Sitcom Trials: Sitcom Trials unbroadcast pilot - Do You Think They'll Cotton On?

Friday, 22 February 2013

Sitcom Trials unbroadcast pilot - Do You Think They'll Cotton On?

The Sitcom Trials' ITV 1 series began this very week in 2003, yes ten years ago on 21st Feb 2003. To commemorate it here is one of the seven-minute-sitcoms from that first episode, in the version from the unbroadcast pilot recorded a week earlier. Do You Think They'll Cotton On was written by Bryan Meenagh and stars Gerard Foster and Wanda Opalinska. Enjoy.

The ITV1 series ran for 8 weeks, showcasing 16 brand new mini sitcoms, head to head, with the viewers at home voting for their favourite.

The Comedy Store Players episode
Jimmy James episode
Perfect 10 vs Football episode
What An Anchor vs Producer's Tale episode
Go Wild in The Country vs The Client episode

This year The Sitcom Trials runs So You Think You Write Funny, a competition culminating in a final at the Edinburgh Fringe. It's free to enter, details are here.

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Sitcom Trials debut Edinburgh Fringe cast (l-r) Gerard Foster, Charity Trimm, Kev F Sutherland, Miranda Hart, Dan Clegg

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Created, produced and presented by Kev F Sutherland, The Sitcom Trials take place at London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Cardiff, and Bristol. The show has enjoyed successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, national and international touring shows, and an 8 part TV series on ITV1. In 2008 the Sitcom Trials won the Fringe Report Award for Best Encourager of New Talent, and in 2013 formed part of the So You Think You're Funny competition.

Performers who have appeared in The Sitcom Trials over the years include Miranda Hart, Neil Mullarkey, Richard Vranch, and the Comedy Store Players, Tony Robinson (Baldrick), Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees Cariad Lloyd, Waen Shepherd, and Laura Solon, James Holmes, Justin Lee Collins, , Steve McNeil & Sam Pamphilon, Sara Pascoe, Russell Howard, Mark Olver, Aaron Barschak, Emily Lloyd, Danny Robins, Dan Tetsell, The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, Lucy Porter, Nick Ewans, Louisa Gummer, Anne-Marie Draycott, Dan March, Rich Johnston, Wanda Opalinska, Gerard Foster, Charity Trimm, Dominic Frisby, McNeil and Pamphilon, and of course Declan Hill & Simon Wright who went on to produce two seasons of the Sitcom Trials then create the Sitcom Mission.

Reviews for the show have ranged from the Leicester Mercurys "We were screaming with laughter... move over Friends", through the London Evening Standards "We're not watching stand-up, we're watching comedy history", to Metro's notorious review of the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe show: "I would happily have voted to have my own eyes gouged out with hot spoons rather than endure another moment." The most recent review reads ★★★★ "You will not be disappointed" - The Public Reviews 2012

Sitcom Trials TV series 1 (ITV) Wanda Opalinksa and Gerard Foster