From the Vault: Frank Thornton supplies the wine in ‘The Wild Affair’
Thornton had been acting in radio, stage, film and telly for about a decade by the time he took this minor role.
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‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ and ‘Steptoe and Son’ co-creator, Alan Simpson, dies at 87.
British sitcom legend and one half of Galton and Simpson, the writing duo who created Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe and Son – has died at the age of 87 after a long battle with lung disease. While you may not be familiar with his name and, quite possibly, might not be familiar with his […]
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Classic ‘lost’ sitcoms become part of BBC tribute to comedy
There has been quite a bit of chatter the last several weeks about the one-off reboots of Are You Being Served, Keeping Up Appearances, Porridge and Goodnight Sweetheart as part of the forthcoming Landmark Sitcom Season on the BBC. While both the AYBS one-off, which takes the staff of Grace Brothers Department Store and places them in the late 80s, […]
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BBC revives Comedy Playhouse with 'Over to Bill'
This Spring will see two brilliant returns to the telly. Not so coincidentally, brilliance will collide when Doug Naylor’s Over to Bill launches as one of three pilots scheduled for the revival of the BBC’s Comedy Playhouse strand. Comedy Playhouse began in 1961 and ran until 1975 as an anthology series which served as the […]
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Happy 40th to Sanford & Son; Happy 50th to Steptoe & Son
Happy 40th, Sanford and Son A quiet milestone anniversary passed on Saturday involving one of the greats in American sitcom history with roots in British situation comedy. Sanford and Son, which starred Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson, premiered on NBC on January 14, 1972. Based on the brilliant British situation comedy, Steptoe and Son, the […]
Read moreThe Office — U.S. or UK?
As much as I have always liked the American version of The Office, I have to take exception with the Telegraph’s Ceri Radford and her planting of the flag for the American version versus the British original. Admittedly, the American version of The Office comes as close to being as good as the original British […]
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Hancock's Half Hour – where it all began
Not quite where it all began, but pretty darn close. Hancock’s Half Hour is another historic series that continues to be mentioned by all the giants of British comedy today as being a huge influence. Originally a BBC Radio series, the Hancock’s Half Hour television series, which gave rise to many of todays British comedy […]
Read moreThe Great American Re-make Debate
Ok, I’ve spent enough time and effort recently ranting about the sad state of American re-makes of classic British comedy over the years that, to be fair, I should highlight the two series in modern history that have been considerably better than their British counterparts in my opinion. Admittedly, we’re talking 40+ years ago so […]
Read moreB4 Hyacinth – 20 years B4 Hyacinth!
Patricia Routledge in Steptoe and Son In 1974, Patricia Routledge played Madame Fontana in one episode of this long-running hit BBC TV series. It’s said that in 1966, the audience was so big that PM Harold Wilson asked the BBC to delay transmission of a repeat episode until after the polls closed on election day […]
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