1961 Sean Connery, pre-James Bond

A 1961 BBC production of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, starring a pre-James Bond, Sean Connery has been unearthed deep within the BBC archives almost 50 years after its premiere. The title role was played by Claire Bloom, a top British actress of at that time. Sadly, it wasn’t unusual during the 60’s, to not keep programs […]

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MI5 – Do we really need an American version?

Spoiler Alert: For those of you that find yourself shying away from really fast rides at carnivals and fairs these days because of a weak stomach, please be advised you shouldn’t read any further. On the heels of the news of an upcoming Top Gear USA and possible American versions of both Doctor Who and Torchwood […]

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Top Gear USA — Just a really bad idea

Looks like some U.S. producer’s need to mess with near perfection has entered into the picture again with the release of the “official” promo trailer for the American version of the mega-worldwide hit, Top Gear. I know it’s only 2:00+ minutes, but it’s pretty easy to see this will not last. For starters, no Jeremy […]

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Yes Minister…30+ years and still relevant

Max Headroom was created some 20+ years ago and is more relevant today than it was in the 80’s. Similarly, it’s hard to believe that it’s been over 30 years since co-creators, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn wrote the unbelievably brilliant British comedy, Yes Minister, that is also more relevant today than when it originated. […]

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Monty Python – early home video discovered

You just think programs like America’s Funniest Home Videos or full-blown channels such as YouTube are new and original ideas. Not so, say Dan Cruickshank and Kirsty Wark, who are out to prove that shooting a video and showing it off to the public isn’t a new thing. Beginning this week, on BBC Two, Home Movie […]

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High praise for The Rev

Getting press and any accompanying critical acclaim is not always the recipe for a successful British comedy series, but in the case of one of the newest in the BBC Two line-up, The Rev, it certainly doesn’t hurt when you can also count on the someone “higher up” amongst your fan base. Dr. Rowan Williams, […]

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A British comedy world w/out Python?

One can only imagine, if even only for a brief moment, what our available British comedy viewing choices would be today had the BBC acted on their early feelings regarding Monty Python’s Flying Circus. According to this article in theTelegraph, documents obtained last year under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that BBC management found […]

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Dawn French on her newest project, Roger and Val Have Just Got In

He’s a botanist at a local garden centre. She’s a food technology teacher. The he is Alfred Molina and the she is Dawn French. The two star in the newest addition to the BBC Two british comedy line-up beginning this coming Friday titled Roger and Val Have Just Got In. It’s not “laugh out loud […]

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Sherlock vs. Doctor Who – you decide

Recently on BBC Newsnight, Steven Moffat talked about two characters he’s spent a lot of time with over the past year, Sherlock and Doctor Who. Moffat called Sherlock Holmes, not the traveling Time Lord, the “single best fictional character ever created.” In describing the difference between the two characters, Moffat said: “They’re also sort of opposites. I […]

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