We Interrupt This Programme

Mark Thomas presents profiles of four American comedy acts who used the conventions of radio for their own subversive ends.

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Description
01	Bob Elliot And Ray Goulding	20040803	20060828	In the first programme he looks at Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding, the original practitioners of the spoof radio show, who influenced at least two generations of comedians, whether they realise it or not.
02	Stan Freberg	20040810	20060829	Best known for his parodies of 1950s music, Stan Freberg started out doing voices for Warner Brothers cartoons and went on to a career encompassing hit records, his own network radio comedy show and two decades in the advertising industry. Mark dissects the work of one of America's true comic originals.
03	The Firesign Theatre	20040817	20060830	Mark looks at the four-man comedy ensemble formed at a California radio station in the late 1960s. The surreal work of the Firesign Theatre continued to defy convention, authority and logic for many decades.
04 LAST	National Lampoon	20040824	20060831	The National Lampoon Radio Hour ran from 1973-74. It inspired legions of imitators on both sides of the Atlantic and launched the careers of John Belushi, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase among others.