These R.I.P. posts seems to be coming at an alarmingly fast rate these days and while all of them are devastating to those of us that have literally grown up on British comedy and drama, this one painfully hits home. The wondefully brilliant Terry Jones has died. A statement from his family said, “Terry passed away […]
Read moreRowan Atkinson, English actor, comedian, and screenwriter turns 65 today. While best known to audiences worldwide for his work on the sitcoms Blackadder and Mr. Bean and, more recently, for his stellar performance in Maigret, I first stumbled upon Atkinson's brilliant talent in the BBC2 sketch comedy series, Not the Nine O'Clock News.
Read moreUnfortunately, these posts are getting way too frequent and are hitting too close to home as they involve friends that we've made over the years. This time, with great sadness, we report that our friend Nicky Henson, passed away Monday at the age of 74. One of the absolute nicest individuals on the planet, Nicky used to tell us that even after all the theater, stage and film work he has been a part of in over 50 years of professional acting, he expected to see on his tombstone "Here lies Nicky Henson - he was in one episode of Fawlty Towers".
Read moreGoodness Gracious Me, the British sitcom with a central theme focusing on British Asian culture, ran for 3 series and 23 episodes from 1998-2001. Starring the foursome of Sanjeev Bhaskar (Kumars at No. 42, Unforgotten), Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal (Kumars at No. 42) and Nina Wadia (Eastenders, Still Open All Hours), Goodness Gracious Me sketches poked fun at the British by reversing […]
Read moreThe career of Bill Owen, who passed away 20 years ago this month (12 July 1999) at the age of 85, was a prime example of how appearing in one British comedy series for almost three decades can all but eliminate an entire lifetime of greatness in the public mind.
Read moreI'm not quiet sure whether it's harder to believe that it's been 50 years this year since MPFC first aired in the U.K. or that I remember watching 45 years ago as an innocent young lad in Dallas, TX when KERA, the PBS station in North Texas, became the first TV station in the United States to broadcast the program in October 1974.
Read moreFrom Jimmy Anderson in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin to Ben Parkinson in Butterflies to Lionel Hardcastle in As Time Goes By, Geoffrey Palmer has been a constant fixture in our collective British comedy lives for the better part of four decades with these three series alone.
Read moreWhat well-known British actor appeared in one episode of the greatest British comedy of all-time (Fawlty Towers) AND played a returning character in Downton Abbey?
Read moreThe Kodak moment of Quarmby's appearance on the classic British comedy, Fawlty Towers, occurs as Manuel (Andrew Sachs) frantically searches the dining room for Basil, his pet 'Siberian hamster', and Polly (Connie Booth) offers the unsuspecting Mr. Carnegie a biscuit only to be confronted by the four-legged Basil hiding in the biscuit tin.
Read moreThis year's top April Fool's effort goes to The Telegraph with their in-depth and very timely report on the UK's banning of April 1 jokes amid fears of panic buying over Brexit. According to the paper, jokes would be banned this year under an archaic parliamentary order, amid warnings the public can no longer tell the difference between reality and farce.
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