Greetings from BBC Showcase, Day one

As you were, hopefully, sleeping the night away this morning, tellyspotting was arriving at the train station in Brighton, England ready to attend the 2010 BBC Showcase on your behalf. What is BBC Showcase, you may be asking yourself? In simple terms, it’s an incredible meeting put on by the BBC annually. Invitees from around the world descend on Brighton to screen literally 1000’s of hours of programs from the BBC catalogue. Over the years, this meeting has provided invited attendees the opportunity to not only get a first glimpse of BBC product, but also provide valuable feedback and, ultimately, possibly acquire programs such as Keeping Up Appearances, Vicar of Dibley, MI5, Life on Mars, Red Dwarf and numerous specials from this side of the pond.

Attendees represent television stations and networks from around the world, all fo whom acquire and broadcast BBC programming. It’s an annual, once-in-a-lifetime, opportunity to not only revisit the classics from the comedy, factual, drama, lifestyle and children’s world, but also, in many cases, the ability to get a first peak at BBC programming that will be made available for broadcast over the next couple of years. Thankfully, the screenings are 10-12 hours a day as Brighton is famous this time of year for sub-freezing temps, gale-force winds and steady rain. Unfortunately, they didn’t disappoint us this year.

In addition to non-stop screening in the Brighton Centre, the opportunity to hear from the producers and actors themselves with appearances from some of Britain’s greatest talent throughout the week. This year, we will be joined by leading stars of series such as Torchwood, Survivors, and Misfits along with an interview with Matt Smith, the newest Doctor in Doctor Who.

Over the next week, tellyspotting will report to you daily from the screening floor and attempt to give you an all-access pass to an amazing array of BBC programming coming to KERA and public television nationwide.

One hint of a not-to-be-missed mini-series coming to PBS in May of this year over three successive Sundays on Masterpiece,is the newest and, perhaps, one of the best adaptations of Britain’s favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock, written by Steven Moffat, stars Rupert Graves, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (of UK Office fame).

Tuesday will be highlighted by a preview of a new music documentary, Rolling Stones – Exile on Main Street.

You never know who you might run across throughout the week as sprinkled in-between the screenings are genre-specific in-depth presentations by the heads of various BBC departments including documentary and lifestyle, Science, Natural History, History, Children’s, Drama, Formats and, last but not least, Light Entertainment (Comedy).

Back tomorrow with a report on some of the shows screened this first day and to give you a first hand look at programs that may find their way to public television and KERA soon.

In: Odds & Sods