We are History is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 series broadcast on the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

. It ran for two series of six ten-minute episodes.

The series was a parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 on historical and archaeological documentaries, especially those of the Time Team

Time Team

Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...

and Simon Schama

Simon Schama

Simon Michael Schama, CBE is a British historian and art historian. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He is best known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC documentary series A History of Britain...

. Marcus Brigstocke

Marcus Brigstocke

Marcus Alexander Brigstocke is an English comedian, actor and satirist who has worked extensively in stand-up comedy, television, radio and in 2010-2011 musical theatre. He is particularly associated with the 6.30pm comedy slot on BBC Radio 4, having frequently appeared on several of its shows...

 played dubious historian David Oxley, who would attempt to 'recreate' a number of historical events in a modern setting. In one episode, he recreated the Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 invasion of Britain in "the last bastion of Viking control" - an Ikea

IKEA

IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...

 store. In another, he recreated the Spanish Armada

Spanish Armada

This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...

 in a swimming pool with children throwing foam balls at one another.

Much of the humour derived from Oxley's singular incompetence and stupidity. He seemed totally unaware of the facts of history and often made things up as he went along. Each episode had a general theme that offered a view of history totally at odds with the known facts - such as Camelot

Camelot

Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world...

 being buried underneath Heathrow Airport or the Norman invasion

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

 being a bunch of French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 visitors who overstayed their welcome and got carried away. In every episode, Oxley talked of "new evidence unearthed by local enthusiasts".

Episodes

Season 1, Episode 1: "Boadicea: Myth or Missus?"
Original Air Date: 3 April 2000

Season 1, Episode 2: "King Arthur: Myth or Legend?"
Original Air Date: 4 April 2000

Season 1, Episode 3: "Our Friends in the Norse"
Original Air Date: 10 April 2000

Season 1, Episode 4: "Hunchback!"
Original Air Date: 12 April 2000

Season 1, Episode 5: "Armada!"
Original Air Date: 14 April 2000

Season 1, Episode 6: "Oliver's Army"
Original Air Date: 17 April 2000

Season 2, Episode 1: "Conquered!"
Original Air Date: 25 September 2001

Season 2, Episode 2: "The Real Robin Hood"
Original Air Date: 2 October 2001

Season 2, Episode 3: "Fire"
Original Air Date: 9 October 2001

Season 2, Episode 4: "Bonnie Prince Charlie: Too Scot to Handle?"
Original Air Date: 16 October 2001

Season 2, Episode 5: "The Industrial Revolution: Factory or Friction?"
Original Air Date: 23 October 2001

Season 2, Episode 6: "Any Old Iron Age?"
Original Air Date: 30 October 2001

External links

• We are History at the former BBC Guide to Comedy
  BBC Guide to Comedy
  The BBC Guide to Comedy was a former subsite of bbc.co.uk which offered "Info on every TV comedy shown in the UK, from 1936 to today..."Written and researched by Mark Lewisohn, the content of the site was first available as a book The Radio Times Guide to Comedy in 1998...