September 19, 1975 — a day that will live on in history as the day one of the most brilliant situation comedies of all-time debuted on the BBC. Born out of a seemingly uneventful trip to the Torquay Gleneagles Hotel by the original members of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers is comedy greatness that has not seen its […]
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Still Open All Hours, the sequel to the iconic BBC sitcom Open All Hours, which originally ran from 1973 to 1985, will return later this year for a Christmas special one-off followed by a third series with a targeted transmission date of January 2017. Starring original OAH cast members, David Jason, Lynda Baron, Stephanie Cole and Maggie Ollerenshaw, Still Open All Hours is written by […]
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Young Hyacinth premiered last week as part of the BBC’s Landmark Sitcom Season along with other ‘tip-of-the-hat’ specials including Goodnight Sweetheart, Porridge and Are You Being Served?. Having now had the opportunity to be able to screen all of them, I thought the Keeping Up Appearances prequel starring Kerry Howard worked exceptionally well. Even though the one-off was brilliantly written by […]
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Sunday night on BBC1, as part of the channel’s Landmark Sitcom Season, it’s Are You Being Served, Again”… again. This time, however, it’s 1988 but we’re not on a farm of any kind. Grace Brothers is re-opening its doors and Young Mr Grace is determined to drag the flagship department store into, well 1988, but he has a […]
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Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister co-creator Sir Antony Jay has died aged 86. The broadcaster, who (with Jonathan Lynn) created the classic 1980s political TV series starring Paul Eddington and Sir Nigel Hawthorne, passed away earlier this week. His representative said: “Sir Antony Jay CVO CBE died peacefully on Sunday evening after a long illness. He […]
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After hearing about the plans for the forthcoming ‘BBC Sitcom Season’ for what seems like an eternity, we now finally get to see some video for not only the remakes of what set in motion what has become a 60-year history of comedy on the Beeb but some of the channel’s new offerings as well. […]
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Fawlty Towers, the quintessential British sitcom and, perhaps, the best all-around television sitcom of all-time, is headed down under courtesy of series co-creator/writer, John Cleese. Uneasy about the reception the show might get from UK audiences and critics, more than 40 years after the original was aired on the BBC, Cleese has chosen an all-Australian cast for the […]
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There has been quite a bit of chatter the last several weeks about the one-off reboots of Are You Being Served, Keeping Up Appearances, Porridge and Goodnight Sweetheart as part of the forthcoming Landmark Sitcom Season on the BBC. While both the AYBS one-off, which takes the staff of Grace Brothers Department Store and places them in the late 80s, […]
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According to THE source for all things Red Dwarf, the long-awaited new episodes that comprised RDXI and RD XII are headed to Dave with the first six episodes beginning in September. As the self-proclaimed ‘home for witty banter’, where else can it go? Every day closer to the premiere brings new teasers as to what we can expect. For long-time RD fans, […]
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While it’s been more than three decades since we last were able to walk into the retail ladies’ and gentlemen’s clothing department of London’s Grace Brothers department store, the doors appear ready to re-open in the not-too-distant future. The classic BBC comedy series, which ran from 1971 to 1985, is set for a re-boot as part […]
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