Sex And The Sitcom
Documentary examining how society's attitudes towards sex and sexuality since the 1950s have been reflected in sitcom
- Genre
- Documentary
- Broadcast
- 2011
- Channel
- BBC Four
- Episodes
- 1
- Features
- David Quantick, Dick Fiddy, Bruce Dessau, Anna Raeburn, Jon Plowman, David Nobbs, Jonathan Harvey, Brett Mills and others
- Director
- Rachel Boyd
- Producer
- Rachel Boyd
How has the sitcom responded to the sexual revolution?
From Hancock's Half Hour in the 1950s, through to 1970s sitcoms like Up Pompeii! and The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin to contemporary comedies like Him & Her, this documentary explores sexual frustration as an enduring sitcom theme, the changing role of women and the British love of innuendo.
Why did Butterflies cause such a stir in the 80s? Did Men Behaving Badly really capture the sexual politics of the 90s? And how did the permissive society affect Terry & June?
It looks at the changing language of sitcom, contrasts British comedy with its more liberal American counterpart and asks whether the modern sitcom recognises any taboos.
Contributors include Leslie Phillips, Lesley Joseph, Wendy Craig, and writers David Nobbs, Simon Nye and Jonathan Harvey.
- Production company
Broadcast details
- First broadcast
- Tuesday 29th March 2011 on BBC Four at 9pm
- Episode length
- 1 hour
- Last repeat
- Thursday 10th December 2015 at 11:00pm