Scientists discover the elusive secret to humor! Film at 11.

Since the beginning of time, the entire planet has been searching for that elusive answer to the concept of what makes something funny. Whether you’re a comedian, actor or writer trying to make a living at making people laugh or you’re with the rest of us that laugh at something and then sit back and […]

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The great British comedy catchphrase

To continue our focus and conversation about the writers, our friends over at the British Comedy Guide in a recent programming alert about an upcoming special on Channel 4 in London, remind us that buried in the brilliant writing of our favorite British comedy shows are some priceless and timeless catchphrases. As they point out, […]

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Cleese puts volcano on its ash

What travel chaos? According to the Telegraph, all you need is a willing Norwegian taxicab and a spare 3,300 pounds($5,053) and you can easily get from Oslo, Norway to Brussels. After that, it’s just an easy Eurostar hop to London. A little volcanic ash wasn’t going to stop the dreaded and feared Basil Fawlty. Citing […]

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Fawlty Towers Revisited?

In an eerily similar occurrence to the original during rehearsals of Fawlty Towers at the King’s Theatre in Gloucester, seems as though after all these years, Basil Fawlty still hasn’t gotten the hang of hitting Manuel on the head with a frying pan without inflicting real pain. According to the particulars during rehearsal at the […]

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Some say…It's all about the writing

Ask 1000 people worldwide what they like about British comedy and I guarantee you’ll find yourself in the company of 1000 people that say it’s all in the writing. Smart, witty, intelligent — words that are repeatedly used to describe British comedy writing. Good writing + good casting = success Ask any actor or actress […]

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March Madness – British comedy version

March Madness Time! Time to stock up for some British comedy series power-watching over the next several weeks. Besides the ever-present classics that are worth watching over and over such as Yes Minister, Reginald Perrin and Vicar of Dibley, there are a couple of other series you may or may not be aware of that […]

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Basil & Sybil – Fawlty couple or all-time favorite?

We continue our search for everyone’s favorite British comedy couple of all-time. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, including the ones that push the boundaries of “comedy”. We’ll definitely find a way to get them all on the ballot for voting on February 13. Up next… Couple #4 – Fawlty Towers In my book, favorite […]

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Fawlty Towers "stuff" giveaway

Widely recognized and voted on as the #1 worst hotel on the planet, yet named the #1 television program of all time by the British Film Institute, Fawlty Towers is 30 years old! What better way to mark the anniversary than to painstakingly remaster a new DVD release. Why consider this painstaking? Well, not only […]

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Basil Fawlty earns an "A" in the Science of Great Comedy

Fawlty Towers has to be the greatest 12 episodes of comedy ever. The UK version of The Office is a close second (much better, I think, than the American version, but that’s a debate for another day). This is a re-write of an article I did several years ago, but bears repeating as we begin […]

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