History Series / TheSmothersBrothersComedyHour

* SubvertedSitcom: their primary shtick was a variety show version of this, pairing a facade of the cheery and family-friendly atmosphere associated with the genre with cuttingly satirical (and often incredibly dark) comedy

[[caption-width-right:294: “Mom always liked you best.” - Tom to Dick]]

[[caption-width-right:294: “Mom always liked you best.”]]

* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Pretty much any time the brothers tried to play a song straight, it turned into this.

* DraftDodging: One of the Brothers' more notorious musical numbers was a great cover of Music/PhilOchs's "The Draft Dodger Rag" with Creator/GeorgeSegal, with glorious three-part harmony.

** The Brothers came back for a short-lived series in 1975, two NBC specials in 1980, and a CBS series in the 1988-89 season.
** The pilot of the late-1980s run featured the Brothers in a helicopter on their way to do their first show. Dick is worried that CBS holds a grudge against them, when Tom reassures him that everything has been forgiven between them and the network. Then sharpshooters on the roof of Television City start trying to take the copter down...

* TheUnFavourite: Tom is his mother's least favourite son (one of his catchphrases is "Mom always liked you best!") and doesn't seem to be as popular with guests of the show like Creator/CarlReiner as his brother Dick.

[[quoteright:295:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smothers_brothers_comedy_hour.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:295: “Mom always liked you best.”]]

A landmark comic VarietyShow hosted by the folk music/comedy duo The Smothers Brothers (Tom and Dick Smothers), which ran on Creator/{{CBS}} from 1967–69.

Unfortunately, this innovative and contemporary comedy and music all too often had to be hard won against CBS' ExecutiveMeddling over the show's content. For instance, while the execs were okay with Seeger being on TV, his new ProtestSong "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" was a no-go and the Brothers had to fight to eventually get it on the air in a later broadcast. Eventually, the show and network were butting heads continually, with Tom Smothers being more brazen and stubborn and the network execs receiving complaints both from [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon the President of the United States himself]] and rural-oriented affiliates. Further, the show's good ratings had less sway with CBS than they would've had with a lower-rated network (and those ratings were beginning to fall anyway, due to the controversy and in competition with ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' on NBC).

Eventually, however, the execs lost all patience and abruptly pulled the show in June 1969. The Brothers subsequently sued the network for breach of contract (which was eventually ruled in their favor in 1973), and made several attempts to revive the format, but their peak time of cultural influence was over. Still, the Brothers had set a precedent for daring political humor that later shows like NBC's ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' would take much further.

Not to be confused with ''The Smothers Brothers Show'', a half-hour FantasticComedy produced by Creator/FourStarTelevision aired during the 1965–66 season, which had Tom playing Dick's GuardianAngel. The show was notable not only for being CBS' last black-and-white sitcom, but also for Tom fighting with production execs for creative control (since, per him, the show didn't play to the Brothers' strengths).

The show was also noted for its musical guests, which included not only Hollywood stalwarts like Creator/JimmyDurante, but emerging rock acts like Music/TheWho and Music/TheDoors. As such, the show gained enough clout that it was able to make moves like breaking the blacklist on the noted folk singer Pete Seeger and getting the first American screening of Franchise/TheBeatles' MusicVideo of their all-time biggest hit single "Hey Jude". Staff writer Mason Williams even got ADayInTheLimelight debuting his hit guitar instrumental "Classical Gas".

[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smothers_brothers_comedy_hour.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:290: “Mom always liked you best.”]]

[[quoteright:295:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smothers_brothers_comedy_hour.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:295: “Mom always liked you best.”]]

The show was also noted for its musical guests, which included not only Hollywood stalwarts like Creator/JimmyDurante, but wild rock acts like Music/TheWho and Music/TheDoors. As such, the show gained such clout that it was able to make moves like breaking the blacklist on the noted folk singer Pete Seeger, getting the first American screening of Franchise/TheBeatles' MusicVideo of their all-time biggest hit single "Hey Jude", and even staff writer Mason Williams got ADayInTheLimelight debuting the hit guitar instrumental "Classical Gas".

[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smothers_brothers_comedy_hour.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:290: “Mom always liked you best.”]]

* RockersSmashGuitars: The Who did plenty of that on their appearance in 1967, including smashing a prop guitar from Tom and Tom jokingly asking Dick if the band could have his double bass for a minute. Keth Moon topped it off [[EverythingExplodesEnding by blowing up his drum kit]].

The show was also noted for its musical guests, which included not only Hollywood stalwarts like Jimmy Durante, but wild rock acts like Music/TheWho and Music/TheDoors. As such, the show gained such clout that it was able to make moves like breaking the blacklist on the noted folk singer Pete Seeger, getting the first American screening of Franchise/TheBeatles' MusicVideo of their all-time biggest hit single "Hey Jude", and even staff writer Mason Williams got ADayInTheLimelight debuting the hit guitar instrumental "Classical Gas".

* DraftDodging: One of the Brothers' more notorious musical numbers was a great cover of Music/PhilOchs's "The Draft Dodger Rag" with George Segal, with glorious three-part harmony.

* RockersSmashGuitars: The Who did plenty of that on their appearance in 1967, including smashing a prop guitar from Tom and Tom jokingly asking Dick if the band could have his double bass for a minute.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In a bit of ironic foreshadowing, Magazine/MadMagazine printed the satirical "A CBS Summer Memo to the [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Smothered Brothers]]", an office memo in the form of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad, warning them about mocking their sponsors, [[CoughSnarkCough coughing when smoking]], offending chauvinists, disparaging presidential hopefuls, making UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and the U.S. armed forces, Wall Street, the C.I.A., the Civil Rights Movement, TheDeepSouth and the K.K.K. taboo subjects, forbidding them from taking shots at Jews or Catholics, profanity, and euphemisms that can be mistaken for real cuss words among other things. Sadly, one year after the Mad Magazine article, Tom and Dick would be pulled from the CBS airwaves in 1969.

* {{Uncancelled}}: The Brothers came back for a short-lived series in 1975, two NBC specials in 1980, and a CBS series in the 1988-89 season.

* VarietyShow

Not to be confused with ''The Smothers Brothers Show'', a half-hour FantasticComedy aired during the 1965–66 season, which had Tom playing Dick's GuardianAngel. The show was notable not only for being CBS' last black-and-white sitcom, but also for Tom fighting with production execs for creative control (since, per him, the show didn't play to the Brothers' strengths).

Eventually, however, the execs lost all patience and abruptly pulled the show in June 1969. The Brothers subsequently sued the network for breach of contract (which was eventually ruled in their favor in 1973), and attempted a revival series in 1975, but their peak time of cultural influence was over. Still, the Brothers had set a precedent for daring political humor that later shows like NBC's ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' would take much further.

Unfortunately, this innovative and contemporary comedy and music all too often had to be hard won against CBS' ExecutiveMeddling over the show's content. For instance, while the execs were okay with Seeger being on TV, his new ProtestSong "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" was not and the Brothers had to fight to eventually get it on the air in a later broadcast. Eventually, the show and network were butting heads continually, with Tom Smothers being more brazen and stubborn and the network execs receiving complaints both from [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon the President of the United States himself]] and rural-oriented affiliates. Further, the show's good ratings had less sway with CBS than they would've had with a lower-rated network (and those ratings were beginning to fall anyway, due to the controversy and in competition with ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' on NBC).

Eventually, however, the execs lost all patience and abruptly pulled the show in June 1969. The Brothers subsequently sued the network for breach of contract (which was eventually ruled in their favor in 1973), but their peak time of cultural influence was over. Still, the Brothers had set a precedent for daring political humor that later shows like NBC's ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' would take much further.