Eric Chappell
Director
Only When I Laugh (1979)
Season 1
Only When I Laugh is an ITV1 sitcom broadcast from 29 October 1979 to 16 December 1982 for four series with seven episodes each, and a Christmas special in 1981. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?" A naïve middle-class man is admitted to an NHS hospital ward, shared with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. The trio never fail to cause a nuisance for the poor, unsuspecting staff.
Released Oct. 29, 1979
Episode 30 min
10+
Genres: Comedy
Keywords: tmdb.hospital, tmdb.doctor, tmdb.sitcom, imdb.sitcom-comedy, imdb.laugh-track, imdb.sitcom, imdb.hospital
Watch Providers: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Production Companies: Yorkshire Television
Network: ITV1
Country: United Kingdom
Languages:
English
S1E1 - A Bed with a View
Young Norman Binns is admitted to Dr Thorpe's ward and is tricked by pessimistic Roy Figgis into swapping beds so that Figgis can have the bed with the window view. As a result, Thorpe and staff nurse Gupte confuse the two men's symptoms.
Oct. 29, 1979, midnight
S1E2 - Operation Norman
Norman has to have an appendectomy but Figgis' doom-laden description of operations and Thorpe's wariness do not give him confidence, do he hides in the toilet, having to be coaxed out.
Nov. 5, 1979, midnight
S1E3 - The Rumour
Thorpe is telling Gupte that his dog Victor is unwell but Gupte misunderstands and thinks he's talking about his son. The patients also fall prey to the misunderstanding, for various reasons each believing that they are going to die.
Nov. 12, 1979, midnight
S1E4 - The Man with the Face
Glover has been seeing a Greek girl and panics when her violent boyfriend comes looking for him so Figgis wraps his head in bandages, claiming that he is a burn victim, setting up a series of confusions.
Nov. 19, 1979, midnight
S1E5 - Let Them Eat Cake
Fed up with the quality of the hospital buffet, the patients go on strike but are soon defeated. However, server Clegg decides to go on strike himself, but has his foot run over whilst on picket outside the hospital.
Nov. 26, 1979, midnight
S1E6 - Tangled Web
Norman is reading a hospital romance, when he sees new nurse Sally, who is exactly like the fictional heroine. He wants to express his feelings but finds rivalry in Glover, Thorpe and Gupte, all keen to pursue.
Dec. 3, 1979, midnight
S1E7 - Is There a Doctor in the House?
When Glover is discharged, an unhappy Figgis, without someone to quarrel with, goes to the pub, pretending to be a doctor and diagnosing people with terrible illnesses, filling the ward.
Dec. 10, 1979, midnight
Network: ITV1
Episode Runtime: 30 min.
Season Runtime: 870 min.
Released: Oct. 29, 1979
Last Air Date: Dec. 16, 1982, midnight
Status: Ended
Certification: NR / 10+
Rate this show
Add {Movie} to static lists