SYNOPSIS

In May 1981, NBC began a series of specials called "TV's Censored Bloopers" which provided TV viewers with bloopers, unintended pratfalls and flubbed lines captured on film behind the scenes of popular TV shows, movies and newscasts. It proved so popular that the idea was spun off into a weekly series which was promptly copied by ABC in the form of Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders.

In addition to outtakes, the series featured classic commercials, humorous comments by children (interviewed by Julie Dees) and people on the street (interviewed by Robert Klein and David Letterman in New York and, in the fall of 1984, by Thom Sharp in Hollywood). There were popular songs set to visual clips, and Len Cella hosted a regular segment of short films that took an offbeat look at everyday life.

A popular segment was practical jokes played on celebrities while hidden cameras were rolling. Some of those included: James Coburn entering an apartment which then appeared to have no exit; Christopher Atkins stopped by a cop for driving a "stolen" car or Connies Sellecca asked to take delivery of a truckoad of pigs.

Johnny Carson, whose company co-produced the show along with Dick Clark Productions, occasionally narrated clips from The Tonight Show.

NBC continues to air periodic Bloopers specials into the 1990's. In early 1991 and 1993, the network brought the concept back as a short-run series - filling in time periods where other shows had failed - this time under the name Super Bloopers & New Practical Jokes.

Dick Clark and Ed McMahon were the hosts for all of the shows. Each episode ended with a tribute to Kermit Schafer, the producer-writer who first popularized bloopers from radio in the 1940's to 1950's.