Archive for July, 2010
Doctor Who, Sherlock and more bowing down to the greatness of Steven Moffat
After having just finished screening the first Sherlock installment from the great Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it seems only appropriate to, yet again, say that both writers are brilliant. With Moffat, you have a writer that had just a little bit else going on this past year. First, he took the helm of Doctor [...]
Roy Clarke discusses the last of Last of the Summer Wine
As we reported here earlier this summer, the world’s longest running situation comedy on television, Last of the Summer Wine, is coming to a close in the UK this coming Sunday, 1 August. Transmission is scheduled to begin on many U.S. public television stations as early as November 2010. How does one begin to bring to [...]
165 Eaton Place in the 21st Century
“This is not a remake but a completely new version, set in a different era with a whole new cast of characters.” That quote, in itself, from Piers Wenger, head of drama at BBC Wales, makes me really wish it was 2011 already when the new Upstairs Downstairs comes to PBS’ Masterpiece series to celebrate their [...]
BBC Proms 2010 – from Doctor Who to Judi Dench
Seems appropriate to follow up our last two posts with both a look back and a look ahead at the BBC Proms which is currently the happening event at Royal Albert Hall now through Saturday, 11 September 2010. Most recently, Doctor Who and the Daleks invaded Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, 24 July and Sunday, [...]
Sherlock in the 21st Century
Not since we all witnessed the end of the David Tennant era and beginning of the Matt Smith era on Doctor Who has there been as much viewer anticipation for a series premiering in the UK. Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Hawking, Small Island) and Martin Freeman (The Office, Hitchhikers Guide), premiered this past Sunday on the [...]
Inside BBC Television Centre
Toured the BBC Television Centre while in the UK last week. The BBC, which is considered the largest broadcasting organization in the world, houses its television operations at the Centre in White City and Shepherd’s Bush in West London housing most of the 5,000+ employees. First up, a little history of the Television Centre facility. [...]
Dame Judi Dench – no need to say anything else
Thinking back some 12 years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet and interview Judi Dench for an earlier production, The Best of British Comedy for American Public Television. I was even more fortunate to be able to interview her a second time for the upcoming program on British comedy writers for PBS as I’m [...]
"Audience matters…" – Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry, who many have tagged as the 21st century Oscar Wilde, told the Radio Times in an interview that came out just as we were leaving the UK that the BBC needs to start giving the viewing public a little credit. Fry stated, “I think programmes only work if they matter to you, because [...]
British comedy writing 101 with Red Dwarf's Rob Grant
Seems fitting as we landed on this side of the pond fresh from two weeks of interviews for the March 2011 PBS special on British comedy writers that we learned Red Dwarf co-creator and co-writer, Rob Grant will present a two-day comedy writing course at The Comedy School in early October in Camden, London. Grant also [...]
Mulberry – brilliant Britcom that lasted only two seasons
There are times that BBC commissioning folks get it right and times they don’t. Mulberry is one of those “didn’t get it right” moments in British comedy history. After two wonderful seasons (13 episodes) with brilliant scripts by Bob Larbey and, then, writing partner, John Esmonde and a wonderful cast headed by Karl Howman in [...]
