User Reviews

'Jokers Wild' has aged rather better than 'Yus My Dear' and 'Down The Gate'. I would not describe as 'wildly unfunny' a show than ran to nine seasons. They clearly got something right, didn't they?

It was a light-hearted game-show in which two teams of comedians pitted their wits against each other, for the coveted prize of a bronze statuette of a jester. Chairman Barry Cryer would select a random topic, and challenge a comic to tell a joke based on it. If one of the opposition thought he knew the gag, he could interrupt by pressing an alarm, then he would have to complete it. There was also a solo spot where a comic was required to extract as many laughs as he could in two minutes! The long list of all-time great comedians who appeared on the show included Les Dawson, Arthur Askey and Ted Ray, along with some not-so greats such as Hope & Keen, Brian Marshall and the late Ray Martine. Good natured fun though it was, sometimes the friendly rivalry between the comics turned nasty. On one memorable occasion, Jack Douglas inferred that Les Dawson was stingy, resulting in a red-faced Les storming off the studio floor! He later returned with drinks for everyone - except Jack!

'Jokers Wild' was a show I really wanted to get into but sadly no matter how many times I tried, my efforts were in vein. I personally found it too much of a chore to sit through.

It was a game show in which Barry Cryer acted as host. He would instruct one of the panelist comics to tell a joke based on a particular subject. Sometimes things would get heated between the comics, especially at times when one comic interrupted another. To me, there is no real entertainment value there. The prize was a Jester shaped trophy coveted in Bronze.

Panelists generally included the likes of Ted Ray, Jon Pertwee, Ted Rodgers, Jack Douglas ( the latter who famously embarrassed Les Dawson on this show by referring to him as 'stingy' ), Chic Murray and Norman Collier.

It was popular back in its day but it has since vanished into the wild. Whether or not it has aged better than lesser known shows such as 'Yus My Dear' or 'Down The Gate' is a matter of opinion. 'Joker's Wild' was a terrible show which wasted some very talented comedians.