British television
Equal time: Failed British re-makes of American telly
If you been with Tellyspotting as a P1 since day one or if you have joined the conversation at any point over the course of the last three years you are probably acutely aware of my lack of tolerance for poorly done American television remakes of British television output. This holds true mostly in the [...]
How can you possibly put a pricetag on Fawlty Towers?
Ok, maybe the TARDIS was a bit pricey. But, have you ever wanted to abandon the rat race and chuck it all to buy (and run) a cozy little B & B with a view? Worked for Bob Newhart years ago, why not you? More from the real estate bloggers over at Movoto (based on [...]
BBC’s Panorama reports on bumper Spaghetti Harvest in Switzerland!
Sadly, before you read on, know that there’s not a happy end to this story as the annual Swiss spaghetti harvest has never seen the likes of what it was as reported on by the BBC’s Panorama series back in 1957. It was April 1, 1957 when the British television program, Panorama, broadcast a relatively [...]
Blackadder crashes the Prince’s Trust 2012
Amidst the periodic pleas of continuance and subsequent rumours that usually follow about the return of Blackadder, nothing much has materialized beyond the once a year thought that a Blackadder reunion set in the 60′s with Sir Edmund fronting a Dave Clark Five type band with ‘Bald Rick’ as the drummer was once a possibility. [...]
The ultimate 21st century Sherlock? Up to you.
CBS gets more ‘Elementary‘ every day We’re all aware of CBS’ plan to produce a pilot for a 21st century Sherlock series for possible pick-up by the network beginning in Fall 2012. And everyone knows how I feel about this idea given some earlier comments about NBC’s failed attempt at Prime Suspect. This one, however, [...]
Giving thanks for British television brilliance
No matter where you are this Thanksgiving holiday, it’s a traditional time to take a moment and think about family and friends and the things you are thankful for. When it comes to the best that television has to offer, one can’t help but think of a few genuine gems from across the pond that [...]
Happy 75th, BBC! You don't look a day over 74.
Just a bit late to the party, but we finally got there, nevertheless. 75 years ago this past week, Wednesday, 2 November, to be exact, the BBC launched the world’s first regular television service in 1936. Although only a lucky few in the south of England could receive the signal, it was still considered the [...]
How Fawlty Towers almost never opened its doors
This gem comes from Shaun Usher over at Letters of Note, a Manchester site dedicated to the seeking out fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. To the British comedy world, there is none more ‘fascinating’ that this accompanying 1974 memo graphic supplied by Sam Ward. While we knew of this story through several interviews [...]
Trollied renewed for 2 seasons
Sky 1, to further demonstrate their ongoing commitment to create original comedy content, announced recently that Trollied, starring Jane Horrocks, Jason Watkins and Mark Addy, has been renewed for two seasons. In somewhat of a departure for British comedy commissioning, which traditionally consists of green-lighting one season of a series for 6-8 episodes at a [...]
PBS House Call set for Sept 30
Old news to some, new to others. Either way, this is news that bears repeating off and on for the next 4-6 weeks so bear with me…until September 30, anyway. During the PBS portion of the recent Television Critics Association summer press tour, Hugh Laurie made a quick ‘house call’ to chat up his upcoming [...]
