British Telly | Tellyspotting

Posted November 23, 2023 - No Comment

Giving thanks, once again, this Thanksgiving for family, friends, loyal Tellyspotting readers, good health and MiniBoots, in addition to ‘The Prisoner’ and ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’’

THankPhoto courtesy: ITVIn addition to stopping for a moment to be eternally thankful for my much better half, Kim, our friends, long-time and first-time Tellyspotting readers, good health and our kitty, MiniBoots, no Thanksgiving would be complete without recognizing the contributions made by two classic British series for not only setting me on a lifelong path of […]

Posted June 22, 2020 - No Comment

Alan Bennett’s revamped ‘Talking Heads’ monologue series is Must.See.TV!

This week is lockdown telly at its must-see finest. On Tuesday, BBC1 premieres the revival of a late 80s masterpiece, Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologue series with a line-up of stars that reads like a who’s who of the British acting world. The rebirth of the masterful series of to-camera monologues features the likes of Sarah Lancashire […]

Posted May 6, 2016 - No Comment

Mr. Blobby visits the Bucket (it’s Bouquet!) residence on Noel’s House Party

There are certain things over the years that will forever defy explanation when one tries to grasp their immense popularity. In America, we have Barney the Dinosaur (which no one can explain to this day) while the UK has Mr. Blobby. Mr Blobby was the brainchild of writer Charlie Adams who passed away in 2013. He first […]

Posted December 18, 2015 - No Comment

A young Luke Skywalker visits Blue Peter to ‘explain’ Star Wars to British children

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens already taking Planet Earth by storm, Radio Times dug deep into the Blue Peter vault to find a young Mark Hamill attempting to explain Star Wars to Blue Peter host, Lesley Judd. Judd hosted the longest running children’s television show in the world from 1971-1978. Given the mania that generally surrounds each addition to the Star […]

Posted November 27, 2015 - No Comment

Back from the brink, ‘Luther’ returns!

At long last, John Luther is back. You remember, the John Luther of “I was sick, I got better, I’m back, etc.” fame. Ok, so he’s obsessive, possessed, and sometimes violent. So what if he’s an emotionally impulsive detective tormented by the darker side of humanity who is constantly struggling to cope with his own demons. Ok, there […]

Posted September 16, 2015 - No Comment

Ahead of Sunday’s premiere, it’s time for dueling ‘Downton Abbey’ promotional trailers

This is getting serious. Depending on where you hang your hat, we’re talking ‘extra time’ in European football or 2:00 minute warning time in American football. With only days separating members of the U.K. chapter of Downton Abbey-Nation from the beginning of the final series of Downton Abbey, it will be virtually impossible for their […]

Posted July 31, 2015 - No Comment

UK’s bedtime stories for big kids, Crackanory, lures ‘Reverend Jim’ across the pond

There are far more reasons than the law allows for the fact that I continue to believe that British telly is by far superior to its distant cousin from America. Let us, for a moment, forget about the perennial examples of Spooks vs. 24, Fawlty Towers vs. ‘insert any American comedy series here‘ or Doctor Who vs. ‘every science fiction […]

Posted January 19, 2015 - No Comment

CBBC’s Blue Peter to send kids to MI-5 spy school

In November 2013, the longest-running children’s TV show in the world (a.k.a. Blue Peter) paid tribute to the longest-running science fiction series in the world (a.k.a. Doctor Who). In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, the CBBC children’s magazine series launched a competition for kids ages six to 15 to design a sonic gadget that could […]

Posted December 22, 2014 - No Comment

Miranda Hart’s Christmas Acting Masterclass 101

Given the timing this week whereby telly viewers in the UK will soon be, sadly, preparing themselves to say goodbye on Christmas Day (and New Years Day) to the Miranda Miranda Hart but, happily, saying hello to the Call the Midwife Miranda Hart in Poplar, she and fellow Sport Relief BFF, David Walliams, took time out from their busy schedules […]

Posted December 16, 2014 - No Comment

Start the New Year off right with Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot on BBC One

The UK Christmas Day to New Year’s Day tradition of great telly just gets better and better with every passing year. Besides the usual obligatory specials from Eastenders, Coronation Street and Doctor Who to look forward to, in recent years those lucky ones to receive the BBC and ITV signal have been treated to specials from Call the Midwife, […]