Behind the Britcom – Penelope Keith on the actor/writer relationship

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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Move over Dame Edna, here comes Mrs. Brown

Move over Dame Edna, Mrs. Brown invades Great Britain might be a better way to describe the newest situation comedy, Mrs. Brown’s Boys, when it premieres on BBC One beginning this Monday, 21 February. The writer, creator and ‘face behind’ Mrs. Brown is Irish actor, Brendan O’Carroll. Even with the 1,000’s of stand-up appearances, the five […]

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You're a mean one, Dr. House

With a quick apology to the Grinch, you are probably asking, at this point, why are we talking Super Bowl and commercials on tellyspotting? Easy. Two words. Hugh Laurie. Doing a better Mean Joe Greene than Mean Joe, himself, this is the one time in recent memory that the re-make of anything between :30 seconds […]

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The return of the sitcom, old-school style….finally

Before you begin reading, please understand that this isn’t even close to being a knock on the greatness of The Office, Outnumbered or The Thick of It. I also don’t want this to seem like a planting of the flag for the good ‘ole days syndrome. Merely a celebration, as The Independent‘s Tim Walker brilliantly […]

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Downton Abbey – Dowager Countess' say the darndest things

Everyone in America seems a bit down today. Some realize that after the Super Bowl next Sunday, the American football season is over until Fall. While some have hope with the knowledge that pitchers and catchers report in a little over two weeks, others realize baseball season is, officially, still two months away. Personally, I’m […]

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Scattershooting on a Monday….Downton Abbey, Judi Dench and more

More trolling around the Internets bringing you more tidbits of witty banter to amaze your friends with at parties…. Downton Abbey production begins in February We reported last week that Downton Abbey is set to go into production next month in the UK. Now that the second or four episodes has come and gone on […]

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Take the UK to US TV export challenge

With all of our talk over the last 14 months about the US “difficulty” with respect to exporting brilliant UK product and putting the U.S stamp on it, whether it be comedy or drama (seems like we’ve mastered the art of the game show/reality show remake), the BBC has come up with a quick 7-question […]

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Frankenstein descends on London's West End

For those in and around the UK in the not-too-distant future whether by residence or on holiday, here’s a definitive ‘must-see’ moment to quickly consider….and, to report back to us on. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in Frankenstein Look up ‘must-see’ in any dictionary and you’ll read a description of the upcoming production of […]

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Downton Abbey opens its doors tonight on PBS

Finally, it’s zero hour in the US. Downton Abbey premieres tonight as part of the new season of Masterpiece on PBS. Both critically acclaimed and a huge audience hit when broadcast this past Fall on ITV, this is definitely television worth watching. According to Simon Heffer of the Telegraph, the authenticity and visual detail makes […]

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Being Human 3 – January 2011 on BBC3?

Still searching for that elusive, definitive, premiere date for Being Human, series 3, on BBC 3, but nothing yet from the more elusive schedulers over at the Beeb. As you have determined from prior posts, I love this show. Premise sounds a bit like it came out of Buck Henry’s mouth in Robert Altman’s classic, […]

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