Sex And The Sitcom

A welcome repeat of the enjoyable documentary, shown on BBC Four last year, exploring why sexual frustration still underpins British comedy. Leslie Phillips (star of the risqué Casanova '73) and Lesley Joseph (the insatiable Dorien Green from Birds of a Feather) are among the talking heads waxing lyrical on why Mildred didn't get it from George, why Terry didn't get it from June, and why the charmless Mr Rigsby spent his life wooing Miss Jones.

Narrated by former pin-up Madeline Smith (Phillips's fellow Casanova actress), the programme also examines the impact of the sexual revolution on British and, the more daring, American sitcoms. It suggests that the liberation of The Liver Birds was brought about by the abortion law reform and the introduction of the contraceptive pill, and that the shedding of inhibitions over the decades that followed resulted in the likes of the taboo-busting Gimme Gimme Gimme. But it seems that there's a lot of laughs to be had from being unlucky in love, and producers are sticking with the formula: the leads of The Young Ones, Men Behaving Badly, Ab Fab and the more recent The Inbetweeners got no more sex than their ancestors.

Sex and the Sitcom looked at the history of the sexual revolution through the lens of British sitcoms. The history is really rather tragic.

Because the most successful British characters in sitcoms are failures - like Hancock, Mainwaring, Steptoe, Fawlty and so on - you knew that there was no way that they were going to find someone to love, and those characters who were married never had it off.

Amongst the pieces of information was how 'the pill' revolutionised sitcoms. Before the invention of the pill, sitcoms were male dominated, but post-pill women had more freedom, and therefore could have more time on screen. It's a bit of a loose analysis but still interesting. Also mentioned was that during the 1970s ITV was more adventurous in covering sex and the permissive society than the BBC, with programmes like On the Buses being much more rowdy. To quote David Quantick (who was featured on the documentary), you could only have sex on ITV, 'If you had chips.'

In terms of the 1990s, perhaps the most annoying thing was the fact that the Americans were much better at covering sex in sitcoms than the British, with things such as "The Contest" episode of Seinfeld - probably the greatest single episode in American sitcom history - being shown, while in the UK one of the most complained about sitcom episodes was Christmas special of Men Behaving Badly when Caroline Quentin gets a tissue stuck to her face.

In conclusion, the series claimed that the biggest enemy against sex in sitcom is the jokes are simply not funny enough, which may explain why neither Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps nor Coming of Age were mentioned in the programme.

"I never touched your mother until after we were married," announces Alf Garnett. "Well after," adds his wife.

Sex and the Sitcom was all very enjoyable but over far too quickly. Provide your own punchline.

Narrated by Madeline Smith, the cause of erotic frenzy in many a seventies sitcom male - and my adolescent self - the documentary chronicled sexual mores and manners in the UK as reflected in its situation comedies.

Frustration featured quite prominently, as did inadequacy, embarrassment and anxiety, mostly located in male characters like Rigsby, Reginald Perrin and Hancock. Even the arrival of the permissive society failed to loosen the British sitcom's stays, although the programme did find a bizarre and disturbing clip featuring Terry Scott and June Whitfield planning an orgy.

For years the only man seen revelling in the physical delights of the opposite sex was Frankie Howerd in Up Pompeii, testament to what a fine actor he was.

When sex itself eventually made an appearance it was women characters who were invariably in the vanguard - the insatiable Dorian from Birds Of A Feather, Mildred trying to seduce George, Miss Jones' pursuit of Phillip in Rising Damp.

Leslie Phillips did play a sexually predatory man in Casanova '73, but public outrage caused it to lose its prime time spot after three episodes. The sitcom male has remained resolutely inadequate ever since.

Channel 4's recent attempt at nailing nudity onscreen resulted in Celebrity Naked Ambition, a two-hour clip-show of film stars in the buff. Predictably, BBC4's TV-focused documentary is a more cerebral affair, examining the impact of the sexual revolution on British and American sitcoms, from 1950s shows like Hancock's Half Hour to present-day taboo-busters. There's a decent talking-head roster to back it up.

How comedy charted the sexual revolution

Simon Horsford previews 'Sex and the Sitcom', BBC Four's new documentary.

A history of sex in the sitcom

Ahead of BBC Four's new documentary 'Sex and the Sitcom', we recall landmarks in the way attitudes to sex have changed in British TV comedy.

It's the story of failed flirtations, strained marital relations and a passion for innuendo. Yes, sitcom heroes may be sexually frustrated but it seems there's a lot of laughs to be had from being unlucky in love. This examination of TV characters that have lusted and usually lost takes the likes of Hancock, Ria from Butterflies and the Men Behaving Badly and sets their behaviour into a social context. So we witness the liberation on The Liver Birds that was brought about by the introduction of the contraceptive pill and see how the gradual shedding of inhibitions resulted in the anything-goes atmosphere of Gimme Gimme Gimme. Writers Simon Nye and Jonathan Harvey are among those contributing their thoughts and there are plenty of accompanying clips to release your titters.

The sitcom and the sexual revolution is the subject of a documentary that wonders at everything from sexual frustration to the British love of innuendo and the changing role of women. Leslie Phillips, Leslie Joseph and Wendy Craig together with sitcom writers David Nobbs and Simon Nye are among those discussing such old favourites as Up Pompeii!, Hancock's Half Hour and Him & Her. In browsing the decades, the film asks why Butterflies caused a stir in the Eighties and if Men Behaving Badly really did capture the sexual politics of the Nineties. Also, how do American sitcoms differ in their approach? And does the modern British sitcom recognise any taboos at all?