Monty Python's 1974 pre-'wardrobe malfunction' bit of lunacy

If you’re a broadcaster or producer, you just thought your clashes with the FCC began back in 2004 and Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” incident. A full 30+ years prior to that special Sunday, one of the producers of the brilliant Python film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was approached by a member of […]

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Who knew the Dowager Countess was a Giants fan?

Talk of the town anywhere in the U.S. on Sunday was either Patriots-Giants or Grantham-Crawley. Judging from the overnight television ratings, the obvious winner was the Super Bowl, but Downton Abbey held its own to a much greater degree on PBS than any other program in recent memory up against the ‘big game’. Thankfully, the […]

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Saturday Night Live imagines Downton Abbey on Spike TV

***Update for those trying to access the video clip below. Sadly, the folks at NBC Universal have decided that a little extra added promotion for Saturday Night Live is not of interest. When you click on the video below you will now be greeted with a very nice message that says: “This video contains content […]

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You too can be the Dowager Countess….for $12K a day (lunch included!)

Yes, I know, the ‘another network’ has something on called the Super Bowl up against tonights new installment of Downton Abbey. Hopefully, they’ll learn not to counter program when series three comes around in 2013. If you can’t make it to the big game, we have a once-in-a-lifetime travel deal to satisfy your inner-Dowager Countess. […]

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Being Human IV vs. Super Bowl XLVI

The U.S. may have the Super Bowl on Sunday, 5 February, but the real television event happening in the UK on the same Sunday will be the 4th series premiere of Being Human on BBC Three. Not quite the match-up that makes or breaks the books in Vegas, but I know who the favorite is […]

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Dateline: London, Twenty Twelve from BBC Four

Having just lived through a city that was home to Super Bowl XLV, it became painstakingly clear all the efforts that went in to not only securing the winning bid some four years ago but, then, the subsequent preparation leading up to, oh yeah, the actual game. One can only imagine what goes in to […]

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You're a mean one, Dr. House

With a quick apology to the Grinch, you are probably asking, at this point, why are we talking Super Bowl and commercials on tellyspotting? Easy. Two words. Hugh Laurie. Doing a better Mean Joe Greene than Mean Joe, himself, this is the one time in recent memory that the re-make of anything between :30 seconds […]

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Super Bowl tailgating do's and don'ts – a British perspective

As the world prepares for today’s ‘big game’ (evidently, we’re not allowed to call it by its real name due to potential copyright infringement), there are those that take the art of tailgating as serious as they take the game. With all the festivities going on this week leading up to the game, having heard […]

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Downton Abbey – Dowager Countess' say the darndest things

Everyone in America seems a bit down today. Some realize that after the Super Bowl next Sunday, the American football season is over until Fall. While some have hope with the knowledge that pitchers and catchers report in a little over two weeks, others realize baseball season is, officially, still two months away. Personally, I’m […]

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Dame Judi Dench – no need to say anything else

Thinking back some 12 years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet and interview Judi Dench for an earlier production, The Best of British Comedy for American Public Television. I was even more fortunate to be able to interview her a second time for the upcoming program on British comedy writers for PBS as I’m […]

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