• British comedy writing 101 with Red Dwarf's Rob Grant

    British comedy writing 101 with Red Dwarf's Rob Grant

    Seems fitting as we landed on this side of the pond fresh from two weeks of interviews for the March 2011 PBS special on British comedy writers that we learned Red Dwarf co-creator and co-writer, Rob Grant will present a two-day comedy writing course at The Comedy School in early October in Camden, London. Grant also […]

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  • Mulberry – brilliant Britcom that lasted only two seasons

    Mulberry – brilliant Britcom that lasted only two seasons

    There are times that BBC commissioning folks get it right and times they don’t. Mulberry is one of those “didn’t get it right” moments in British comedy history. After two wonderful seasons (13 episodes) with brilliant scripts by Bob Larbey and, then, writing partner, John Esmonde and a wonderful cast headed by Karl Howman in […]

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  • Post IT Crowd thoughts

    Post IT Crowd thoughts

    After having watched The IT Crowd the other night on Channel 4, I now get how really well done it is. Written by Graham Linehan, who wrote the great Father Ted and the even greater, Black Books, I had only seen a couple of episodes of season one and, to be honest, couldn’t see what […]

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  • A brief, but great moment with Dawn French

    A brief, but great moment with Dawn French

    LONDON – July 18, 2010: It just keeps getting better and better as we continue our interviews for the doc on the British comedy writers for PBS. Yesterday, it was another day, another highlight as we talked with Dawn French, writer, actor, comedy genius. Dawn talked at great length about her good friend, Richard Curtis, […]

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  • The absolute greatness that is Penelope Keith

    The absolute greatness that is Penelope Keith

    LONDON, July 17, 2010 – Yesterday was one of the highlights of the trip this time. As you read in yesterday’s post, we started the day off by interviewing Roger Lloyd Pack from The Vicar of Dibley and The Old Guys. What a genuinely nice individual. Penelope Keith at the Brooklands After that, we ventured […]

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  • Could there ever be a Bishop of Dibley?

    Could there ever be a Bishop of Dibley?

    Another day, more British comedy greatness. Started the morning off with a drive to Kentish Town in North London to visit Roger Lloyd Pack, who stars as Owen in The Vicar of Dibley. What a gem of an individual and an unbelievable wealth of knowledge about comedy and acting. Roger did share some interesting observations on […]

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  • Clive Swift on all-things Keeping Up Appearances

    Clive Swift on all-things Keeping Up Appearances

    LONDON – July 14, 2010: Today was more Keeping Up Appearances with our interview with Clive Swift. In this case, you probably do know the name and his work. Clive’s brilliant portrayal of Richard, Hyacinth’s husband, is a perfect example of the excellent casting that sets British comedy apart from their American counterparts. As Clive […]

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  • London, Day 1 – British comedy brilliance, World Cup final and more….

    London, Day 1 – British comedy brilliance, World Cup final and more….

    Doesn’t get any better than this. Having just wrapped up day one shooting, we capped off the evening hitting The Mitre Pub around the corner to watch the finals of the World Cup 2010 from South Africa. **SPOILER ALERT** Unfortunately, we were in a pub filled with Holland fans so they weren’t all too thrilled […]

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