50 Years Of BBC 2 Comedy

Whilst I initially thought that 50 Years of BBC 2 Comedy might be a serious insight into some of our most loved comedies, instead it was a whistlestop tour of everything that the BBC's second channel has done right over the past fifty years. In fact at times the show was too self-congratulatory for my liking and there was no admissions over some of the channel's more questionable comedies such as Heading Out and It's Kevin. Instead the series saw the channel take credit for airing the first sitcom that didn't include a comedian, that being The Likely Lads, and for giving us classic characters like Alan Partridge and David Brent. Indeed, the documentary really let Gervais talk about how excellent both The Office and Extras were but unsurprisingly Life's Too Short didn't get the same treatment. Additionally there were some questionable inclusions throughout the course of the two hours most notably The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy which I personally never classified as a sitcom. The programme also took time out to demonstrate how many BBC One sitcoms started on the channel whether it be the first series of Ab Fab or the pilot for Porridge. I personally was annoyed that, while the first series of The Royle Family got a mention, there was no room for Craig Cash's equally impressive Early Doors. Later, the documentary focused on BBC Two being the channel that aired Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show not mentioning that they gave both fairly bizarre places in the schedules. The one thing I was happy about was the inclusion of Rob Brydon's excellent Marion and Geoff, a programme that definitely deserves a large amount of praise. But predictably the most praise went to Fawlty Towers, the sitcom that many still hail as one of the best British programmes of all time. Ultimately, while it had some humorous moments, 50 Years of BBC2 Comedy was too long and featured far too much back-slapping for my liking.

The Custard TV, 1st June 2014

Radio Times review

There are unassuming 50th birthday celebrations and there are 50th birthdays that go large. BBC Two is aiming for the latter as far as I can tell, and the great big cake with sparklers and a dancing girl inside is this two-hour comedy retrospective.

They've got everyone along, from The Goodies to Alan Alda to Vic 'n' Bob to several Pythons, all the stars of BBC2 donating soundbites to celebrate themselves and each other. It makes for one mammoth clip show, with things you've probably never seen before (Graham Chapman's post-Python sketch show Out of the Trees?) to things you wish you could un-see - (Tubbs breastfeeding a pig on The League of Gentlemen...) Plus, of course, a man beating a car bonnet with a branch.

It's a comedy banquet, but a banquet of nibbles: we get only a tiny taste of each classic. How about a season where shows like The Day Today and Big Train get full-length repeats? Now that would be a party.

David Butcher, Radio Times, 24th May 2014