BCG Daily Thursday 13th August 2015
News
People
Features
Live
Live
Live
Press clippings
James Cary's top 10 sitcoms & the glaring omissions
Anyone who's been looking at this blog over the last few weeks will know that I've been going through my favourite ten British sitcoms. These are not shows which I think are objectively 'the best', or most technically brilliant, although I'd argue that on some of them. They are shows which I've grown up with, fallen in love with or which have inspired me to start writing, or, more likely, try harder.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 13th August 2015To She Or Not To She - To Flyer or not to Flyer
"I hate flyeringgg." I moan to my producer, lying across a sofa in our flat. We our discussing tomorrow's plan: Flyering 9.30-12.
Emma Bentley, The Public Reviews, 13th August 2015Danger and comedy are everywhere for O'Doherty
Being scared of everything as a kid wasn't fun, but it has provided great inspiration for his books says David O'Doherty.
Hannah Stephenson, The Irish News, 13th August 2015Margaret Thatcher, Queen of Soho in the #WOWwagon (Link expired)
Margaret Thatcher, Queen of Soho joined us in the #WOWwagon to talk about Scottish audiences, her amazing singing voice, and her favourite 3am takeaway.
Matthew Dunne-Miles, WOW247, 13th August 2015Tim Key, on fishcakes, Footlights and the Fringe
Tim Key was a standup going nowhere fast until one day he took out a notepad and poetry spilled out of him. Now he's one of the hottest comics around. As his show Work in Slutgress hits Edinburgh, he talks about fooling Footlights, dying on stage - and the power of late-night fishcakes.
Harriet Gibsone, The Guardian, 13th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Twins
Twins discuss smug Londoners, car crash flyers and Ribena.
The Herald, 13th August 2015Manwatching, Edinburgh Fringe
A new Royal Court experiment sees an anonymous female playwright objectify male comedians.
Alice Jones, The Independent, 13th August 2015Simon Pegg filmed with a sausage stuck up his nose
The actor bonded with his canine sidekick in the film by being "the guy with the sausage on his face". Here's an exclusive interview with Pegg about this intriguing acting method...
Kasia Delgado, Radio Times, 13th August 2015Why you should follow... @SoVeryBritish
If you apologise a lot, feel socially awkward buying sandwiches and think signing off an email with "thanks" conveys your rage, Very British Problems is the Twitter account for you, especially now there's a TV show about it...
Ellie Walker-Arnott, Radio Times, 13th August 2015Miranda hearts Strictly but her denial is the best yet
The actress has her reasons for not hitting the dance floor this year, although Judy Murray wants to change her mind...
Emma Daly, Radio Times, 13th August 2015Video: Rap Guide to Climate Chaos - What's Beef?
Here's a teaser for the Fringe show Rap Guide to Climate Chaos. The show's creator and performer Baba Brinkman started off on the Fringe rapping about literature with an adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
Edinburgh Guide, 13th August 2015Ten ways to schmooze like a failure
John Robertson's the man with the Abattoir Bar pass.
John Robertson, Chortle, 13th August 2015My favourite meat-loving libertarian
'Vegetarian leftie' Tiernan Douieb chooses his Perfect Playlist.
Tiernan Douieb, Chortle, 13th August 2015These are the top five sports movies
With an Edinburgh festival show, Coach Coach, based on sports films, Adam Riches knows his inspirational half-time speech from his sweaty sock. So who better to pick a starting lineup of screen classics?
Adam Riches, The Guardian, 13th August 20155-stars, fake breasts, deaf squirrels, iScream & Hokum
A lot of Edinburgh Fringe acts do not need publicity in this blog any more. They are doing too well.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 13th August 2015Funeral of Minder star George Cole held in Reading
The theme tune to the series that made actor George Cole a TV favourite has been played at his funeral.
BBC News, 13th August 2015It's now the comics who are calling for censorship
Comedy is being Change.org-ed out of existence.
Tom Slater, The Telegraph, 13th August 2015Alexander Bennett: Edinburgh Fringe 2015 interview
Alexander Bennett has a busy Fringe with a solo show and a gameshow set in hell.
Laugh Out London, 13th August 2015Pelican: Edinburgh Fringe 2015 interview
Not only is Pelican a really great bird, it is also a group of talented members of Cambridge Footlights making their debut at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Laugh Out London, 13th August 2015Have playwrights become marginalised at Edinburgh?
It used to be a traditional Edinburgh ritual to read the fringe programme and count how many productions of Steven Berkoff and John Godber plays were listed. Today, many familiar, contemporary play titles and their writers have slipped off its stages.
Richard Jordan, The Stage, 13th August 2015Comic, Lee Nelson delivers charity gig
Comic, Lee Nelson delivers charity gig series with proceeds going to Teenage Cancer Trust.
TNT Magazine, 13th August 2015Fringe issue: Edinburgh, race and UK comedy
The festival's comedians were historically young, gifted and white. Now, shows by black and minority ethnic acts are popular, diverse and nothing to do with skin colour.
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 13th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Richard Soames
Richard Soames discusses soundcapes, duck nightmares and German jokes.
The Herald, 13th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Katia Kvinge
Katia Kvinge discusses Twitter, nature documentaries and sellotaping audience members together.
The Herald, 13th August 2015It's not the Arts Council comedians should be lobbying
Rather than railing against the Arts Council, how about looking to those raking in industrial amounts of cash instead?
James Drayton, Chortle, 13th August 2015Arts council defends decision not to fund comedy
Arts Council England has defended its position not to fund comedy following calls for the body to begin investing in the genre.
Georgia Snow, The Stage, 13th August 2015Very British Problems, Channel 4, review: 'a mistake'
This old-fashioned list show about awkward social situations forgot to be funny, says Michael Hogan.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 13th August 2015David Nobbs: a man who took his humour lying down
I was once privileged to work with David Nobbs on material for a comedy revue at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford.
David Thomas, The Guardian, 13th August 2015Very British Problems, TV review
Not every observation was as original as it might have been and not every contributor as witty as you'd hope, but Very British Problem #342 should still be added to the list: the embarrassment of having to admit you found a talking-heads show really quite amusing, after years of publicly disdaining them.
Ellen E. Jones, The Independent, 13th August 2015Writing the plot
In the latest Sitcom Geeks podcast, we talk about writing the pilot episode. I talk about stuff that I also cover in my book, Writing That Sitcom.
James Cary, Sitcom Geek, 13th August 2015EdFringe on a budget - 24 hours for £50
This summer, I decided to do something either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid: a last minute trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And if that wasn't brave/stupid enough, I also wanted to do it on a very brave/stupid budget: go for 24 hours and spend only £50!
Rona Kelly, A Younger Theatre, 13th August 2015Three to see on 14 Aug
Previews of Fills Monkey, The School Of Night, Scaramouche Jones.
ThreeWeeks, 13th August 2015Top ten theatre walk-outs
A director once told me that if no one is walking out of your show then you're playing it too safe. Every playwright (and actor) has stories about walk-outs; some painful, some infuriating and some just plain funny.
Samuel Brett Williams, ThreeWeeks, 13th August 2015Colin Cloud: Kills it in person - an interview
After leaving Colin Cloud: Kills, quite literally shaking at the sheer power of what I had seen (read my review), I made it my number one priority to have a sit down with him and pick his brain.
J. D. Stewart, Edinburgh Guide, 13th August 2015Five fast Fringe questions with... with...Letting It Go
An interview with That Pair.
The Public Reviews, 13th August 2015Fame Costs with Cameryn Moore
Hi everybody! My name's Lance. What's yours? I had moment to chat with Cameryn Moore about her hit show Phone Whore and everything about fame. This is what went down...
Peter Michael Marino, The Public Reviews, 13th August 2015Blag a comedy expert part 45: Thom Tuck
In 'blag a comedy expert' part 45 we welcome actor, director and stand up comedian extraordinaire Thom Tuck.
Bad Scents Of Humour, 13th August 2015How one man's Twitter feed became a TV show
I meet the London-based creator of @soverybritish, Rob Temple, to find out how the TV show is going to work and, to be honest, exactly how it all got this far.
Matt Hill, Digital Spy, 13th August 2015Bridget Christie on being a good stand-up
Bridget Christie is not an activist or an academic, she just wants to be the best comedian she can be.
Claire Smith, The Scotsman, 13th August 2015Absolutely Anything review
Terry Jones could have done absolutely anything with this high-concept set-up but chose to go down the romantic comedy route. Which would be fine if the jokes were better, but they aren't. The result is a loosely knitted together series of vignettes, some of which raise titters, but the majority of which elicit groans.
Chris Tilly, IGN Movies, 13th August 2015Absolutely Anything review: 'lightly feeble'
Not even a Monty Python reunion of sorts can save Simon Pegg's sci-fi comedy from mediocrity.
Robbie Collin, The Telegraph, 13th August 2015Absolutely Anything review
Absolutely Anything continues on an unwanted trend for Simon Pegg, of making mediocre British comedies, far removed from the ingenuity of his earlier work.
Stefan Pape, Hey U Guys, 13th August 2015Videos
TV
TV
TV
TV
TV
TV
TV
TV
Film
Film
Podcasts
TV & radio
9:35am10 min
Twirlywoos
Series 2, Episode 14 - High And LowThe Twirlywoos learn about high and low when they watch a lady trying to hang a mirror at the right height. Back in the Boat, the Twirlywoo Screen gives them a seesaw to play with.
4:30pm30 min
Hank Zipzer
Series 2, Episode 1 - Camera CalamityEvery year Hank's school photo matches his school report perfectly - they're both terrible. But this year Hank's making sure his photo is picture perfect - until McKelty ruins it with a fountain of fizzy drink. Can Hank get clean and tidy and back in front of the camera before the photographer leaves? And will Emily get her place at the Institute of Scientific Excellence without her parents messing it up for her?
6:30pm30 min
Meet David Sedaris
Series 5, Episode 3 - LeviathanLeviathan deals with a family gathering for Thanksgiving at the seaside, and there is another instalment from David's diary.
9pm60 min
Very British Problems
Series 1, Episode 1 - Other PeopleThis first episode examines the root cause of most Very British Problems: other people.
10pm45 min
Safeword
Series 1, Episode 4Today's guests, boy band legend Five's Ritchie Neville and Geordie queen Vicky Pattison, get their social media accounts scrutinised by the team captains alongside comics Matt Richardson and Tom Craine.