The UK really is funny territory, pt 2

A quick update to an October 2009 post from Tellyspotting as you make plans to travel to the UK this summer. This just in from the other side of the pond – think about Peckham if you’re a fan of Only Fools and Horses. As reported in The Guardian, the British are way ahead of […]

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Class = laughs in British comedy, according to BSA

According to a paper presented yesterday at The British Sociological Association entitled, The Cultural Currency of a ‘Good’ Sense of Humour: British Comedy and New Forms of Distinction, researchers believe that, “social hierarchy holds the key to what Britons find funny, with middle class audiences using their preferences as a form of veiled snobbery”. Class […]

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Happy 70th, Penelope! And, we open the mailbag

You Look Marvelous Today is Penelope Keith’s 70th birthday. Billy Crystal’s character, Fernando Lamas, couldn’t have said it better. You look marvelous. With a long public television history dating back to the days of Good Neighbors and To the Manor Born right through to her recent efforts serving as host for both The Funny Ladies of […]

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Vote for your favorite British comedy couple of all-time. Polls open!

Could it be Audrey & Richard, a couple that an entire nation wanted to see together? Could it be Richard & Hyacinth or Basil & Sybil, couples that you can’t imagine how they ever got together let alone stayed together? Maybe Blackadder & Baldrick? After all, they’ve been together for 432 years! Maybe it should […]

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Who's your favorite British comedy couple of all-time?

While we’re all still in the Valentines Day mood, I got to thinking that most, if not all of our collective favorite British comedy series center around couples. Each week viewers have been treated to the ups, downs, challenges, conflicts, tensions and situations where we have either wondered how on earth they got together in […]

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The Prisoner – I am NOT a number!

With yet another unsettling American re-make looming on the horizon this Sunday on, as they say, another network, I thought it only fitting to pay tribute to one of the all-time classic series from the 60’s, or for that matter, anytime — THE PRISONER. Created by and starring Patrick McGoohan as No. 6, the series […]

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And you thought the UK wasn't funny

Next time you travel to the UK, take a break from the pubs and think about a comedy tour of England, which boasts not only numerous birthplaces of your favorite Britcom stars, but you can quickly check out places like Yorkshire, home to the longest-running sitcom on television, Last of the Summer Wine. You can […]

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Funny Ladies of British Comedy II – Behind the Lens

Several years ago, PBS paid tribute to The Funny Ladies of British Comedy. Hosted by one of the grand dames of British comedy, Penelope Keith, the special featured classic clips from perennial favorites such as As Time Goes By, Keeping Up Appearances, Are You Being Served and Fawlty Towers along with insights from the likes of Dawn […]

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