If you’re a drama fan, let’s just say you’re in for a difficult night on PBS tonight. To start with, at 8pET/7pCT, series 5 of the brilliant drama, Call the Midwife, comes to a close. This series has been particularly tough as the residents of Poplar and the inhabitants of Nonnatus House deal with the ‘revolutionary’ […]
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The second-longest continually running UK film series, next to the James Bond films, will be getting a 21st Century makeover in the near future. The Carry On film series, which contains the largest number of films of any British series (31), began in 1958 with Carry On Sergeant, ending in 1992 with Carry On Columbus, produced to coincide with the […]
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Fawlty Towers has to be the greatest 12 episodes of comedy ever. The UK version of The Office is a close second (much better, I think, than the American version, but that’s a debate for another day). In 2000, the British Film Institute selected Fawlty Towers as the best British television show. After a year-long poll looking for Britain’s Best Sitcom, the BBC […]
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Gareth Gwenlan, a name you may not be familiar with but whose work you have seen and enjoyed for decades on countless British situation comedies, has died at age 79. Gwenlan, who joined the BBC Comedy department in 1967 as a producer, helped create some of the world’s most beloved British sitcoms, notably The Fall And Rise […]
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Leading the way with 4 nominations, Wolf Hall, the six-part BBC1/PBS adaptation of two of author Hilary Mantel’s novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, took home the two of the top BAFTAs last night, with the mini-series winning the award for Best Drama Series while Mark Rylance took home top honors for Best Actor in a Leading Role […]
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Widely considered a national treasure in Britain, Sir David Attenborough turns 90 years young today. The younger brother of director, producer and actor Richard Attenborough, who passed away in 2014, David Attenborough spent his early life training for his seven decades of work with and for the BBC by spending his early childhood collecting fossils, stones and other natural specimens. Two […]
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Time for one of my Howard Beale moments while pondering where the heck is Lewis Black when you need him. Reading the stories in a number of Sunday papers in the UK suggesting the government is about to impose much greater restrictions on when the BBC can schedule its favorite shows, one has to wonder about its priorities […]
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Peep Show star and one-half of the comedy duo of Mitchell and Webb, David Mitchell, stars as William Shakespeare in a new 6-part BBC2 sitcom written and produced by Ben Elton (The Young Ones, Blackadder, The Thin Blue Line). Focusing on the playwright’s life before he became famous, the storyline for Upstart Crow, revolves around Shakespeare’s personal and professional life and the rather […]
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UPDATE: Meet Bill! The BBC has confirmed that Peter Capaldi’s new companion for the forthcoming 10th series will be unveiled at half time during the Manchester United v Everton FA Cup semi-final today, St. Georges Day. The identity of the successor to Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald has set the internet ablaze ever since it was […]
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Yes, Tom Baker’s original signature multi-colored scarf was done by professionals but, unlike those Porsche or BMW commercials that wind you through the closed back roads of Arkansas at breakneck speeds, you are encouraged to try this at home thanks to a BBC Enterprises memorandum from back in the 80s. The origin of the scarf, as […]
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