RaspberryLucozade 'Not The Nine O'Clock News' set the ball rolling for alternative comedians when it first arrived in 1979. As was the case with 'The Young Ones' after it, the impact 'Not The Nine O'Clock News' had on viewers was unbelievable. Nothing like it had been seen before on British television, not at least since the arrival of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' a decade earlier.It was a satirical show, and by that I mean much of the humour concerned topical issues of the day. The first episode kicked off with John Cleese as Basil Fawlty from 'Fawlty Towers' introducing the show as a 'tatty revue'. In the cast for the first series were Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson ( wife of Scots comedian Billy Connolly ), Mel Smith and Chris Langham. The first series was patchy at best though it went down well enough to be awarded a second series a year later, with Griff Rhys Jones replacing Chris Langham.One of my favourite sketches featured a hilarious spoof of 'That's Life' entitled 'That's Lies!' which featured Stephenson as Esther Rantzen ( ''this has got nothing to do with us!'' ). Another item saw Mel Smith on a woman's doorstep claiming to be collecting for charity on behalf of deaf karate experts. ''We don't give to charity!'' says the woman before closing the door on him, to which he kicks the door down and then enquires: ''Pardon!''. The best of all featured Mel Smith as a professor being interviewed on behalf of his experiences on living with a gorilla called Gerald ( which was Rowan Atkinson in costume ).PROFESSOR: When I caught Gerald in the jungle in 1968, he was completely wild! GERALD: Wild? I was absolutely bloody livid! 'Not The Nine O'Clock News' was not in my view a classic show but it certainly had its fine moments and its influence on later shows such as 'Naked Video' and 'Spitting Image' cannot be ignored. Pamela Stephenson, apart from appearances on 'Saturday Live', did not do another comedy show though Rowan Atkinson moved into sitcom with 'Blackadder' while Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones stuck together for the long running 'Alas Smith & Jones'.

bretttom This is without a doubt the funniest sketch show ever made, the sketches still remain fresh today, time after time. The quality of acting is superb and being a huge Rowan Atkinson fan i have to say this is some of his finest work, even alongside Mr Bean and Blackadder. Mel Smith also stands out as a fine comic actor as well, look out for the drinking game in the style of a darts match...wonderfully inventive! Rowan Atkinson only has to look at the camera in one of the sketches to make you laugh as his style is so unique it has people in fits of laughter, simply every time he's on screen. An absolute comic genius in a cutting edge comical sketch show!

Jason-173 Sure, this was the funniest show ever. Right up until 'Kids in the Hall,' anyway, which gave NTNON about ten years reign. Do you realise NTNON was the first comedy troupe to make fun of ABBA? Respect is due. If you can picture Mel Smith dressed like Agnetha, you get the idea... And if it comes easily to your mind, I raise an eyebrow at you.Just a young lad when this show was on-air, I was glued to the tv set like wet toilet paper.Nowadays NTNON's humour seems fairly commonplace. But NTNON was the first to mock the MGM logo by zooming out on the roaring lion to show him mounting a female. Since this is done routinely in comedy now, the impact is lost. But at the time, it was mind-blowingly irreverent. And since this was the first time I had ever seen sex, it was also educational.

DeadDog The reason that NTNON isn't remembered as much as it could be is the sheer topicality of many of the sketches. The company bosses acceding to the increasingly outrageous demands of the Union bosses - "and his daughter to be phased in at a later date" - are still funny, but were probably funnier still at the time. Of course, there are plenty of other sketches that don't require a full knowledge of Britain in the early Thatcher years to appreciate, and if you ever get the chance, it's worth catching them.And the songs are still brilliant. Altogether now - " I Like Trucking"