Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (2002)
The history of the irreverent "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and the content battles it fought with its television network.
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the audience applauded
Thanks for the memories!
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
i was a kid when the smothers brothers were on and yet i remember them well ... i also remember a very cool babysitter i had who would sneak over her smothers brothers albums so we could listen to them ... man she was cool and she was shocked at what i understood of the political satire they used ... i was pretty political at a young age so i was with it in that respect...but this documentary gives you all the background you never knew at the time of what the brothers and the writing staff (along with the guest stars) were fighting to get even the softer political stuff on the air ... sometimes they could slip things past the censors just because the censors weren't 'hip enough' to catch on (a skit mentioning 'roaches' is a case in point) ...the smothers brothers were the only act to get fired by all three major TV networks ... that certainly can stand as a badge of honor since they simply wouldn't back down, or at least not back down much at all ... and some will be surprised to learn that it was Tommy (the 'dumb one') was the fire behind the controversial material ... along with his crack writing staff that included Steve Martin and Rob Reiner among others ...this is a well done and very interesting documentary ... it's 90 minutes in length but it will seem to be much shorter as it is well-paced and keeps your interest
All I have to say is that it was great finally hearing what really happened in the case of The Smothers Brothers. Seeing the Bros and their controversial guests talking about what happened was a treat.As for the DVD, it would have been a good idea (as an extra feature) to include all the controversial sketches in their entirety. I understand using clips in the documentary so that the pace will not be hampered, but extra footage of the full sketches as a bonus would have been good.Watch for Dick's reaction when Tommy talks about lighting up a joint.