The Elephant to Hollywood It doesn’t get any better than this and we trust readers will grant us a one-day reprieve from finding the latest in British comedy/drama/television news to focus on a just released autobiography of screen legend, Sir Michael Caine. This recent interview only sets the table for what appears to be a great […]
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Good writing = longevity in the world of British comedy One can’t help but think of the classics that have stood the test of time such as Fawlty Towers, Blackadder or Monty Python. Excellent writing delivers not only a classic comedy, but one that is also as relevant, or more, today than they were when first […]
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Wallander returns to PBS tonight Another stellar season of Masterpiece premieres tonight on PBS when Kenneth Branagh again brings Swedish policeman, Kurt Wallander, to life in the second season of Wallander 9p ET/8p CT. Branagh created the character, which is based on the highly successful and griping international bestsellers by Henning Mankell. Tonight’s episode, “Faceless Killers”, […]
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As if playing Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Lady MacBeth in MacBeth, Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown and Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love wasn’t enough, Judi Dench has been James Bond’s boss, M, has lent her voice to the animated children’s series, Angelia Ballerina and possesses ten BAFTA’s, seven Laurence Olivier […]
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Okay, it may not be the Simpsons, Family Guy or Southpark, but it is Funky Winkerbean with a not so subtle appointment television nod to Bob Larbey, Geoffrey Palmer and Judi Dench. A big shout out and thanks to Lisa C., long-time British comedy/drama fan in North Texas and frequent Tellyspotting contributor in the comment section, […]
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While I’ve never heard this “officially” anywhere and I’m guessing there’s a reason for this, I can’t help but watch Doc Martin and not think of Dr. Gregory House, the unconventional and extremely grumpy genius doctor on “another network”. The program has aired for some time on a number of public television stations around the […]
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Doing a quick search around the Internets, there’s a lot going on in the British television world, whether it be the not-so-breaking news that your favorite hotel from hell manager, John Cleese, has magically decided he likes Germans now after 35+ years, the news of yet another failed attempt at an American re-make or just […]
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For a British comedy series that ran for just five seasons from 1990-1995, Keeping Up Appearances has a continuous stretch of worldwide syndication along with a newly created stage performance to thank for its longevity. If you’re in the neighborhood, the Comedy Theatre Company has taken one of Britain’s most popular comedies of all-time and moves it […]
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I’ve ranted enough in recent months about how American comedy simply cannot re-create British comedy. Looks like the British have figured it out by imitating a comedic style and not trying to duplicate a specific program. In somewhat of a role reversal, the UK comedy world is now copying a style of comedy that American […]
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Leave it to the great Richard Briers to be able to brilliantly put in to words what I have thought for a long time. With a resume that includes the British comedy classic, The Good Life, along with other notable series in both the British comedy and drama worlds such as Ever Decreasing Circles and […]
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