laurie’s use of combination of high-brow/low-brow humor.
Short descriptions of different episodes from Harry Enfield’s Television Programme depict the innovative range Enfield was capable of. Considered alternative comedy for its time, Enfield with the help of Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke set out to homage the early comedic works of their ‘70s sketch comedy tv predecessors (i.e. Dick Emery, Morecambe and Wise). Creating notable characters Enfield’s KEVIN PATTERSON originated on his television programme as “Little Brother”, where he later evolved and transferred to the first episode of Harry Enfield and Chums as KEVIN THE TEENAGER. Enfield stereotypically performs as a crude, moody teenager and invites laughter from his audience as he engages as Kevin with his dumbfounded parents.
Hybrid of sketch comedy with some sitcom elements that parodied the popularity and tropes of "outdoors" shows such as Home Improvement.
Forgotten sketch show that had the talents of Jennifer Aniston, Paul Feig, Wayne Knight, etc... Often parodied pop culture, featured original characters, and had a running gag that the cast would get killed off in every episode.
In this article the author reflects on the Ben Stiller we all know today from Night at the Museum and Meet The Parents/Fockers. In his self titled sketch show, Ben Stiller and other well known faces today like David Cross and Bob Odenkirk tackled sketch comedy on television with a sense of anarchy and were not afraid to try things that most other sketch shows wouldn’t dare to air on TV. The most memorable sketch of the ones highlighted would have to be Manson, a reimagined Lassie in which the ‘60s murdering madman replaces the heroic family dog, played by Bob Odenkirk.
According to this article, British TV in the 90’s encapsulated a variety of comedy shows and drama. The first type, British alternative comedy, came out in the form of sketch with the works of Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves. The sporadic approach of the comedic duo to producing content was well received by British audiences as it introduced a new channel, Channel 4, and edgy contexts. The success of alternative comedy shows like Vic Reeves Big Night Out led to the creation and ultimately tolerance for spin-off shows like The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer (sketch show). Additionally, these shows were a form of reinvention for specific approaches to comedy like sketch, satire and eponymous that were already seen in the 70’s and 80’s on British television. To round out the comedy presence of the 90’s on British television were typical sitcoms and even some black comedies.
In this article, Nickelodeon’s hit ‘90s sketch show All That is discussed of how it was one of the most one–of-a-kind shows on television at the time. Author Jake Flanagan writes how All That slowly bridged the line of mature territory, but always stopped just before crossing too far, with sketches such as Ask Ashley, where Ashley (played by Amanda Bynes) would answer her follower’s extremely obvious questions by harshly insulting them. Also discussed is how diverse of a show All That is. it compares the show to Saturday Night live, overall stating that All That had more women and people of color than SNL did. All in all though it is showing that All That was a show written for kids, not their parents- “The parents of ’90s kids had the Church Lady, “more cowbell,” and Roseanne Roseannadanna; the kids themselves had Pierre Escargot and Loud Librarian.”
In this article, readers get to see a glimpse of the some of the most memorable sketches and characters that The Fast Show brought to life, as apart of the shows 20th anniversary. Averaging roughly one sketch per-minute when on air, The Fast Show faced a bit of trouble during its first run of the screen time. The show’s timeslot was very late on Tuesday nights, which was hard to gain a fellowship of viewers at first, but the comedy had just enough cult appeal to carry on for 3 seasons. BBC had considered dropping it, but dedicated fans came to the rescue. Johnny Depp was such a fan of the show that he wrote a letter to the creators and talent begging them for a part in his favorite reoccurring sketch “Suit you Sir!”
Led by John Leguizamo and Luis Guzmán and a Latin American cast, it featured urban humor. However, low ratings and Leguizamo's refusal to change the show's tone led to cancellation.
The popularity of satirical sketch show Spitting Image is discussed how the show still holds up to this day when it comes to the jokes of UK culture, politics and entertainment of the 80-90s. The show revolves around a hugely satirical structure played by puppets I the form of major public figures. With impressive voice talent, and the puppets being sculpted by top caricaturists of the time, each celebrity’s puppet had particular quirks that would help cement their character style. “Politicians of the time have often said that they were actually pleased when they were given their own puppet, as it turned them into a household name when normally they would fade into the background, and at time the puppet in the show would be more popular than the celebrity themselves.”
