Sadly, this is getting all-too frequent these days. Most recently was the passing of Richard Briers and, now, the passing of the great Frank Thornton at age 92. Known to us all as simply Captain Peacock and, more recently, Truly Truelove in Last of the Summer Wine, Frank Thornton rivaled Richard Briers for who had […]
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While Dave Allen was, at the height of his career, one of Britain’s most controversial comedians, he also still remains one of the funniest in my book. The Dublin born comedian regularly provoked the conservative wrath for his frequent pointing out of political hypocrisy and his disregard for religious authority. For the majority of his […]
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With Richard Briers’ untimely passing last month, I’ve been thinking more and more about the brilliance of The Good Life or The Good Neighbors as it was broadcast in the U.S. The 1970’s (gulp!) British situation comedy, which was written by Bob Larbey and John Esmonde, centered around Tom Good (Briers) and his wife/partner-in-crime Barbara […]
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One constant in life (even though it’s every two years) is the brilliance of Red Nose Day, the BBC’s centerpiece of Comic Relief efforts which started as an idea from the brilliant minds of Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry. Viewers in the UK have been the beneficiary of spoof sketches such as Uptown Downstairs Abbey, […]
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Doing Something Funny for Money as Red Nose Day turns 25! A star-studded line-up of the UK’s favorite comedians will literally be ‘doing something funny for money’ as Red Nose Day celebrates its 25th anniversary on Friday, 15 March, with a brilliant evening of appointment telly. As they do every two years, producers of Red […]
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Douglas Adams would have been 61 on Monday. Probably best known for his brilliant work, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Adams may be gone, but will never be forgotten. He’s just eating at the restaurant at the end of the universe waiting for the rest of his party to join him. Friend and fellow British […]
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Our last report from the 2013 BBC Showcase saw a simple one-time-only special with a big name cast grab the hearts of most of the cynical television program executives remaining in Liverpool. Although it had already aired on BBC One this past Christmas Day, the hope amongst all attendees was that this would become the […]
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There are things in this world that defy logic. In the case of the British comedy, Spy, we have two opportunities to defy logic on both sides of the pond. East of the Atlantic in the UK, the Darren Boyd version of Spy was great telly. For two seasons, Boyd brilliantly played Tim, a single […]
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As we finally are being drug kicking and screaming from the UK and 10 days of amazing telly, Tellyspotting takes one final look back at the hits of this years BBC Showcase in Liverpool. If our daytime screenings weren’t enough, at night it was brilliant to be able to watch great telly live such as […]
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Monday was a day of comedy in Liverpool at the BBC Showcase 2013. Every year there are several comedy gems that will, ultimately, make their way to the States on public television. From the early 90’s with the first screenings of Keeping Up Appearances to the subsequent years where we were treated to pilot episodes […]
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