• Sir Humphrey enters the 21st century

    Sir Humphrey enters the 21st century

    We’ve talked many times here how Yes Minister is either just as relevant or more relevant today than it was 30 years ago when it premiered in 1980. Obviously, the original producers agree as original co-writer, Sir Antony Jay, has written three special election sketches, titled Memo to the Minister, for the BBC to air […]

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  • Next up – Trevor Peacock & James Fleet

    Next up – Trevor Peacock & James Fleet

    Long day yesterday that started at 4:30a CT with a great interview with Bob Larbey, the genius mind behind the likes of As Time Goes By, The Good Neighbors (Good Life in the UK) and Mulberry, to name a few. In a word, couldn’t have been more gracious with his time and his thoughts on his […]

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  • The great British comedy catchphrase

    The great British comedy catchphrase

    To continue our focus and conversation about the writers, our friends over at the British Comedy Guide in a recent programming alert about an upcoming special on Channel 4 in London, remind us that buried in the brilliant writing of our favorite British comedy shows are some priceless and timeless catchphrases. As they point out, […]

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  • The minds behind the brilliance of British comedy

    The minds behind the brilliance of British comedy

    Some of you know, some don’t, that we are currently in production on a PBS special to air in March 2011 across the U.S. that will attempt to pay homage to what many of us feel is the number one reason as to why British comedy is brilliant – the writers. In the special, we’ll hear […]

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  • British comedy gospel according to Dave

    British comedy gospel according to Dave

    I thought we’d revisit our earlier post regarding the Top 10 British films of all-time and compare now that a recent post has come out from our friends at Dave, the UK digital channel that is brilliantly billed as “the home of witty banter”. Owned by UKTV, the channel was relaunched in 2009 and rebranded […]

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  • Britain's Best Sitcom – Your thoughts?

    Britain's Best Sitcom – Your thoughts?

    Several years ago, the BBC embarked on the daunting task of determining Britain’s Best Sitcom through a poll where people could argue their case and then identify and vote for their favorite British situation comedy of all-time. To no one’s surprise, Only Fools and Horses emerged at the overall winner with almost 350,000 votes. You can […]

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  • Cleese puts volcano on its ash

    Cleese puts volcano on its ash

    What travel chaos? According to the Telegraph, all you need is a willing Norwegian taxicab and a spare 3,300 pounds($5,053) and you can easily get from Oslo, Norway to Brussels. After that, it’s just an easy Eurostar hop to London. A little volcanic ash wasn’t going to stop the dreaded and feared Basil Fawlty. Citing […]

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  • Classic rewind: Yes Minister 1980 or 2010

    Classic rewind: Yes Minister 1980 or 2010

    With the 6 May 2010 UK general election just around the corner, it seemed more than appropriate to re-visit one of the greats from the British comedy archive of all time. We’ve always talked about how The Good Life (Good Neighbors in the U.S.) could translate to today, but the #1 series that could still […]

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  • Death at a Funeral – Netflix queue alert

    Death at a Funeral – Netflix queue alert

    This weekends release of the Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence film, Death at at Funeral, just firmly puts the ball on the tee and gives me yet another opportunity to rant once more about American remakes of British comedies. The new film, which also stars Danny Glover and Tracy Morgan has a chance based on cast […]

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  • I didn't get where I am today by….

    I didn't get where I am today by….

    Those words from The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin and, perhaps, the seven most recognizable associated with a British comedy in the late 70’s, other than “He’s from Barcelona” or “Don’t mention the war”, finally drove our favorite 9-5 commuter office worker to the brink daily when uttered by the tyrannical boss of Sunshine Desserts, […]

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