The success of BBC’s
satirical current events programme “That Was The Week That Was” didn’t
go unnoticed by American television executives, who normally shied away
from satire and making fun of public figures--Bob Hope’s good-natured
barbs at contemporary presidents notwithstanding. But the mood in the
U.S. (thanks in part to the humour of President John F. Kennedy) was
changing in the early 1960's, and the idea of poking fun at the nation’s
leaders was more acceptable. The time was right for something
different, and NBC decided to see if an American version of “TW3" could
work. While it lasted for only one and a half seasons, it proved to be
influential enough to plant a seed for more satire in prime time.
On November 10th, 1963, NBC aired a one-hour
“TW3" special, hosted by Henry Fonda and television and radio comic
Henry Morgan. With a talented supporting cast (including the
up-and-coming comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May), the US
version poked fun at its political leaders (including Kennedy;
Republican Senator Barry Goldwater and former Vice-President Richard
Nixon). Critics liked the special and it did well in the ratings,
indicating that people were more willing to laugh at current events. NBC
quickly decided to produce a weekly version of “TW3" and scheduled the
first episode for January 10th, 1964.
But things had changed by that time: The nation
(and the world) was still mourning the assassination of President
Kennedy. His vice-president Lyndon Johnson was now in the Oval Office;
and America was gearing up for a likely presidential election between
Johnson and Goldwater.
A benefit of the BBC’s decision to cancel the
British “TW3" (because of the national elections in that country during
1964) was it allowed that show’s host, David Frost, to join the American
version as part of the ensemble cast. Originally, Elliott Reid hosted
but Frost took over the job in the fall of 1964 and stayed as host until
the end of the American version’s run. Morgan was still on hand, as was
comic Buck Henry, actor Tom Bosley (years before “Happy Days”) and a
pre-'M*A*S*H' Alan Alda. Feminist Gloria Steinem was a “contributor” to
the US version, along with satirist Tom Lehrer, whose gift was writing
and singing songs on major issues of the day–nuclear war, pesticide use,
sex and so forth. Nancy Ames was the “TW3 Girl,” singing the opening
theme song that changed every week as she warbled about news headlines
of the past seven days.
And in the first several months, the show had
high moments: Alda and comic Sandy Baron portrayed a pair of warbling
segregationist plumbers during a time of civil rights strife; and
puppeteer Burr Tillstrom of “Kukla and Ollie” fame staged a hand puppet
skit atop the Berlin War that won an Emmy award. Even “TW3's” jabs at
television itself were effective. In one episode, a real-life ketchup
commercial aired, with hamburger buns flipping their tops when they
learned the brand of ketchup that would be used. When the show returned,
David Frost began addressing the audience–and dozens of hamburger bun
tops fell on top of him!
“TW3” aired on Friday nights and did well enough
in the ratings for NBC to renew the show for the fall–even though it was
an election year in the States. While the show made fun of President
Lyndon Johnson and his vice-presidential choice Hubert Humphrey, it also
took aim at Republican challenger Barry Goldwater and his conservative
positions (one episode showed a puppet reading Goldwater’s public
statements). Ironically, the presidential elections would spell the end
of the American “TW3"–in its own way.
For the fall season, “TW3" was moved from its
Friday slot to Tuesday nights at 9:30 PM–against the top-ten CBS rural
comedy “Petticoat Junction” and ABC’s new serial drama “Peyton Place.”
What’s more, Barry Goldwater found a way to get back at the show and its
continued jabs at him. According to the authors of the book “Watching
Television,” the September 22nd, 1964 season premiere was pre-empted by a
30 minute special paid for by the Goldwater campaign, delaying the show
one week. But “TW3" was pre-empted three out of four times during
October when the Republicans (and Goldwater) bought the Tuesday at 9:30
slots on NBC. November 3rd was Election Day, so all three networks
pre-empted their schedules (including “TW3") to cover the results. On
that day, Americans elected Johnson over Goldwater in a landslide.
“TW3" finally returned to the airwaves November
10th. It opened with a film of Goldwater’s concession speech and an
announcer telling viewers “Due to circumstances beyond control, the
regularly scheduled political broadcast scheduled for this time is
pre-empted.” “TW3" won the battle against Barry, but lost the war.
“Peyton Place” and “Petticoat Junction” swamped NBC in the ratings. As a
result, the American “TW3" aired its last episode May 4th, 1965. (An
album of Tom Lehrer songs performed on “TW3" became a big hit when it
was released that fall.)
Despite its relatively short life in America,
“That Was The Week That Was” and its willingness to take aim at current
events paved the way for other more successful shows, including “The
Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,”
“Saturday Night Live,” “SCTV,” “In Living Color,” “Mad TV” and today’s
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report”–which owe a
debt of thanks to the folks at “TW3".
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