If nothing else, Young Hyacinth, the forthcoming BBC prequel to the classic Roy Clarke series, Keeping Up Appearances, will give audiences a bit of insight as to how a 19-year-old Hyacinth from humble beginnings turned into an over-bearing, social-climbing snob with a penchant for slimline telephones with automatic redial, Royal Doulton china with hand-painted periwinkles, candlelight suppers. In […]
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Best known for playing alongside Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films, Burt Kwouk has passed away at the age of 85. While his international fame came from his recurring role as Inspector Clouseau’s sidekick, Cato, in the Pink Panther films from 1975-1993, Kwouk was a small-screen fixture from 2002-2010 starring as electrical and mechanical engineer Entwistle in Last Of The […]
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As part of their Landmark Sitcom Season celebrating 60 years of British Comedy on the BBC in 2016, the Beeb announced recently that they would be commissioning 21st century remakes of several classic British comedies including Porridge, Up Pompeii, Are You Being Served?, Good Neighbors and Keeping Up Appearances. While, unfortunately, many of the actors associated with these decades old comedy […]
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Is there no end to the brilliant comedy news coming out the UK? Already this week, in conjunction with their Landmark Sitcom Season which will celebrate 60 years of British Comedy on the Beeb in 2016, came the announcement concerning 21st century remakes of several classic British comedies including Porridge, Up Pompeii, Are You Being Served?, Good […]
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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 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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After headlining the BBC One schedule on Boxing Day and with hopes of a full-blown series possibility this coming Spring, Still Open All Hours may soon have a bit of friendly competition when it comes to the return of classic comedy nostalgia to television. In the original Open All Hours, Ronnie Barker starred as the […]
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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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Zero hour is here…the PBS premiere of Behind the Britcom: From Script to Screen. I know we’ve been talking about this for awhile, tempting you with some of the early interview footage from the production shoots over the past couple of years. As KERA airs the 2-hour program tonight at 9:00pm, many PBS stations around […]
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From Behind the Britcom: From Script to Screen, coming to PBS stations nationwide in March 2011, we continue our look at the making of British comedy while celebrating those that pen the programs that make up one of the most intelligent television genre’s on the planet. Over the course of producing the program, we talked […]
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