BBC2 are planning to strengthen their comedy out put by reprising Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson’s classic sitcom Bottom as well as producing new efforts by Mitchell and Webb and stand up/ conductor/ bake show host Sue Perkins.
There hasn’t been a new series of Bottom since 1995 but now Richard Richard and Edward Hitler will return in a 6-part adaptation of their vintage stage show ‘Hooligan’s Island.
David Mitchell and Robert Webb will appear in Our Men, about a pair of British embassy officials in Tazbekistan and Sue Perkins’ show will be about a gay vet who is struggling to come out to her parents so her friends give her an ultimatum.
The new (and old) shows were announced by BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
The long-awaited fourth season of US sitcom Arrested Development will be released in its entirety by Netflix upon release, the streaming giant has confirmed.
Rather than drip feed the ten new episodes week by week, Netflix subscribers will be able to watch the latest misadventures of the Bluth family all at once when the show returns in 2013 after a six-year absence.
Netflix inked an exclusive deal for the show back in November, with their plan to offer all ten episodes at once clearly setting themselves apart from rivals like cable TV and the US streaming service from HBO.
The move follows the Netflix-only release of their original show Lillyhammer, starring Sopranos actor Steven Van Zandt, which was also released in its entirety in the US back in February. Lillyhammer will hit UK shows after completing a run with the BBC first.
Hopefully when Arrested Development lands, we’ll get it at the exact same time as our pals across the pond. Here’s a compilation clip from one of our favourite episodes to whet your appetite:
It’s been over a year since the pilot of Dirk Gently was screened by the BBC but the first series proper starts tonight on BBC4. Advance word is extremely positive, with Stephen Mangan (who plays Douglas Adams’ ‘holistic’ detective for the 3 episode run) apparently turning a terrific comic performance.
For those of you wondering ‘Stepen Mangan? Is he the one who looks like the donkey out of Shrek and was in that hospital thing?’, here’s a run down of 5 top Mangan-facts.
1) His first substantial role was as Adrian Mole in the 2001 series Adrian Mole – The Cappuccino Years. Sadly, it wasn’t very good.
2) He played Dr. Guy Secretan in the critically-acclaimed Channel 4 series Green Wing. The show ran for 2 series and a special and won significant praise and several awards. It also lead to Mangan forming a kind of ‘advert double act’ with co-star Julian Rhind-Tutt as they went on to make a series of ads for Barclaycard in which they played characters very similar to those in the show.
3) Mangan won Celebrity Mastermind, scoring 15 of his 29 points for specialist subject The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, which was written by Douglas Adams, coincidentally also the author of Dirk Gently.
4) In 2002, he became the only man to ever try and seduce Alan Partridge onscreen when his character Dan ‘DAN! DAN! DAN! DAN! DAN! DAN!’ Moody attempted to involve Alan in a swinging session with him and his wife.
5) Mangan was reunited with Green Wing sitcom co-star Tamsin Greig for sitcom Episodes, about a pair of British sitcom writers transferring their hit sitcom to the US. The programme also featured ex-Friends sitcom star Matt LeBlanc, who played a US sitcom star. Give us a minute and we might be able to get the word ‘sitcom’ into this paragraph a couple more times.
That’s it for now, factwise. Dirk Gently starts tonight on BBC4 at 9PM.
Dizzee Rascal is being targeted to star in his own sitcom.
Damon Beesley and Iain Morris – who created E4 teen comedy series ‘The Inbetweeners’ – have held a string of meetings with the ‘Bonkers’ hitmaker, as they believe his life would make the perfect framework for a new show, with the rapper said to be keen to play himself.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “Damon and Iain like the idea of making a funny show about a rapper.
“Urban artists are usually portrayed in negative or bleak circumstances but they want to do something different.
“Dizzee is a big personality with loads of charisma and the writers think he would be the ideal subject for the show. It’s just a question of whether or not he has the acting ability to pull it off.”
Dizzee – real name Dylan Mills – has made no secret of his ambitions to move into acting and has previously said he would love to be the first black James Bond.
After topping a poll which asked who should be the first black star to portray the iconic British spy, Dizzee said: “I beat Will Smith and Jay Z. The people voted for me so I’m up for it.
“There would be a lot more swag and there would be probably be a lot more swearing and a lot more f***ing. Apart from that, I’d leave everything else the same. I might have to drive a Bugatti too. Bond has good cars.”
We all like watching a bit of pap now and again don’t we? We Brits haven’t had any high-gloss syrup since Cold Feet. If we have, I’ve clearly forgotten it. So, like always, we look to America to give us our cheap thrills. One illicit gloop of saccharine sweetness that seems to be getting the big push all over the world is Ugly Betty (Channel 4, Wednesday, 24 June, 10pm) which returned to our screens once more, with an episode called The Manhattan Project. It’s star has obviously dimmed as it’s no longer got the prestigious Friday night sitcom slot and now tucked away on a Wednesday. Is it getting worse?
I absolutely loved the first trailer released by the BBC for the Extras Christmas special featuring stars such as Clive Owen and George Michael. Now a second has reached the Internet, with Gervais hitting up the five multi-millionaire entrepreneurs that populate the Dragon’s Den to help finance his comedy show. In the spoofy clip, Gervais, nervous like all who enter the Den, makes his business pitch to the listening James Caan, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis and Duncan Bannatyne before being suitably interrogated.
As always, Gervais’ main target for comedy is himself with Paphitis labelling him “a short little ego-maniac” while Peter Jones laments his unkempt appearance: “What an untidy messy little git!” When asked why he needs the sought after cash injection, Gervais responds: “Catering, we do go over on the catering budget.” To catch the trailer and whet your appetite for the Extras Christmas extravaganza (it’s not actually billed so exuberantly, I just wanted to use the word extravaganza), click on the link.
The sitcom genre might not yet be dead here in the UK, but its starting to wheeze heavily and look a little grey around the gills. Hoping to breathe new life into the format is ‘Til I Die’ a footy comedy based around a group of Manchester City fans. A pilot episode of the show has been filmed and stars ex-Corrie star Sally Lindsay and Steve Edge (Star Stories and long-time collaborator with Peter Kay.) Aschlin Ditta (The Catherine Tate Show) has been responsible for penning the chuckles, while the involvement of established comedy production company Hat Trick could inspire some interest.
Lindsay is excited by the show’s potential: “The scripts are just fantastic. It’s the funniest show I’ve done since ‘The Royle Family’” enthuses the former Shelley Unwin. “The story is based around a load of City fans who have moved to London but get the train up to Manchester to watch the Blues – and it’s all about their relationships.” While the antics of a group of sports nuts might not be everyone’s recipe for perfect comedy, it could earn a following with City fans and I’m sure famous fans, the Gallagher brothers could turn up for a cameo. It’s not like they’re doing anything else.
Writer Richard Curtis has twice tried to close the chapter on The Vicar of Dibley but the cutesy sitcom refuses to die. Star Dawn French has revealed that the sets for the show have yet to be demolished, a decision by Curtis that has many involved in the production suspicious that Geraldine and co. might make a television return one day. French explains: “He [Curtis] had said that it was definitely, definitely, definitely the end. Then when I heard he asked for the sets to be stored, I thought, ‘He just can’t let go of it.’”
Legendary BBC comedy producer Jon Plowman confirmed that when asked by a crew member whether they could burn the set, a surprised Curtis answered “Not yet.” Plowman adds: “Maybe there’ll come a moment when the nation needs a bit of a cuddle. We’re not saying never”, while Curtis brings hope to all fans of the show: “I keep saying that if Charles becomes King and they want to let us see how Dibley is going to celebrate that occasion, I suppose that, you know, you might come out of retirement.” Sounds promising to me.
Another new American import debuts on small screens here in the UK this weekend, namely E4’s The Class. The channel has been cheerily advertising the reunion sitcom for a while now (see trailer below), trying to compare it to its perennially popular station stable mate Friends. Both revolve around a group of white, late 20somethings and their madcap antics, with The Class even coming courtesy of David Crane, a creator of Friends. But how much further the similarities stretch might never be fully realised as The Class was cancelled after only season in the US.
Set in Philadelphia, the comedy stars more Brits trying to crack America in ex-Eastender Sean Maguire and Doc Martin’s Lucy Punch and starts with the former high school chums coming together for one of their number’s engagement party, only for things to go horribly wrong. The Class received a mixed critical reception in its homeland where it was Emmy nominated and picked up a People’s Choice Award for favourite new TV comedy. Six o’clock seems like an odd timeslot to launch a new sitcom but for those that miss Chandler, Monica, Ross and co. maybe The Class will be a pleasant diversion until the Friends repeats start at 7.55pm.
Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David’s classic chuckle-fest sitcom, Seinfeld, might never have met with widespread success here in the UK (what do you expect when hidden away late at night on BBC2?), but it is a firm favourite in the home of this TV Scooper. And so, to commemorate the release of the ninth season of the saga on DVD, The Hollywood News asked fans to vote for their favourite Seinfeld episode. Coming up trumps was ‘The Soup Nazi’, the tale of a grumpy New York soup chef who famously hollers at customers that order incorrectly “no soup for you!”
This installment from season seven earned a whopping 45% of the votes, while the gang’s encounter with ‘The Bubble Boy’ picked up the silver prize with 26%. Third was ‘The Opposite’ with 11%, in which George acts against his natural instincts and finds his life improving, only for Elaine’s to deteriorate as she becomes more like George, while ‘The Chicken Roaster’ and ‘the Library’ came fourth and fifth. After years of incredible quality, making such a selection would be like choosing a favourite child and I don’t know that I would be up for such a task. That said I’m surprised not to see ‘The Puffy Shirt’, ‘The Contest’ or ‘The Rye’ make an appearance in the top five. I wonder which one Art Vandelay would opt for.
Spooks is back on our telly boxes tonight and so how to mark the occasion? A re-cap of the character’s histories? A trip down memory lane to remember those Spooks that we have loved and lost? Or a full-on whinge about that bloody awful commercial star Rupert Penry-Jones does for Tesco (Martine McCutcheon I get, the poor lass hasn’t got much on at the moment – but why Rupert why?) Nope, how’s about a top ten of the spookiest things on the TV? From the genuinely scary to the silly – prepare to be spooked!
1. Ghostwatch
Described as a ‘horror-mockumentary television movie’, 1992’s Ghostwatch starred then BBC stalwarts Sarah Greene and Michael Parkinson as they investigated a family whose home was inhabited by a nasty ghost called ‘Pipes’. With Parky in the studio and Greene at the family’s house, the programme became increasingly spooky and unpredictable until Pipes finally gained power and haunted the BBC studios themselves. Now, of course this was all carefully plotted, but such was my gullibility back then, that I was utterly terrified by the whole thing. In my defence, I wasn’t the only one as the BBC were made to defend themselves against accusations of causing post-traumatic stress in children and even triggering the suicide of a teenager with learning difficulties. Of course, I now know it to be the silly hoax it was, but until you’ve witnessed the terror of Parky possessed by a ghost – you can’t judge.
Five followed up the debut of David Duchovny’s Californication with another hot new US import – 30 Rock. Created, written by and starring former Saturday Night Live fave Tina Fey, this was not one of those hour-long comedy-dramas that American TV execs seem so fond of at the mo (Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives), but a proper, old-fashioned 30-minute sitcom. And as we all know sitcoms mean colourful characters, silly set-ups and lots of laughs. Right?
Well, kinda. As with all new shows, it was just finding its feet in its pilot outing but excuses aside, 30 Rock had a good vibe about it. I know the use of the word vibe makes me sound a bit hippy, but how else to describe it? Tina Fey clearly knows how to write and perform good comedy, co-star Alec Baldwin is a Hollywood heavyweight and hot after an Emmy win for best comedy, 30 Rock is definitely headed in the right direction.
Tonight will see Channel 4 screen the last ever episodes of the long-running US sitcom Will and Grace, and who’d have known? The channel that used to proudly include the gay comedy in their Friday night comedy scheduling have long since fallen out of love with Will, Jack, Karen and Grace and now their swansong is reduced to a slot after midnight (which should be listed as Thursday, but thought that might confuse readers.) I understand that this was already broadcast on Living, but for those with only terrestrial programming it’s a big ask to stay up so late.
Looking back over the comedy, which first aired in the UK in 1998 (when I was doing my A-Levels – eek!) there have been many fantastic moments and even more featuring A-list celebrities. I enjoyed Kevin Bacon footloosing, a gay Michael Douglas fancying Will and Glenn Close’s dry-humping photographer. And so as the series wraps up with babies, separations and reunions, we wave a fond farewell to the silly Manhattan foursome and salute the show that helped bring gay characters into mainstream comedy.
Thursday nights seem to be the night for broadcasters to air their high-profile US products. Already established in the scheduling are the Black Donnellys (ITV2, 9pm), Entourage (ITV2, 10.30pm), Men in Trees (Living, 9pm), Grey’s Anatomy (Living, 10pm), Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (More4, 10pm) and Scrubs (E4, 9pm.) And that’s with House on hiatus and My Name is Earl having shifted to Fridays – phew.
Now Five are looking to get themselves a piece of the Thursday night American action, with two new exciting offerings. First up is Californication at 10pm starring David Duchovny as Hank Moody, a middle-aged sex demon novelist who should be working but has a chronic case of writer’s block. This show has been causing outrage everywhere due to its liberal doses of nudity, but with the laconic Duchovny in the starring role, it has fast been gaining fans. Making up the numbers are Natascha McElhone (The Truman Show, Solaris) as Hank’s ex and the ever-dependable Evan Handler (Harry from Sex and the City, Studio 60.)
Flicking between television channels last night, I stumbled upon a show which added laughter to my Sunday evening – The Sarah Silverman Programme. I had guffawed at Sarah’s brand of inappropriate humour at the MTV Video Music Awards and being the open-minded gal I am, I generously handed over all responsibility for my entertainment to her for half an hour. And blow me down, if she didn’t deliver.
For those of you, like myself, new to Sarah, I hand you over to the Paramount channel to introduce her sitcom: “Step into the incredible world of Sarah Silverman as she goes about her life, which on any given day, can include taking in a homeless man, exploring her sexuality or encouraging a young girl to enter a pageant to fulfill her Sarah’s childhood dreams. The Sarah Silverman Programme stars Silverman who plays a character (aptly named Sarah Silverman) whose absurd daily life is told through an array of scripted scenes and song. In each episode, Sarah manages to fall into unique, sometimes unsettling and always hilarious predicaments, with her sister (played by real-life sister Laura Silverman), her geeky gay neighbors, Brian and Steve and Officer Jay never far from her side.” Sound like a recipe for laughs? It could well be.
US sitcom Family Guy isn’t known for pulling any punches, like The Simpsons and South Park before it, the show’s two-dimensional characters happily mock and ridicule just about everyone and everything. Now the Quahog-based comedy and its network, Fox, have been served with a federal lawsuit for such tomfoolery, by a publishing company claiming infringement on the rights of a song they own. The ditty in question is “When You Wish Upon a Star”, a number that the publishers consider was directly copied when the animation’s lead character Peter Griffin sang “I Need a Jew” in an episode entitled “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein.”
The publisher’s attorney Paul Fakler said: “If you listen to the structure of the lyrics, the song, the name of the episode and how [Peter's] singing out the window to the stars, there’s no question they were using the song,” while Fox have replied: “We have not yet seen the complaint and have no comment at this time.” The installment was screened on US televisions back in 2003 and defendants for the show include its creator Seth MacFarlane, the show’s composer Walter Murphy, Fuzzy Door Productions and the Cartoon Network.
Since Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant announced that the Christmas special for Extras would be the sitcom’s swansong, it seems like every celebrity from George Michael to David Tennant has bagged a role in it. And now with the release of the show’s trailer, we can see which familiar faces are going to pop up in the festive frolics, alongside regulars like Barry to get us chuckling.
As the show will be one of the undoubted heavy-hitters of the Beeb’s Christmas line-up, they are doing all they can to keep the trailer from appearing on sites such as YouTube. Instead, to get your first look at Clive Owen turning his nose up at Maggie Jacob’s (Ashley Jensen) prostitute or a mocked manly hug, follow the link here. Enjoy!
Contemporary television seems to delight in pushing our buttons. With reality shows eating up so much airtime, we are invited to judge the everyday antics of real folk and get drawn into debates on who we like, who we don’t and who we would happily punch in the gob. It’s easy with these newborn celebrities who would often sell their granny for a cover of Heat magazine, but for most of them they’re just enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame – unlike the scripted roles. With free reign to create the most extreme characters, television writers can out-do all reality stars by producing the most annoying, frustrating and downright exasperating creatures. These people might be entirely fictitious but that doesn’t stop them from making your teeth grind and your neck twitch just be simply watching them.
And so here is my list of TV neighbours from hell. I would thank God (if I thought there was one) that I don’t have any of these fictional characters living next door to me. For life in such close proximity to these people would be one of torture and anguish. I would have to move house, as simple as that.
Having grown up in the 80s I love all things Hoff-related. He might be cursed with the moniker ‘big in Germany’ but the star of classics Knight Rider and Baywatch is looking to move into comedy. You heard correctly, no need to stick a candle in your ear or visit your GP, for David Hasselhoff is making a return to TV and this time, not as a lame judge on the even lamer America’s Got Talent. Instead the Hoff will star in ‘dark comedy’ Tales of the Hoff billed as ‘a fictional look at the 55-year-old actor’s experiences as an international star trying to beef up his career credentials and a divorced dad trying to navigate the Hollywood dating scene.’ But this is scripted right?
Yes, but the Hoff is looking to produce a realistic comic persona ala Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show is to be executive produced by American Idol host and Emmys flop Ryan Seacrest along with the Hoff himself, and The Drew Carey Show’s Dan O’Keefe is billed to pen the pilot episode. The show is said to have originated from the Hoff’s conversations with his chums and the ensuing belief that his life would make for great TV. Well, that drunken YouTube clip was incredibly popular.
With the Emmys being handed out on Sunday/Monday (depending on where you live), TV Scoop takes a look at some of the British shows looking to take home an award.
BBC’s sumptuous literary adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic Jane Eyre leads the pack with nine nominations. These sadly don’t include any acting nods for stars Ruth Wilson as our heroine or Toby Stephens as the broody Rochester. Instead they acknowledge the art direction, casting, cinematography, costumes, direction, sound mixing, writing and hairstyling. Yes, hairstyling. The prestigious Emmys are all about who has a nice fringe.
BBC2 are planning to strengthen their comedy out put by reprising Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson’s classic sitcom Bottom as well as producing new efforts by Mitchell and Webb and stand up/ conductor/ bake show host Sue Perkins.
From:Set The Video: NASA: Triumph and Tragedy, BBC Two, Wednesday, 24 June, 9pm