• Arthur redux

    Just another short rant about why there is no need to create American versions of British comedies that were close to perfection the first time around. This holds true virtually 100% of the time, whether it be for the big or small screen. All I need to do is utter the words of Death at […]

    Read more
  • John Cleese rants on the state of television

    Now, more than ever, former Monty Python great, John Cleese, would love to utter the words, “And Now For Something Completely Different” and have it relate to television in the 21st century. Still recuperating in his Santa Barbara home from recent knee surgery and planning his upcoming Alimony Tour across the UK, John Cleese, has […]

    Read more
  • Blackadder – the lost pilot episode

    I had heard about this over the years, but as with the rumor of there being a 13th, never-before-aired, episode of the great Fawlty Towers, I passed this off as an idea that hatched late one night at The Nags Head (a GREAT pub, by the way) and not really something that had merit. Well, count […]

    Read more
  • No more Father Ted, with or without Dermot Morgan

    Echoing sentiments that he expressed to us several years ago during our interview for PBS’ Funny Blokes of British Comedy, Ardal O’Hanlon (Father Dougal) told a BBC Radio interview audience recently that writers, Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, had already determined there would be no more Father Ted programs even before the sudden untimely death of […]

    Read more
  • Former Python, John Cleese, embarks on Alimony Tour

    At 71, former Monty Python star, John Cleese, is showing no signs of slowing down. Frankly, he can’t afford to. His upcoming, appropriately titled, Alimony Tour kicks off in 2011 throughout the UK. Admitting that he would rather be reading books, writing or drinking, Cleese, with three exes as of this writing, might find it difficult to […]

    Read more
  • British comedy pipeline – Going Postal

    May not be immediately top of mind, but many long-time British comedy fans have e-mailed asking about Richard Coyle (Jeff,Coupling). Having left the successful Steven Moffat series after the third season, Coyle starred in the one and only season of Strange, where he played an ex-priest who dedicated his life to hunting down demons. Coyle […]

    Read more
  • The UK really is funny territory, pt 2

    A quick update to an October 2009 post from Tellyspotting as you make plans to travel to the UK this summer. This just in from the other side of the pond – think about Peckham if you’re a fan of Only Fools and Horses. As reported in The Guardian, the British are way ahead of […]

    Read more
  • 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, […]

    Read more
  • 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 […]

    Read more
  • 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 […]

    Read more