The Summer Show
A British comedy sketch show from 1975 featuring winners of the ATV talent show New Faces; made by ATV for the ITV network Designed to emulate the fast moving style of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, it featured Marti Caine, Lenny Henry, Victoria Wood, impressionist Aiden J Harvey and singer Trevor Chance. To help out with the first show was the more experienced TV personality Leslie Crowther. The Summer Show consisted of five, forty five minute specials on the subjects of "holidays", "health and strength","mystery and crime","kids", and "entertainment". The performers, who were paid £175 a week for their efforts, were encouraged to diversify. Thus it featured the unlikely sight of Wood and Crowther duetting and other thrown together combinations for songs, sketches and dances. Wood said of the experience "it was one of those really bad variety shows where they got the scripts out of other people's dustbins. It was just dreadful." She was told by costumers, who said she was too big for the costumes, "if only you'd lose two stone you could wear this of Anna Massey's" Wood immediately went back to the unemployment queue when it ended. Whereas the series was a springboard for other cast members. Caine got her own TV series and Henry joined The Black and White Minstrel Show. [1]
Insights
Plot Summary
The Summer Show was a short-lived summer replacement variety series that aired on CBS in 1975. Each episode featured a mix of musical performances, comedy sketches, and guest stars. The show aimed to provide lighthearted entertainment during the summer months, capitalizing on the popularity of its hosts and the guest performers.
Critical Reception
The Summer Show received a largely lukewarm reception from critics, who often found the format to be dated and the sketches to be uninspired. While the musical performances by guest stars were occasionally praised, the overall consensus was that the show lacked a distinct identity and failed to capture the magic of earlier, more successful variety programs.
What Reviewers Say
- Felt like a relic of a bygone era of television variety.
- Star power of guests couldn't overcome a lack of creative spark.
- Suffered from inconsistent writing and unmemorable comedy segments.
Google audience: Audience reception data for 'The Summer Show (1975)' is not readily available. However, historical context suggests that variety shows of this nature often had dedicated fan bases but struggled to maintain broad appeal against evolving television trends.
Fun Fact
The show was part of a trend in the mid-1970s where networks would bring back popular performers or try new formats for summer replacement series, often with mixed results.
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