Regular readers of Tellyspotting are, no doubt, keenly aware of just how much I do not care for American remakes of British comedies or mysteries. The American broadcast streets are littered with failed remakes of the likes of The IT Crowd, Fawlty Towers, Red Dwarf, Coupling, Spaced, Absolutely Fabulous, Men Behaving Badly, Life on Mars, Skins, The In-Betweeners, […]
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With familial links to Hamlet’s Castle, the connection is set to be revealed on the BBC program, Who Do You Think You Are?, which will broadcast Tuesday, 12 October and has left her feeling just a wee bit closer to William Shakespeare, a full 64 years after she made her debut as Ophelia in Hamlet.
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Full disclosure. Re-makes tend to scare me, whether it’s big or small screen. Pre-Endeavour, prequels used to scare me too. Neither really ever came close to meeting expectations based on the original until Shaun Evans brought a young Detective Constable Endeavour Morse to life during his early career with the Oxford City Police CID.
While I’m reserving judgement on an announced 2023 release of Wonka, given it will be really hard to touch Gene Wilder’s definitive 1971 portrayal of the iconic children’s literary character, recent announcements as to casting may just have me looking forward to this one.
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At long last, fans of quality British mysteries and dramas are beginning to see the light at the end of the COVID pandemic production shutdown tunnel beginning with the return of Call the Midwife and Grantchester this Sunday on PBS. If that’s not enough to program ‘do not disturb’ on your smartphone, a short two weeks later (17 […]
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Fresh off her totally unexpected/departure at the conclusion of the 4th series of Unforgotten, Nicola Walker (Spooks, Last Tango in Halifax) is set to star with Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Broken) in an upcoming BBC comedy/drama series, Marriage. Written and created by Stefan Golaszewski (Mum, Him & Her), the four-part series is described as “an up-close portrait […]
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While Fawlty Towers will forever remain the great British comedy of all-time, perhaps the greatest television series of all-time (sorry, folks, it’s not Downton Abbey) turns 54 later this month. The Prisoner is made up of 17 hours of pure telly greatness running on ITV in the UK from 29 September 1967 through 1 February 1968. It […]
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David Tennant stars as English gentleman turned adventurer and literature’s greatest explorer Phileas Fogg in a thrilling new adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic adventure novel, Around the World in 80 Days, coming to Masterpiece on PBS. Joining Tennant for this 8-part adventure will be French actor Ibrahim Koma (OSS 177) as Fogg’s irrepressible valet, Passepartout, Leonie Benesch […]
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Sadly, these R.I.P. posts are coming way too frequent and way too fast for my liking these days. This one is another name you may not be familiar with but will definitely know his work. Tony Selby, perhaps best remembered for his starring role as Corporal Percy Marsh in Esmonde & Larbey’s national service comedy Get […]
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Long considered to be one of the earliest novels in the English language, Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling will be adapted and reimagined for television by PBS Masterpiece. The story follows the growth and misadventures of the title character, played in this new adaptation by the young actor Solly McLeod (The Rising), who stars opposite Sophie Wilde (You Don’t Know Me) as the heroine, Sophia Western.
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Sheila Bromberg passed away on August 24, 2021 at the young age of 92. While it’s a name you may not immediately recognize, if you are of the age that ‘Meet the Beatles’ was possibly the first album you ever bought with your own money, you will definitely know her work.
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