Q&A with ‘Hope Street’ co-creator, Paul Marquess

Set in the fictional town of Port Devine on the Northern Irish coast, Hope Street focuses on Port Devine’s police department and the mysterious arrival of English Detective Constable Leila Hussain, the first Muslim police officer in the town’s history. Mysterious in the sense of many local residents pondering the reason behind her arrival from […]

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R.I.P. — Monty Norman, ‘James Bond’ theme composer, dies at 94

Unfortunately, there are countless individuals who’s names are unfamiliar to the masses but, in the same breath, you are infinitely familiar with their work. Monty Norman was one such individual. Chances are good that his was not a household name. His work, however, in creating one of the most famous musical movie intros ever will be […]

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‘Is this Heaven?’ No, it’s Humphry Slocombe!

As the outside temperature hits 106 degrees today (112 heat index), my mind immediately wanders to the first time I came upon a little slice (or, pint) of heaven by the name of Humphry Slocombe. Ok, they didn’t ask “Are you being served?” and no one said, “I’m free” when I finally hit the front of […]

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‘SPAM’ — Monty Python’s favorite mystery meat turns 85!

On July 5, 1937, the American culinary landscape as we know it would change forever, courtesy of Austin, Minnesota. Eighty-five years ago yesterday, America ushered in the arrival of the canned luncheon meat known as SPAM. Post Great Depression, SPAM became an instant success for its versatility as it could be opened with an accompanying […]

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Stephen Merchant answers the burning question — ‘What if the British won?’

As co-writer and co-director of BBC’s The Office, Stephen Merchant is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais. Several years ago, the British writer, director, radio presenter, stand-up comedian and actor added London West-End appearance to his CV with his first play, The Mentalists by Richard Bean, alongside Steffan Rhodri at the Wyndham Theatre. And, his most recent effort alongside the greatness of […]

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Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman set to return in ‘Death in Paradise’ spin-off, ‘Beyond Paradise’

DI Humphrey Goodman (a.k.a. Kris Marshall) spent three years in ‘paradise’ on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie after first arriving to investigate the death of his predecessor, DI Richard Poole, who fell victim to a nasty ice pick in the chest at the beginning of series 3. Taking a page out of the Father Brown / Sister Boniface Mysteries playbook, Marshall will star in a Death in Paradise spin-off, Beyond Paradise, which will see DI Goodman reunite with now fiancée Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton), picking up with the pair as “they navigate a new life together in the idyll of rural Britain.”

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Masterpiece to adapt Gill Hornby’s ‘Miss Austen’ for PBS!

While this is definitely not Jane Austen’s first rodeo on PBS whether it be earlier adaptations of Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Emma or even the most recent adaption of Austen’s previously unfinished work (Sanditon), news of a somewhat different type of Austen adaptation has fans worldwide eagerly anticipating the forthcoming small screen version of Gill Hornby’s critically-acclaimed Miss Austen which focuses on the life of the author herself.

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