The Comedians (1971 TV series)

{{Short description|British television show (1971–1993)}}

{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}

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{{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
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
Jackie Hamilton
Jerry Harris
Jimmy Jones
Mike Kelly
George King
Bobby Knutt
Bernard Manning
Jimmy Marshall
Mike McCabe
Paul Melba
Mick Miller
Pat Mooney
Hal Nolan
Tom O'Connor
Tom Pepper
Bryn Phillips
Don Reid
Mike Reid
Al Robbins
George Roper
Harry Scott
Paul Shane
Sammy Thomas
Johnny Wager
Roy Walker
Jos White
Charlie Williams
Lee Wilson
Lenny Windsor

| judges =

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer =

| opentheme =

| endtheme =

| composer = Derek Hilton

| country = United Kingdom

| num_series = 11

| num_episodes = 81{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/c/comediansthe_7771505.shtml |title=BBC - Comedy Guide - Little And Large |accessdate=2013-09-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041213090609/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/c/comediansthe_7771505.shtml |archivedate=2004-12-13 }}

| 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 = Granada Television

| channel = ITV

| first_aired = {{start date|df=yes|1971|6|12}}

| last_aired = {{end date|df=yes|1993|12|28}}

| 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 Granada Television. The show gave TV exposure to nightclub and working men's club comedians of the era, including Russ Abbot, Jim Bowen and Bernard Manning, many of whom went on to enjoy mainstream success in the 1980s. 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 clubs 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 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 Critics' Circle Award.

The comedy frequently took the form of anecdotes or jokes and often involved racist or sexist stereotypes. Like other British comedy successes of the day, notably, 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.