Comedy | Tellyspotting

July 29, 2022
RIP — Bernard Cribbins O.B.E. — “….he was in one episode of Fawlty Towers” **

Bernard Cribbins, the rather fussy spoon salesman mistaken for a hotel inspector in one episode of Fawlty Towers, has died at the age of 93. **In spite of a brilliant seven decade plus career, Cribbins will be forever known as ‘being in the “Hotel Inspectors” episode of Fawlty Towers, which is a testament to the greatness of perhaps the best British comedy of all time but speaks more to Cribbins’ brilliant ability to make even a relatively minor role such as Mr. Hutchinson in one episode of Fawlty Towers so memorable.
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July 19, 2022
As ‘Father Ted’ confirms, the Ice Age officially ended July 19 as London temps hit 104 degrees

With temperatures across the globe hitting record highs the past couple of days, I hope everyone is staying hydrated, staying in the shade and surviving as best you can. 110 degrees is bad enough where I am but one can’t even begin to fathom it being 104F (40C) in London today which is, reportedly, the highest temperature on record to date.
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July 4, 2022
Stephen Merchant answers the burning question — ‘What if the British won?’

As co-writer and co-director of BBC’s The Office, Stephen Merchant is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais. Several years ago, the British writer, director, radio presenter, stand-up comedian and actor added London West-End appearance to his CV with his first play, The Mentalists by Richard Bean, alongside Steffan Rhodri at the Wyndham Theatre. And, his most recent effort alongside the greatness of […]
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June 21, 2022
The generational legacy of the greatness of Dave Allen

Not long after Monty Python’s Flying Circus’s October 1974 premiere on KERA-TV in Dallas, one of my earliest memories of watching British comedy on public television was to ‘religiously’ watch Dave Allen at Large….a somewhat non-descript sketch/standup/sitdown comedy series featuring an intellectually brilliant Irish comedian that sat in a high bar stool with a seemingly bottomless glass of whiskey.
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May 29, 2022
Rowan Atkinson is the man in ‘Man Vs Bee’

Only the brilliant comedic genius that is Rowan Atkinson could build antcipation for an entire comedy series around one man’s fight with….a bee! When the former star/co-creator of such British comedy classics such as Mr. Bean and Blackadder is given a platform to showcase his physical comedy capabilities, it does spell the potential for comedy gold. In Man vs. Bee, […]
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May 14, 2022
The next meeting of the DMDC is set as ‘The Detectorists’ gets ready for one final dig!

Mackenzie Crook, the writer, director and star behind the brilliant metal-detecting sitcom The Detectorists, confirmed there will be one last sweep of the English countryside coming from his mind palace which will warrant getting the band back together in the not-too-distant future. The series, which finished after three series in 2017, was not only a very cerebral […]
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May 6, 2022
The 1975 review of ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ that completely misses the mark.

A series that played a significant part in shaping my ‘formative years in British telly’ was when I first discovered Monty Python’s Flying Circus. When it first aired in the United States on October 6, 1974, courtesy of my local PBS station, KERA (where I have now worked for a majority of my career in television), it […]
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April 22, 2022
Celebrating Shakespeare in a nutshell this St Georges Day, courtesy of ‘Upstart Crow’

This coming Saturday, William Shakespeare would have been a mere 458 years old. While his true birthdate remains a mystery (he was baptized on April 26, 1564), it is generally celebrated on April 23, the same day England’s patron saint is celebrated with a laundry list of ‘happenings’, St. George’s Day. It was a mere 406 […]
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April 17, 2022
As you seek the Grail this Easter, heed the words of Tim and always ‘fear the bunny’!

One simply cannot let Easter pass without paying tribute to the genius that is Monty Python & the Holy Grail. There are literally thousands of lines and/or scenes that millions of fans worldwide can quote or reference, and there are few that don’t gravitate to a seemingly innocent looking rabbit that surprises a group of tourists looking for […]
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April 2, 2022
Happy 82nd, Dame Penelope Keith!

Today is Penelope Keith’s 82nd birthday. With a long public television history dating back to the days of Good Neighbors and To the Manor Born to her efforts serving as host for PBS’ The Funny Ladies of British Comedy and More Funny Ladies of British Comedy and right through to her more recent presenting efforts in the numerous […]
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