For a British comedy series that ran for just five seasons from 1990-1995, Keeping Up Appearances has a continuous stretch of worldwide syndication along with a newly created stage performance to thank for its longevity. If you’re in the neighborhood, the Comedy Theatre Company has taken one of Britain’s most popular comedies of all-time and moves it […]
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I’ve ranted enough in recent months about how American comedy simply cannot re-create British comedy. Looks like the British have figured it out by imitating a comedic style and not trying to duplicate a specific program. In somewhat of a role reversal, the UK comedy world is now copying a style of comedy that American […]
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Ever wonder what your favorite Britcom stars of yesteryear are doing these days? Well, you’re in luck if you’ve always wondered what the shorter Ronnie of The Two Ronnies is doing since the ‘good old days’ of classic British comedy. You may or may not remember Ronnie Corbett as the master of those priceless monologues delivered straight […]
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If you’ve been with the series from the beginning, you’ve seen 295 episodes. In case you hadn’t realized it, you’ve been watching for 37 years or, you have had some pretty significant marathon DVD viewing events over the last “X” number of years. Either way, Sunday, 29 August, will officially be the last of Last […]
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Since the beginning of time, the entire planet has been searching for that elusive answer to the concept of what makes something funny. Whether you’re a comedian, actor or writer trying to make a living at making people laugh or you’re with the rest of us that laugh at something and then sit back and […]
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As we reported here earlier this summer, the world’s longest running situation comedy on television, Last of the Summer Wine, is coming to a close in the UK this coming Sunday, 1 August. Transmission is scheduled to begin on many U.S. public television stations as early as November 2010. How does one begin to bring to […]
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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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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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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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It’s hard to imagine a headline that actually starts out with “Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie make TV comeback“, especially, if you step back a moment and think how these two long-time comedy partners have continued to excel separately in the medium of television since their brilliant days together in Jeeves and Wooster, A Bit of Fry and […]
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