794 The World According To Smith and Jones

First  viewed : 11  January  1987

This  was  all  a   bit  strange. Between  Seasons  3 and  4  of  Alas  Smith  and  Jones,  Mel  and  Griff  popped  over  to  ITV  to  make  a  comedy  series  for  the  Sunday  night  slot  usually  occupied  by  Spitting  Image. It  took  the  form  of  the  duo  sitting  behind  a  desk  a  la  The  Two  Ronnies  and  presenting  a  mock-history  of  the  world  through  the  use  of  old  film  clips. It's  probably best  remembered  for  Griff  finding  some  anonymous  fat  guy  among  the  footage  and  claiming  it  to  be  one  of  Mel's  ancestors - not  exactly  high  brow  comedy. The  critics  reviled  it; I  thought  it  was  quite  well  put  together  and  harmless  wind-down  entertainment.

For  some  reason  ITV  stopped  the 12-part  series  after  episode  6 ( almost  certainly  the  last  thing  I  watched  on  the  night  before  I  started  work )  and  presented  the  rest  as  a  new  series  the  following  year. In  between, the new  season  of  Alas  Smith  and  Jones  was   broadcast  on  BBC 2  and  the  first  episode  saw  Mel  and  Griff  ripping  into  the  series  themselves. Perhaps  it  was  a  necessary  penance  as  the  Beeb  had  seriously  contemplated  cutting  them  adrift  for  their  temporary  desertion  but  it  was  odd  to  say  the  least.