Clive James had had a hit in the early '80's with a London Weekend Television show in which he poked fun at foreign television. When he moved to the B.B.C., his show was passed on to first the late Keith Floyd and then Chris Tarrant. Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones also fronted a similar show for the station, which ran for two seasons in 1987-88. 'The World According To Smith & Jones' took a look at history through the eyes of Hollywood, spoofing the way film makers have over the years attempted to depict famous events such as say, the Battle of Hastings. Biblical mythology was also featured ( I recognised a few clips from A.T.V.'s 'Moses The Lawgiver' starring Burt Lancaster ).
A running gag concerned Mel's ancestors, namely any bloke who happened to be both stout and bald. A clip of 'Fellini Satyricon' ( 1969 ) yielded a bizarre individual dressed as The Devil whose forked tail shot into the air whenever he farted, provoking no end of hilarity from Jones.
The show was like Armando Iannucci's 'Time Trumpet' ( 2006 ) in that the clips would often illustrate wild comic ideas, such as Queen Victoria turning out to be a vacuum cleaner, or Britain winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1195.
It was not terribly well received, with many complaining about the language and others comparing it unfavourably to 'Alas Smith & Jones'. Though the idea was a sound one, the material given to the comedians was sub standard, most of the jokes were either about dated fashions, overuse of stock footage or one actor's similarity to another.
The format was altered slightly in the second run, with the programmes ( like 'The Frost Report' ) focusing on topics such as law, medicine, war, education, the arts and science. The title sequence featured Mel and Griff's faces alongside those of the American Presidents on Mount Rushmore.
But nobody was happy with the finished series. Not even its stars. Soon after Season One's transmission, they ridiculed it in an 'Alas' sketch entitled 'Some Very Old Jokes According To Smith & Jones'.