The bawdy menage a trois of Man about the House, the flamboyant outrageousness of Are You Being Served's Mr Humphries, the gormless ignorance of Love Thy Neighbour's Eddie Booth...

We look at them with our modern world view and are shocked by their attitudes, situations and themes. But look at them more closely and you will see they are a reflection what was actually going on in Britain at the time. Indeed just like Dickens reflects Victorian Britain these comedies are a modern day historical document that charts the evolution of society through the 70s and 80s.

Sitcoms have had a major influence on British life in the last 40 years. The comedic truths that sitcoms throw up to us have consistently made us think about ourselves as a nation and made us laugh at our own absurdity.

Beyond A Joke is a series which looks at how comedy shows reflected what was happening in Britain at the close of the 20th Century. With choice news archive, interview and comment from some of the major players in British comedy of the time - writers, actors, producers and directors - as well as the most relevant and downright hilarious clips, the show explores how comedy reflected the contemporary subjects of the decade such as the sexual revolution and women's liberation, immigration and race relations, the class war, sexuality and other social, economic and political issues of the day.

Each episode of the series focuses on a particular topic or theme in episodes titled - Work Rest and Play, The Birds The Blokes and The Bees, Politically Incorrect, A Class Apart and Voice of the People. These episodes explore how sitcom - and comedy in general - served up these contemporary issues to its audience and how much the shows got it right and how much they got it wrong! Each topic and theme is set up with choice news archive, neatly putting the subject matter in its historical context.

Featuring programmes from George and Mildred to On The Buses and Love Thy Neighbour to anarchic comedy The Young Ones and perennial favourite Only Fools and Horses, the show speak to all of those most associated with each show - or those best able to offer an insight into the political and social situation of the time.