All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

3.3: Not the Nine O’Clock News. Released 8 October 2026.

An even earlier example of alternative comedy than The Young Ones, this took the moribund sketch comedy form and infused radical new life into it as well as kickstarting at least half a dozen comedy careers. We’re going to watch series three episode three and the final episode, series four episode six.

Next time we’ll be watching Armando Iannucci’s blackly gripping The Thick Of It. We’ll start with the very first episode and then we’ll swap Hugh Abbot for Nicola Murray and pick up with series three episode two.

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

• https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod
• https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained/join
• https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy
• Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56
• allbritishcomedy@gmail.com
• https://allbritishcomedy.com
• https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod
• https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

• https://abigoliah.com
• https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah
• https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah
• https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

• https://thegangofthree.co.uk
• https://tomsalinsky.co.uk
• https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972
• https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every month, our Patreon supporters at the £5 tier or above get a bonus episode and this month Abigoliah explains The Smothers Brothers to Tom. Enjoy the first 10 or so minutes and if you enjoy what you hear, why not consider becoming a member?

Join via Patreon https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod

Join via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained/join

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All British Comedy Explained… to Abigoliah Schamaun, by Tom Salinsky

3.2: That Was the Week That Was. Released 17 September 2026.

The granddaddy of television satire, this landmark show only ran for two series, but it utterly changed the face of television comedy, on both sides of the Atlantic. Most episodes have similar virtues and issues, but we’ve gone for series 1, episode 9.

Next time we’ll look at the show that started it all, by which I mean this podcast, Not the Nine O’Clock News. After much deliberation, we’ve settled on series 3 episode 3 and series 4 episode 6.

Thanks to the Independent Podcast Awards for the nomination. https://independentpodcastawards.com/IPA26/en/page/our-2026-shortlist

Here’s a long list of social media systems where you can find the podcast and us.

The podcast

• https://patreon.com/BritishComedyPod
• https://www.youtube.com/@AllBritishComedyExplained/join
• https://substack.com/@allbritishcomedy
• Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/jnPC56
• allbritishcomedy@gmail.com
• https://allbritishcomedy.com
• https://www.instagram.com/britishcomedypod
• https://www.tiktok.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://bsky.app/profile/allbritishcomedy.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@britishcomedypod
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/allbritishcomedy

Abigoliah Schamaun

• https://abigoliah.com
• https://www.youtube.com/Abigoliah
• https://www.instagram.com/abigoliah
• https://www.tiktok.com/@abigoliah

Tom Salinsky

• https://thegangofthree.co.uk
• https://tomsalinsky.co.uk
• https://www.facebook.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.instagram.com/tomsalinsky
• https://www.tiktok.com/@tomsalinsky1972
• https://bsky.app/profile/tomsalinsky.bsky.social
• https://www.threads.com/@tomsalinsky

All British Comedy Explained is produced by The Spontaneity Shop. If you enjoy this podcast, why not check out The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White, Tom’s other podcast Best Pick all about movies, or Abigoliah’s other podcast Neurodivergent Moments.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.