The Funny Side of... - Season 1

Clive Anderson guides us through the history of television's talent shows. Where did they come from? How have they evolved? And why do we so frequently end up laughing at them?

Clive Anderson charts the history of television's relationship with politics via the things that can and will go wrong.

Clive Anderson guides us through the history of television's love affair with animals. Never work with children or animals is an old adage, but TV continues to ignore it. And so mistakes and mishaps are bound to happen.

Clive Anderson guides us through the history of live TV, pointing out all the things that go wrong when the programme-makers have no second chance.

Clive Anderson guides us through the history of television's favourite experts and the pitfalls that attend the role. As well as pointing out the potential problems of being cast as a telly know-it-all, there's sage advice to the would-be experts of the future.

Clive Anderson tries to fathom the miracle of Christmas television. Why do we sit down in front of the box, year after year, with such high expectations, and then feel surprised when it feels like we've seen it all before? Mostly because, it turns out, we actually have seen it all before.