..that never repeated a sketch, the way Little Britain and The Fast Show do?
Can you think of a sketch show...
Python? At least, not in the way the shows you mentioned did.
Big Train. Apart from the staring animations in series one of course.
I think you need some familiarity within a show (ie. a recurring sketch within an episode) as people love jokes harking back to earlier -- just ask any stand-up, as references to earlier get big (disproportionate) laughs.
I don't recall Big Train repeating a sketch outside of a single episode, but I might be wrong. They did run with a theme through an episode though ('the man who can't open doors' was very funny, especially the last sketch.)
Dan
I might be wrong, but I can't think of repeated sketches in Mitchel & Webb and Jaam?
The Armando Iannucci one didn't have repeated sketches.
Quote: swerytd @ March 11 2009, 10:20 AM GMTI think you need some familiarity within a show (ie. a recurring sketch within an episode) as people love jokes harking back to earlier -- just ask any stand-up, as references to earlier get big (disproportionate) laughs.
I don't recall Big Train repeating a sketch outside of a single episode, but I might be wrong. They did run with a theme through an episode though ('the man who can't open doors' was very funny, especially the last sketch.)
Dan
Were the showjumpers done a couple of times? If they were they weren't done to death in every episode.
M&W -- 'Numberwang', 'Sir Digby Chicken Cesar', them sitting around in chairs between sketches being 'them'?
Dan
Quote: swerytd @ March 11 2009, 10:23 AM GMTM&W -- 'Numberwang', 'Sir Digby Chicken Cesar', them sitting around in chairs between sketches being 'them'?
Dan
I said I might be wrong 
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ March 11 2009, 10:23 AM GMTWere the showjumpers done a couple of times? If they were they weren't done to death in every episode.
I think that was a one off. Jockeys appeared twice, but in quite different sketches.
Of course, there's The Two Ronnies.
Quote: catskillz @ March 11 2009, 10:30 AM GMTOf course, there's The Two Ronnies.
They had some returning bits; the phantom rapberry blower, for instance. Or that running thing, was it 'The Worm That Turned'? Where women ruled the world? And those two yokels.
Did Not The Nine O'Clock News have returning characters??
But The Phantom Raspberry Blower and The Worm that Turned, weren't sketches, they were a serial within the show itself
Quote: KJSmyling @ March 11 2009, 10:37 AM GMTBut The Phantom Raspberry Blower and The Worm that Turned, weren't sketches, they were a serial within the show itself
They were returning situations within a sketch show; so I would say it sort of counts. Sort of.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ March 11 2009, 10:34 AM GMTDid Not The Nine O'Clock News have returning characters??
Good question. I can't think of any except Rowan Atkinson walking down the road looking at the camera and bumping into the lamp-post, which had a follow up sketch.
Oh, and Pamela Stevenson playing Janet Street-Porter happened a couple of times I think.
Does Robot Chicken repeat sketches? I've not seen enough to be clear but they seem pretty one-off most of the time (granted each episode is about 12 minutes long, but I'd still class it as 'sketch').
One on Radio 4 doesn't, I don't think but couldn't say for sure.
Wouldn't a sketch show feel 'empty' without some sort of familiarity?
Dan
But that's very different to having some twonk in a wig say "computer say's no..." for the umpteenth time...
TPRB and TWTT where beautifully written (TPRB by Milligan/Barker) mini sitcoms with a story arc
The reason I asked the original question, is that I was thinking how impressive it would be, not only for a sketch show to never repeat a sketch, but also, for it to be written by just one person. Now that would really raise the bar.