- Radio Times
- Review by:
- David Crawford
A jape, a jest, a gag, even a jewel or trinket in Old English. There are many ways to describe a joke, but pinning down why a joke works is about as easy as nailing jelly to the wall.
Here the jovial Michael Grade does a pretty good job of getting that jelly on the wall – with the help of esteemed gagmeisters Ken Dodd, Barry Cryer and Tim Vine.
His scholastic peregrinations in search of the world’s oldest known joke prove we’ve always laughed at the same things – except we’re not so fond of lettuce and herniated eunuch gags nowadays – while the scholarly analysis is tempered by a barrage of one-liners.
About this programme
The broadcast executive traces the history of the joke with a little help from a host of historians, academics, comedy experts and stand-ups including Ken Dodd, Tim Vine and Barry Cryer. Along the way he discovers what tickled the Tudors, ribbed the Romans and made Renaissance wits roar as he sets out to discover whether jokes come and go with the rise and fall of civilisations, or whether people are still laughing at the same things their ancestors did.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Presenter
- Michael Grade
- Contributor
- Ken Dodd
- Contributor
- Tim Vine
- Contributor
- Barry Cryer
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