| Good afternoon! Hope you had a great, relaxing weekend. There's still some kind of running competition thing going on in London (huh, who knew?) so schedules are a little thin, but perhaps something will still take your interest... |
| Latest Comedy News |
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| Also of interest... |
Here are some links you might be interested in...
- Some comedy fans have been getting excited about rumours of a new Blackadder special. Sadly, it comes from a fake Twitter account (Rowan Atkinson's agent has confirmed to us it's not true): Tellyspotting
- Charlie Brooker has lost his normal cynicism and become a fan of the Olympics: The Guardian
- Archive footage to be broadcast as part of a documentary will show Russell Brand smoking heroin: The Sun. Meanwhile, Brand has been told off by Billy Connolly for demanding a wardrobe girl flash her chest: The Sun
- Patrick Kielty has reportedly got engaged to Cat Deeley: The Daily Mail
- Frank Skinner says his baby son is his toughest audience to date: The Independent
- Jack Whitehall talks about his new sitcom: The Independent
More of this kind of thing every day via our Twitter account: @UKComedyNews |
| Features |
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| TV Highlights |
Here is a guide to some of the things on TV this week...
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Alan Partridge's Mid Morning Matters
Monday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm
Steve Coogan's toe-curling alter ego Alan Partridge continues to deliver his unique brand of edgy banter and topical debate as host of Mid Morning Matters. Guide |
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Adam Buxton's BUG
Monday, Sky Atlantic, 9:30pm
Adam Buxton presents more madcap music videos unearthed from the internet along with the comments they've provoked from opinionated online communities. Guide |
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Beaver Falls
Monday, E4, 10pm
E4's youth-centred comedy drama focusing on three British lads working at a US summer camp returns. Some things have changed at Beaver Falls... there are new owners, new counsellors, new kids and new relationships for the Brits to deal with. Guide |
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Vexed
Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm
Series 2 of this crime comedy drama is once again getting bad reviews, despite the changes. This week Jack and Georgina investigate the murder of a student on a modern university campus. Guide |
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Lee Kern's Celebrity Bedlam
Wednesday, E4, 10pm
The prank show continues. Lee Kern looks at the environment by staging a fashion show where the celebrities model clothes that they believe are made from the ultimate recyclable material - human leather! Guide |
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The Midnight Beast
Thursday, E4, 10pm
In this 'best of' final episode, neighbour Sloman breaks into the band's flat and sets up a makeshift studio in their front room, where he broadcasts all their secrets and videos. Guide |
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Lemon La Vida Loca
Thursday, ITV2, 10pm
The spoof reality show continues. Keith hosts a dinner party so he can introduce his girlfriend to some of his celebrity mates. Guide |
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The Angelos Epithemiou Show
Friday, Channel 4, 10:35pm
Dragon's Den entrepreneur Theo Paphitis joins Angelos in the interview area to explain how he spends his cash and reveals a very unusual hobby. Guide |
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Mad Mad World
Saturday, ITV1, 10:20pm
Paddy McGuinness hosts another edition of the panel quiz that looks at fun news stories, events and TV clips from every corner of the globe. The guests are David Hasselhoff, Louie Spence and Coleen Nolan. Guide |
Above is just some of the comedy that can be found on the TV this week. For a complete list of shows including all the repeats, plus radio comedy, see our full schedule. |
| New DVDs |
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The Complete Doctor Collection
There are certainly far more famous comedy franchises in British cinema history, but the Doctor films are up there with the very best. Based on Richard Gordon's multi-million selling novels, the seven films in this box set run from 1954 to 1970, following the adventures of Simon Sparrow, Gaston Grimsdyke and co. The fabulous casts include the late, great James Robertson Justice, Dirk Bogarde, Leslie Phillips, Brigitte Bardot, and many other top names. Pre-Order |
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Vexed - Series One
Series One of BBC Two's darkly comic detective series starred Toby Stephens and Lucy Punch.
Eagle-eyed viewers will have noted Punch's departure from Series 2, which began last week. Miranda Raison proved herself a more than adequate replacement; but can the funny win over the programme's critics? Pre-Order |
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An Audience With... - Joan Rivers
Outrageous 'acid queen of stand-up' Joan Rivers has made two celebrated appearances on ITV's entertainment series An Audience With...: this, the first, was recorded in 1984 and shows the top American comedienne at the height of her shocking hilarity. If you're even remotely a fan, don't miss out. Pre-Order |
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Filthy, Rich & Catflap - 25th Anniversary Edition
Remember this one? Bridging the gap between The Young Ones and Bottom came 1987's Filthy, Rich & Catflap. Starring Rik, Ade and Nigel Planer as the eponymous trio, it follows deluded wannabe mega-celeb Richie Rich, his manager, and minder, as they attempt to re-launch the TV career that never really was. Pre-Order |
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In With The Flynns
This unassuming BBC One family sitcom - starring Warren Clarke, Will Mellor and Niky Wardley - debuted to little fanfare last year, in a curious 8:30pm midweek slot. If you missed Series 1 ... well, you didn't really miss much to be honest, but you might like to catch up with this upcoming DVD release. A second series, in a more traditional 9:30pm Friday slot, launches next week. Pre-Order |
For more, see our full list of new releases and DVDs coming soon.
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| Comedy Videos |
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| Message Board Posts... |
Here are some quotes from our message board...
"I'm just rewatching this Jack Rosenthal creation again at the minute. I think it is one of the forgotten gems of British sitcom, great dialogue and great performances by Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox." Jack Massey on The Lovers
"I have deep reservations about Red Dwarf X but it is encouraging to hear that an effort has been made to make it like series 1-6." TBone on Red Dwarf X
"I'm sort of glad it's coming back but I fear it might go down the same route as Lead Balloon, with it essentially repeating the same episode each week." chipolata on Rev - Series 3
"I liked Kevin Eldon Will See You Now. It had a touch of old-fashioned quirkiness familiar from Michael Bentine or Neil Innes. Often clever, and sometimes very funny too, definitely one to listen out for." Nogget on Kevin Eldon's Radio 4 show
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| Guide Spotlight |
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The Wildcats Of St. Trinian's
Younger readers could be forgiven for thinking that the recent glossy St. Trinian's films are all there is of the devilish schoolgirls - but not so. Dating back to 1954's The Belles Of St. Trinian's, the series originally ran for 4 outings to 1966, before this ill-fated and much-forgotten 1980 revival. So forgotten, in fact, that it's yet to see the light of day on DVD or Blu-ray - and whilst a shame, it's not all that surprising. Wildcats follows the tearaways as they establish a trade union and attempt to rope the rest of the country's girls schools in: thus declaring a closed shop. It doesn't sound too bad a plot on the surface, but the resulting film just didn't quite work. The performances were largely on par with what had come before, and the script wasn't all that bad either - but Wildcats was sadly a damp squib from the off. Guide
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| Thanks for Reading |
Another week covered. Thanks for reading, and we'll be back again next Monday. Best wishes as always,
The British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
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