John Cleese’s classic rendition of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

Much like watching It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, Tuna Christmas or, as evidenced by a recent admission, Die Hard, one of my annual Christmas traditions is to listen to John Cleese’s adaptation of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas from podcast No. 28. Never mind that there have been endless readings over the years by the likes […]

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Bill Bailey wins ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ 2020 — Who knew ‘Manny Biannco’ could dance?

A very familiar face (i.e. Bill Bailey) is taking home the Glitterball trophy from the 2020 Strictly Come Dancing competition which just concluded Saturday evening in the UK. The awesome thing is, that the familiar face to most people in North America comes from his time on the brilliant Dylan Moran comedy, Black Books. Bill Bailey was equally as […]

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‘The First Churchills’ started it all as PBS’s ‘Masterpiece’ celebrates 50 years

On January 10, 2021, PBS’s Masterpiece series, the long-time anchor of the Sunday night line-up, turns 50. It was Sunday, January 10, 1971 that The First Churchills, about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, starring John Neville and Sarah Hampshire was first broadcast. Another notable event occurred on that same day in 1971 as it marked the start of a 22-year stint for Alistair Cooke, the British-born American writer, journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster, as as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theatre from 1971 to 1992.

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John le Carré, the author who gave us George Smiley, has died at age 89.

British espionage writer John le Carré has died aged 89, following a short bout with pneumonia, his literary agent has said. There was no end to the author’s greatness who gave us the likes of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Smiley’s People, The Honorable Schoolboy and A Legacy of Spies to name but a […]

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John Cleese spots silliness in Australia!

No reason to post this other than we all need a bit of a laugh today as we begin to close the book on 2020! As Silly Walks signs encouraging people to make the Ministry of Silly Walks proud as they venture out on their daily walk are popping up around the world there is […]

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New adaptation of ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’ stars a few familiar faces — Lesley Manville, Jason Isaacs and Rose Williams.

A new adaptation of Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, Paul Gallico’s much-loved novel (Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris) about a cleaning lady in 1950s London who falls in love with an haute couture dress by Christian Dior and decides to gamble everything for the sake of having one of her own, has been filming this past […]

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Happy belated 86th, Dame Judi Dench!

If it wasn’t the case before, I’m now fully convinced that if you looked up the definition of brilliant in the dictionary, there would simply be a photo of Dame Judi Dench. The Oscar/Tony/BAFTA/Laurence Olivier/Golden Globe/Screen Actors Guild award winner turned 86 years young on Wednesday and shows no signs of slowing down any time […]

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‘The Long Song’ set for January 2021 premiere on PBS’ Masterpiece

Premiering Sunday, January 31 at 10pET/9pCT, The Long Song on Masterpiece brilliantly tells the story of the final years of slavery on the island of Jamaica and the transition to freedom that took place after its abolition in 1833. The story of The Long Song is long overdue given it premiered on BBC One in 2018 and will […]

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