================================== B R I T C O M E D Y D I G E S T ================================== VOL. I Craig Charles cleared of all charges JUNE 1995 No. 9 James Herriot dies at 78 A monthly electronic newsletter on British comedies. What's Inside ============= * Craig Charles Cleared Of Rape Charges * "How To Get Ahead In A Hat": Alan Davies and Dave Allen talk * The Day Today * Usenet Vox Pops Regular Departments =================== * Mailbox * Britcomedy News * Newsquirks * Editorial/Opinion Page * net.comedy * Quote-o'-the-Month * ETC. Britcomedy Digest (ISSN 1077-6680) Schopenhauer Publishing Co. Copyright (c) 1995 by Melinda Casino. Reproduction for personal and non-profit use is permitted only if this copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission. Managing Editor Melinda 'Bob' Casino Contributing Editor Michelle Street Assistant Editor James Kew Copy Editor Cynthia Edwards Contributing Writers Barry Cronin HTML logo by Nathan Gasser; HTML conversion by James Kew. Mailbox ======= I just found Britcomedy Digest yesterday and love it! I devoured all of the back issues last night...well, no I didn't actually eat them... I am a huge fan of Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. I would love it if someone could fill me in on what they've done and what they're working on now. I've seen Black Adder, Jeeves and Wooster, and some of the wonderful A Bit of Fry and Laurie and I long for more. Amy Troutman - Germantown, MD atroutman@hns.com EDITOR'S RESPONSE: Stephen Fry was due to be in the play Cell Mates with Rik Mayall, but has pulled out suddenly (see "News"). The two do commercials in the UK. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Britcomedy News =============== CRAIG CHARLES CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES Red Dwarf actor Craig Charles was cleared of rape and assault charges last week at Southwark Crown Court, London. It took the jury just 90 minutes to decide that the Charles and co-accused John Peploe were not guilty, ending what has been "an eight month nightmare" for the actor. When the "not guilty" verdicts were announced, there were cheers from the public gallery, and Charles hugged his fellow defendent. Charles and Peploe allegedly tortured and raped a woman last July. However, there was no forensic evidence to support the charges. Speaking to the press outside the courtroom, both Charles and Peploe called for changes in British law to protect the accused. AUTHOR JAMES HERRIOT DIES AT 78 One of Britain's best-loved authors and the world's best-known veterinarian died of prostate cancer Thursday, February 23. "He had been ill for three years but he had borne his illness very patiently and bravely. His family were all with him when he died peacefully at home today," his grand-daughter Emma Page said. James Herriot began writing about his veterinary experiences in the Yorkshire Dales at age 50. He wrote 15 books which sold more than 50 million copies in 20 countries. His first two books, If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldn't Happen To A Vet were published as one volume in America under the title All Creatures Great and Small (1972). That was followed by All Things Bright and Beautiful and All Things Wise and Wonderful -- titles that were taken from a popular British hymn. He told the Daily Mail in 1981: "I was dumbfounded by the reaction to that first book...the most I had hoped for was that someone would publish it and a few people quite enjoy reading it." James Alfred Wight was born on October 13, 1916 and grew up in Glasgow. He trained at Glasgow Veterinary College, and arrived in Thirsk in 1940 for the position at Skeldale House that is now so famous. He was made an OBE, officer of the Order of the British Empire, in 1979. He is survived by his wife, Joan, their son, James (who runs the veterinary practice), their daughter, Rose Page, and four grandchildren. "I wouldn't give up being a vet if I had a million pounds. I'm too fond of animals." -- James "Herriot" Wight, Oct. 16 1916 - Feb. 23, 1995. COME BACK STEPHEN ... Overly stressed workaholic or overly sensitive showbiz Luvvy? Opinion is divided on what has caused the recent "disappearance" of comedy star Stephen Fry. After quitting the West End play Cell Mates and dropping completely out of sight for several days, Fry finally faxed his agent on Friday (3/24). In this message, Fry said that his recent actions were caused by stage fright and that his desire was to "slink away" rather than cause a scene in public. Unfortunately the ploy didn't work. He has indeed caused a public stir as concerned friends, fans, and family worry about his mental state. The episode began soon after Fry opened alongside his longtime friend and colleague Rik Mayall in Simon Gray's play, Cell Mates, at London's Albery Theatre. Though Mayall was generally praised by critics for his performance, Fry was not treated so kindly. A critic from the Financial Times said: "Fry is the all-time facade: so damnably English on the one hand and perplexingly inexpressive on the other. Watching a facade, however, is not a lot of fun." There are those who believe that this harsh treatment from the critics is what caused him to quit the play after only three performances (he has been replaced by Simon Ward) and flee the country. His specific whereabouts remain a mystery but various reports have surfaced that he simply hopped the ferry to France just to get away from it all. If that is indeed the truth, the break is well-deserved and chances are good that he is simply suffering from battle fatigue and overwork. Looking back on it, his output over the last few years has been astonishing. He has done several seasons of A Bit of Fry and Laurie with his partner, Hugh Laurie, as well as played the unflappable butler Jeeves to Laurie's Wooster in the successful adaptation of the P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves and Wooster novels. As if that weren't enough, he has starred in the movie Peter's Friends, played Meg Ryan's fiance in I.Q., published two novels (The Liar and The Hippopotamus) plus a collection of essays called Paperweight. He has also been a tireless crusader in the fight against AIDS, being one of the main forces behind the "Hysteria" benefits to help the Terrence Higgins Trust continue their work against this dreaded disease. The 37-year old Fry concluded his fax by saying that his disappearance was caused by "not so much a nervous breakdown, more a nervous stalling. I'm a silly old fool and don't deserve this attention." His fans around the world would certainly disagree with that last statement. We here at Britcomedy Digest would like to add our support and best wishes. Come back soon, Stephen. But only when you're ready. PAUL MERTON AND CAROLINE QUENTIN PLAY HOUSE IN "LIVE BED SHOW" Paul Merton is now in the London play, Live Bed Show. And the actress who plays his wife? His wife, of course: Caroline Quentin. Merton and Quentin play "Cash" and "Maria" in this play written by new playwright Arthur Smith. "The Observer Review" describes the play as focusing on "acute and embarrassing personal observation of domestic tawdriness." Live Bed Show, Garrick Theatre, London, 0171-494 5085; through April 29th. HIPPOPOTAMUS RELEASED IN THE UNITED STATES Stephen Fry's The Hippopotamus (Random House ISBN # 0-679-43879-3) has now hit the shelves in the US. Fry is author of The Liar, a novel, and Paperweight, a collection of essays. (The Hippopotamus in major bookstores across the U.S., $22.00 hardcover.) ALL WOMEN, ALL THE TIME The Women's Television Network was launched in Canada January 1, 1995. Its mandate: to show various topics from a "woman's perspective." WTN is currently airing a variety of Britcoms featuring -- wait for it -- women. This daring move includes French and Saunders, and Girls on Top in their scheduling. COMEDIANS IN DRAMATIC ROLES IN "HEROES AND VILLAINS" Rowan Atkinson, Jennifer Saunders, and Jim Broadbent were cast in starring roles in the three-part series Heroes and Villains for BBC1. The idea behind the series is to tell the tale of three extraordinary lives -- that of Lady Hester Stanhope (Saunders), an eccentric niece of William Pitt; Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin (Atkinson), a dashing aristocrat who was a race car driver in the 1920s and early '30s; and Colonel Alfred Wintle (Broadbent), who took part in both world wars and described the period in between them as one of "intense boredom." Atkinson is a well-known car enthusiast and has written occasional articles for the British Car Magazine. No wonder, then, that he chose a dramatic role about a man whose obesession with cars leads to his alienation from his father and wife. Atkinson does some of the stunts, which consisted of driving vintage Bentleys "not much more than 70 or 80 mph," he said. According to Mark Chapman, director of two of the films in the series, the BBC "gave us the thinnest budgets you could imagine." Could that be why comedians were cast in roles for which dramatic "heavy" actors would've demanded a high salary for? THE SECOND HARDEST WORKING MAN IN SHOWBUSINESS ... Rowan Atkinson plans to shoot two new Mr. Bean shows this year before he begins production on a full-length movie about this eccentric (and that's putting it mildly) boy/man. The movie will have Mr. Bean visit America. "... There will have to be other actors to fill in the plots and develop the character," Atkinson said. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newsquirks ---------- Pixels in the press... TORVILL AND... BEAN? Jayne Torvill and "Mr. Bean" (Rowan Atkinson) are ice-skating together on the front cover of this week's Radio Times for "Comic Relief Red Nose Day" (March 17). There's a web site for Comic Relief (http://www.worldserver.pipex.com/comic.relief/), a charity event held every two years in the UK. LEAVE BRITAIN'S CHOO-CHOOS ALONE! Prime Minister John Major recently held a press conference on improving the British Railway service. He stated, "I am not content with the service we have had from British Rail. I want to remove them for good from the stand-up comedian's joke book and turn them into the envy of the world." David Davies, editor of Deadpan magazine, commented, "Railway jokes are old hat. The stand-up comics are doing so well that all their jokes are now about air travel." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editorial/Opinion Page ====================== We received lots of email about Alison Siegel's editorial, "The Myth of Cultural Quality" (vol. 1, no. 8). Here are some of the rebuttals. Chris Wallis, sandman@u.washington.edu: I just want to point out that the author fails to take into consideration the idea that those who claim higher quality for British shows because they have six episodes might be referring to production values, not just writing. For example, if the budget of Red Dwarf was spread out over 23 episodes instead of six, it would look incredibly shabby. Therefore there is a higher standard of quality of production in British shows, in the sense that quality is not being sacrificed for quantity. Responding to another point in the editorial, I don't think the teams of writers on American shows enable them to make more and better episodes. Whenever you have teams of writers, you're usually actively diluting the original creator's vision of what he or she wanted to do with the show -- a very common occurrence in America, where creators are nearly always forced into subservience by business. Can you imagine Black Adder or Red Dwarf as written by a BBC appointed "team"? It would probably be almost as bad as an American show! Paul Rhodes, PAULR@msmail04.liffe.com: OK, it's bait and I'm falling for it -- but Alison Siegel, whilst correctly rebutting the "British TV is better because it is" argument, seems to have totally missed the point as regards the issue of series length. She begins by questioning the "magic number" 6; there's nothing magical about the number 6. Indeed, there are historical reasons why series are usually 6 or 7 episodes rather than 5 or 8 or 10, but this has nothing to do with the "quality" of the programmes. Alison then goes on to say, "the entertainment industry in the US is much stronger" without justifying the statement or even explaining its relevance, but I'll let that one pass as it at least leads her on to the real issue: that of team writing. Nobody is suggesting that writers' talent "dries up" after 6 episodes a year: simply that it takes far longer to write a show than to watch it. The only way to have long, US-style seasons is to have a lot of writers working on them (I'm sure there are exceptions to this: some writers work faster than others!). Alison's contention is that a large team of writers ensures "consistent quality and interesting and new plots." This is on the face of it a reasonable point of view, and there are certainly examples of US comedies which have benefited from this approach (Cheers and M*A*S*H spring to mind), but I suggest that more commonly the team approach leads to formulaic writing, where each show becomes a gag production line. This is not the same as suggesting that most episodes are "fillers," although that may be the case on some shows. The unique variety and experimentation within British comedy arises because creative writers are allowed to do their own thing, developing their own ideas, rather than just thinking up funny lines for somebody else's characters to say. One reason this is possible is that the seasons are sufficiently short so that the broadcasters can take risks on new writers and formats. Another reason is that British television has a strong public service ethos; as opposed to the commercial domination of US TV. It is easy to imagine an American network making 30 episodes of "Blackadders" a year until the audience disappeared. So here's my take on the question: Firstly, they are short because British television is constantly experimenting with new formats and new talent; since this will not always pay off it makes sense for each experiment to be short to minimize the risk of ending up with a long commitment to a turkey. Secondly, they are short because they are generally written by individuals or small writing teams: this is partly a result of the experimental nature of the genre in the UK. These are generalisations, of course: there are auteurs in US TV; there are "production line" shows on UK TV. By their very nature, experimental shows do not always succeed; and by their very nature, team efforts will sometimes produce high-quality polished laughter machines. Brian Gunning, bgunning@cix.compulink.co.uk: I seem to recall an argument from the TV production side. This was based on the concept of TV "seasons," particularly spring and autumn, during which schedulers can select a series to fill a particular slot. Spring and autumn seem the most important as Christmas gets disturbed with specials, films, etc., and summer always seems a hodgepodge with sport appearing at the oddest times. Another factor that has to be remembered is that Britain still effectively only has four terrestrial TV channels (BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV, and Channel 4). I don't think many of the managers are confident enough to invest in 20 or so episodes of a series unless it's a soap (and even there Eldorado showed the pitfalls). If you release a six-part series and it proves a dog you've only lost six weeks to the competition (and if it's really bad you can pull it after three). If you take the view that BBC 1 and ITV are battling for the mass audience, they'll both continue to put out the same mixture of light entertainment, sport, films, soaps, drama and sitcoms which satisfy the "typical" TV audience that will turn the box on at 5:30 and have it running until 11:30 PM. Almost all the innovative stuff starts on BBC 2 and Channel 4, both of which have much smaller audiences, and consequently much smaller budgets, and couldn't run to 20 shows anyway. Finally, and this is a purely subjective and personal view, I think the British public can be very fickle and easily bored. There aren't many shows that have managed to retain public interest over four series (remember I'm not including sitcoms) even with six months or more between series. Joy Day, JDAY@UTCVM.UTC.EDU: I really must object to the use in the last editorial of May to December as an example of a failed Britcom. The principals of May to December obviously care about each other without becoming maudlin, the humor is just risque enough to make me snigger without being so beyond that my 11-year-old can't view it with me, the characters are believable -- what's not to love? Britcomedy Digest welcomes contrasting views. Mail rebuttals and editorials to melinda@cathouse.org with the subject "EDITORIAL". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "How To Get Ahead In A Hat" =========================== From the Review section of "The Observer," December 18, 1994. Copyright 1994 The Observer. Reprinted with permission. Rising comic star Alan Davies grew up watching Dave Allen on television. Now Dave tells Alan about hats, cuffs, shags and gags. Comedian Dave Allen was 29 years old in 1966 when comedian Alan Davies was born. An established and an upcoming comic; both admire each other's work. As Alan Davies says: "He is the only comedian I can remember from my childhood; there was no one else." Dave and Alan met for the first time at this summer's Edinburgh Festival. On Monday they met again at Dave Allen's Kensington home. Alan Davies (AD): It was a big thrill when you came to see me in Edinburgh. Dave Allen (DA): It was a smashing evening, your show was wonderful: very gentle, very funny and very real. AD: I used to do a lot more muttering to myself before I started doing stand-up comedy. I used to be more uptight and intense. I'm 28 so I do lots of routines that are for people in their twenties or early thirties. There are a lot of comics my age doing routines about being a small child, because they can still remember it pretty well, and most of the audience can too. What were you talking about when you were 28? DA: The politics of the world were fairly strong at the time -- Khrushchev, and Kennedy's assassination. People were more aware of world leaders, or maybe the world leaders weren't so grey. There was a great fear of nuclear war. There were little gags about weapons and money being spent on rockets and armies, invasions and spies, and there's the Philby thing. I worked in Australia with a woman called Helen Traubel, who was a very famous Wagnerian soprano. We used to sit around, gag and talk and chat. She was one of the funniest women I've ever met. I'd be talking about Ireland, my childhood, my education, the schools, the priests, the nuns, climbing trees, all the kinds of things I did as a kid, and she said to me one night, "Why are you out there saying the sharp, spiky one-liners, attacking the world? Why don't you just go out there and reminisce?" AD: I had a similar problem. I've been doing it six years now, but in the first couple of years there was pressure on comics on the London circuit to have news-based material, topical material, to have an opinion -- always left of centre. I ended up making jokes about Nigel Lawson's hair or something. But after a while I found it was just more fun to talk, as you say, to reminisce, talk about personal experiences. DA: When I began, comics used to wear hats. I suppose it was because theatres were very cold. AD: I was talking to Jo Brand a few weeks ago, and she said that her dad doesn't know much about what she does, and he said to her, "What sort of shows do you do, and what do you wear?" And she said, "Well, I just wear what I normally wear." And he said, "Do you wear a hat?" which she thought was the funniest thing... DA: Hancock wore a hat. Charlie Chester wore a hat, Max Miller wore a hat. I suppose there was a slight break after the war, in the early Fifties, the younger comedians, then weren't wearing hats. AD: And were the younger comics doing different kinds of material from the older guys, or were they still doing some of the old gags? DA: I think younger comics at first have to hide behind something that they know will probably get a laugh, rather than experiment themselves, or with their own material. AD: You can go along for ages doing the same routines and not really improving, and then one day you'll find some other additional element that makes you more relaxed. It's being more relaxed, that is the key... DA: And being honest, too. The audiences have changed. Audiences were indoctrinated for years that there were certain subjects which you couldn't laugh at, you couldn't talk about -- and I'm not just talking about sex. There was a kind of protective veil that came down over things like the professions. You couldn't talk about the church, and you really couldn't -- especially on television -- talk about politicians, or the judiciary. Then gradually there was a breakdown: in the Sixties people began to attack politicians who they thought were arseholes. The word satire came into being, much as alternative came in, in the late Eighties. AD: A similar feeling of a new movement. DA: They're only words for the same thing. It's comedy basically, whatever it is. But it had more edge. Gradually people began to open up on more subjects, and you could talk to an audience in much more realistic terms. AD: Did the old comics in the hats resent that? DA: The old comedians used to wear their acts on their cuff. ...That was the rap -- off the cuff. AD: With everything written on it. DA: And they used to look at the other comedians, and if one of the comedians was doing one of these gags, they'd take it off the cuff. I've heard of comedians who had eight sets of cuffs. AD: I have a notebook in my back pocket. And it always just has headings on. People say to me, "Do you write your material down? Do you write it down word for word?" And I show them a page which'll have ten words on or something and say there's an hour on there. "Well how can you remember it?" Because I made it all up myself. And half of it's true stories anyway. DA: Well, that's what it's about. I've got bits of envelopes... AD: Scraps of paper. DA: Sometimes you haven't got anything to write on. AD: It strikes me that if I try to think of other comics in their fifties, none of them are like you. You could bunch groups together -- gag tellers or northern-club-type comics or game-show hosts. But you've never done, as far as I know, a TV game show. You've never been a gag merchant. DA: I actually prefer to work on my own. I have great times with other people but, for what I would call the real work, it's me and the audience. AD: Do you ever wish there was an audience who didn't know who you were? DA: Yeah. I talked to Jack Benny about that years ago, when I was a young comedian coming into the business. He said his ambition would be to work an audience that knew nothing about him, and to see whether it was him, his delivery, or his material. AD: Sometimes when you do new material it's quite surprising where the laughs come. DA: This is where the audience is teaching you. Working to an audience for long periods of time is like rehearsing. AD: The show that you came to see in Edinburgh, that was routines I'd been working on for a couple of years. One I'd thought of three or four years before and then I'd done it a few times and then nothing had happened, and then going through scraps of paper, like you were talking about earlier, came across it, and went back to it, and found a little twist, and it became one of the most popular parts of the show. DA: So you're creating pictures all the time. If you only get one chance to tell a story, that's the end of it. But we're lucky in that. AD: It interests me with what's going through your head when you're doing one of your routines, because for me, I'm always picturing... It's a bit like driving a car, when you're looking 50 yards ahead all the time. I'll be in the middle of a routine but quite often picturing the one that's going to be next and the one that's coming after that. DA: Well I used to have a mental thing in my head. I had a structure of this skeleton, and I would say, right, tonight I'm going to start on the left hand, and I'm going to work up, and I'll go across the shoulder, and I can either go to the head or move over to the right shoulder and down to the right arm. I just had a kind of structure that I could wander around inside. AD: When you were developing that anecdotal style, there weren't many comics doing that kind of work. DA: No, there were mostly, what do you call them, gag tellers. AD: How did you develop that? I've just spent the weekend in Dublin and a couple of friends of mine are comics there and they were talking about how there isn't a great tradition in Ireland of stand-up comedy, of gags -- there's more a tradition of conversation. Is that where it comes from? DA: I think so. I haven't lived in Dublin for years but conversation was very important: dinner conversation, conversations in bars, or striking up strange conversations with somebody at Lansdowne Road -- then you're off into all sorts of rambling discourse, which needn't be hysterically funny, but can be interesting and amusing. AD: Are Irish people more prone to that, to following up conversations? DA: I think so. The language is different, too -- though it's the same language, it's vastly different. AD: There's all these little redundant bits of conversation that link the sentences together -- the Irish seem to have a hundred phrases for beginning and ending conversations. DA: The in word at the moment with comedians over here, young comedians, is "shag." Shag is very much a Dublin word. In a sense it was a substitute for "fuck," but you couldn't say fuck so you'd say shag. And it was, "I shagged her in the river," or, "Shag off," or, "Go and shag yourself." That was a part of Dublin conversation. Now it seems people don't hump any more or fuck any more or screw any more, they shag. AD: It's better than "bonk." DA: "Bonk" is like a terrible machine sound, isn't it? Machines bonking in the corner of a pub. Bonk is like a tennis ball hitting something. AD: So do you want to do live gigs? DA: Oh yes. But what I never do is two things at the same time. If I'm working on this [his Christmas TV show], I'll work on this. When I've finished then I'll think about something else. It's a bit like everybody can remember yesterday, and they're always talking about tomorrow, but in some cases they actually miss that section that they're living through. I want to paint or I want to go to sleep or I want to work a bit. Luckily I'm in a position now I can do what I want. What I don't want to do is something that's boring, because I don't have the time any more. When you're 30 you can be bored witless, but when you're 58 or 59 you won't have fucking years to be bored, so it's very important to me to do what I want to do. I'm not talking in a selfish manner, I mean regarding work. One of the things I would say to any younger comedians, I'd say, "Face it. Don't run... Don't go for everything." People become workaholics very quickly, they're doing radio, they're doing television, they're doing interviews, they're traveling, they're doing live shows -- Jesus Christ, they're coming up everywhere. AD: You find as soon as you get a little bit of a reputation -- it's just starting to happen for me now, and then suddenly they are pushing you to do a hundred things. DA: Don't. Do what you feel. Do what you want to do. AD: I mean you'll be in danger of becoming this year's thing and then in the following year you're last year's thing. DA: If you're a pro, you're good at what you do, you're going to be around for years. This is not a pop-star profession. AD: They're trying to make it a pop-star profession, though. DA: Well, that's not the people who are doing it. It's all these other people outside pushing other people in the directions, but they're not necessarily for your benefit. AD: Make some quick money. DA: I say, if you can only eat one meal a day, eat a good one. Enjoy the sunsets, enjoy the days. A terrible pressure is put on people to be ahead of themselves, on top of themselves, churning stuff out. Thanks to Vincent Golden for obtaining permission to reprint this article. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Day Today" -- What makes this show work? ============================================= by Barry Cronin Usually a spoof programme will poke fun at television shows by imitating the presenters or by going over the top when copying the various logos and symbols attributed to that programme. The Day Today takes a more subtle approach by spoofing every news programme as one. One of the characteristics that gives the viewer that The Day Today is a real news programme is the superb array of "news-type" graphics. Secondly, when the headlines are read (and here is the real gem), actual footage is run from real events and of real people. For instance, in one episode it showed an actual headmaster going into a school surrounded by real presspeople, and cameras flashing. The newscaster says: "School teacher accused of using big-faced child as satellite dish." And of course, it isn't read but nearly shouted, as is the craze now among newscasters. Television loves to think it is intellectually superior to its viewers, and can be very patronising when attempting to explain "complex" issues such as the economy, like ITN who recently used an "inflation dragon" in one of their newscasts with fire spouting forth from the dragon's mouth. This ridiculous graphic was to illustrate the state of the economy in some way and facilitate the viewer's understanding of the economy. It is this sort of rubbish that The Day Today just pounces on and ridicules with relish to the last. (The graphics they have used in the past include "inflation kidneys" and the "financial cat," which really have to be seen to be believed.) As newscasts are competing so much now, what with 24-hour rolling news services and so-called investigative programmes, they begin to scramble over each other in a bid to get viewers, with pathetic metaphors and over-the-top reconstructions; again this is where The Day Today comes into its own; their reporters using some of the following metaphors in their reports: * "Night fell like a big dark thing." * The sports presenter Alan Partridge describing a cyclists' race from a helicopter: "and the cyclists below me look like cattle, in a mad way..." * Commentary given when a runner named Elliot fell on the track; "Oh no, Elliot has fallen, Elliot there, no relation of course to the late Denholm Elliot." Every week features a new ident to The Day Today--some more examples: * The Day Today - Ultra News * The Day Today - games warden to the events rhino * The Day Today - because fact into doubt won't go * The Day Today - bringing food to the truth banquet This programme is currently being re-broadcast here in the UK and is enjoying good success. Long may it continue. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usenet Vox Pops =============== Subject: Re: American AbFab rip-off From: dfowler@random.ucs.mun.ca (D. Stuart Fowler) >This Roseanne-bashing is getting really BORING! [snip] I agree. I have really enjoyed the 12 "Absolutely Fabulous" episodes aired thus far, and greatly anticipate seeing the six new shows. Having a US version should in no way detract from the enjoyment of the original. In fact, I firmly believe that Roseanne is capable of presenting an equally controversial American version of this show. I think the main point to be made is that most people like to revere British comedy in an elitist fashion. And what could destroy this facade quicker than the tabloid persona of Roseanne? But see, that's it in a nutshell, people chalk Roseanne up as the National Enquirer cover girl and rarely give her the credit she deserves as an artist. I am quite comfortable having Roseanne control the reigns of the American "AbFab." It won't necessarily be the same show, but I have faith that it will chart new ground in American comedy. These are my opinions and I shall stick by them. Subject: Re: First Goodies experience From: Frances M. Robinson I first discovered "The Goodies" when we were on holiday in Derbyshire. We came across a village fair and on the Women's Institute stall, I came across "The Goodies File" and "The Goodies' Book of Criminal Records." My parents said, "Oh you'll like them, we did," so I bought the books. They are both hysterically funny. One contains the music to the theme song as scribbled over by them all. It really has to be read to be believed. I got a video for Xmas; "The End" is great. Tim and Graeme are on "I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue;" no series on at the moment, but it's every bit as good! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote-o'-the-Month ================== BILL: "You know, there's surprisingly little to do in this stomach..." SHOW: The Goodies; EPISODE: The Archaeologists ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- net.comedy ========== This month, net.comedy focuses on one of the best-loved Britcoms today, Black Adder. The newsgroup alt.comedy.british.blackadder is always abuzz with Adderish discussion; and for those without Usenet access there's a Black Adder mailing-list. To join, send email to listserv@psuvm.psu.edu containing the single line: SUBSCRIBE BLKADR-L First, though, check out the Black Adder FAQ, maintained by Gwen Brophy, gbrophy@telerama.lm.com. Here you'll find answers to all those niggling questions -- including the perennial, "Will there be a Black Adder Five?" It's posted once a month to alt.comedy.british.blackadder and you can also find it here: * ftp://cathouse.org/pub/cathouse/television/black.adder/misc/FAQ * http://cathouse.org/BritishComedy/Blackadder/FAQ.html If you're dying to use one of Edmund's put-downs but can't quite remember the phrasing, you have only to turn to the cathouse.org archives. This ftp site contains a wealth of Black Adder information, including transcripts of all the episodes and specials, an episode guide, the FAQ, and fanfiction: * ftp://cathouse.org/pub/cathouse/television/black.adder/ Some of this material is also up on the Web at the cathouse.org British Comedy Pages: * http://cathouse.org/BritishComedy/Blackadder/ Mail news and views on "net.comedy" to James Kew, j.kew@ic.ac.uk. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ETC. === Brenda Sharpe, aj471@freenet.carleton.ca maintains the "RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY FAQ" for those die-hard fans who subscribe to alt.fan.rumpole. * http://www.cs.umbc.edu/~schott/rumpole/ * ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/media/tv/collections/tardis/uk/drama/RumpoleOfTheBailey/RumpoleOfTheBailey-FAQ Andy Raffle, missus@raffle.demon.co.uk, maintains the "CARRY ON FAQ." It's posted monthly to alt.comedy.british, rec.arts.tv.uk, and rec.arts.movies. * http://cathouse.org/BritishComedy/CarryOnFilms/FAQ.html Jeffrey Rice, jrice@pomona.edu, has created an "ARE YOU BEING SERVED?" Home Page. He needs a fellow fan to produce a .gif of the "Grace Brothers" logo to make it complete. Please email him if you can help. * http://humphries.pomona.claremont.edu/comedy.html The editor wishes to shamelessly plug "BOOKS FOR THE AVID BRITCOMEDY FAN," posted monthly to alt.comedy.british. Also at: * http://cathouse.org/BritishComedy/Info/Booklist.html There's a new P.G. Wodehouse FAQ -- "The Junior Ganymede Club Book," maintained by Susan Collicott, susan@pmel.noaa.gov. Posted to alt.fan.wodehouse. Also available via anonymous FTP: * ftp://ickenham.isu.edu/pub/PGW-FAQ Spam, spam, spam, spam -- Tired of reading spams on the net? Take a look at Axel Boldt's "BLACKLIST OF INTERNET ADVERTISERS." The "fan mail" he receives is quite amusing. Posted to news.answers. * http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/BL/blacklist.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Circulation =========== Britcomedy Digest (ISSN 1077-6680) is a free electronic newsletter posted monthly to alt.comedy.british and rec.arts.tv.uk. DELPHI "UK-American Connexion" forum, cf171 GENIE "Showbiz" roundtable, page 185 Back Issues =========== WWW * http://cathouse.org/BritishComedy/BD/ * http://paul.acorn.co.uk:8080/Britcom/ FTP * ftp://cathouse.org/pub/cathouse/british.humour/britcomedy.digest * ftp://ftp.etext.org/pub/Zines/BritComedy GOPHER * gopher://cathouse.org:6969/11/british.humour/britcomedy.digest * gopher://gopher.etext.org/11/Zines/BritComedy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End