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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| genre = [[Situation comedy|Sitcom]]/[[Sketch comedy|Sketch]]
| runtime = 30 minutes
| creator =
| starring = Various
| country = United Kingdom
| network = [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| first_aired = {{Start date|1995|07|10|df=yes}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1995|08|14|df=yes}}
| num_episodes = 6
}}

'''''Comedy Firsts''''' is a British [[television|television series]] consisting of five unrelated [[British sitcom|sitcoms]] and one [[Sketch comedy|sketch show]] that aired in 1995. Two of the episodes later led to full series, ''[[Barbara (TV series)|Barbara]]'' and ''[[Sometime, Never]]''.

==Background==
''Comedy Firsts'' followed on from ITV's ''[[Comedy Playhouse (ITV TV series)|Comedy Playhouse]]'' that had aired in 1993. It followed the same format of a series of one-off comedy [[television pilot|pilots]]. Each episode of ''Comedy Firsts'' aired on Monday at 8pm and had a different cast and writers.

==Episodes==
{| class="wikitable"
! Title
! Airdate
! Writers
! Overview
! IMDb link
|-
|Barbara
|10 July
|[[Mark Bussell]], [[Rob Clark (screenwriter)|Rob Clark]], [[Ramsay Gilderdale]] & [[Graham Mark Walker]]
| style="font-size: 100%;" |Barbara Liversage (played by [[Gwen Taylor]]) is a no-nonsense nosey [[Yorkshire]] woman who works at a [[General practitioner|doctor's]] [[receptionist]] with a sharp tongue. She is married to Ted ([[Sam Kelly]]), a [[taxicab|taxi driver]]. Her son Neil ([[Benedict Sandiford]]) still lives at home, while her daughter Linda ([[Caroline Milmoe]]) is married to [[chef]] Martin Benson (Glen Davies). Barbara's sister is Jean ([[Shirley Anne Field]]) who is married to Phil ([[John Arthur (actor)|John Arthur]]) while her colleague is Doreen ([[Madge Hindle]]). Three series of ''[[Barbara (TV series)|Barbara]]'' aired from 1999 to 2003.
|[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0518541/]
|-
|Sometime, Never
|17 July
|[[Jenny Lecoat]]
| style="font-size: 100%;" |Maxine Bailey (played by [[Sara Crowe]]) is a single, acid-tongued [[Liberalism|liberal]] [[drama]] teacher at an inner-city [[Comprehensive school|comprehensive]]. On her 31st birthday she reflects on her life, and annoyed that fellow teacher Louise Kilgarith ([[Lucinda Fisher]]) got a promotion she wanted and generally annoyed with her ex-boyfriend Ian ([[Harry Burton (actor)|Harry Burton]]). Her best friend Bernice ([[Ann Bryson]]) lives in the flat above her. Also starring [[Saeed Jaffrey]] as headteacher Harry and [[Sean Carnegie]] as Jason Williams. One series of ''[[Sometime, Never]]'' aired in 1996.
|[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112171/]
|-
|Sardines
|24 July
|[[Gareth Edwards (producer)|Gareth Edwards]], [[Chris Langham]] & [[Ben Miller]]
| style="font-size: 100%;" |Davy Kotowski (played by [[Griff Rhys Jones]]) is a petty officer aboard [[submarine]] HMS ''Wolverine''. Following a rigged [[arm-wrestling]] contest, half the crew are in slings. Kotowski is then brought before the Captain, Alec McCleod ([[Jack Docherty|John Docherty]]) for the ninth time. He is sentenced to denial of shore leave and 20 hours laundry duty, most of which he delegates to the simple sailor Chris Cheese ([[William Ivory]]). Kotowski then plots his revenge on Lionel Pinner ([[Ian Bartholomew]]) and Cheese ends up having a £100 grudge [[darts]] match with Pinner on Kotowski's behalf. Also starring [[Anthony Smee]] as Roger Tench, Paul Shearer as Proudlove, [[Peter-Hugo Daly]] as Galloway, [[Perry Benson]] as Coxswain, [[Ben Miller]] as Simon Adair, [[Alexander Armstrong (comedian)|Alexander Armstrong]] as Alastair Simpson and Jake Abraham as Mickey Davis.
|[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112151/]
|-
|Waiting
|31 July
|[[Jim Hitchmough]]
| style="font-size: 100%;" |The [[National Health Service|NHS]] Hillcroft Medical Centre has a vacancy for a practise manager. The receptionist Beryl Oldham (played by [[Brigit Forsyth]]) is the favourite for the job, but then pompous ex-[[British Army|Army officer]] Maurice Ribley ([[Patrick Barlow]]) arrives and he is given the job. Also starring [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]] as Dr. Roger Capstick, [[Ashley Jensen]] as Amanda Cookson, [[Simon Slater]] as Dr. Duncan Pettifer and [[Sarah Lam]] as Dr. Anna Chen.
|[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0197090/]
|-
|The Smiths
|7 August
|[[Julian Roach]]
| style="font-size: 100%;" |Clive (played by [[Kevin McNally]]) and Carol Smith ([[Rebecca Lacey]]) are a [[Merseyside]] couple who are struggling to raise their two teenage children, Wayne ([[Scott Neal]]) and Debbie ([[Heather Jones]]) in a small semi-detached house. The walls are so thin Clive and Carol have to make love in their car, but when the car needs repairs they have to go without for a few weeks. When Clive and his friend Geoff ([[Rowland Rivron]]) fix the car, it is sold while they are down the [[public house|pub]]. Also starring [[Jackie Downey]] as Linda, [[Sonia (singer)|Sonia]] as Doona, [[Geoffrey Hughes (actor)|Geoffrey Hughes]] as Dooley and [[Angus Lennie]] as Wilf.
|[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140764/]
|-
|Now What
|14 August
|Various
| style="font-size: 100%;" |A [[Sketch comedy|sketch show]] starring [[Fiona Allen]], [[Don Gilet]], [[Alan D. Marriott]], [[Curtis Walker]] and [[Angela Wynter]]. It included a character called ''Triviaman'' and a spoof of ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]'' called ''Casually''.
|[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402407/]
|}

==References==
*[[Mark Lewisohn]], ''Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy'', BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
*[http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/comfirst/index.html ''Comedy Firsts''] at British TV Comedy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comedy Firsts}}
[[Category:1995 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1995 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1990s British comedy television series]]
[[Category:ITV comedy]]
[[Category:Television pilot seasons]]
[[Category:Television series by ITV Studios]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]

Comedy Firsts - Revision history

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