According to a paper presented yesterday at The British Sociological Association entitled, The Cultural Currency of a ‘Good’ Sense of Humour: British Comedy and New Forms of Distinction, researchers believe that, “social hierarchy holds the key to what Britons find funny, with middle class audiences using their preferences as a form of veiled snobbery”. Class […]
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OK, officially, Manuel may only be 35 years of age, but Andrew Sachs, the actor who brilliantly portrayed the most famous waiter from Barcelona turns 80 today, Wednesday, April 7. Best known for his role as the hapless waiter, Manuel, in, perhaps the greatest British comedy of all-time, Fawlty Towers, Sachs has had, and still enjoys, a […]
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Seems a bit ironic that there are some Doctor Who fans out there that need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. Lighten up folks. Tom Baker is not the Doctor anymore. Seems as though much of the UK is in an uproar this week after the long-awaited premiere this past weekend […]
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In an eerily similar occurrence to the original during rehearsals of Fawlty Towers at the King’s Theatre in Gloucester, seems as though after all these years, Basil Fawlty still hasn’t gotten the hang of hitting Manuel on the head with a frying pan without inflicting real pain. According to the particulars during rehearsal at the […]
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Two new British comedy series are set to premiere on public television in the coming months. KERA Dallas will begin tonight (Sunday) with Ladies of Letters at 11:00pm and After You’ve Gone at 11:30pm. A quick synopsis and preview of both. Would love to know what you think of them, wherever you are. Ladies of […]
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Recently, a poll was conducted in the UK to identify Britain’s all-time favorite comedians. Surprising to some, not surprising to many, was the fact that the old-style comedians topped the poll with 67 year old Billy Connolly heading a list that included Victoria Wood and the late, Tommy Cooper. Perhaps just as surprising was the […]
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You Look Marvelous Today is Penelope Keith’s 70th birthday. Billy Crystal’s character, Fernando Lamas, couldn’t have said it better. You look marvelous. With a long public television history dating back to the days of Good Neighbors and To the Manor Born right through to her recent efforts serving as host for both The Funny Ladies of […]
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Whoever coined this phrase must have underestimated the power of television to influence buying behavior. Why, you ask? Well, just ask the makers of Harris Tweed how they feel now that Matt Smith, the Eleventh traveling Time Lord, has put on the hand-woven timeless jacket for the new series. The 60’s style jacket will now be […]
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Office co-creators/writers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant take the leap to the big screen with their upcoming film, Cemetery Junction, scheduled for an April 2010 release in the U.K. Unfortunately, no scheduled release date set as of yet in the United States. Taking place in 1970’s England, Gervais describes the film as a ‘coming of age’ […]
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Ask 1000 people worldwide what they like about British comedy and I guarantee you’ll find yourself in the company of 1000 people that say it’s all in the writing. Smart, witty, intelligent — words that are repeatedly used to describe British comedy writing. Good writing + good casting = success Ask any actor or actress […]
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