BBC | Tellyspotting

Posted October 14, 2014 - No Comment

Don't insult the audience's intelligence says 'Wolf Hall' author, Hilary Mantel

“As soon as you decide it’s too complicated for the viewer or history is an inconvenient shape, you fall into a cascade of errors which ends in nonsense”, author Hilary Mantel said to the audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Referring to her novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies and their upcoming BBC adaptations, Mantel stressed the importance of not under-estimating the intelligence of her readers and audience, reports Radio Times. “As soon as you decide this is too complicated for the viewer or history is an inconvenient shape – ‘I’ll just tidy it up’ – you fall into a cascade of errors which ends in nonsense”, citing Showtime’s The Tudors as the perfect example of how simply combining history and drama does not always make for good telly.

Posted October 11, 2014 - 1 Comment

More 'drama' than the law allows in New Orleans at BBC Syndication Showcase 2014

It was drama overload this past week in New Orleans at the BBC’s annual Syndication Showcase (insert how much you feel sorry for me being in New Orleans for three days screening brilliant telly here). I say drama overload in the nicest possible sense. Seems as though ever since that fateful day in January 2011 […]

Posted October 9, 2014 - No Comment

W1A's rebranding effort of the BBC to continue in 2015

Ian Fletcher, the Beeb’s Head of Values and chair of its Way Ahead Task Force, will roam the halls of the BBC for a bit longer as a second series of W1A has been commissioned but the BBC. “I am very happy to have the cameras back,” said the fictional Fletcher (played by Downton Abbey‘s […]

Posted October 8, 2014 - No Comment

Big screen treatment of Dad's Army drawing top-notch talent

The big-screen adaptation of the classic BBC wartime comedy, Dad’s Army, is drawing some of the biggest names (outside of Benedict Cumberbatch) together as they begin to assemble the cast. The feature film treatment of the Jimmy Perry, David Croft iconic British comedy has landed one of the greats with the announcement that Bill Nighy, […]

Posted October 6, 2014 - No Comment

Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston return to small screen in John le Carre's 'The Night Manager'

Three years removed from his brilliant portrayal of a pain medication-dependent, unconventional, misanthropic medical genius, Dr. Gregory House, Hugh Laurie is returning to the small screen to star in the BBC adaptation of the John le Carre novel, The Night Manager. Laurie’s co-star, Tom Hiddleston, is coming off his portrayal of country western singer Hank Williams in I Saw the Light.

Posted September 28, 2014 - No Comment

'The Paradise' set to re-open tonight on PBS' Masterpiece

At long last, The Paradise is set for a series 2 return tonight on PBS’ Masterpiece Classic series. While the doors have been shuttered since series 1 came to a close almost a year ago in November 2013, fans of the BBC drama series have been wondering whether or not the second series would make […]

Posted September 24, 2014 - No Comment

First look: Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III in BBC2's Hollow Crown: War of the Roses

Filming for the second cycle of Shakespeare’s history plays airing on BBC2 and PBS in America under the Hollow Crown is now underway. As with the first set of programs, this years follow-up sports quite the line-up that plays out like a who’s who of British actors who will lend their talents and star in […]

Posted September 20, 2014 - No Comment

Last original 'old dog' to leave 'New Tricks' in 2015

Dennis Waterman, a.k.a. Gerry Standing, will leave the British comedy/drama New Tricks part way through the long-running series’ 12th season, which will begin filming in November. As the last original member of the fictional Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) of the Metropolitan Police Service, Waterman has appeared in every episode of the series’ first 11 seasons and will bow out after appearing in two episodes of the upcoming series which will transmit in 2015.

Posted September 16, 2014 - No Comment

'W1A' to return to the halls of BBC's New Broadcasting House in 2015

While the world carefully watches the historic “Yes Scotland” vs. “Better Together” vote this coming Thursday that will determine if Scotland is to remain part of the United Kingdom or become an independent country, there is another extraordinarily critical issue on the table that is just around the corner and, most likely, going virtually unnoticed. The 2016 BBC Charter Renewal is inching ever so close with the ultimate outcome quite possibly in the hands of Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville), the BBC’s Head of Values.

Posted September 13, 2014 - No Comment

A bit of blooper gold from 'Sherlock'

There are times when you wade through the Internets where you wonder just even if its just for a brief moment who are all these people that have all this free time to both upload things on YouTube and to also watch the endless cat videos uploaded from that particular day. There are those times, […]