Lots of bits & bobs or odds & sods coming our way over the last couple of weeks concerning our favorite pastime, British television. Thought I’d go through a quick bit of scattershooting to give everyone updates on current series, answer some mailbag questions that have come in and impart some basic little known or cared about facts. Much of the thanks go to the British Comedy Guide for their intrepid digging and reporting skills. Thanks, Mark.

• Another in a long line of ‘have to have’ British comedy collectables, comes news that an original script from Monty Python’s Life of Brian will be auctioned off at the Great British Comedy Event in early June. The script, signed by John Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin, will be one of a number of items auctioned off in support of the National Film and Television School.
• Following writer, Graham Linehan, on Twitter (@Glinner) is a blast. I don’t believe he has mentioned this yet (quite frankly, how could he show his excitement in 140 characters or less) but his series, The IT Crowd, has been commissioned for a 5th season. Seems just like yesterday when we reported the series was beginning to go into the studio for season 4. Quite an accomplishment for a series that hasn’t had the season 4 premiere as of yet in the UK. Linehan, who also co-wrote Father Ted and Black Books, hints at the fact he may hire a team of writers for season 5 as opposed to writing alone as he has for the first 4 seasons.
• The upcoming James Bond film, reportedly, will be the last for Dame Judi Dench. Having starred as M, boss to MI6 agents in the last six Bond films, Dench became Bond’s “boss” with GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan’s first film in the title role.
• As the final 2010-2011 network television schedules were announced last week, looks like former Doctor Who star, David Tennant, will have to wait a bit longer before conquering American television. Tennant was to star in Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, which was axed by NBC after only making it through the pilot stage.

That’s it for now. If you run across any bits of information you’d like us to report on or if you have a question about your favorite British series, don’t hesitate to e-mail us at tellyspotting@kera.org with comments or questions. Cheers.