British Comedy Guide - Weekly Newsletter


Weekly Newsletter	Tuesday 2nd August 2011

It's summer, but here in Scotland (where we are now, ready to cover the comedy festival), you wouldn't know it. Anyway, comedy stuff...

Latest Comedy News

	Ask Rhod Gilbert to return to BBC One BBC One has ordered a second series of comedy questions-and-answers format Ask Rhod Gilbert.
	Search for brand new comedy cartoon family Producers are searching for a real British family to immortalise in cartoon form.
	Channel 4 announces Comedy Blaps online showcase Channel 4 has announced details of the five comedies which will make up its Comedy Blaps online pilot showcase.
	New series of Little Crackers for Sky1 Sky1 has commissioned a second batch of its festive Little Crackers short story strand.
	New Royle Family Christmas special confirmed Craig Cash has confirmed that there will be another Christmas special of The Royle Family later this year.
	Two Pints comes to an end The BBC has confirmed that its long-running youth sitcom Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps has come to an end.
	Morgana Robinson to star in C4 impressions show Morgana Robinson, whose debut sketch series The Morgana Show flopped, is to star in a new impressions show for Channel 4 called VIP.
	The Fast Show to return? Simon Day has hinted that The Fast Show, the hit 1990s sketch show, could be set to return to TV for a new series.
	Comedy Lab 2011 line-up announced The six comedy pilots involved in Channel 4's 2011 Comedy Lab strand have been announced. They include shows from Pappy's, Totally Tom and Anna & Katy.

Also of interest...

Here are some links you might be interested in...

- The Sun reports ITV ratings disaster The Marriage Ref has been axed. Not exactly shock news: Story

- The comedian who got knocked out of Show Me The Funny last night (we won't name them here in case people haven't watched it yet, to avoid spoilers) says the show was edited to make him look bad. Interview

- Stephen Fry is the celebrity real ale fans would like to have a pint with: Story

- The Olympia in Reading is looking for the best new comedy act of 2011 - could it be you? The competition is on the 24th August: More info

- Young Ones star Adrian Edmondson is making an ITV travel show. In Ade in Britain he will travel the country learning traditional skills from the public.

- Simon Pegg is to take the lead role in a new British film about a crime writer who becomes obsessed with murder: Details

More of these sort of links daily on Twitter: @UKComedyNews

Edinburgh Fringe

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

The British Comedy Guide is covering the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We have guides to all 1,200+ comedy shows, plus features and - from later this week - reviews too.

Features

	Ronnie Corbett interview As Ronnie Corbett approaches 60 years in showbusiness, his new ITV documentary series explores his own career, and the larger world of British comedy, through his eyes. He talks about the show.
	20 Shameless moments As Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless prepares to cross the impressive 100th episode landmark, creator Paul Abbott and cast highlight their favourite moments from the show.
	This Is Jinsy - guest star pics New surreal Sky sitcom This Is Jinsy has bagged a load of famous guest stars. Here's pictures of a couple of them: Harry Hill is in drag, and David Tennant is looking camp.
	Comedy Gold club night in Angel - review Anna Lowman reviews a night at Comedy Gold, a London club. With James Redmond, Matt Kirshen, Pippa Evans, headliner Tom Stade and Daniel Rigby as MC.
	Josie Long interview Fans of Josie Long's likable on-air persona and extensive indie-pop t-shirt collection may be blissfully unaware that she's also a soapbox-mounting, Tory-bothering, political firebrand.
	Barry and Stuart interview Like Derren Brown's mischievous younger brothers, the Bafta-nominated comic magicians Barry and Stuart returns to Edinburgh with not one, but two new shows...
	Sitcom Mission 2011 review Marc Blake reviews the final of The Sitcom Mission 2011, the live showcase of five hand-picked sitcom scripts.
	Beaver Falls interviews Samuel Robertson, Arsher Ali and John Dagleish tell us what it was like to film new E4 comedy drama Beaver Falls. The show might be set in an American summer camp, but it was actually filmed in a rather hot South Africa.

TV & Radio Highlights

Here is a guide to what's on during the rest of this week...

	Beaver Falls Wednesday, E4, 9pm The comedy drama continues. It's July 4th at camp - the day America celebrates ridding itself of the tyranny of British oppression. Not a good day to be three lads from the UK. Our Guide
	Trollied Thursday, Sky One, 9pm Jane Horrocks, Mark Addy and Jason Watkins lead the cast of Sky TV's first sitcom for a number of years. It's a supermarket-set sitcom that finds the funny in the familiar. See our guide for more info. Our Guide
	The Pranker Thursday, BBC Three, 10:30pm Granny Magnet hits the jackpot, the Single White Male treats an unlucky lady to a radioactive blind date from hell and an unsuspecting security guard spies the ultimate in predatory intruders. Our Guide
	My Family Friday, BBC One, 9pm Another episode of the long-running sitcom. An old flame of Susan's makes an appearance while Ben is away on a dental outreach programme, and she may just get her fingers burned. Our Guide
	8 Out Of 10 Cats Friday, Channel 4, 9pm The boys and their guests once again thrash out the hot topics of the week by examining surveys, opinion polls and statistics; from the silly to the serious, from celebrity gossip to world politics. Our Guide
	Alan Carr: Chatty Man Friday, Channel 4, 9:30pm The cast of The Inbetweeners pop in to talk about their forthcoming film. Plus Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis and Jessie J. Our Guide
	Wall Of Fame Friday, Sky One, 10pm Before stepping out of the spotlight, the cheeky panel show delivers one final fix of funny, featuring appearances from Stacey Solomon and comedienne Jessica Hynes. Our Guide
	The Rob Brydon Show Friday, BBC Two, 10pm Rob Brydon meets the Godfather of entertainment, Sir Bruce Forsyth. Sophie Ellis Bextor and Rob perform an unusual ballad. Plus, stand-up comedy from rising Welsh comedian Elis James (Elis is one of our picks for Edinburgh this year - he's a funny guy). Our Guide
	My Favourite Joke Friday, BBC One, 11:05pm Contributions come from the likes of Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall, Phill Jupitus and Al Murray as top comedy clips are once again ruined by the guests repeating the punchlines in advance, and ruining the timing. Our Guide
	Ronnie Corbett's Comedy Britain Saturday, ITV1, 9pm The first part of Ronnie Corbett's series exploring British comedy past and present. Interviewees include Miranda Hart, Matt Lucas, John Cleese, David Mitchell and Stephen Merchant. Our Guide
	John Bishop's Britain Saturday, BBC One, 9:20pm The Saturday night stand-up show continues. John's guests in this episode include John Torode and Gregg Wallace, talking about food. Our Guide
	Russell Kane's Whistle Stop Tour Saturday, BBC Radio 2, 10pm A new stand-up show for Radio 2. Russell Kane returns to his home town of Southend, where he is joined by Carl Donnelly, Rob Beckett, Henry Paker and Roisin Conaty. There's music too. Our Guide
	Sugartown Sunday, BBC One, 10:25pm The final episode of the comedy drama. The Sugartown wedding of the year is back on, which is good news for the whole community who haven't had much to celebrate of late. Our Guide

Above is just some of the new comedy that can be found on the TV and radio this week. For a complete list see our TV & radio schedule.

New DVDs

Here are some of the DVDs out now and coming soon...

- Holiday Havoc With Mr Bean: This new DVD compilation shows Mr Bean at his best: relaxing, on the tourist trail, and having what any normal human would consider a bit of 'down time' - but nothing's ever simple in this strange man's world! Pre-order.

- Submarine: Directed by The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade, this film centres on a teenage boy attempting to save his mother from the advances of a mystic. Order.

- Spooner's Patch: Sitcom from the unusual pairing of legendary scriptwriters Ray Galton (Steptoe, Hancock) and Johnny Speight (Till Death Us Do Part). Welcome to an ordinary suburban police station... Order.

- The Cuckoo Waltz - Series 4: Final series of the sitcom starring Diane Keen and David Roper as Chris and Fliss Hawthorne, struggling to get by with meagre wages, twin sons, and a lodger. Pre-order.

For more, see our new releases and coming soon lists.

Comedy Videos

	Jack Dee on Shooting Stars Vic Reeves gives us some descriptions of Jack Dee's face, and also has a very charming question for Jack to answer, in this preview clip from the new series of the surreal quiz show (it starts on BBC Two on Monday).
	Jason Watkins interview Pyschoville star Jason Watkins talks about the supermarket manager character he plays in new sitcom Trollied. There's interviews with other cast members in our guide too.
	Vic & Bob's Afternoon Delights All twenty episodes of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's online sketch series can be seen here.
	Beneath the Fringe A series of funny videos in which We Are Klang star Marek Larwood interviews (sort of) people connected to the Edinburgh Fringe. Oh, and Norman Pace (of Hale & Pace fame) gets stalked by a pig.

Message Board Posts...

Here are some things people have been saying on our message board...

"Looks horrendous!" lofthouse passes judgement on brand new Sky1 sitcom Trollied

"I enjoy most of these knockabout panel shows but this is guff." TopBanana on Wall Of Fame

"Do any of you guys think there should be a British version of Saturday Night Live?" No Billy laments the death of Saturday night television

"I didn't laugh a whole lot. The main character is ok, but the rest just seem quite weak." Lord Meldrum on Twenty Twelve repeats

"Missed this first time around but I caught it last night, a couple of genuine laugh out loud moments for me." fasty on The Great Outdoors

Thanks for Reading

Cheers for scrolling all the way to the bottom!

The British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk