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The second British anthology series to bear the title The Sound of Laughter premiered over ATV on July 28, 1977. Like the earlier 1967 series, this one consisted of pilot films for prospective TV series; in this case, most of the episodes were produced and/or directed by Les Chatfield. Of the six half-hour installments, only the first, "A Sharp Intake of Breath," matriculated into a weekly series, which aired from 1978 to 1981. The other pilots included "Young at Heart" with Stratford Johns and Richard Pearson; "Bricks Without Straw" with Michael Elphick and Amanda Reiss; "What a Performance" with Andrew Sachs and Anna Quayle; "After the Boom Was Over" with Tim Wylton and Gabrielle Lloyd; and the final broadcast on September 1, 1977, "The Best of Friends," with Jessie Evans, Peter Blythe, and Catherine Chase.