pplpod2 Okt 2025

Episode 170 - The Smothers Brothers

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Dive deep into the often-forgotten first major television venture of the iconic folk-comedy duo, the Smothers Brothers!

Before they redefined television comedy, battled network censors, and created the revolutionary The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967–1969), Dick Smothers and Tom Smothers starred in The Smothers Brothers Show, an American fantasy sitcom created by Aaron Spelling.

This one-season wonder, which aired on CBS from September 17, 1965, to April 22, 1966, puts the famous brothers in roles familiar to their dynamic: Dick plays a rising young executive at Pandora Publications. His stable life is completely upended when his older brother, Tom, reappears. Tom, who was lost at sea two years earlier, returns as an apprentice angel assigned to Earth to perform good deeds and earn his wings. Under the direction of his unseen boss, Ralph, Tom’s efforts to help people usually fail, forcing Dick to perpetually clean up the divine messes. Dick consistently serves as the straight man to Tom’s humorous antics.

We revisit this early period of their network career, which included 32 episodes and holds the distinction of being CBS's last sitcom filmed in black-and-white. Hear the inside story of the creative control struggles Tom Smothers faced, as he felt the sitcom format did not utilize the duo's comedic strengths, leading him to fight Four Star executives over the direction of the series.

Join us as we explore the 1965 sitcom that set the stage for the Smothers Brothers’ turbulent and unforgettable run in the 1960s.

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