Jeremy Lloyd, the co-creator/writer of such British comedy classics as Are You Being Served? and ‘Allo, ‘Allo, passed away on 23 December at the age of 84. These are getting harder and harder to write and, sadly, they seem to be coming around more frequently in recent years. This one, however, had an added level of […]
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In the ‘let’s tear things down that have a history attached to it and build something that will make a lot more money’ era that we all seem to live in, it was bound to happen, unfortunately. Following on the heels of the recent closure of BBC Television Centre, Teddington Studios, the home for years to Thames Television and where much of the magic happened during Britain’s Golden Age that has been seen by generations of television viewers, is set for demolition in the not-too-distant future.
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The Wrong Mans Rule #1 – After witnessing a horrific car crash on a desolate country road, never EVER answer the dead driver’s ringing mobile. If only Sam Pinkett had read rule #1.
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Following a new Christmas Day special this coming December on PBS, Freddie Thornhill and Stuart Bixby are headed back to PBS in Summer 2015 for the second series of Vicious, the story of two aging partners who have lived together in their Covent Garden flat for 48 years. Vicious first premiered on PBS this past Summer bringing together two of the finest actors on Planet Earth, both very familiar to public television audiences, Sir’s Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi.
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The British Film Institute has found two lost episodes of the ITV comedy sketch classic, At Last the 1948 Show which starred comedy legends, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Marty Feldman. The find was made by Missing Believed Wiped coordinator, Dick Fiddy, when he was invited by family members to explore the personal […]
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You might remember NBC’s fatal 2003 attempt at adapting the Steven Moffat/Sue Vertue situation comedy, Coupling. I say fatal because even though there were 11 episodes produced (which is still a miniscule number of episodes for an American sitcom), it was cancelled after only 4 episodes with 7 of them having never seen the light of day to this day. 180 degrees in the other direction, however, was NBC’s re-make of Ricky Gervais’ brilliant series, The Office, which ran for 9 seasons largely due to the talents of Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and Ed Helms.
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In addition to the abundance of regional theater readily available throughout the UK, the other bit of brilliance that makes me want to hop on the next Boeing 777 and head east is the very civilized process of continuing to develop of good comedy via BBC Radio 4, which is also home to one of […]
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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 […]
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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, […]
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Something that most British comedy fans knew from day one has come to life thanks to Southern Louisiana artist, Rodney Pike. Mr. Bean, the classic Richard Curtis comedy series which starred the rubber-faced Rowan Atkinson, is…Art, in the truest sense of the word.
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