''The Sketch Show'' is a
British television
Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...
programme, featuring many leading British comedians. It aired on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
between 2001 and 2004. The show was first commissioned in 2001 and was co-produced by a company owned by
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...
. Despite the first series winning the
BAFTA Television Award for Best Comedy, the second series was cancelled due to poor viewing figures. Lee Mack states in his autobiography ''Mack The Life'' that the final two episodes have never been broadcast.
A spinoff of the same title was produced in the United States. Similarly to the UK version, the final two episodes were never broadcast.
The show started at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
in 1999, and starred Mack,
Catherine Tate
Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), ...
and
Dan Antopolski
Dan Antopolski (born 22 August 1972) is a British comic, actor and writer. He has appeared in various television programs and radio shows, and is best known to younger audiences for hosting the UK game show ''The Dare Devil''. In 1998 Antopol ...
. Mack later expressed regret at not including them in the TV show, stating: "I'm not a great believer in regret, but looking back over the last eighteen years of me doing this job, not keeping our sketch show Bits together and jumping at the first offer to put a version of it on telly is probably the biggest mistake I've made."
Cast
The original line-up of the cast was
Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom ''Not Going Out'', being a team captain on the ...
,
Jim Tavaré
Jim Tavaré (born 1963) is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and musician. He is best known for his work on ''The Sketch Show'' on ITV, which won a BAFTA award. He played the role of Tom (the owner of the Leaky Cauldron) in ''Harry Potter a ...
,
Tim Vine
Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ''Not Going Out'' (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has wr ...
,
Karen Taylor and
Ronni Ancona
Veronica "Ronni" Jane Ancona (born 4 July 1966)''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' is a British actress, comedian, impressionist and writer best known for ''The Big Impression'', which she co-wrote and starred in and ...
.
For the second series,
Kitty Flanagan
Kitty Flanagan (born 1968) is an Australian comedian, writer and actress who works in Australia and the United Kingdom. She has also performed in France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Japan and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and ...
replaced Ancona, who left to concentrate on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
's ''
Alistair McGowan's Big Impression
''The Big Impression'', known as ''Alistair McGowan's Big Impression'' for the first three series, is a British comedy sketch show. It features Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona impersonating personalities from entertainment and sport. Four series ...
'' (which was shortened to simply ''Big Impression'' to reflect Ancona playing as many parts as McGowan himself). Again, sketches featured performers using their own names.
With the exception of some
child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...
s in certain sketches, there were no
guest star
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
s at any point during the programme.
Writers
All of the cast contributed to the writing of the show; however,
Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom ''Not Going Out'', being a team captain on the ...
is credited as the lead writer. Other comedic writers/actors, such as
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...
, John Archer,
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...
, Matthew Hardy,
Stephen Colledge
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...
and
Daniel Maier Daniel Maier (born 1968, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England) is a comedy writer and performer for television, radio, print and the stage. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School of Newcastle upon Tyne. Between 2002 and 2012, he was part of the wri ...
were also responsible for the show's humour, though as mentioned earlier, were not featured in the show.
DVD
A DVD of the first season was released by
Visual Entertainment
Visual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario. An independent label, it has released several well-known TV series on DVD, some through sub-licensing deals with other labels such ...
in Australia on 12 September 2005. It is a region-free DVD and the only extra on the disc is a short photo gallery. All 8 episodes on the single-disc release are combined into a 3-hour feature. The opening and closing credits have been removed for all episodes, and a number of sketches have been edited out to fit the series onto a single disc.
International versions
United States
An American version of the show, produced by
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...
, aired in early 2005 on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
. The main cast consisted of
Malcolm Barrett,
Kaitlin Olson
Kaitlin Willow Olson (born August 18, 1975) is an American actress. She began her career in The Sunday Company at the Groundlings, an improvisational theatre and school in Los Angeles, California. She had minor roles in several television series ...
,
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub (; born June 22, 1971) is an American actress and comedian who is best known for portraying Chloe O'Brian in the action thriller series '' 24'', and the character Gail the Snail in ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia''. Rajskub ...
, and
Paul F. Tompkins, as well as
Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom ''Not Going Out'', being a team captain on the ...
from the British version of the show. Grammer appeared in short opening and closing segments in each episode.
Many of the sketches from the British version were recreated, such as the California Dreamin', English Course, and Sign Language sketches.
A notable sketch from this version had Grammer waking up from a nightmare, which he describes as: "I dreamt that ''
Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...
'' was over, and I was on this Sketch Show!" The sketch is a spoof of the ''
Newhart
''Newhart'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, ...
'' series finale.
The series was filmed in London, England at
Teddington Studios
Teddington Studios was a large British television studio in Teddington, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, providing studio facilities for programmes airing on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky1 and others. The complex also provide ...
, with a British audience.
Only six episodes of the show were made, and it was cancelled after only four of them had been shown, but all six were aired.
It was replaced by ''
American Dad!
''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...
'' on 6 February 2005.
Canada
A
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
version ran between 2004 and 2006 on the channel
TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...
. Most sketches in this version are translations or adaptations of British and Australian sketches with little original material. The main cast consisted of
Emmanuel Bilodeau
Emmanuel Bilodeau (born August 29, 1964) is a Canadian actor from Quebec. He is most noted for his performances in the 2000 film ''Soft Shell Man (Un crabe dans la tête)'', for which he won the Jutra Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 4th Ju ...
,
Réal Bossé
Réal Bossé is a Canadian actor from Quebec who performs mostly in francophone films and television. The son of farmers, Bossé grew up in Rivière-Bleue, Quebec. He won a Jutra Award in 2008 as Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting ...
,
Édith Cochrane,
Catherine De Sève and
Sylvain Marcel
Sylvain Marcel (born 1964) is a Canadian actor. Marcel is best known in French Canada for appearing in Familiprix television commercials since 2003, and in English Canada for his role in the hit film '' Bon Cop, Bad Cop'' as Luc Therrien. He has a ...
.
Germany
A German version called ''Die Sketch Show'' has been on the air since 2003. It was produced by
Brainpool for the TV channel
ProSieben
ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media.
It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...
. Mack states in his autobiography that the show also utilised sketches that were written by the UK team but never recorded.
Greece
A sketch show called ''Skertsakia'' ( el, Σκερτσάκια, a play on Sketch and Scherzo) was broadcast during the 2006-2007 season, incorporated scripts from both seasons of the ''Sketch Show'' along with sketches from the Spanish comedy show ''Splunge!''
It was wildly popular with young demographics and produced 30 episodes and a Christmas special. It was produced by TFG Lt. for
ANT1
Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece. The alternate spelling is wordplay in Greek; ''ena'' (ένα) is the Greek number ''1'' (one), thus ''ANT1'' is pronounced the same as ''Antenna'' (Αντέννα). It laun ...
.
Israel
An
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i version called ''
Ktsarim
''Ktsarim'' ( he, קצרים, ''Shorts'') was an Israeli sketch comedy series broadcast on Channel 2.
History
''Ktzarim'' was based on the British comedy show '' The Sketch Show''. The show debuted in 2004 and is similar to Israeli satirical ...
'' ( he, קצרים, literally ''shorts'') aired from 2004 to 2009. One of the episodes featured a sketch heavily inspired by the California Dreamin' sketch, with the song "HaTishma Koli".
Indonesia
An
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n version called ''
Sketsa'' aired from 2008 to 2015 on
Trans TV
Trans TV is an Indonesian free-to-air television network based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001 and owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programming consists of newscasts, movies, drama series, variety shows, quiz shows, and childre ...
. Most sketches in this version are translations or adaptations of British sketches with little original material. The humour style remains faithful to the original. They only change the names and locations to Indonesian version.
Italy
An Italian version called ''Sketch Show'' has been on air since October 2010. The cast was principally made of
Ale e Franz
Ale is a type of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops.
As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to bal ...
, two Italian famous comic actors. There were other actors and also live sketches, sometimes with famous guests.
Mexico
A Mexican version called ''Sketch Show Mexico'' has been on air since 2005.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sketch Show, The
2001 British television series debuts
2004 British television series endings
2000s British television sketch shows
English-language television shows
ITV sketch shows
Television shows shot at Teddington Studios