Monday Scattershooting – Lark Rise, David Tennant and more…

Lark Rise to Candleford axed After four seasons, the BBC’s popular period drama adaptation of Flora Thompson’s memoirs of her Oxfordshire childhood has come to an end. Set in both the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the neighboring, wealthier town of Candleford, the series starred Julia Sawalha (Absolutely Fabulous), Olivia Hallinan and Linda Bassett. BBC […]

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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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Sherlock teasers for series two on BBC and PBS

Hard to think of the word “teaser” when it refers to something that’s still almost four months away from filming and, roughly, nine months away from broadcast, but little mind-teasers are starting to leak out about the next set of the Sherlock series from the genius minds of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. With the worlds […]

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More on British sitcoms: Class warfare on the horizon?

Working class sitcoms vs. Blue collar comedy. Fawlty Towers vs. Father Ted. The Telegraph vs. The Guardian. No matter what side you’re on in this rather ridiculous issue, what viewers ultimately want is good comedy. While Telegraph readers tend to lean more towards the Conservative Party and a centre-right view, the majority of the Guardian readers […]

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Great British comedy entrances

No one knows better than the BBC when it comes to comedy so it comes as no surprise to see their assessment of what makes a good comedy entrance. As they spell out, “…comedy shows are where entrances really come into their own: a good comedy entrance can signal character information to viewers and set […]

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Britain plants the flag….Colin Firth leads the way at the Oscars

The clear winner from an Oscar nomination standpoint during yesterday’s announcement was the brilliant British box-office mega-hit, The King’s Speech, with 12 Oscar nominations. Britain will be well-represented on Oscar night with numerous opportunities for an acceptance speech or two up and down the nomination ladder. Best Picture – The King’s Speech Best Actor – Colin […]

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Jeremy Lloyd to BBC: Good comedy is good writing and acting, %$@#&*

New BBC controller, Danny Cohen, lobbed the first grenade with his desire for the Beeb to “…curb middle class comedy” and add more “…blue-collar comedy shows“. Series like the long-running My Family and Outnumbered seem to not reflect the country as a whole. According to Cohen, the UK needs more shows like Only Fools and […]

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2010 British Comedy Awards – and the winner is….

Rightfully so, last night (Saturday, 22 January) was billed as the biggest night of the year for the British comedy industry as UK’s funniest gathered at London’s O2 for the annual British Comedy Awards. Jonathan Ross returned as host of the gala evening, broadcast live on Channel 4, that, for the first time, tapped the […]

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Red Dwarf 2012: T minus 344 days and counting….

Yogi Berra was right. It’s deja vu all over again. If you remember, we reported earlier this year with regards to Dave, the perennial home of witty banter in the UK, bravely stepping up to the plate to commission 10 new episodes of the British comedy/sci-fi series, Red Dwarf, with a target launch date of 2011. […]

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