From 1973 until the mid-80’s, Open All Hours, starring Ronnie Barker and David Jason as the penny-pinching South Yorkshire corner shop proprietor Albert Arkwright and his illegitimate nephew, Granville, sat atop the BBC comedy world for much of its’ existence. Ranking eighth in the 2004 Britain’s Best Sitcom poll, Open All Hours was created and […]
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Ok, so I might be in the midst of a mild case of ‘good old days’ syndrome when it comes to British comedy but there are days that I look at the current comedy output from the UK and long for the days when a new season of As Time Goes By, Keeping Up Appearances, […]
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I may be in the minority here, but one of my most favorite British situation comedies of all-time is Open All Hours. Written by Roy Clarke (Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping Up Appearances) and starring comedy legends Ronnie Barker and David Jason, Open All Hours ‘premiered’ in 1973 as a last-minute addition to Barker’s comedy anthology series, Seven […]
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In the age of more and more communication via texts, email and FaceTime, the archaic practice of sending snail mail may just get a bit more fun beginning 1 April 2015. Royal Mail has just released the first images of a new set of stamps celebrating Britain’s comedy greats, including The Two Ronnies, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie […]
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In March 1973, a small grocer’s shop in Balby, a suburb of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, opened its doors. 40 years later, in Still Open All Hours, Arkwright’s is owned by Granville Arkwright (David Jason), the nephew of the now deceased Albert Arkwright (Ronnie Barker), the shops stammering, miserly original owner. To celebrate the 40th, […]
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As UK viewers will soon find out, Sir David Jason is set to return to the small screen and revive his character Granville in the revival of the classic sitcom Open All Hours. The one-off special, Still Open All Hours, is set to air this Christmas on BBC One. Jason originally starred with the late […]
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Christmas has, once again, arrived in October. Arkwright’s Grocery may have closed in 1985, but, word is, it will re-open this Christmas. Titled Still Open All Hours
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Sometimes, going behind-the-scenes to see ‘how the sausage is made’ can be a bit like letting the air out of a balloon that you’ve had since you were a kid. There are some things that should be left well enough alone allowing you to remain that wide-eyed kid as long as you can. As we […]
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‘Doing porridge’ is British slang for serving a prison sentence, partly due to the fact that porridge was once the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. Voted number seven in the 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms, this mid-70’s series, Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, tells the story of one, Norman […]
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Unbeknownst to David Frost, he was key to laying the groundwork for one of the greatest British comedy duos of all time. After inviting both Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker to work on his new show, The Frost Report, it was a quick fill-in appearance by the duo to cover a technical issue during a 1970 […]
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