The Audience with Helen Mirren back for an NTLive encore

For 60 years Elizabeth II has met each of her 12 Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace, a meeting like no other in British public life, it is private. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said. Not even to their spouses. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime […]

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Birdsong – another Masterpiece, 4/22 on PBS

The upcoming April 22 premiere of Birdsong will, undoubtedly, bring endless comparisons to Downton Abbey. Airing as part of PBS’ Masterpiece series on April 22 and 29, the BBC adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’ modern classic set during the First World War has, literally, been 20 years in the making. When this appeared in the UK […]

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From the vault: Robot Wars w/ Craig Charles

As we move closer to the long-awaited, highly-anticipated, Red Dwarf X, I started thinking about all the other great series that the Boys from the Dwarf did over the years to pass the time between the greatness of RD. Over the years, Robert Llewellyn (Kryten) has been quite the busy Series 4000 mechanoid acting in […]

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Leverage renewed for 5th season

I do feel obligated to write about Leverage, which has just been renewed for a 5th season on TNT. With all my rants about poorly done American re-makes of British imports, time to eat a few of those rants and talk Leverage. While there has never been any “official” declaration that the TNT series, Leverage, […]

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Could the end of Hustle be the perfect 'long-con'?

According to creator/writer, Tony Jordan, it has been mutually agreed upon with the BBC to end the brilliant series, Hustle, at the conclusion of the upcoming eighth season. The series, which starred regulars, Robert Vaughn, Adrian Lester as Michael “Mickey Bricks” Stone and Robert Glenister as Ash “Three Socks” Morgan, was still as tightly done […]

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Coen Bros. to remake British comedy caper, Gambit

For my money, it was enough to hear that the Coen Brothers had targeted, for re-make, the classic 1966 British comedy caper film, Gambit, which starred the brilliant Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, that I immediately pencil in for 2012 as a must see.  Now, with Colin Firth on board as the London art curator performing […]

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BBC Showcase 2011 – Drama in Brighton

It’s the final day of the annual BBC Showcase held in Brighton (for the last time, as it turns out, with Liverpool being next year’s destination) which saw another day packed with screenings the last ‘official presentation’ from the BBC drama department. It’s been a strong year already from an output standpoint as was pointed […]

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Brighton…Craggy Island. Tedfest V…Brighton. What to do?

Let’s see. It’s February with a forecast of cold, wind and rain. It’s not Boston. Took too long to get there. Must be Brighton. Must be time again for BBC Showcase, the annual gathering in Brighton, UK where we get a chance to screen the entire BBC catalog both past and present to make potential […]

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