Over the past several months there seems to have been a number of well-deserved programs revisiting classic British comedy series such as the celebration of the 30th anniversary of A Bit of Fry and Laurie, a look at the early days of Morcambe and Wise and the return of Ronnie Corbett in The One Ronnie. For my […]
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Seeing as though we’re only days away from another questionable American remake of a really well-done British television import, I thought I’d immediately put in the request for my first 2011 New Year’s resolution. You know the drill. Have written about this many times. Readers in the UK, I apologize for taking up space and […]
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The brilliance of The Office ranks right up there with the genius of Fawlty Towers in the fact there were only 12 episodes (plus, two 45-minutes specials) ever produced. Since quitting the Wernham Hogg Paper Company and leaving the world of David Brent and his life in Slough, Berkshire behind, Ricky Gervais has been a busy, […]
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British situation comedy. Whether it’s Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, The Office, or the classics of Keeping Up Appearances or Are You Being Served, these are programs that we’ve all watched for years but probably never gave a second thought as to why we laugh. Aside from the brilliant writing, no one really has simplified the mechanical structure […]
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Every so often, you run across a site on ‘the internets’ that you just have to share. This particular site came to our attention recently when we were taping the host segments at TC8 in BBC Television Centre with Moira Brooker (Judy, As Time Goes By) and Philip Bretherton (Alistair, As Time Goes By) for the […]
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I’m guessing everyone’s in the Thanksgiving holiday mode, hopefully, by this time. As you prepare for Thanksgiving, there is no shortage of turkey recipes floating around the internet from the traditional roast turkey to a deep fried cajun turkey to some ‘I just can’t imagine trying this‘ concoction called turducken, which is a de-boned chicken […]
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Over the course of our Behind the Britcom interviews with Richard Briers and Penelope Keith from The Good Life (Good Neighbors in the U.S.), it was quite clear not only from the actors point of view, but also from the writer, Bob Larbey, that Tom and Barbara Good’s concept of self-sufficiency is more relevant today […]
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It’s an old story, but one worth re-telling. You’re an actor/actress targeted for life for a role done a lifetime ago. A legion of fans worldwide don’t want to let go. It’s something that every actor worries about. In the world of British comedy alone, just ask Patricia Routledge (Hyacinth Bucket), John Cleese (Basil Fawlty) […]
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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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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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