British comedy pipeline – Going Postal

May not be immediately top of mind, but many long-time British comedy fans have e-mailed asking about Richard Coyle (Jeff,Coupling). Having left the successful Steven Moffat series after the third season, Coyle starred in the one and only season of Strange, where he played an ex-priest who dedicated his life to hunting down demons. Coyle […]

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BBC offers apology for Doctor Who gaffe

We’ve all seen them in their disgustingly obtrusive glory. Endless promotion with bells and whistles that cover a third of the screen, populate every television broadcast these days to tease the weekly not-too-be-missed blockbuster…or just what’s coming up next. Whatever they promote, they’ve gone way beyond a simple station or network logo that identifies what […]

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Next up – Trevor Peacock & James Fleet

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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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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British comedy gospel according to Dave

I thought we’d revisit our earlier post regarding the Top 10 British films of all-time and compare now that a recent post has come out from our friends at Dave, the UK digital channel that is brilliantly billed as “the home of witty banter”. Owned by UKTV, the channel was relaunched in 2009 and rebranded […]

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Don't like Shakespeare? You might after this…

Seemed like an appropriate way to both celebrate St. George’s Day and remember William Shakespeare on the 394th anniversary of his death by throwing out an early alert to everyone to watch or DVR the upcoming Great Performances presentation of Hamlet on PBS and KERA. This Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation, starring David Tennant and Sir Patrick Stewart, […]

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News from (Doctor) Who-ville

Now that the Matt Smith – Karen Gillan era has begun in both the UK and the US, here are some bits and bobs floating around the cosmos regarding the premiere. Intrepid Tellyspotting correspondent, Cindy Lou Who, files this report from (Doctor) Who-ville. Filming Doctor Who has been interesting to say the least according to […]

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Britain's Best Sitcom – Your thoughts?

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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Classic rewind: Yes Minister 1980 or 2010

With the 6 May 2010 UK general election just around the corner, it seemed more than appropriate to re-visit one of the greats from the British comedy archive of all time. We’ve always talked about how The Good Life (Good Neighbors in the U.S.) could translate to today, but the #1 series that could still […]

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I didn't get where I am today by….

Those words from The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin and, perhaps, the seven most recognizable associated with a British comedy in the late 70’s, other than “He’s from Barcelona” or “Don’t mention the war”, finally drove our favorite 9-5 commuter office worker to the brink daily when uttered by the tyrannical boss of Sunshine Desserts, […]

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