Lawrence.com

New York — How does a happy-go-lucky comedy show come to embrace the 1960s antiwar movement, give its network fits with satire goring every sacred cow in sight, then pass into legend by getting thrown off the air - all in roughly two years?

Just ask the Smothers Brothers, whose wrangle with CBS and the rest of the Establishment unfolds in "Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'." Airing at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Bravo, it's the saga of a long-defunct show that endures as a time capsule.

To examine the brief run of the "Comedy Hour" is to peek into the national psyche of the late 1960s, when Americans were counting their dead in Vietnam while clashing, even killing, at home.

The Smothers' show "was a sort of microcosm of what was happening in the streets," says "Smothered" producer-writer Maureen Muldaur, who loved watching it as a youngster.

Of course, no one was looking for a street brawl when the "Comedy Hour" premiered in February 1967 - least of all, its stars. A pair of clean-cut, thirtyish lads, Tom and Dick Smothers landed the show on the strength of their comedy-music act whose premise everyone could laugh about: sibling rivalry.

Dick was the calm, mature brother (with a standup bass to prove it) whose designated role was to gently scold the childish Tom (who played guitar) when he got too silly or disruptive. Tom's petulant, audience-pleasing comeback: "Mom always liked you best!"

All in all, these brothers were about as avant-garde as Cain and Abel (though with lots more laughs). Then, soon after the "Comedy Hour" had premiered, Tom Smothers decided laughs weren't enough.

Newly radicalized by that turbulent era, he gave the show's brash young writers (including Rob Reiner, Mason Williams and Steve Martin) his blessing to take on issues more pressing than which brother Mom liked best. More and more, their comedy was fueled by civil rights, gun control and the peace movement.

While retaining certain mainstream elements (veteran stars like George Burns, Jack Benny and Bette Davis were among its guests), the "Comedy Hour" distinguished itself as TV's crash pad for the radic-lib illuminati, including Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, Joan Baez and blacklisted folk singer Pete Seeger.

Nearly a decade before "Saturday Night Live" declared itself not ready for prime time, the Smothers Brothers held 16th place in the 1966-67 prime-time ranking - and did it scheduled against "Bonanza," TV's top-rated series.

Clearly, they were ready for prime time. But was prime time ready for their growing zealotry?

In interviews with the brothers as well as members of their creative team and guests, "Smothered" traces the arc of the show - its soaring popularity and comic daring, then the censorship squabbles that would bring it down.

The fight began early. In only the ninth episode, CBS blue-penciled an entire sketch - ironically, a sketch satirizing network censors. Week after week, Tom Smothers grew more obsessed with resisting what he saw as an assault on his freedom of speech.

A showdown took place in April 1969. CBS had demanded that a tape of that Sunday's episode be hand-delivered from Los Angeles for review at New York headquarters by the preceding Wednesday.

The brothers dragged their feet at this latest imposition. The tape, somehow, didn't get there until Friday. It was too late, as a front-page headline of The New York Times proclaimed: "CBS to Drop Smothers Hour; Cites Failure to Get Previews."

The brothers would successfully sue CBS for breach of contract, but their show had been, well, smothered.