BCG Daily Monday 29th December 2014

Last Tango in Halifax review

Sally Wainwright's drama about family and relationships is so good it makes you think about your own.

Jonathan Ross claims he rejected James Corden's US job

Married Jonathan, 54, said he did not accept the gig on The Late Late Show as he did not want to move his family to LA.

Opinion: my comedy year 2015

In 2014 I saw a total of 189 shows, which works out at, erm, 3.63 shows a week. Of course a chunk of them were back-to-back at the Edinburgh Fringe, so I can't claim to have been out 3.63 nights every week. And, to my annual shame, the bulk were at the Soho Theatre. Memo to self, in 2015 get out to more shows at comedy clubs where stand-ups earn both their spurs and their bread and butter week-in-week-out.

Best of 2014: comedy

It may not have been the most stellar year for comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe, but 2014 was made memorable not just by a long-awaited reunion, but also by witnessing a fine solo debut of a performer we're more used to seeing as part of a terrific double act. It was fun, too, to see the development of talented live performers - some newbies, another continuing to find her voice after a few years in the business. And lastly for seeing others keeping on doing what they do very, very well.

Bristol best of 2014: comedy

Best comedy shows performed in Bristol this year. Includes Al Murray, Bridget Christie, Sara Pascoe and John Robins.

Miranda Richardson on her role in Mapp and Lucia

"The trouble is I haven't obeyed the rules or done things I'm supposed to do. I don't like to repeat myself. No one was tough enough to say to me, 'Shut up, calm down, this part will do you good, blah blah blah'"

Meet Mapp and Lucia... aka Queenie and Duckface

Miranda Richardson and Anna Chancellor on E.F. Benson's comedy of manners, and the joys of waging war over bridge parties and garden fetes...

Radio Times review

Miss Elizabeth Mapp, all big teeth and buttery smiles, is the queen of Tilling, ruling the social and cultural life of her dinky little seaside town like a cloche-hatted monarch.

But Mapp's reign is threatened by the arrival in Tilling of chic, elegant Emmeline Lucas, known to all as Lucia, so glamorous in her widow's weeds. The stage is set for war over the bridge tables as the women battle for supremacy.

Fans of E.F. Benson's peerless 1930s Mapp and Lucia series of comic novels should be thrilled by Steve Pemberton's careful adaptations for this three-part series (he's a huge fan and plays Lucia's fey, platonic friend Georgie Pilson).

Miranda Richardson, who's Mapp with a terrifying set of gnashers and a touch of the Margaret Thatchers, and Anna Chancellor, in a series of fabulous vintage dresses, are just marvellous as the rivals. The whole thing is the campest of treats.

Comedies can get standing ovations but fail as blogs

I thought I was onto a winner for today's blog. Seeing a show AND comedy news from Germany. It was not to be.

Heroes of 2014: Russell Brand

The volatile comedian-turned-activist's ability to be openly and honestly flawed sets him apart from the grand old men of the left.

Opinion: top 10 TV comedies 2014

Is this a Golden Age of TV Comedy? There may not have been a landmark series such as I'm Alan Partridge or The Office or The Thick of It, but there have been a number of unmissable comedies from old stars and newcomers alike. So, after considerable stress and a lot of laughs, here is Beyond The Joke's Top Ten TV comedies for 2014. Let the arguments commence...

Ofcom: racist 1970s comedies would be banned now

Seventies comedies would not be allowed on television screens today because they were so racist and offensive, the outgoing head of Ofcom Ed Richards has said.

How Ernie Wise (almost) made the UK's first mobile call

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the first ever (civilian) mobile phone call made in the UK. The call was made from London's St Katharine Docks on 1 January 1985, via the Vodafone network, by comedian Ernie Wise. The patronage of Little Ern may seem a little incongruous, but Wise had already done an ad for Atari with Eric Morecambe earlier that decade, and was already well-versed in hawking grey, clunky pieces of tech, for presumably a neat little pay packet.

Shaun Of The Dead, the stage show

Simon Pegg has given his blessing to the new production, which was put together after Gloucestershire-based Almost Legal Productions secured the stage rights to his 2004 zombie rom-com.

Alan Davies holds soaps responsible for sitcom demise

Shows like EastEnders are "just a factory turning out not very good drama," says the Jonathan Creek actor.

Mapp and Lucia, TV review - lacks the charm of Downton

This chocolate boxy affair tries ever so hard to be funny but just falls flat.

Mapp & Lucia review: middle-aged women are interesting

TV has only relatively recently caught on to the idea that middle-aged women might make complicated and interesting protagonists, and with excellent results including Happy Valley, Olive Kitteridge, Last Tango in Halifax and Puppy Love. Benson's deliciously bitchy books predate all these by more than 90 years, of course, yet happily also fit well with the zeitgeist. No doubt this series will have new readers seeking out Benson's books, and a second BBC series wouldn't go amiss either.

Mapp & Lucia: "It's the jolliest, campest thing on TV"

New period comedy drama Mapp and Lucia premiered on the BBC tonight and it's safe to say that it went down a treat.

'Mapp and Lucia' episode 1 review

If the riotously underhanded handling of the garden fête is any indication of things to come, I'm sure we can expect even more ridiculous one-upmanships and toothsome phony smiles in the next two episodes.

Mapp & Lucia: Richardson shines in lightweight comedy

On the surface, Mapp and Lucia is a great drama due to its lavish production design, beautiful costumes, wonderful cinematography and fantastic performances. However, I found it to be fairly lightweight and thought the story really dragged throughout the hour. Being unaware of Benson's original stories, I wonder if Mapp and Lucia would've been better had it been a two-parter rather than stripped over three instalments. However, after watching just one episode of Mapp and Lucia I have decided it's not really for me and won't be tuning in over the next two nights.

Radio Times review

This gently wonderful six-parter proved that a sitcom needn't be about Big Issues to work its magic. That said, the quiet, rural escapades of metal detectorists had much to say about friendship, love and the truly valuable things of life. Mackenzie Crook, the sallow stooge of The Office and Pirates of the Caribbean, led from the front as writer, star and debut director of what was clearly a labour of love, while Toby Jones and Rachael Stirling were among many genius casting decisions. In a comedy world writhing with mordant cynicism, Detectorists proved a glittering find. Bleeping brilliant.

Radio Times review

With an imperious performance from Matt Berry, Toast of London series two continued to be a joyously surreal take on the life of an arrogant, sexually incontinent actor whom you couldn't help taking to your heart. Self-consciously old fashioned, Toast of London is set in the present day but presents a world where the next day's theatre "notices" still hold sway, business is done on landline telephones and a feud with a medallion-wearing, moustache-sporting fellow called Ray Purchase consumes our hero's energies. With some of the most wonderfully silly names in any comedy ever ("Yes, I can hear you, Clem Fandango!"), Toast of London was bold, brash and laugh-out-loud funny.

Radio Times review

Could such a gimmicky, conceptual comedy survive in a second series overseas? Yes. If anything, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's more expansive return as "Steve Coogan" and "Rob Brydon" was better, with the scenery and restaurants even lusher, and a more solid but still lightly sketched story adding unlikely new pathos to the theme of vain, over-analytical divas suffering a rarified midlife crisis. And those pinging comic riffs over lunch were just as dazzling. A luxury bitter chocolate of a show.