0:00:12 > 0:00:14Kapow, gling, gling!
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Inside me, there's a tiny...
0:00:16 > 0:00:20idiot, you know, running round falling over, bumping into walls.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30I usually start laughing when I think about that.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Falls, pratfalls, buffoonery,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- goofing around....- Hmmhoohoohmmhmm!
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Pushing each other over and slapping each other.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42- Dong!- Tchhh! Bong!
0:00:42 > 0:00:44I love the energy. It's real.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48A dog with wind...
0:00:48 > 0:00:52blowing itself into a fire and then exploding.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55- Slapstick.- Yeah.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Welcome to The Story of Slapstick.
0:01:10 > 0:01:16Tonight, we will explore and celebrate some of the best slapstick from the last 100 years.
0:01:16 > 0:01:22Slapstick is still as popular today as it's ever been and it can be found in the most surprising places.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Like a very funny thing that's been around for a long time,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32slapstick can be traced back through the years and has taken on many forms.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39It's in Vic and Bob's cartoon capers.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44It's in the anarchic alternative comedy of the '80s.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48In fact, it's been around as long as TV itself.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51And some of the funniest moments ever seen
0:01:51 > 0:01:54are from the days before we had colour, or even sound.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01For some reason, we just keep coming back to good old slapstick.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06But why do we love it so much?
0:02:06 > 0:02:11Well, let me take you back to when you were very, very young and life seemed much simpler.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14CHEERING
0:02:14 > 0:02:17The first things, when you're a kid, that you laugh at
0:02:17 > 0:02:19are poo and falling over.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23I've brought up kids and I've studied them to see what makes them laugh!
0:02:23 > 0:02:27And that's it. So that's the first thing you start thinking is funny.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29And it should carry on through the rest of your life.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Maybe forget the poo as being funny, but the slapstick should carry on.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Who wants ice-cream?
0:02:38 > 0:02:43If someone said, "What do you think slapstick is?" You'd instantly think of clowns.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Heightened moments of violence
0:02:47 > 0:02:50that just spring out of an absurd situation escalating.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52HE YELLS
0:03:08 > 0:03:10HE YELLS
0:03:10 > 0:03:13So, where did this primal form of laughter begin?
0:03:13 > 0:03:19Well, no one was telling gags in the Stone Age and early humour couldn't rely on punch lines for laughs.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Slapstick comedy gets you somewhere right in your gut.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30It feels like a really primitive, ancient form of laughter.
0:03:35 > 0:03:41The first mention of slapstick in the history books comes from Italy in the 16th century.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45The Commedia dell'Arte was a popular form of improvisational theatre.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Slapstick comedy comes from the theatrical tradition
0:03:49 > 0:03:54of physical comedy with an element of violence and the possibility of pain.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59It's been around for so long and it's such a old form of comedy.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03But it's changed over the generations.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07It's difficult to define, really.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Well, Matthew, the dictionary says "slapstick is...
0:04:11 > 0:04:16"comedy based on deliberately clumsy actions and humorously embarrassing events."
0:04:16 > 0:04:20But hands up who can tell me where the term actually comes from?
0:04:20 > 0:04:23To me, slapstick has always been the actual slap stick.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Ooh, very good, Innes, anyone else?
0:04:26 > 0:04:31A slap stick is a bit of wood which is split so it makes a loud noise if you hit somebody with it.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36By doing that, you let that bit come behind and then by stopping short,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38the other one slapped. Simple.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Until the late 1800s, slapstick was performed in theatre and music halls,
0:04:46 > 0:04:51but the Lumiere brothers from France were about to be the first to bring slapstick to the big screen.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54This remarkable film was shown at a Parisian cafe in 1895,
0:04:54 > 0:04:59in the first ever public screening of moving pictures.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07The gardener is out with his hose and a young boy playing a prank
0:05:07 > 0:05:10puts his foot on the hose, stops the water coming through the hose.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20At that moment, modern slapstick was born.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Moving pictures became all the rage and slapstick comedy was perfect for this new medium.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32I think very early on, anybody wanting to produce comedy for audiences, for screen audiences,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36needed to produce something visually, because there was no sound.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40So without sound, it had to become more expressionist or exaggerated.
0:05:42 > 0:05:48America's newly established film industry embraced the form and, from 1910 to 1929,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51hundreds of silent comedy shorts and features were released.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55It was the golden age of slapstick and the stars of the genre are still known today.
0:05:59 > 0:06:06It was the era of Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and of course, Buster Keaton.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12During his career, Keaton starred in over 80 films.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15An incredible acrobat, he performed his own stunts.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17And, in 1928,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21he astounded audiences with what has become one of the most iconic images
0:06:21 > 0:06:23cinema has ever produced.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35I think it's the single most dangerous stunt that's ever been performed by an artist, really.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38So to not use a stuntman is an incredible thing.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41You can watch it again and again and still marvel at it,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44the perfection of the calculation involved
0:06:44 > 0:06:48and the skill of his relaxed persona.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50You can see when you look at the film
0:06:50 > 0:06:55that there's barely two or three inches either side of the window.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58And it needed to be weighted quite substantially,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00which meant if it hit him, it would kill him.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Keaton's stunt was so impressive that it spawned many imitations.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Although not all were as impressive as the original.
0:07:17 > 0:07:24They explained to us that the house front couldn't be lightweight, because if it was lightweight,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27it would drift down and be uncontrollable.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31So it had to be heavy and we had to stand in exactly the right place.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40We had a Buster Keaton lookalike run on and take notes afterwards and then run off.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42We thought that took the curse off it!
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Buster Keaton may have risked life and limb for laughs
0:07:47 > 0:07:51and Harold Lloyd thrilled audiences with his daredevil feats...
0:07:53 > 0:07:57But the biggest star of the silent era was a little fella from London.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59As well as great athleticism and timing,
0:07:59 > 0:08:04Charlie Chaplin brought a level of sophistication to his performances that few could match.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12His films were not only funny, they could also be poignant.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14That is great art.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Tears and laughter are very close,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19so it can bring the tears to your eyes,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21but it also moves you to laugh.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24In fact, you don't quite know which you should be doing.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29It's a different thing to pure comedy.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31I think it's a different form,
0:08:31 > 0:08:33so it's sort of almost unfair to say, "It didn't make me laugh."
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Because it's a different form, it's like a dance.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38I think it is like ballet.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44He would rehearse those kinds of sequences over and over again to get it exactly right.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49So it looks to be spontaneous and free, maybe even improvised.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51But very often, it may have been shot 30, 40 times
0:08:51 > 0:08:55before he's happy with the sequence that we see on the screen.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57He was such a perfectionist.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03The universal appeal of slapstick, as pioneered by Keaton and Chaplin, amongst others,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06has inspired performers ever since.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10In the 1950s, that influence is visible in the films of Jacques Tati.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14In the '70s, it inspired the Eric Sykes classic The Plank.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19And today, it is evident in the hugely successful escapades of Mr Bean.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26- Arrararrrrr...- People love that, people love Mr Bean.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Of course it also transcends language.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52He might not say much, but that may just be the key to his appeal.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56As one of the most successful British comedy characters,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Mr Bean has sold to over 200 countries around the world.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03I was on a plane and they played an episode of Mr Bean.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07And you could hear the whole laughter
0:10:07 > 0:10:10sweeping backwards and forwards across the plane, you know.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14And I had this image of this plane flying through the clouds
0:10:14 > 0:10:19and the laughter kind of echoing out of it, you know, into the sky!
0:10:22 > 0:10:27But let's face it, Mr Bean is not everyone's cup of tea.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30I do find him creepy.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Why can't he speak words?
0:10:32 > 0:10:35You know. Rather than this kind of "arrarraaaa".
0:10:35 > 0:10:37It's like he's some strange...
0:10:37 > 0:10:41creature from another planet or something.
0:10:41 > 0:10:48The infuriating side of Mr Bean's character inspired Alexei Sayle's Bean parody, Mr Aubergine.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Aubergine...bean, yeah? Get it?
0:10:52 > 0:10:57Mr Aubergine was sort of in the real world and so it was kind of playing with that.
0:10:57 > 0:11:03If somebody was really behaving like that in the real world, just how obnoxious would they be, you know?!
0:11:03 > 0:11:04Just how awful?!
0:11:23 > 0:11:25We can't get enough of silent comedy now.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28But back in the old scratchy black-and-white days,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30it looked like the writing was on the wall for slapstick.
0:11:30 > 0:11:36The arrival of sound proved to be a bit of a banana skin for many of the biggest stars of that time.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44When Chaplin started talking, no-one really liked his voice.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47So that was the end of him.
0:11:50 > 0:11:56The careers of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd all went into decline.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Sound changed the movies and it was now all about the words.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Slapstick was hanging on for dear life.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05It looked like slapstick comedy was finished.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08But two unlikely saviours would come to its rescue.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11When Stanley Jefferson was introduced to Norvell Hardy,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14the world's most popular double act was formed.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17- Hey! Got a match? - Sorry, I don't smoke!
0:12:18 > 0:12:24By the time they made their first talkie, they had appeared together in over 30 silent films.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28And unlike their counterparts, their voices seemed to fit their characters.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33I suppose you've got to have the right voice and Laurel and Hardy did.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37I mean, they didn't say a lot, but Stan had his, "Woo woooo woo."
0:12:39 > 0:12:42I never thought of that.
0:12:42 > 0:12:48# Shine on, shine on, harvest moon
0:12:48 > 0:12:49# Up in the sky... #
0:12:49 > 0:12:53The other good thing that worked very well with Laurel and Hardy films is,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55they stick to broadly visual comedy.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01They don't leap into the new medium and think, "It all has to be sound now, let's do lots of sound gags."
0:13:01 > 0:13:05They bring in things, but they still use those extended sequences of visual comedy.
0:13:05 > 0:13:12So if you look at the first few sound shorts of Laurel and Hardy, it's still very much silent comedy.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Laurel and Hardy are brilliant.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19I mean, they're unique.
0:13:19 > 0:13:26And they had this great knack for visual comedy, because they look funny to start with.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29And Stan Laurel, who wrote the scripts, was very inventive
0:13:29 > 0:13:33in finding ways to use physicality in the comedy.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38What I really love about it, which I'd forgotten, is the fact that it is so deliberate.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43So Stan Laurel will open his trousers up and allow someone to pour custard in.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47It's not like there's any defence, they just go along with it!
0:13:47 > 0:13:49And that's what makes it so hilarious.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Audiences identified with the characters of Stan and Ollie.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59They flocked to see the latest Laurel and Hardy movies in a time of real hardship.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05At the height of their popularity, the world was in the grip of the Great Depression.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12This pair of dunderheads and their simple slapstick routines
0:14:12 > 0:14:17provided the perfect escape from the complications of everyday life.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Their memory of the depression in the Thirties
0:14:21 > 0:14:24is never too far away from a Laurel and Hardy film.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27There's that kind of element when a whole society
0:14:27 > 0:14:31and a whole nation, a whole culture was struggling to survive.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36And I think that's why Laurel and Hardy's so potent, because usually they are penniless,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39they've got some menial job that they're performing.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44They're just trying to make a buck, kind of thing. So we've instantly got sympathy for them.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Slapstick, really good slapstick, is literally about survival.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52It's about, "He got hit by a plank and it didn't kill him."
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Slapstick struck a chord with audiences the world over,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07but why does the sight of someone coming a cropper always make us chuckle?
0:15:11 > 0:15:17Well, Sigmund Freud, who, as we all know, liked a laugh, came up with a few answers.
0:15:17 > 0:15:24Freud said that we have this desire to witness cruelty, or to in fact actually be cruel ourselves.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28We have this vicarious experience through slapstick comedy.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32We do like to watch people suffering, even if it's pretend suffering.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36It's painful for that person, but not for you.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38It's fun, because it's not happening to you.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Maybe it's a reaction that it's something you shouldn't laugh at,
0:15:42 > 0:15:47so it's kind of a nervous reaction to something that's really quite bad.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53He fleeth, as it were a shadow, and never continueth...
0:15:54 > 0:16:01People feel constrained to laugh at funerals or in church and situations like that.
0:16:01 > 0:16:02Pleased Almighty God...
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Take unto himself the soul of this child here departed.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11We therefore commit his body to the ground.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17If somebody slips on a banana skin and falls on their bum, it's comedy.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21If they slip on a banana skin and fall down a manhole and die, it's tragedy.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28It's a way of releasing our anxiety about death.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34In a way, you can reduce all of slapstick to that basic joke, "Ha ha, it's not me."
0:16:39 > 0:16:43The world loves slapstick and we can't let the Yanks take all the credit.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Slapstick in good old Blighty was thriving.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48The biggest star of the day was Norman Wisdom
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and he brought the pratfall to the big screen in Britain.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57But the 1950s would see many more British stars become household names.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00The reason was simple - telly.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Much of television was broadcast live.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Comedians like Charlie Drake discovered that performing live slapstick
0:17:11 > 0:17:13could be a very dangerous business.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24The one time that he really hurt himself on live television, he was pulled through a bookcase.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32And he went into it head first, and the shelf was a breakaway shelf.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37Unfortunately, it was loaded with books, which made it very heavy.
0:17:37 > 0:17:43It smacked him on the head, and he passed out unconscious, on live television.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51So is the stricken star given immediate medical attention?
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Oh, no. They picked him up and tossed him out of the window.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Those were the days.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07Another one I marvel at if I ever catch him on anything, it's very rare you do,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09because it's so strange, Max Wall.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Hee-hee-hee. Hello.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18Like many of the early television entertainers, Max Wall started his career in the music halls.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22His most memorable comic creation was Professor Wallofski.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28"Good evening." That was all he said.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33How did this exist as a thing that he could just come out and do?
0:18:33 > 0:18:35But everyone just accepted it.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38He would come out in those tights and that little frock coat
0:18:38 > 0:18:46and just do strange little movements like a duck, paddling around on the stage.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50It may seem bizarre today, but this act was so popular
0:18:50 > 0:18:57that Max was still strutting his stuff well into his 70s and inspired many imitators.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Poor Michael Jackson wasn't a comedy figure at all,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04but watching him, I am reminded of Max Wall.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10It wasn't known as the Moonwalk in those days. Max Wall used to do it.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17It was absolutely hysterically funny, I loved it. I would gladly watch it now.
0:19:17 > 0:19:23But to think then, it was just accepted, then he'd leave. "Thank you very much, Max Wall."
0:19:25 > 0:19:28But by far the most popular slapsticker on television in the '50s
0:19:28 > 0:19:31was someone you've probably never heard of.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you Mr Pastry.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41Mr Pastry prepares to climb aboard, but not if his skis can help it.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Mr pastry was very big.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47It was an event, when Mr Pastry was on the show.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51Slapstick routines, falling over...
0:19:51 > 0:19:53elaborate...
0:19:53 > 0:19:55business with chairs.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00He could spin out 20 minutes with a deck chair.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06The character Mr Pastry was created by Richard Hearne.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10He was so popular that Hearne was offered the part of Dr Who.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14He blew it by insisting he play the part in the character of Mr Pastry.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18He may have regretted this later as his career faded into the obscurity of kids' TV.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21But now he's ready to start again.
0:20:25 > 0:20:31There was a time in the '50s when it seemed slapstick could only be found in cartoons and on children's TV.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36Character-based comedy was in and slapstick was seen as juvenile and unsophisticated.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38That's the thing about slapstick.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Some misguided fools dismiss it as just for kids.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44Whoa!
0:20:48 > 0:20:52I think it's quite a negative response that most people have to the word slapstick.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56I think the common perception is that it's simplistic, that it's not intelligent.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59I expect there are people who think slapstick is stupid.
0:20:59 > 0:21:00"It's stupid, daft humour.
0:21:00 > 0:21:06- "Anyone can do it."- The audience tend to see slapstick as, "That's just people messing about,"
0:21:06 > 0:21:07and verbal comedy was quite clever.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Sometimes people say that slapstick is childish.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21Yeah, it's basic, it's simple, it's people falling over and getting hurt.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24But it's got to be funny, as well.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27It's childLIKE, which is a very different thing.
0:21:28 > 0:21:34There's a childish joy in the execution of it and in that childish joy, you see the character revealed.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37What do you think you're doing?
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Child one will hit child two and then child two will hit child one.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45Then the bigger one will chase the smaller one and the smaller one will try to find somewhere to hide.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Then you grow up and you learn self-control and not to do that,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52but I think that's still your instinctive response, still what you want to do.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Or is it just me?
0:21:57 > 0:22:02By the end of the '50s, slapstick on television was in the doldrums.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05But the next generation of comedians will prove
0:22:05 > 0:22:09that visual comedy was anything but childish.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12It all started in the most unexpected place -
0:22:12 > 0:22:14the wireless.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18- Help me get this piano back to England.- It's too heavy.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I have an idea, we'll saw the legs off.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23SAWING
0:22:34 > 0:22:37There. I've sawn off all four legs.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41That's strange, the first time I've known of a piano with four legs.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Hey, I keep falling down!
0:22:49 > 0:22:54The Goons were Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe.
0:22:54 > 0:23:00They pioneered the use of surreal humour, puns, catchphrases and an array of bizarre sound effects
0:23:00 > 0:23:04to convey a world where slapstick could exist, even when it was unseen.
0:23:06 > 0:23:12It was radio slapstick, and it was so new at its time that a different generation, my parents' generation,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14were completely left cold by it.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18They pioneered new areas for comedy.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24- Constable, how would you like to join the River Police? - I'd like that very much.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25SPLASH
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- Thank you very much.- The radio lets your imagination run riot
0:23:30 > 0:23:33and everyone got their own particular picture of what's going on.
0:23:33 > 0:23:40You hear the sound effect - an almighty splash - and Harry Secombe is pulled out, spluttering, to say,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44"That water was taller than me."
0:23:44 > 0:23:47And then the voice saying, "Well, it's older, that's why!"
0:23:49 > 0:23:55Wait! What fools we are. How are we going to get the raft across? The river's full of water.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Well, it's quite simple, build a bridge and carry it across.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04The Goons, I mean, they prove, on radio, that the pen is mightier than the budget.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13The surreal slapstick invented by The Goons
0:24:13 > 0:24:16was to prove hugely inspirational to a new generation of comedians.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21Slapstick may never have been considered the most intellectual form of entertainment,
0:24:21 > 0:24:27but its new champions were about to graduate from the hallowed halls of Oxford and Cambridge universities.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33Monty Python, Monty Python, Monty Python.
0:24:33 > 0:24:39Monty Python's Flying Circus first appeared on our televisions in October 1969.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44For those of you living under a rock, it was a hugely influential sketch show.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Though unlike anything that had been seen before, the Pythons...
0:24:48 > 0:24:50They say "Python," don't they? "Python."
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Yes, the Pythons were very well aware of the slapstick tradition.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Uh-oh, there it is. All over his face.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01They were playing in fresh virgin snow.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05It was the dawn of an age, they were doing something before anyone else had done it,
0:25:05 > 0:25:10they really knew their comedy history and there's a great love of comedy there, as well.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12And I love the slapstick stuff in it.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Surely nothing can go wrong here.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19Uh-oh, here's the PM coming back for more.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20And he certainly gets it.
0:25:20 > 0:25:27This kind of surreal, quite cerebral comedy, with this amazing slapstick.
0:25:30 > 0:25:36There's a misconception, really, that slapstick comedy is a basic crude form of visual humour.
0:25:38 > 0:25:45What Monty Python bring to visual comedy is sharp intellect and surrealism.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51And that elevates the humour, and I think that's why, 40 years on,
0:25:51 > 0:25:57people are still looking back at a show like Monty Python, because it has that level of sophistication.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00The earliest forms of jape were divisible
0:26:00 > 0:26:03into the two categories into which I now intend to divide them.
0:26:07 > 0:26:13And if there is a gag, like a banana skin gag or a plank gag or a custard pie gag,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18there are always ways that the artist, if they are interesting enough, will want to top it.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22HE CLEARS HIS THROAT
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Monty Python went global with their clever take on slapstick.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33They even did it live, and sold out the Hollywood Bowl.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47It had all the cosy slapstick ingredients, taking the chair away,
0:26:47 > 0:26:51the custard pies, even the plank,
0:26:51 > 0:26:56but it was the way it was delivered, in this kind of donnish, academic way.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01A certain amount of risibility is to be obtained from the surprise.
0:27:06 > 0:27:07Hey, Vance!
0:27:18 > 0:27:23The Pythons' irreverent humour was very much in keeping with the spirit of the times.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Short skirts, protests and sticking it to the man were in,
0:27:26 > 0:27:33but slapstick comedy had been doing that sort of thing for years, except maybe for the short skirts bit.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38It's the rebellious thing of comedy.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43You're always anti-authoritarian, so it's always got to be the headmaster, the chief constable,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46the policeman, of course. It's an absolute comedy basic.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49The authority figure, they're gonna get hit.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53The basic thing is always the same.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56If somebody is too big for their boots, they get their comeuppance,
0:27:56 > 0:28:02and I think that's a mark of the quality of good comedy through the ages.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07It's hugely moral, so it's a very reassuring universe,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10where the little guy wins, the little guy beats the big guy.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14The underdog wins, and justice is done.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18It's all about the maximum dive from...
0:28:18 > 0:28:21pride to humiliation, isn't it?
0:28:21 > 0:28:23That's what makes a joke funnier.
0:28:29 > 0:28:37The comic is basically saying, "I am you, wouldn't you like to kick a cop up the backside in real life?"
0:28:37 > 0:28:41And you never would, but they do.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49Monty Python kick-started a new type of slapstick in the '70s and soon everyone was at it.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Whether it was in sitcom, sketch shows, entertainment
0:28:52 > 0:28:56or game shows, slapstick was once again the height of fashion.
0:28:56 > 0:29:02The Pythons' old college mates, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie and Tim Brooke-Taylor were no exception.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04# Goodies... #
0:29:04 > 0:29:08- They were to band together and create a comedy trio unlike any other.- Goodie, Goodie, Goodie!
0:29:08 > 0:29:11And they were good...very good.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16They were The Goodies, and they would do anything, anywhere, anytime.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21And they had a little bit of something for everyone.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26People would sit down, literally all the generations together, and watch the show.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31There would be parents and kids and even granny would come down and enjoy a bit of it, too.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42All this was served up in a slightly surreal and very silly format.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Watching The Goodies, I just remember trying to understand what was going on.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04I suppose it is a sort of shamelessness about the artifice of slapstick.
0:30:14 > 0:30:20They were very much in the tradition and they really admired the old greats.
0:30:28 > 0:30:33They had huge budgets and the stunts they performed were quite impressive really, for their time.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50I think, more than anybody else, The Goodies, for what was more than 10 years,
0:30:50 > 0:30:56were producing prime-time television that included this visual, slapstick comedy.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00They're hugely underrated today and undervalued for their work.
0:31:16 > 0:31:21The stigma that the show is still saddled with is that people think, "That was a kids' show."
0:31:26 > 0:31:30People often say that John Cleese dismissed The Goodies as a kids' programme.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34He did in one episode where he appeared and shouted "Kids' programme" at us.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38Kids' programme!
0:31:38 > 0:31:40But we wrote that...
0:31:40 > 0:31:41And we filmed him doing it.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44So it wasn't necessarily his own view.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47That is something adults and children can share.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50You know, chases and people smacking each other over the head, you can both laugh.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55Ahh!
0:31:56 > 0:31:57Ahh!
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Slapstick was perfect family entertainment
0:32:03 > 0:32:07and the most-watched double act of the '70s even became a bit partial.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11# Bring me sunshine in your smile... #
0:32:11 > 0:32:15Morecambe and Wise, beloved of grannies and kiddies alike,
0:32:15 > 0:32:19thrilled millions with a slapstick routine that remains a firm favourite.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21MUSIC: "The Stripper" by David Rose
0:32:24 > 0:32:27That was a masterpiece of comedy.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32A combination of the silent films and modern comedy.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44Eric Morecambe, the way he moved his body was funny and he knew that.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49He knew how to do it and he knew how to use it as a flourish on the end of jokes.
0:32:56 > 0:33:01And it was impeccable timing, slapstick at its very best.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11I defy anybody, whatever their favourite comic is, not to laugh at that scene.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18This was the golden age of television slapstick.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20Audiences lapped it up.
0:33:20 > 0:33:25But when it came to pure slapstick, Frank Spencer was out on his own.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em featured some of the biggest and most dangerous antics
0:33:36 > 0:33:38ever seen in British comedy.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45Like Buster Keaton before him, Michael Crawford insisted on performing his own stunts.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58- 'The fact that he actually did all those things himself...' - I ain't got no change!
0:33:58 > 0:34:03..I loved it because you don't see that kind of peril and he would get himself into such scrapes.
0:34:10 > 0:34:16Some great moments - his car ended up on a cliff edge, teetering, and he was screaming.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18Just hold on to my legs.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23Hold my feet.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28- It's all right, Frank, I've got you...- Hold on!- Yes!
0:34:31 > 0:34:32It's rocking...
0:34:37 > 0:34:39Careful.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44Frank!
0:34:45 > 0:34:47Frank!
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Frank!
0:34:51 > 0:34:52What shall I do?!
0:34:52 > 0:34:55- Betty!- Yes!
0:34:56 > 0:35:01Such an iconic, slapstick role, he was quite clearly very talented.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03It's a legendary character now.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25I remember being so frightened always of what he would get himself into
0:35:25 > 0:35:30and fearful of how angry he made people get about him, "Mr Spencer!"
0:35:30 > 0:35:37I used to feel so sorry for him and get upset because he just made it worse. Maybe that was the point.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40A saviour who is Christ...
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Not that big one!
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Michael Crawford seemed to take slapstick to new heights.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00But by the end of the '70s, its popularity seemed to dwindle.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04It could still be found in the increasingly saucy shenanigans of Benny Hill
0:36:04 > 0:36:07but there was a sense that change was needed.
0:36:08 > 0:36:09Slapstick seemed to have stalled,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13but the '80s would see a new breed of alternative comedian rise up
0:36:13 > 0:36:15to give it a boot up the backside.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21When the alternative comedy movement started, we were filling this enormous vacuum
0:36:21 > 0:36:24and so we were defining an art form, really.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28We were inventing modern comedy and so you have a tremendous freedom.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38In the same way that the Pythons' surreal brand of humour
0:36:38 > 0:36:42was a reaction to what was happening in society during the '60s and '70s,
0:36:42 > 0:36:46the alternative comedy of the '80s was a product of its time.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50Britain was a politically-divided country and was experiencing the sort of changes
0:36:50 > 0:36:53that would have repercussions for years.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55# I fought the law but the law won
0:36:55 > 0:36:58# I fought the law but the law won
0:36:58 > 0:37:00# Well, I fought the law and the... #
0:37:00 > 0:37:02One egg hit Mrs Thatcher squarely on the chest.
0:37:02 > 0:37:07More eggs and also tomatoes, ice-cream and butter rained down on her entourage.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12We had a great enemy, Margaret Thatcher...
0:37:13 > 0:37:16..amazingly powerful causes to identify with,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18very tangible causes,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21so it was a gift, really, for creative expression.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24This new comedy may have been called alternative,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27but these young guns realised the truly anarchic appeal of slapstick.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31- Missed me, virgin!- I'm not a virgin. I am not a virgin!
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Hey, I just heard something amazingly heavy on the radio.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38The slapstick in the Young Ones reflected a time, it was in a dirty flat...
0:37:38 > 0:37:44you know, student life, expressing themselves through anger and physicality
0:37:44 > 0:37:47and just a lot of hostility and shouting...
0:37:49 > 0:37:50..and just anarchy.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51Oh, wow.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53At the heart of the Young Ones
0:37:53 > 0:37:58was the extreme, often brutal, physical slapstick of Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- Come on!- Whoa!
0:38:01 > 0:38:05They were fearless, really. There was very little health and safety.
0:38:05 > 0:38:10The set was always catching fire. They were pretty lax about it.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Vyvyan!
0:38:12 > 0:38:17That scene when he goes down the stairs, he just did that. He's not on a wire or anything.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24It was pretty dangerous, really.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29Certainly, Rik, he got cuts and bruises and stuff quite frequently.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33Pay attention because we'll be back after this break.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35Ahh!
0:38:35 > 0:38:37At the time, some were appalled at the violence in the show.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41But, for fans of slapstick, it wasn't anything new.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46So, what's the difference between this sort of violence and the violence of say, a Tarantino?
0:38:46 > 0:38:48You know they recover immediately.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50They get bashed on the head
0:38:50 > 0:38:53with a lump of rock and they get up straight away.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55So we know it is safe, absolutely safe.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58- Calm!- Calm!- Calm! - Calm!- Calm!- Calm!- Calm!
0:38:58 > 0:39:03It's almost like you can watch that violence and you know it's not a film
0:39:03 > 0:39:06where people are getting their heads blown off, which might be unsavoury.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11We have to know its artificial, "It's safe to laugh at this."
0:39:14 > 0:39:18Even mindless violence seems boring today.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21Unless it's real blood or something like that, then it soon changes.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23It has got its limits.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30Those limits were pressed to the max when Rik and Ade created Bottom.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34In this series, a character wouldn't just get hit with a frying-pan, they might get hit with a frying pan,
0:39:34 > 0:39:38thrown through a wall, chucked down the stairs and set on fire.
0:39:45 > 0:39:51I loved the violence in it, that's why I watched and that's why I suppose millions of people did watch,
0:39:51 > 0:39:54to see that fabulous violence that was going on in there.
0:39:54 > 0:40:01They just weren't censored. They were boys. It is very boys-y.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03Eddie, you've killed him.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07But is it possible to take slapstick violence too far?
0:40:10 > 0:40:13I found Bottom a little bit too much.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16It was all just frying pans on heads
0:40:16 > 0:40:19and I found it a bit tiring after a bit.
0:40:19 > 0:40:20A bit too relentless.
0:40:20 > 0:40:26- Stop messing about. - 'It was too shouty for me. I did actually find it abrasive.'
0:40:27 > 0:40:32I always had this idea that they'd be doing that stuff when they were 90.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35"You bastard!"
0:40:35 > 0:40:37"Eddie!"
0:40:38 > 0:40:41Eventually, those young upstarts would be recognised by the mainstream
0:40:41 > 0:40:44and they've even got the gongs to prove it.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49I won an International Emmy and the first I knew about it was when my mother-in-law rang me up.
0:40:49 > 0:40:56It was on Channel 4 News, footage of Benny Hill picking up my award in New York.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58I think they thought...
0:40:58 > 0:41:05maybe they thought we all lived together in a big house, Me, Benny, Ben Elton,
0:41:05 > 0:41:10Rik, Bruce Forsyth and he'd give it to me when I saw him at breakfast!
0:41:22 > 0:41:25By the end of the '80s, just about everyone was ready for a change.
0:41:27 > 0:41:33There was a new spirit of optimism in Britain and that was reflected in every aspect of culture and society.
0:41:33 > 0:41:39Britpop had arrived, football came home and people were paying a fortune for pickled sheep.
0:41:39 > 0:41:45# Dizzy! I'm so dizzy My head is spinning... #
0:41:45 > 0:41:51In comedy, people were looking for an alternative to the... alternative.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55What they got was colourful, joyous and really rather silly.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05And guess what the hippest, newest form of comedy was. Go on, guess.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12There.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15Vic and Bob were the new cool kids on the comedy block.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17And they were slapstick to the core.
0:42:23 > 0:42:24Ha-ha-ha!
0:42:24 > 0:42:26- Ha-ha!- OW! Whoa!
0:42:27 > 0:42:33I think Bob and me just both loved slapstick and when we came together
0:42:33 > 0:42:37it was the love of slapstick that we wanted to put on television.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46We took slapstick to new levels.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Suddenly, there was an eruption of silliness and slapstick
0:42:52 > 0:42:55and hitting each other and things falling on people's heads
0:42:55 > 0:42:58and everything. I thought that was joyful.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03What I love about Vic and Bob is just the silliness.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10It is the silliness that provides the escapism for people.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Vic and Bob have taken comedy inside out, really.
0:43:14 > 0:43:20They go about it with such gusto and such lack of reason,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22you've just got to giggle.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26- Hey, you!- Who, me?- Yes, you.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30Are you brutally pounding that man in the face with an iron pan?
0:43:30 > 0:43:34- Yes.- Are you aware that such behaviour can lead to permanent damage?
0:43:34 > 0:43:40- No.- Well, it can. Just look at the state of that pan. It's ruined.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45Their violence was cartoon-like and there would be that brilliant sound effect that just went on and on,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48just for that slightly too long thing when it almost becomes not funny
0:43:48 > 0:43:51then it starts to be funny again because it's not stopping.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57Just unjustified violence.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03There's no reason for it. It was almost like we enjoy doing it.
0:44:03 > 0:44:09When WE hit each other, we do actually hit each other and we have got the scars to prove it.
0:44:11 > 0:44:17Bob has especially got beaten quite badly and knocked himself out and what not.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21That, again, that is like the Laurel and Hardy way of doing slapstick.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24You allow yourself to be battered.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29While it seemed we had never seen anything like Vic and Bob,
0:44:29 > 0:44:33in their comedy, you can see the influence of a century of slapstick.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36In the mix is a dollop of Laurel and Hardy,
0:44:36 > 0:44:37a pinch of Tati,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41a generous helping of Morecambe and Wise
0:44:41 > 0:44:45and a smattering of Bottom, if you'll pardon the expression.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47There's even a dash of Max Wall.
0:44:47 > 0:44:52Yummy. All stirred together in, what else?
0:44:52 > 0:44:55A massive frying-pan.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02We like to leave ragged edges.
0:45:02 > 0:45:07To see my hand just... We could've done it again
0:45:07 > 0:45:11and I think the director probably would've said, "I saw you caught your hand there, do it again,"
0:45:11 > 0:45:18and we would've said, "No, just leave that in." Because that's probably better than the joke itself.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Vic, please. Oh, Vic, I admit it, I am incontinent.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24What have I done?
0:45:25 > 0:45:30It almost makes you, the viewer, with us on it, you know.
0:45:32 > 0:45:38I think that's one of the key things about slapstick, you have to be in with the attacker.
0:45:38 > 0:45:39You've got to be matey with them.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44And 20 years after they first started out, Vic and Bob are still at it.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46- I see you've got a frying pan, Vic? - Yes.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49The celebrity showbiz quiz. You're going to hit me with it, aren't you?
0:45:49 > 0:45:53- Yes.- Anyway, well we look forward to that, won't we, ladies and gentlemen?
0:45:56 > 0:46:04In the last series of Shooting Stars, I stuck a pump up Bob's jacksie and pumped his head up.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06AIR PUMPING
0:46:16 > 0:46:23We were trying to be as slapstick as we possibly could. We took it to the extremes.
0:46:28 > 0:46:33The pure slapstick of Reeves and Mortimer rekindled our love of buffoonery.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38But slapstick was a fickle mistress.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42As the new millennium dawned, there were many more admirers lining up.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47She got Lee Evans all hot and bothered...
0:46:47 > 0:46:53What Lee brings to it is... this huge physical presence.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57The way he uses his body, he's very unusual and it's very extreme, as well.
0:47:00 > 0:47:06But it wasn't just men who courted her charms. The Absolutely Fabulous Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley
0:47:06 > 0:47:08provided some hot girly action.
0:47:08 > 0:47:09What the hell?
0:47:11 > 0:47:16- Pig. What do you want? - 'Somebody being drunk is funny.'
0:47:16 > 0:47:20Joanna Lumley does drunk, well, sublimely well.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22She's sick.
0:47:23 > 0:47:28They just went for it, giving full rein to the extremities of a character,
0:47:28 > 0:47:32which is what slapstick is and Ab Fab embraced it.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37But this temptress was fooling around with all new comics on the scene
0:47:37 > 0:47:40and, with scant regard for how long a metaphor could be stretched,
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Simon Pegg also fell head over heels for her.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57I think Simon Pegg is one of the all time,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00maybe not all time, yeah, no, no, the all-time greats.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02He's really good. Really good at falling over
0:48:02 > 0:48:04and really good at being smacked.
0:48:06 > 0:48:12As one slapstick century ended and another began, perhaps the most twisted twist in the slapstick story
0:48:12 > 0:48:15came from the small village of Royston Vasey.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18- Good journey?- Er, passable. Rather long.- Well, quicker to cycle, I say.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21The League of Gentlemen, with their love of physical comedy
0:48:21 > 0:48:25and British horror, took us to a somewhat darker side of slapstick.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Now then, lad...
0:48:29 > 0:48:34We'd created Dr Chinnery, who was such a slapstick kind of character
0:48:34 > 0:48:36cos he's a well-meaning vet...
0:48:36 > 0:48:38who kills every animal that he treats.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42I fear a serious bowel disorder has been precipitated.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46I'm going to have to perform...
0:48:46 > 0:48:48a rectal examination.
0:48:48 > 0:48:53Ooh! Ooh, you brave little soldier!
0:48:53 > 0:48:55There, there we go.
0:49:01 > 0:49:07- Poor little Batley.- I think you'll find he's a little more robust than you give him credit for.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09SQUELCHING
0:49:09 > 0:49:11PFFRT!
0:49:19 > 0:49:23Slapstick's not just Laurel and Hardy and a routine where their hats fall off.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27But I love that equally, but it does bleed into a lot of types of comedy.
0:49:35 > 0:49:40Slapstick in the 21st century was in demand, but becoming more and more difficult to pull off.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42It was expensive and it could be dangerous.
0:49:42 > 0:49:47The daring stunts of Keaton, Michael Crawford and even Rik and Ade were long gone.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51Health and safety were the new double act in town.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58Now it's like...
0:49:58 > 0:50:04crews have to wear fluorescent jackets and all that kind of stuff.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06There was none of that then.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09I suppose we shall just have to cook our own supper.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18The bit where Rik lights a stove and then it blows up and it goes into slow motion...
0:50:18 > 0:50:23It looks arty, but in fact that's only because there was too much explosive in the cooker
0:50:23 > 0:50:27and there's only those five or six frames of tape before the camera caught fire.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31It just wouldn't happen now.
0:50:31 > 0:50:37For any little trip or fall you have to do, nowadays with health and safety...
0:50:37 > 0:50:38Oh, no!
0:50:40 > 0:50:44We did a reunion show of The Goodies and they found one of the three-seater bicycles,
0:50:44 > 0:50:46which we hated.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49I thought, "Oh, they're going to make us ride it."
0:50:49 > 0:50:52But they said, "Whatever you do, don't get on the bike cos we can't insure you."
0:50:52 > 0:50:55I said, "Well, that's 30 years too late, isn't it?"
0:50:56 > 0:50:59When it came to dangerous stunts, Nanny said no.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02But people still crave those big slapstick laughs.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05So, who would fill the void at the start of the new millennium?
0:51:05 > 0:51:08Well, er....you.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12Reality was the next big thing and the new slapstick star was Joe Public.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20People were laughing at their own madcap antics.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23Being real made the slapstick even funnier.
0:51:29 > 0:51:34I've seen one on YouTube where a woman comes with a birthday cake, gets out of the car and then,
0:51:34 > 0:51:38for the character involved in the centre of it, it's life and death.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40She's not worried about the cake.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42She's worried about breaking her neck.
0:51:42 > 0:51:43- Behind the camera, Mum!- Ah!
0:51:54 > 0:51:58That's where the laughs are, I think. It's in that human reaction.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01I think that's always what it's about.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05- The rings, please.- But some of it wasn't quite what it seemed.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07Oh God. No!
0:52:09 > 0:52:13There's one with the bride falling into the water. I just think it's hilarious.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15I've laughed every time I've seen it.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19This clip fooled millions of people, but turned out to be fake.
0:52:21 > 0:52:26So, slapstick has almost come full circle and reminiscent of those first public screenings
0:52:26 > 0:52:33by the Lumiere brothers, today's pioneers of slapstick are exploring new frontiers.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Some of it looks really painful.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37You think, "God, I think they've really hurt their heads."
0:52:37 > 0:52:42I think it's maybe seeing the situation and knowing instantly, "Oh God, I can see what's coming."
0:52:42 > 0:52:44You just don't quite know when.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48We still love to see people take a tumble, as millions of people prove
0:52:48 > 0:52:54every Saturday night by tuning in to see You've Been Framed, Hole In The Wall and Total Wipeout.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57Total Wipeout is slapstick.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01That's a big, big slapstick show. We all still love and adore slapstick.
0:53:01 > 0:53:02It's just kind of,
0:53:02 > 0:53:06it's moved out of scripted comedy slightly and into other areas.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10On your average Saturday night, you've got Hole In The Wall.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17You can certainly get your fill of it on a Saturday night.
0:53:22 > 0:53:27As we've seen throughout the story of slapstick, it has a way of reinventing itself.
0:53:30 > 0:53:35Today, a whole new generation are finding new ways of performing the same old gags.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Yeah...working it... 'Oh, look.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39'It's me. Oh, isn't that marvellous?'
0:53:42 > 0:53:44It's all about the recovery, isn't it?
0:53:47 > 0:53:51It's kind of strange. Everything's coming round again and going back to slapstick.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54You have to make it silly and you have to make it big and fun.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06I've seen We Are Klang and I know people say it's kind of The Goodies.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10Or it's the new Rik Mayall playing The Goodies.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12- You never thought anyone would say that.- Pru, my love?
0:54:12 > 0:54:17Mmm? What's that, Miranda? I can't hear you because I'm busy serving a customer.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21"No, it's all right, my darling. I'll do it myself," said the little red hen.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23Careful, Miranda. You'll hurt yourself.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25- Excuse me? - No, don't worry. I'm fine.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29I think I must have slipped on one of your rogue pieces of beetroot.
0:54:29 > 0:54:30- Excuse me?- What?
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Could I get another plate? This one's got something on it.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36We prefer customers not to raise their voice when making complaints.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39- Who's raising his voice? - I wasn't.- I won't be bothered.
0:54:39 > 0:54:45- I don't know what you're talking about.- You need to calm down.- This is absurd.- It's kicking off, Pru.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Always for me, some of the funniest stuff that we get to do in the show,
0:54:56 > 0:54:58is the slapstick and the visual comedy. I just love that.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Again, it's that laughter, that primitive thing that you get.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14I think the comedy today is fantastic.
0:55:14 > 0:55:20I don't have this longing for the past and thinking, "Weren't the silent days the best and fantastic?"
0:55:20 > 0:55:23I just think it's extraordinary that what happened then and extraordinary
0:55:23 > 0:55:26how that informs what's still happening today in comedy.
0:55:30 > 0:55:36Slapstick may go in and out of fashion, but it will never go away.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40We might have to look a little bit harder for it, but as long as it's in our nature to laugh
0:55:40 > 0:55:44at the misfortunes of fellow human beings, slapstick will survive.
0:55:47 > 0:55:53The humour of it, I suppose, is that underneath it all, we're the subject of these basic laws of gravity.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00If you remove the feet from under somebody, they'll fall over.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Things like that.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05You know, custard will stick.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10I think it's really, really, really funny.
0:56:10 > 0:56:11It always, always makes me laugh.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14I think, I think I'm not alone.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17I think there's a lot of people out there who also think it's hilarious.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19They've just been driven underground.
0:56:21 > 0:56:26It's just goes right to the heart, the very core of every human being.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33You can't stop us doing slapstick, we love it.
0:56:33 > 0:56:39So...it's in everything we do. You do get brutalised and it is knackering.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42But it's like doing some Olympic challenge.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44It's worth it in the long run.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54So, there you have it. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, male or female
0:56:54 > 0:56:56or where in the world you come from.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59Slapstick comedy is universal.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01It transcends language and culture.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05But most important of all, it's, well, you know, funny.
0:57:10 > 0:57:14- Ha, ha, ha... - # One, one, two, three, four... #
0:57:17 > 0:57:18Ah!
0:57:25 > 0:57:28# Nothing's gonna bring me down...
0:57:28 > 0:57:29# ..and tyres on my car,
0:57:29 > 0:57:32# I've got most of the means and scripts for the scenes
0:57:32 > 0:57:34# I'm out and about so I'm in with a shout
0:57:34 > 0:57:36# I've got a fair bit of Jack but better than that
0:57:36 > 0:57:38# Food in my belly and a license for my telly
0:57:38 > 0:57:40# And nothing's gonna bring me down
0:57:52 > 0:57:55# Nothing's going to bring me down
0:58:07 > 0:58:12# Best of all, I've got my baby
0:58:12 > 0:58:16# Oh, best of all I've got my baby... #
0:58:16 > 0:58:18- No!- In the drier!
0:58:18 > 0:58:21- No, I won't!- In the drier!
0:58:24 > 0:58:25# Nothing's going to bring me down
0:58:25 > 0:58:28# She's mighty fine and she's all mine
0:58:28 > 0:58:31# No, nothing's gonna bring me down. #
0:58:31 > 0:58:35- Ha, ha, ha...- Whoa! - That is slapstick.
0:58:42 > 0:58:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:45 > 0:58:48E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk