Alas Smith and Jones was a British comedy sketch television series featuring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones. It was broadcast on the BBC from 1982 to 1998. From 1989 to 1995, it was called Smith and Jones. For information about The Sketch Show TV programme, see The Sketch Show. ... Mel Smith Mel Smith is an English actor, film director, writer, producer born in London on December 3, 1952) He attended New College, Oxford. ... Griff Rhys Jones on Not The Nine OClock News Griff Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a British writer and actor. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the primary channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Not the Nine OClock News is a comedy television programme that was shown on the BBC, broadcast from 1979 to 1982. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... For information about The Sketch Show TV programme, see The Sketch Show. ... Mel Smith Mel Smith is an English actor, film director, writer, producer born in London on December 3, 1952) He attended New College, Oxford. ... Griff Rhys Jones on Not The Nine OClock News Griff Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a British writer and actor. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is one of the largest broadcasting corporations in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of more than £4 billion. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

The series followed in the footsteps of Not the Nine O'Clock News in its use of taboo-breaking material and sketches in questionable taste (as well as bad language), and also featured head-to-head 'duologues' between Smith and Jones. The series shared several script writers with Not the Nine O'Clock News including Clive Anderson, Colin Bostock-Smith and used Chris Langham as a cast regular. Other writers included Andy Hamilton. Not the Nine OClock News is a comedy television programme that was shown on the BBC, broadcast from 1979 to 1982. ... Clive Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is a British former barrister (specialising in criminal law) turned comedy writer and television presenter. ... Chris Langham (born 14 April 1949) is a British writer and comedian. ... For the darts player see Andy Hamilton (darts player). ...

The show's title was a pun on that of the American television series Alias Smith and Jones. The head-to-head sketches were very much in the Pete and Dud mould - Smith was the idiot who knew everything, Jones the idiot who knew nothing. Alias Smith and Jones was a Western television series on ABC from 1971 to 1973, starring Pete Duel and Ben Murphy. ...

The series was one of the first to be commissioned by the BBC from an independent company, Talkback Productions of which Smith and Jones were also directors. The format of the Head to Head with similar characters was used by Smith and Jones in a series of commercials. Talkback Productions was formed in 1981 by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones. ...

In 2006 Smith and Jones returned with The Smith and Jones Sketchbook, recorded in front of a live audience acting as a look back at their earlier shows.

Schedule

The show ran for 10 seasons with 5 to 7 episodes of 30 minutes duration[1]:

• December 27, 1982: a 5 minute special, broadcast as part of The Funny Side Of Christmas
• January 31, 1984 - March 6, 1984: Series One, 6 episodes
• October 31, 1985 - December 5, 1985: Series Two, 6 episodes
• September 18, 1986 - October 23, 1986: Series Three, 6 episodes
• October 15, 1987 - November 26, 1987: Series Four, 7 episodes
• December 21, 1988: 40 minutes special, Alas Sage And Onion

December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (362nd in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Commercial releases

A compilation DVD release (coded for region 2) was scheduled for August 8th 2005, by the BBC but has been delayed many times: DVD (commonly Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• The Best Of Alas Smith And Jones

There is an older VHS tape of Alas Smith and Jones, but it is out of print and hard to find. The tape is only suitable for PAL playback.

External links

• Alas Smith and Jones from the BBC Comedy Guide