Working extremely hard on your behalf, it’s Thursday and we find ourselves in New Orleans attending the third annual BBC Syndication Showcase meeting. New Orleans? BBC? Fair questions. Well, this is THE meeting where public television programmers from around country sit in a room for several days screening BBC programming for possible acquisition and broadcast. As […]
Read moreIt’s an old story, but one worth re-telling. You’re an actor/actress targeted for life for a role done a lifetime ago. A legion of fans worldwide don’t want to let go. It’s something that every actor worries about. In the world of British comedy alone, just ask Patricia Routledge (Hyacinth Bucket), John Cleese (Basil Fawlty) […]
Read moreGood writing = longevity in the world of British comedy One can’t help but think of the classics that have stood the test of time such as Fawlty Towers, Blackadder or Monty Python. Excellent writing delivers not only a classic comedy, but one that is also as relevant, or more, today than they were when first […]
Read moreWhile I’ve never heard this “officially” anywhere and I’m guessing there’s a reason for this, I can’t help but watch Doc Martin and not think of Dr. Gregory House, the unconventional and extremely grumpy genius doctor on “another network”. The program has aired for some time on a number of public television stations around the […]
Read moreDoing a quick search around the Internets, there’s a lot going on in the British television world, whether it be the not-so-breaking news that your favorite hotel from hell manager, John Cleese, has magically decided he likes Germans now after 35+ years, the news of yet another failed attempt at an American re-make or just […]
Read moreWhether you’re a budding sitcom writer searching for that next great idea or you’ve a viewer that has enjoyed British comedy for many years wondering just what it is that keeps you coming back week after week, there is hope on the horizon that could solve both your issues. The folks over at geeks.co.uk leave […]
Read moreMuch as been printed over the years with respect to the fact that Donald Sinclair, owner of the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, was the model for the most infamous hotelier, Basil Fawlty, in the classic British comedy, Fawlty Towers. As the story goes, the Pythons were staying at the hotel during a May 1970 location […]
Read moreSort of combined Happy birthday, Happy anniversary message to an individual who, in all his years on the small screen, barely uttered a word. Mr. Bean, brilliantly played by the genius that is Rowan Atkinson, is celebrating 20 years this year, having premiered on ITV in 1990. Much like the fact that there are only […]
Read morePolly, what have you done to my hotel? Almost 20 years ago (March 1991), fire engulfed the Woodburn Grange Country Club, the site for the exterior shots filmed for, perhaps, the greatest British comedy of all-time, Fawlty Towers. Sadly, this led to the ultimate demolition of the property, making way for eight houses despite an approved […]
Read moreYou might remember of our earlier in the week mention of the top-10 television and screen hotels where the ultimate British comedy ‘hotel from hell’ topped the list, seems now that the automobile wants equal time. Interestingly enough, British comedy is also featured prominently in this list compiled by Chrises Cars. For those playing along […]
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