At Last the 1948 Show

Believed lost for decades, this series is finally available on DVD (well, five episodes of it, at least), and it is definitely one of the great comedy finds. Written by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Marty Feldman, it is one of the clearest forerunners of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (along with "Do Not Adjust Your Set," which has also been given an archival release). Not only that, it shows four bright, young comedians clearly having fun with the medium and producing some high-quality comedy.

The series even features Eric Idle in various bit parts, so some of the cross-pollination that lead to the creation of Python was already taking place. Pity the other eight episodes are still lost.

Contrary to popular belief, Monty Python's Flying Circus did not spring fully-formed out of thin air. In the heady days of the early sixties lots of young British comic performers were coming up with ideas for shows that, like radio's Goon Show of the fifties, would break the mould of the rather stuffy sitcoms of the time. In 1967, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor got together, with "the lovely" Aimee McDonald as presenter, to create 1967's "At Last the 1948 Show" (the title was based on the idea that TV executives would sit on shows for years before finally broadcasting them). The result was a surreal comic sketch show that can hold its own against the best Python material. Indeed, one sketch involving four impoverished Yorkshiremen, was later incorporated into Python's live routine, and some other 1948 Show sketches were used in the Pythons' two German TV specials. Other highlights include a rather strange English-for-beginners playlet in which Cleese refuses to stick to the script, and a Newhart-style single-header in which Cleese plays a neurotic headmaster (shades of Basil Fawlty already!) The show was produced for the commercial ITV Network, and the copyrights were held by David Frost's production company. Sadly after a few years this company decided to wipe the series, and only two complete episodes out of 26 survived. Some best-of-series compilations were later found in an archive in Sweden, of all places. While the loss of the complete series is a tragedy for students of TV comedy, I can only hope that the surviving material will someday be released on video, so we can all have a good laugh at what's left.

At last, the chance to compare what's left of this show (bringing John Cleese and Graham Chapman together with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Marty Feldman, with 'the lovely' Aimi MacDonald) with the other pre-Python comedy show, Do Not Adjust Your Set.

Five compilation episodes from the 1948 Show are now available on DVD, and although the viewing quality is pretty poor, there are some gems here - the Four Yorkshiremen (done later by Python at the Hollywood Bowl and by Python plus Rowan Atkinson at the Secret Policeman's Ball); the Plain Clothes Policeman (where Cleese, Chapman and Feldman are in unconvincing drag); the Chartered Accountant Dance (Tim Brooke-Taylor in one of the highlights of the set); the Sidney Lockerbys; and much more.

Aimi MacDonald, all set hair and impish smile, soon gets tedious with her introductions and her links; but the comedy sketches stand up well. Not as mad or as silly as DNAYS (which after all was aimed at a younger audience) but just as valuable in seeing where the roots of Python (and The Goodies) came from. The real scene-stealer here though is Marty Feldman (how could he not be with those eyes?) although all four are a lot of fun.

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.

A quite early British sketch show and a precursor to the eventual Monty Python and The Goodies, we're joined by comedians John Cleese, Marty Feldman, Graham Chapman, and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Hosted by Ami MacDonald, the series is a pretty typical sketch format even for being so early, sketches typically play one into another or are separated by a short studio segment with MacDonald. Considered lost for multiple years as the original studio had discarded all the original footage; the series was eventually rediscovered on multiple occasions and I ended up catching 5 episodes from a late DVD release of some Swedish archives, which unfortunately visually look quite poor but the jokes play the same. However in recent years even more has been found, and on YouTube you can find extant footage of 11 of the 13 original episodes. As for the sketches themselves, they're quite funny, and I did find myself laughing out loud more than once. Very few of the sketches are dated, in theres little pop culture or political humour in the show, which helps it remain funny even after so many years. If you're into sketch comedy, like older tv, or especially like the later works of Monty Python I'd certainly say give this a go.