BCG Daily Wednesday 4th May 2016

Failed British re-makes of American telly

When you look at UK attempts to re-make American situation comedies that were considered quite popular from an audience standpoint, they don't all work either. Here are a four examples I found to easily illustrate my point...

Sacha Baron Cohen in mourning after his father dies

Sacha Baron Cohen is in mourning after his millionaire father dies aged 83.

Fun factory: the finest comedy of summer 2016

Bridget Christie grapples with a Motörhead vibrator, David Baddiel tackles dementia, Todd Barry busts boredom - and Mr Swallow re-creates Houdini's daftest escape.

James Ross on being successful with accessible comedy

The monthly-ish Quantum Leopard comedy show in London this Saturday is sold out in advance - as always. Organiser James Ross does not have a website for the shows. He thinks it would be a waste of time and money. He says: "The Quantum Leopard Facebook group is very much the key mechanism for publicity."

Stephen Fry: 'Libraries save lives'

Actor and writer Stephen Fry has decried the deteriorating state of the public library service, saying that libraries need to be protected as they "save lives".

Premiere of Ian Hislop play in new Watermill season

The Wipers Times will premiere in September as part of The Watermill's new season.

Carla's decades of comedy

It's a little more than 30 years since Liverpool's most well-known comedy jewel first came to our screens.

It followed the working class Boswell family struggling through the city's high unemployment and poor prospects in the late 1980s, painting a bleak yet concurrently warm and hopeful picture of life in one of Britain's major cities.

Bill Bailey writes safari park sitcom

Bill Bailey is writing a sitcom set in a safari park.

Preview: The Windsors

The Windsors isn't going to win any awards for subtlety and the writers certainly aren't going to win any knighthoods, but if you like seeing royal poshos royally sent up this should put a smile on your face.

Preview: Upstart Crow

Never mind Leicester winning the league, what odds would you have got on Ben Elton being funny again? But hold the front page: Elton has got his mojo back. Well, everything is relative. After his appalling The Wright Way it looked like the acclaimed comic might never make us laugh again. But he has done it with Upstart Crow, which, let's not mince words, is Blackadder Does The Bard.

David Mitchell interview

The actor and comedian chats to Gerard Gilbert about starring in Ben Elton's Blackadder-esque new comedy.

Ricky Gervais shares first scathing Office review

The comedian shared a link to the review, penned by critic and producer Victor Lewis-Smith, back when the series debuted in 2001.

Review: Florence Foster Jenkins

Meryl Streep is typically divine as the socialite singer who became a legend for all the wrong reasons.

Six all-female comedy gigs not to miss this spring

Where have all the funny women gone? They're organising some excellent nights of comedy for ye laughter-seeking Londoners. There's tons of all-female comedy action this spring - here are a few shows you shouldn't miss.

Comedian of the month #27, Spencer Jones

Spencer Jones is certainly a performer that takes some getting used to. Appearing as his character The Herbert, a strange and spritely figure with bright clothes and hunched shoulders, Jones approaches the medium of stand up comedy in a way I haven't quite seen before, throwing out customary communication norms with little regard for them.

Interview: Jimmy Carr

"I wrote a joke about the negative stereotypes that still prevail in our society concerning women, and I worry about telling that joke because I worry that if I were to tell that joke, and it would be misconstrued as genuine misogyny, it could really light the fuse on some bitch's tampon. I would feel awful," he tells the crowd. But they get it. These aren't opinions; they're jokes. And Carr tells both sweet and sour ones.

Dane Baptiste, comedy review

In a brisk, wide-ranging show, Dane Baptiste establishes a serious point then peels it back to find the playful laugh within.