The Golden Globes have come and gone. The BAFTA’s are but a faint memory. All eyes are now focused on Sunday, 27 February and the Academy Awards. It’s Oscar time. With The King’s Speech, hopefully, set to sweep the top awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Colin Firth), Best Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter) and […]
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It’s only February, but it’s time to circle Fall 2011/Winter 2012 on your calendar for round two of the bout between Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs. We all know the story of the mega-hit from ITV, Downton Abbey. Broadcast last Fall in the UK to record viewer numbers and followed by a US premiere on […]
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Before you begin reading, please understand that this isn’t even close to being a knock on the greatness of The Office, Outnumbered or The Thick of It. I also don’t want this to seem like a planting of the flag for the good ‘ole days syndrome. Merely a celebration, as The Independent‘s Tim Walker brilliantly […]
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With the 4+” of ice that blanketed North Texas overnight, crippling daily activity as we know it, comes news from our friends over at the British Comedy Guide that the British Comedy Award-nominated Simon Amstell comedy, Grandma’s House, is rumored to be commissioned for a second set of six episodes. Hopefully, the BBC will confirm this in […]
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Lark Rise to Candleford axed After four seasons, the BBC’s popular period drama adaptation of Flora Thompson’s memoirs of her Oxfordshire childhood has come to an end. Set in both the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the neighboring, wealthier town of Candleford, the series starred Julia Sawalha (Absolutely Fabulous), Olivia Hallinan and Linda Bassett. BBC […]
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Hard to think of the word “teaser” when it refers to something that’s still almost four months away from filming and, roughly, nine months away from broadcast, but little mind-teasers are starting to leak out about the next set of the Sherlock series from the genius minds of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. With the worlds […]
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Working class sitcoms vs. Blue collar comedy. Fawlty Towers vs. Father Ted. The Telegraph vs. The Guardian. No matter what side you’re on in this rather ridiculous issue, what viewers ultimately want is good comedy. While Telegraph readers tend to lean more towards the Conservative Party and a centre-right view, the majority of the Guardian readers […]
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No one knows better than the BBC when it comes to comedy so it comes as no surprise to see their assessment of what makes a good comedy entrance. As they spell out, “…comedy shows are where entrances really come into their own: a good comedy entrance can signal character information to viewers and set […]
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New BBC controller, Danny Cohen, lobbed the first grenade with his desire for the Beeb to “…curb middle class comedy” and add more “…blue-collar comedy shows“. Series like the long-running My Family and Outnumbered seem to not reflect the country as a whole. According to Cohen, the UK needs more shows like Only Fools and […]
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With all of our talk over the last 14 months about the US “difficulty” with respect to exporting brilliant UK product and putting the U.S stamp on it, whether it be comedy or drama (seems like we’ve mastered the art of the game show/reality show remake), the BBC has come up with a quick 7-question […]
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