Picture a single broadcast capturing over 28 million viewers, more than half the population of the United Kingdom, watching the same room at the same time. It wasn't the Super Bowl or a moon landing. It was a 1977 Christmas comedy sketch show, and the man who pulled half a nation together was Eric Morecambe.

This deep dive explores the entertainer behind the iconic glasses, from a working-class seaside town to being voted one of the greatest Britons. We also examine the darker mechanics of that success: a performer who literally and tragically worked himself to death for a laugh. It matters because it asks whether the magic of culturally unifying a nation is uniquely human, or something an algorithm could ever replace.

• A stage mother who worked extra waitressing shifts to fund dancing lessons, and a wartime stint as a coal-mining ...