Not the Nine O'Clock News – Daily Show of the 70's?

From the British comedy vault Prior to the brilliance of Blackadder and Mr. Bean, Rowan Atkinson spent three years collaborating with Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones on Not the Nine O’Clock News, a sketch comedy show that premiered in the late ’70s. It was originally conceived as an “alternative” and aired at the same […]

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Rupert Pupkin is no Rowan Atkinson

Rowan Atkinson as Carl Sagan on comedy If you are ever posed the question anywhere, anytime, as to what might Rowan Atkinson know about visual humor, let me quickly answer for you and simply say, Rowan Atkinson is the King of Comedy. In this Cosmos-style look at comedy, Rowan discusses what makes visual humor funny. Rowan […]

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Baldrick's cunning plan – Q&A with The Telegraph

The Telegraph UK recently sat down with Tony Robinson, the genius mind behind the dimwitted servant, Baldrick, from the Blackadder series, for a little Q&A. While the series had its’ BBC premiere over 25 years ago, the talents and comic timings of the likes of Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, Brian Blessed […]

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Pirate Radio rocks the North Sea!

From the incredibly gifted mind of Richard Curtis, who brought you the likes of Vicar of Dibley, Blackadder, and Mr. Bean, not to mention Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and Bridget Jones Diary, comes the rockin’ Pirate Radio. In true British fashion, the script was spot on, the casting was perfection, headed by Bill Nighy […]

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Pirate Radio – They rocked a generation…and a few MP's along the way

Richard Curtis, creator/writer of Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Blackadder, Mr. Bean and Vicar of Dibley, turns his attention to a band of renegade DJ’s who’s love affair with rock & roll changed the world forever in Pirate Radio. They defined a generation. They drove the British government crazy. Giveaway! Free […]

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Funny Ladies of British Comedy II – Behind the Lens

Several years ago, PBS paid tribute to The Funny Ladies of British Comedy. Hosted by one of the grand dames of British comedy, Penelope Keith, the special featured classic clips from perennial favorites such as As Time Goes By, Keeping Up Appearances, Are You Being Served and Fawlty Towers along with insights from the likes of Dawn […]

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Celebrate 35 years of British comedy in the U.S.!

Stay up all night with KERA, Saturday, October 10 from 7p-5a (yes, that’s 5:00am) as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the beginning of British comedy in the United States and then challenge your brain at Trinity Hall, Mockingbird Station on Sunday, October 11 at 7:00p for a special edition of their ever popular Pub […]

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Basil Fawlty earns an "A" in the Science of Great Comedy

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). This is a re-write of an article I did several years ago, but bears repeating as we begin […]

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Select your all-time Britcoms…now!

Thanks to everyone who voted and, more importantly, thanks for doing my job the last several days. FYI, results are being tabulated as we speak, picking specific episodes from the series you voted in to the marathon. Don’t forget to tune in to KERA Channel 13, Saturday, October 10, 2009 from 7:00p-5:00a, for the 35th […]

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