That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, was a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject (individuals, organizations, states) often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin, the programme was fronted by David Frost and cast members included improvising cartoonist Timothy Birdsall, political commentator Bernard Levin, and actors Lance Percival, who sidelined in topical calypsos, many improvised in response to suggestions from the audience, Kenneth Cope, Roy Kinnear, Willie Rushton (then known as 'William'), Al Mancini, Robert Lang, David Kernan and Millicent Martin. The last two were also singers and the programme opened with a song – eponymously entitled That Was The Week That Was – sung by Martin to Ron Grainer's theme tune and enumerating topics that had been in the past week's news. Off-screen script-writers included John Albery, John Betjeman, John Bird, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Peter Cook, Roald Dahl, Richard Ingrams, Gerald Kaufman, Frank Muir, Denis Norden, Bill Oddie, Dennis Potter, Eric Sykes, Kenneth Tynan, Keith Waterhouse and others. Ned Sherrin (born 18 February 1931 in Somerset, England) is a broadcaster, author and stage director. ... Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE (born April 7, 1939) is an English television presenter. ... Timothy Birdsall (born 1936, died June 1963) was an English cartoonist from Eastbourne, who appeared on the BBC’s first satirical programme That Was The Week That Was. ... (Henry) Bernard Levin CBE (August 19, 1928 - August 7, 2004) was an English journalist, author and broadcaster. ... Lance Percival (born July 26, 1933) is a British actor, comedian and noted after dinner speaker born in Sevenoaks, Kent. ... Kenneth Cope is an English actor, born on 14 July 1934, in Liverpool. ... Roy Kinnear (January 8, 1934 – September 20, 1988) was a prolific English character actor. ... William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton (August 18, 1937–December 11, 1996) was a British cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer. ... This article is about Robert Lang, the hockey player. ... Millicent Mary Lillian Martin (born 8 June 1934) is an English actress, singer and comedienne. ... Ron Grainer (August 11, 1922 - February 21, 1981) was an Australian-born composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. ... Wyndham John Albery was Professor of Physical Chemistry at Imperial College London (ICL) and master of University College at the University of Oxford. ... Sir John Betjeman CBE (28 August 1906–19 May 1984) was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Whos Who as a poet and hack. He was born to a middle-class family in Edwardian London. ... John Bird (born 22 November 1936) is an English satirist, actor and comedian. ... Graham Chapman (8 January 1941–4 October 1989) was an English comedian, actor, writer and physician. ... John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939) is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award winning English comedian and actor best known for being one of the founding members of the renowned comedy group Monty Python. ... Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English satirist, writer and comedian. ... Roald Dahl (IPA: ) (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a Welsh novelist, short story author and screenwriter of Norwegian parentage, famous as a writer for both children and adults. ... Richard Ingrams (born August 19, 1937) was the second editor of British satirical magazine, Private Eye, taking over from Christopher Booker in 1963. ... Gerald Kaufman is passionate about Palestine The Right Honourable Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman (born June 21, 1930) is a British Labour Member of Parliament who was a government minister during the 1970s. ... Frank Muir (5 February 1920 - 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. ... Denis Norden (born 1922) is a British comedy writer and television presenter. ... Bill Oddie William Edgar (Bill) Oddie, OBE (born July 7, 1941 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester) is a comedy writer and performer, author, composer and musician. ... Liber Amoris Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935—7 June 1994) was a controversial British dramatist who is best known for several widely acclaimed television dramas which mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. ... Eric Sykes in the Sykes TV series (DVD) The Plank (DVD cover) Eric Sykes, CBE (born May 4, 1923 in Oldham, Lancashire) is a British comedic writer and actor. ... Kenneth Peacock Tynan (April 2, 1927 - July 26, 1980), was an influential and often controversial British theatre critic and writer. ... Keith Waterhouse (born 6 February 1929 in Leeds, England) is a novelist, newspaper columnist, and the writer of many television series. ...

The programme was groundbreaking in its lampooning of the establishment. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was initially supportive of the programme, chastising the then Postmaster General Reginald Bevins (nominally in charge of broadcasting) for threatening to "do something about it". During the Profumo affair, however, he became one of the programme's chief targets for derision. After two successful seasons in 1962 and 1963, the programme did not return in 1964, as this was a General Election year and the BBC decided it would be unduly influential. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ... In the United Kingdom, the Postmaster General is a now defunct ministerial position. ... (John) Reginald Bevins, PC (20 August 1908 – 16 November 1996) was a British politician. ... Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. ... The Profumo Affair was a political scandal from 1963 in the United Kingdom that is named after the then-Secretary of State for War, John Profumo. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ...

At the end of each episode, Frost would usually sign off with: "That was the week, that was." At the end of the final programme he announced: "That was That Was The Week That Was...that was."

The show was always the last to be scheduled as part of the BBC's Saturday night programming, and as such often extensively under- or overran as the cast and crew worked through the material as they saw fit. For the first three editions of the second season in 1963, the BBC attempted to limit the activities of the team by scheduling repeats of the television series The Third Man after the programme, so that they could not overrun their slot. However, Frost took to reading out detailed synopses of the plots of the following Third Man episode at the end of each edition of TW3, revealing all the twists and details and meaning there was little point in anybody watching them. The BBC quickly dropped the repeats, and TW3 was left open-ended once more. The Third Man (1949) is a British film noir directed by Carol Reed. ...

Possibly the most famous, and certainly most acclaimed, edition of the programme was that broadcast on Saturday November 23, 1963, the day after the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. TW3 produced a shortened 20-minute programme with no satire, reflecting on the loss, including a contribution from Dame Sybil Thorndike and the tribute song "In the Summer of His Years" sung by Martin. This edition was screened on NBC in the US the following day, and the soundtrack was released as a vinyl LP recording by Decca Records. In addition to the Millicent Martin studio recording of "In the Summer of His Years" being issued in the U.S. by ABC-Paramount, numerous other versions were hurriedly recorded and rush-released by Connie Francis (MGM), Mahalia Jackson (Columbia), Kate Smith (RCA Victor), Sarah Vaughn (Vernon) and The Chad Mitchell Trio (Mercury); the Francis recording became a Top 40 hit on the Cash Box pop singles chart in January 1964. The New York Times quoted BBC presenter Richard Dimbleby, who travelled to the U.S. to broadcast the president's funeral as having said that the regular programme was scrapped when news of the assassination was received in London. The programme was a good expression of the sorrow felt in Britain, Dimbleby said. November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... President Kennedy with his wife, Jacqueline, and Texas Governor John Connally in the presidential limousine just moments before his assassination The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 p. ... Dame Sybil Thorndike (October 24, 1882–June 9, 1976) was a British actress. ... NBC (a former acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... ABC Records started in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records, the recording arm of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. ... Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop singer best known for international hit songs such as Whos Sorry Now?, Where The Boys Are, and Everybodys Somebodys Fool. ... MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio in 1946. ... Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911[1] – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely regarded as the best in the history of the genre. ... Kate Smith on the cover of a posthumous 1991 collection 16 Most Requested Songs Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was a Washington, D.C.-born singer best known for her rendition of Irving Berlins God Bless America. She greeted audiences with Hello, everybody! and signed... Sony BMG Music Entertainment is the result of a 50/50 joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment (part of Sony) and BMG Entertainment (part of Bertelsmann AG) completed in August 2004. ... Sarah Vaughan (March 27, 1924 - April 3, 1990) is considered by some to be one of the greatest female jazz singers in the history of the genre, along with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. ... Mercury Records was a record label founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge. ... Cash Box magazine was a weekly publication devoted to the music and coin-operated machine industry. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... Richard Dimbleby CBE (May 25, 1913–December 22, 1965) was an English journalist and broadcaster. ... The state funeral of John F. Kennedy followed his assassination on November 22, 1963. ...

As with many contemporary BBC shows, the programme was transmitted live, and recordings were not made of all editions. A compilation taken from telerecordings of the original live broadcasts was shown on BBC Four to celebrate the programme's fortieth anniversary. Although historically interesting, most of the recordings are of poor quality. Telerecording (known as kinescoping in the USA) is the British name for a process pioneered during the 1940s for the storing of electronically-shot television programmes on film, which was used for the preservation, re-broadcasting and sale of television programmes before the use of commercial broadcast-quality videotape became... BBC Four Ident BBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television (Freeview, satellite and cable) viewers in the UK. The successor to an earlier digital channel called BBC Knowledge, BBC Four began on March 2, 2002 – its first evenings programmes being simulcast on BBC Two. ...

In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, That Was The Week That Was was placed 29th. 100 Greatest British Television Programmes was a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI) chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened. ... The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The following season Ned Sherrin attempted to revive and modify the formula with Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, but this was less successful. Not So Much A Programme, More A Way of Life was a BBC satire programme which aired during the winter of 1964-1965, produced by Ned Sherrin, in an attempt to continue and improve on the successful formula of his That Was The Week That Was, which had been taken...

Alternative versions

An American version of TW3 was broadcast on the NBC television network; initially as a one-time pilot episode on November 10, 1963, and then as a regular series from January 10, 1964, to May, 1965. The pilot featured hosts Henry Fonda and Henry Morgan, guest stars Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and various supporting performers including Gene Hackman. The series had a recurring cast that included Frost, Morgan, Buck Henry and Alan Alda, with Nancy Ames singing the ever-changing lyrics to the opening theme song; regular contributors included Gloria Steinem, Tom Lehrer and Calvin Trillin. Also appearing as a guest was Woody Allen, performing some of his stand-up comedy act; the guest star on the final broadcast was Steve Allen. After the series' cancellation, Lehrer recorded a collection of his songs that were used on the show, That Was The Year That Was, which was released by Reprise Records in September 1965 and became a major hit LP. A television pilot is the first episode of an intended television series. ... November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was a highly acclaimed Academy Award-winning American film actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. ... Henry Morgan (March 31, 1915 - May 19, 1994), born in New York City, was a comedian best remembered for having been a regular panelist on the CBS game show Ive Got a Secret. ... Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky) is an Academy Award winning movie director of films such as The Graduate and Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He was born on November 6, 1931 in Berlin, to a Jewish Russian family. ... Elaine May (b. ... Gene Hackman (born Eugene Allen Hackman[1] on January 30, 1930) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Buck Henry Zuckerman (born December 9, 1930 in New York, New York) is an American actor, writer and director, best known for his work in television, film, comedy, and satire. ... Alan Alda (b. ... Nancy Ames (born 1937) is an American folk singer and songwriter. ... Gloria Steinem at news conference, Womens Action Alliance, January 12, 1972 Gloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist icon, journalist and womens rights advocate. ... Tom Lehrer in 1960. ... Calvin Trillin (born Kansas City, Missouri, December 5, 1935) is an American journalist, humorist, and novelist. ... Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Königsberg on December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, jazz musician, comedian, and playwright. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American musician, comedian and writer instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show. ... Reprise Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, operated through Warner Bros. ...

A Canadian show, This Hour Has Seven Days, aired from 1964 to 1966 on the CBC. Although partially inspired by That Was The Week That Was, the Canadian show mixed satirical aspects with more serious journalism. It also proved highly controversial, and like its inspiration, was cancelled after two seasons amid allegations of political interference. The show's ideological successor, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, created by Newfoundland comic Mary Walsh has been running since 1992 although the two projects are in no way directly related. This Hour Has Seven Days was a controversial CBC Television newsmagazine, which ran from 1964 to 1966. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a Canadian crown corporation, is the country’s national public radio and television broadcaster. ... This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. ... For other uses, see Newfoundland (disambiguation). ... Mary Walsh as Marg Princess Warrior alongside politician Stephen Harper. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

A Dutch version, Zo is het toevallig ook nog 's een keer, aired from November 1963 to 1966. It was highly controversial and public broadcaster VARA was under constant pressure to axe the show. They did after 18 editions. Mies Bouwman, The Netherlands' most popular TV presenter of the time, was part of the cast but decided to quit after the fourth edition because of the hate mail she received. Writer Gerard Reve was another notable cast member. Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... VARA is a public broadcasting organization in the Netherlands, established in 1927. ... Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... Gerard Kornelis van het Reve (born December 14, 1923 in Amsterdam, Netherlands – died April 8, 2006 in Zulte, Belgium) was a Dutch writer publishing first under the names Simon van het Reve, Darger Taveherven (an anagram) and his official name, although he became known as Gerard Reve. ...

Kristy Glass and Kevin Ruf starred in a remake of TW3 for ABC's Primetime Live in the fall of 2004. Soon after its premiere, Shelley Ross, the Executive Producer who brought TW3 back, was fired, and TW3 ended with her dismissal. Kevin Ruf (born on December 7, 1961, in Wilmington, Delaware) is an American actor. ...

External links

• BBC Guide to Comedy entry
• Museum of Broadcast Communications entry
• British Film Institute Screen Online
• IMDb entry