"There were actually three skits recorded for the same show but they didn't air due to censorship. Tom and Dick would love to see The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour shows rerun on television and/or released on home video/dvd. So far we have been unable to arrange this because of the high upfront residual and music publishing costs. We'll keep on trying and when we're successful, we'll announce it on the Home Page of our website at www.smothersbrothers.com. The Elaine May skits will definitely be included in any new releases."
I look forward to seeing these shows on DVD and think that they could be a great teaching tool when covering 1960s America. If you think that I am exaggerating, just remember the show has historical significance that goes beyond television because they ran Pat Paulsen for president.
Finally there is a fundamental rule that I should add to my list of Comedy Grievances and that is to remind people that they should never piss off Humorists (that includes Comedians, Comedy Writers or Cartoonist) because they will always have the last laugh.
To quote Tommy Smothers, "The ultimate censorship is the flick of the dial."
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
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Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
I love the Smothers Brothers. Instead of The Daily Show, though, which aggressively trumpets pretty much the party line, consider another show that was censored even in the 1990s.
I can't remember the name of it, but it was set in the capitol and represented politicians as rats, except for a certain caucus which was cockroaches, and so on. Truly buting commentary, and rushed off the air in a way reminiscent of the Smothers Brothers. Capitol Critters, maybe?
2 - Nancy
Wow. Never heard of it, but I LIKE the imagery: rats & cockroaches. In today's repressive atmosphere, it wouldn't last long, the white house would try to shoot it down, or the GOP div. of Congress would declare it un-American or an affront to religion or some such. Another reason we don't see any more Smothers Brothers anti-establishment types on media is because media is mainly owned & dictated to these days by the conservative establishment itself. I'm daily surprised as much 'free speech' gets thru each day as it does.
3 - Dave Nalle
I don't really know the work of Susan Harris, but what happened to Norman Lear and Larry Gelbart is that they stopped being funny. And in a larger sense, their approach to comedy became too weak and too equivocal for the current viewer. Contemporary comedy seems to be much more direct and confrontational, addressing issues head-on rather than soft peddling them. It also seems to work better in a more immediate format than the sitcom - take the Daily Show as a perfect example.
Dave
4 - Nancy
Gotta say, I have no credibility when it comes to current TV shows, as I don't even watch networks, let alone cable, but a show like that one (with the rats & roaches)...that I'd watch. I'll bet that would get under a few epidermi in the DC area! I really regret the ending of the Simpsons, because they did such a good job skewering things. Ditto the Smothers Bros.
5 - Phillip Winn
I think one of the big complaints about it was the it was the Congressional Black Caucus that were represented as roaches. People saw racist motivations, and censorship ensued.
6 - Nancy
Oh, that was stupid - AND possibly racist. No wonder it was exterminated. What a waste of a brilliant parody. I'd have characterized the politicians - everyone from the w.h. on down - as rats, and the roaches as lobbyists.
7 - Phillip Winn
Well, it was a brilliant parody, and they were equal-opportunity skewerers, but I seem to recall the roaches being the excuses parodied politicos used to kill the show.
And hey, maybe I've got the details wrong.
8 - Nancy
Wish someone would re-work it & do it again. HEY! If whoever did this program is reading this, fix it up & do it again!
9 - Terrie Neilson
For someone like me who came in too late to see what my mother's fuss is all about, I would love it if The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour would come to video--even if it has to come in bite-sized chunks the way SNL does it to get it out there.
The segments as shown on Smothered would stand the test of time--some altered for the time stamp (Vietnam versus, say, Iraq), some left as is even nearly 40 years later.
It would be a shame to lose a piece of television history over money.