Not long after Monty Python’s Flying Circus’s October 1974 premiere on KERA-TV in Dallas, one of my earliest memories of watching British comedy on public television was to ‘religiously’ watch Dave Allen at Large….a somewhat non-descript sketch/standup/sitdown comedy series featuring an intellectually brilliant Irish comedian that sat in a high bar stool with a seemingly bottomless glass of whiskey.
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Set in the breathtakingly beautiful resort town of Portofino, Hotel Portofino is about personal awakening at a time of global upheaval in the traumatic aftermath of World War I and of the liberating influence of Italy’s enchanting culture, climate and cuisine on elite British travelers.
Premiering tonight at 8pET/7pCT on PBS, Hotel Portofino tells the story of the Ainsworth family that has relocated from Britain to open an upscale hotel on the Italian coastline. Once you meet the cast of characters, both Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey come to mind….if they happened to be set in 1920 Italy.
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With Sunday’s return of Endeavour prominently marked on our calendars, Masterpiece is giving everyone a quick recap as to where we ended series 7 just over a year ago. Lest you forget, a lot has happened and a lot is getting ready to happen so this will be a must read leading up to Sunday’s return on your local PBS […]
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Our first look at the forthcoming Death in Paradise Christmas Special has Ralf Little (DI Neville Parker) and Don Warrington (Commissioner Selwyn Patterson) all smiles — most likely because production has just begun and there are no victims and no murders to solve as of yet. As with series 11, series 12 will be comprised of 8 […]
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Adam Lambert brilliantly channeled Freddie Mercury to open the Party at the Palace for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Saturday night in front of Buckingham Palace. Can there be any cooler sight than to see Brian May ascend to the top of the stage with the Palace gates in background? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjFl6lsFaNA&t=7s Preceding Queen’s brillant effort, […]
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Only the brilliant comedic genius that is Rowan Atkinson could build antcipation for an entire comedy series around one man’s fight with….a bee! When the former star/co-creator of such British comedy classics such as Mr. Bean and Blackadder is given a platform to showcase his physical comedy capabilities, it does spell the potential for comedy gold. In Man vs. Bee, […]
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It’s official, Eliza Scarlet (aka Miss Scarlet) and William Wellington (aka The Duke) are back on the case this Fall. Kate Phillips (The Crown, Peaky Blinders) and Stuart Martin (Jamestown) will reprise their roles when the series returns with six new episodes beginning Sunday, October 16 as part of the Masterpiece series on PBS. As it’s been just a bit since […]
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“A towel, [The Guide] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Not only does it have great practical value, a towel has immense psychological value” – Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Today, H2G2 fans are marking the 21sts anniversary since the all-too-early passing of creator/writer, Douglas […]
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Endeavour, the series which began as a single film a decade ago in 2012 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Inspector Morse, will end its run after 33 episodes across nine seasons according to a special video statement from series producers Mammoth Screen and PBS Masterpiece. Season 8 will air in the U.S. on PBS Masterpiece between June 19 and July 3, followed by three more episodes for Season 9 which is currently filming in Oxford and will air in 2023.
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Taking a page out of the Midsomer Murders 25th anniversary playbook, Silent Witness is celebrating its own 25th by bringing back original series star, Amanda Burton. Burton led the series for its first eight seasons as forensic pathologist Sam Ryan before Emilia Fox took over as Dr. Nikki Alexander, as part of the forensic pathology team at the Lyell […]
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