BCG Daily Tuesday 11th January 2011

News

Press clippings

TV review: Episodes

Smart, funny, but ever so slightly irritating - Episodes is just like its stars.

Sam Wollaston, The Guardian, 11th January 2011

Last Night's TV - Episodes, BBC2; Shameless, Channel 4

Atlantic crossing's not that smooth.

Brian Viner, The Independent, 11th January 2011

Episodes episode 1 review: series premiere

Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig star in the new comedy series Episodes. Here's Ryan's review of its debut show...

Ryan Lambie, Den Of Geek, 11th January 2011

Episodes may prove to be the zenith of television's obsession with making television about making television. It was certainly a handy primer for anyone who fell asleep around 2000 (perhaps during My Hero; you are forgiven) and missed all the dominant strands of TV comedy emerging over the next decade. We hadn't simply been here before; Episodes was incubated in the post-ironic, multilayered comedic landscape in which we all now live. The success of the US version of The Office was referenced within the first five minutes. I'm surprised it took so long.

Graeme Thomson, The Arts Desk, 11th January 2011

Interview: Greg McHugh, comedian (Gary: Tank Commander)

Cheesy pasta. Two words that this time last year meant nothing more than just plain old macaroni cheese. Fast forward 12 months and one series of Gary: Tank Commander and suddenly "cheesy pasta" has become a national catchphrase, vying with Rab C Nesbitt's "I'll tell you this, boy" and The Rev IM Jolly's mournful "Ah've had a helluva year".

Sandra Dick, The Scotsman, 11th January 2011

Unfortunate Episodes

James Cook is already no fan of Matt LeBlanc's new sitcom.

James Cook, Chortle, 11th January 2011

That Sunday Night Show gets off to shaky start

Adrian Chiles' new ITV1 show got off to a shaky start as it lost a quarter of its audience during its first outing.

Colin Robertson, The Sun, 11th January 2011

McIntyre: They're taking the mike out of my tyre

Britain's Got Talent hopefuls have been taking the Michael out of the show's once-tubby new judge.

Peter Dyke, Daily Star, 11th January 2011

Episodes 1.1 review

Considering Episodes is co-written by one of the people behind Friends, who must have churned out hundreds of joke-a-minute scripts, it was a little puzzling to see Episodes play things so relaxed. Less a comedy, more a lighthearted drama with a few amusing moments.

Dan Owen, Obsessed With Film, 11th January 2011

Episodes review

After feeling rather underwhelmed by a lot of recent BBC comedy, I really enjoyed the first Episodes. It was classy, grown-up and - best of all - funny.

Tom Murphy, Orange TV, 11th January 2011

TV Review: Episodes

The seriously long pause as Greig weighed up whether to explain the whole "TV characters are not real people" shocker to the two sock puppets was comedy gold, perhaps funnier than anything Crane and Klarik could come up with.

Claire Black, The Scotsman, 11th January 2011

Shameless has plenty of laughs, but quality is slipping

The Gallaghers return to Channel 4 for an eighth year of Shameless with some hilarious set-pieces, but plot-lines have started to lurch toward the ridiculous.

Christopher Hooton, Metro, 11th January 2011

HBO to film political comedy series 'Veep' next month

It's official: HBO's upcoming political satire series "Veep," starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, will be filmed on a Baltimore movie set next month.

Christina Wilkie, The Washington Post, 11th January 2011

Episodes review

The whole script is wonderfully embroidered with moments of witty pathos, and is beautifully played by the whole cast, among who Tamsin Greig is especially exquisite, sometimes hardly breathing the lines to convey her despair at the butchery of the original show.

The Custard TV, 11th January 2011