If you’ve just finished a Sunday night marathon of British comedy viewing wherever you reside, I feel certain that you are well aware of all that goes into the production leading up to broadcast and what you see as the final product that fits neatly into that 26:46 time frame. Maybe not everything from the […]
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You might recall our recent post on the upcoming tribute to Stephen Sondheim by Dame Judi Dench that was to occur at the BBC Proms this past Saturday night at Royal Albert Hall. She described her part in the tribute as “hugely exciting but daunting“. After seeing the clip below of the performance, I’m reminded […]
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Thinking back some 12 years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet and interview Judi Dench for an earlier production, The Best of British Comedy for American Public Television. I was even more fortunate to be able to interview her a second time for the upcoming program on British comedy writers for PBS as I’m […]
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There are times that BBC commissioning folks get it right and times they don’t. Mulberry is one of those “didn’t get it right” moments in British comedy history. After two wonderful seasons (13 episodes) with brilliant scripts by Bob Larbey and, then, writing partner, John Esmonde and a wonderful cast headed by Karl Howman in […]
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99% of the time actors and actresses in our favorite British comedies become friends that we “interact” with each week. Like I Love Lucy, we feel like we are a customer at Grace Brothers each week, we live across the street from the Bucket’s, we’re a guest at Fawlty Towers, we have a weekly reservation […]
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Next time you sit down to watch As Time Goes By, here’s a little insight as to what goes in to creating an episode of your favorite British comedy. The week begins with the initial read-through of the script by the cast. This is where the actors begin to interact and go over the brilliant […]
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Long day yesterday that started at 4:30a CT with a great interview with Bob Larbey, the genius mind behind the likes of As Time Goes By, The Good Neighbors (Good Life in the UK) and Mulberry, to name a few. In a word, couldn’t have been more gracious with his time and his thoughts on his […]
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Some of you know, some don’t, that we are currently in production on a PBS special to air in March 2011 across the U.S. that will attempt to pay homage to what many of us feel is the number one reason as to why British comedy is brilliant – the writers. In the special, we’ll hear […]
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Several years ago, the BBC embarked on the daunting task of determining Britain’s Best Sitcom through a poll where people could argue their case and then identify and vote for their favorite British situation comedy of all-time. To no one’s surprise, Only Fools and Horses emerged at the overall winner with almost 350,000 votes. You can […]
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I’m not sure “down time” is a phrase that is in Judi Dench’s vocabulary. Appearing in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, Ms. Dench is fresh off of her recent roles in both Cranford and Return to Cranford, seen on PBS stations nationwide and the film, Nine, not to mention […]
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