She’s been nominated for seven BAFTAs (winning one), seven Golden Globes (winning two), a couple of Oscars and an Emmy. She’s worked with armfuls of top directors including Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton and David Cronenberg. And 40 years ago, she created one of sitcom’s best-loved characters as the capricious Queen Elizabeth (Queenie to her pals) in Blackadder.
And now Miranda Richardson has proven herself so good she’s been cast not once but twice in Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens, first playing Madame Tracy in series one, and now taking on the tailor-made role of Shax, who becomes Hell’s representative on Earth after Crowley (David Tennant) gets fired.
What better time to revisit some of Miranda Richardson’s most memorable performances, from her impressive film debut in Dance With a Stranger to her more recent appearances in Harry Potter and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None?...
And now Miranda Richardson has proven herself so good she’s been cast not once but twice in Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens, first playing Madame Tracy in series one, and now taking on the tailor-made role of Shax, who becomes Hell’s representative on Earth after Crowley (David Tennant) gets fired.
What better time to revisit some of Miranda Richardson’s most memorable performances, from her impressive film debut in Dance With a Stranger to her more recent appearances in Harry Potter and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None?...
- 7/28/2023
- by Jbindeck2015
- Den of Geek
Blackadder’s Tony Robinson teases reunion special: ‘Everybody likes a 40th anniversary, don’t they?’
Blackadder star Tony Robinson has teased the show’s potential return for a special episode to mark its 40th anniversary.
Robinson played Baldrick in the BBC comedy series, which aired from 1983 to 1989.
The historical comedy was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson and starred Atkinson and Robinson in every series, with comic actors including Tim McInnerny, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson and Rik Mayall appearing intermittently in other series.
With the show marking its 40th anniversary this year, fans have questioned whether a reunion could be on the cards.
Appearing on Lorraine on Monday (10 April), Robinson was asked if the group were planning to get back together by guest host Christine Lampard.
“All I’m gonna say is, everybody likes to celebrate a 40th anniversary, don’t they?
“So there must be some fresh way we can celebrate our 40th birthday, wouldn’t you think?” he responded.
Last month,...
Robinson played Baldrick in the BBC comedy series, which aired from 1983 to 1989.
The historical comedy was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson and starred Atkinson and Robinson in every series, with comic actors including Tim McInnerny, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson and Rik Mayall appearing intermittently in other series.
With the show marking its 40th anniversary this year, fans have questioned whether a reunion could be on the cards.
Appearing on Lorraine on Monday (10 April), Robinson was asked if the group were planning to get back together by guest host Christine Lampard.
“All I’m gonna say is, everybody likes to celebrate a 40th anniversary, don’t they?
“So there must be some fresh way we can celebrate our 40th birthday, wouldn’t you think?” he responded.
Last month,...
- 4/10/2023
- by Isobel Lewis
- The Independent - TV
A 100th anniversary is a milestone in the history of any institution. In the case of the BBC, the centenary of its founding on 18 October 1922 triggers a rush of memories, a landslide of couch-bound nostalgia. But whether it’s Doctor Who’s Dalek battles, David Attenborough striking up a bromance with a family of gorillas, or Line of Duty’s Ted Hastings invoking “Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey”, the sweep of the corporation’s output across the past century is impossible to condense into a few paragraphs. Still, we’ve tried to pull together some of the most iconic shows of those 10 decades, from drama and documentary to comedy via arts, music and science fiction. All are iconic in their own right. Together they are a portrait of a time, a country, and a belief in broadcasting as a force for good in the world.
20. Line of Duty (2012 – 2021)
Mother of God,...
20. Line of Duty (2012 – 2021)
Mother of God,...
- 10/18/2022
- by Ed Power
- The Independent - TV
Rowan Atkinson, the British actor known the world over for his “Mr. Bean” character, has delivered a broadside against the so-called online “cancel culture.”
During an extensive interview with U.K. outlet Radio Times, Atkinson said: “The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society. It becomes a case of either you’re with us or against us. And if you’re against us, you deserve to be ‘canceled.’
“It’s important that we’re exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn,” Atkinson added. “So it is scary for anyone who’s a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future.”
Elsewhere, describing his iconic Mr. Bean character,...
During an extensive interview with U.K. outlet Radio Times, Atkinson said: “The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society. It becomes a case of either you’re with us or against us. And if you’re against us, you deserve to be ‘canceled.’
“It’s important that we’re exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn,” Atkinson added. “So it is scary for anyone who’s a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future.”
Elsewhere, describing his iconic Mr. Bean character,...
- 1/5/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Much like the rest of the world, Rufus Jones watched on in horror as the refugee crisis gripped Europe in 2015. As people fled conflict in Syria and beyond, the Stan & Ollie actor had just fathered twins and became preoccupied with worries about the world his new-born girls were entering.
Not obvious territory for comedy, you might think. But that’s exactly how Jones’ thoughts crystallized as he set to work on a script that would domesticate the epic scale of the horrors being transmitted on rolling news at the time. And so, Home was created, but it would be four years before the comedy found its own home with Channel 4.
The show premiered last year and tells the story of how a family in the small British town of Dorking takes in a Syrian refugee named Sami. It returns for a second season in the UK on Wednesday...
Not obvious territory for comedy, you might think. But that’s exactly how Jones’ thoughts crystallized as he set to work on a script that would domesticate the epic scale of the horrors being transmitted on rolling news at the time. And so, Home was created, but it would be four years before the comedy found its own home with Channel 4.
The show premiered last year and tells the story of how a family in the small British town of Dorking takes in a Syrian refugee named Sami. It returns for a second season in the UK on Wednesday...
- 2/5/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
MaryAnn’s quick take… A descent into the muddy trenches of World War I that is intimate and immediate, melancholy and profoundly moving. An experience as visceral as it is intellectual. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto) women’s participation in this film
(learn more about this)
This year is the centenary of the final year of World War I, and the cinematic commemorations are beginning with the new British film Journey’s End. The last surviving veteran died in 2012 just short of the age of 111, so the experience of serving in the war has now passed out of living memory. But End puts us in the trenches with an intimacy that is profound and moving, and with an immediacy that unavoidably draws us to see a relevance for today.
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto) women’s participation in this film
(learn more about this)
This year is the centenary of the final year of World War I, and the cinematic commemorations are beginning with the new British film Journey’s End. The last surviving veteran died in 2012 just short of the age of 111, so the experience of serving in the war has now passed out of living memory. But End puts us in the trenches with an intimacy that is profound and moving, and with an immediacy that unavoidably draws us to see a relevance for today.
- 2/2/2018
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Jenny Morrill Jan 27, 2017
From BBC Video to Thx, Jenny offers her personal countdown of her favourite idents...
I've never really understood how TV works. All I know is that someone does something a bit entertaining somewhere, and then people use magic to somehow make it come on your TV. Aliens might be involved.
Thanks to idents, though, I'm reminded that production companies and channels are responsible for making TV and film happen, rather than magic and aliens. These little snippets of credit are sadly overlooked by a lot of people, yet they make fascinating viewing, if you're me.
Here, in no particular order, are 20 of my favourite TV and film idents. Some are creepy, some are nostalgic, and some are hilarious, but they're all memorable in their own way.
1. Channel 4
Apart from the Intel Inside jingle, I can't think of another four notes that have become so deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness.
From BBC Video to Thx, Jenny offers her personal countdown of her favourite idents...
I've never really understood how TV works. All I know is that someone does something a bit entertaining somewhere, and then people use magic to somehow make it come on your TV. Aliens might be involved.
Thanks to idents, though, I'm reminded that production companies and channels are responsible for making TV and film happen, rather than magic and aliens. These little snippets of credit are sadly overlooked by a lot of people, yet they make fascinating viewing, if you're me.
Here, in no particular order, are 20 of my favourite TV and film idents. Some are creepy, some are nostalgic, and some are hilarious, but they're all memorable in their own way.
1. Channel 4
Apart from the Intel Inside jingle, I can't think of another four notes that have become so deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness.
- 8/2/2016
- Den of Geek
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It's the final entry in Wesley's top 100 Christmas TV episodes of all time list, numbers 20 to 1. Merry Christmas to all!
Read entries 100 - 81 here, entries 80 - 61 here, entries 60 - 41 here, and entries 40 - 21 here.
Since the medium’s infancy, viewers have enjoyed sharing holidays with their favourite television characters. We grow invested in our friends on screen over the years; spending Christmas with them is a rite of passage, a chance for us to share tradition from our world with the fictional ones we see on screen. Some shows embrace the season wholeheartedly, characters in good spirits and enjoying the trappings of the season; others skew a little darker, bringing the more oppressive, burdensome side of the holidays to life. Either way, Christmas episodes tend to demonstrate the strengths of our favourite series, and it’s long been a festive ritual of mine to wheel out old...
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It's the final entry in Wesley's top 100 Christmas TV episodes of all time list, numbers 20 to 1. Merry Christmas to all!
Read entries 100 - 81 here, entries 80 - 61 here, entries 60 - 41 here, and entries 40 - 21 here.
Since the medium’s infancy, viewers have enjoyed sharing holidays with their favourite television characters. We grow invested in our friends on screen over the years; spending Christmas with them is a rite of passage, a chance for us to share tradition from our world with the fictional ones we see on screen. Some shows embrace the season wholeheartedly, characters in good spirits and enjoying the trappings of the season; others skew a little darker, bringing the more oppressive, burdensome side of the holidays to life. Either way, Christmas episodes tend to demonstrate the strengths of our favourite series, and it’s long been a festive ritual of mine to wheel out old...
- 12/17/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
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Peep Show stays true to nine series of brilliant comedic form in its finale. So are Mark and Jez going to be alright? Well...
A renowned novelist (well, an actor pretending to be a renowned novelist in Showtime’s The Affair) once said “if you’ve laid all your cards out in the proper order, the ending should flow. It should feel inevitable. At some point, fate takes over a story and even the author himself loses control.” If last week’s doom-tinged episode of Peep Show was the harbinger of a dark fate, this week saw the apocalypse itself unfold in all its lovely destructive glory. The End Times finally came to Peep Show and inevitably enough, with all the cards finally on the table we learnt that in the sad, self-absorbed lives of Mark and Jez, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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Peep Show stays true to nine series of brilliant comedic form in its finale. So are Mark and Jez going to be alright? Well...
A renowned novelist (well, an actor pretending to be a renowned novelist in Showtime’s The Affair) once said “if you’ve laid all your cards out in the proper order, the ending should flow. It should feel inevitable. At some point, fate takes over a story and even the author himself loses control.” If last week’s doom-tinged episode of Peep Show was the harbinger of a dark fate, this week saw the apocalypse itself unfold in all its lovely destructive glory. The End Times finally came to Peep Show and inevitably enough, with all the cards finally on the table we learnt that in the sad, self-absorbed lives of Mark and Jez, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
- 12/17/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Talk of a possible Blackadder comeback has got us all excited, even if this isn't the first time we've been told a revival for Rowan Atkinson's devious anti-hero is on the cards. Or the second. Or the third.
But there's something about the prospect of meeting Edmund Blackadder again that thrills us every single time. 26 years since 'Goodbyeee' and there's been no one quite like him since.
These are the magical moments that made Atkinson's collaboration with Richard Curtis and Ben Elton so memorable - the sort of comedic gems we'd love to see replicated in 2015.
1. I'm not a tourist
Perhaps the ultimate example of Blackadder's ability to poke fun at the conventions of its period setting(s) in a wonderfully modern manner.
On the hunt for "deranged druid" the Wise Woman, Edmund encounters a young crone: "Is this Putney?" he asks. "That it be," she rasps. "Yes it is,...
But there's something about the prospect of meeting Edmund Blackadder again that thrills us every single time. 26 years since 'Goodbyeee' and there's been no one quite like him since.
These are the magical moments that made Atkinson's collaboration with Richard Curtis and Ben Elton so memorable - the sort of comedic gems we'd love to see replicated in 2015.
1. I'm not a tourist
Perhaps the ultimate example of Blackadder's ability to poke fun at the conventions of its period setting(s) in a wonderfully modern manner.
On the hunt for "deranged druid" the Wise Woman, Edmund encounters a young crone: "Is this Putney?" he asks. "That it be," she rasps. "Yes it is,...
- 8/26/2015
- Digital Spy
From the Macra to The Mysterious Planet, Andrew finds the gold in oft-unloved Doctor Who episodes from across the decades...
For the show's fiftieth anniversary, Doctor Who Magazine ran a new poll ranking the 241 stories up to and including The Time Of The Doctor. The Twin Dilemma came last again, having done so in 2009 survey, and though it does have many faults, it isn't completely bad. Colin Baker blazes his way haughtily through it, and the story noticeably lacks energy when he's off screen. Perhaps it might have been marginally better just to have had the Sixth Doctor and Peri go to a Little Chef so he could complain about the service.
In the lower half of the poll (compiled by people rating all the stories out of ten) are some pretty good stories, or at least ones that arguably don't deserve to be there. We've therefore compiled a list...
For the show's fiftieth anniversary, Doctor Who Magazine ran a new poll ranking the 241 stories up to and including The Time Of The Doctor. The Twin Dilemma came last again, having done so in 2009 survey, and though it does have many faults, it isn't completely bad. Colin Baker blazes his way haughtily through it, and the story noticeably lacks energy when he's off screen. Perhaps it might have been marginally better just to have had the Sixth Doctor and Peri go to a Little Chef so he could complain about the service.
In the lower half of the poll (compiled by people rating all the stories out of ten) are some pretty good stories, or at least ones that arguably don't deserve to be there. We've therefore compiled a list...
- 11/18/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Ben Elton has fought back against Michael Gove's criticism of Blackadder Goes Forth earlier this year.
The then-Education Secretary was trying to set the tone for the nation marking the centenary of World War One's outbreak, and used Blackadder as an example in his argument that the war was being framed as a "series of catastrophic mistakes".
Speaking to The Telegraph, Elton said: "Michael Gove made a complete arse of himself over Blackadder. He is not a bad man but it was a monumentally stupid observation to say that we are not gung-ho enough about the war.
"Gove's comment was ill-thought-out and very silly. He said we had got the idea the war was 'an unmitigated human disaster, a series of appalling catastrophes and appallingly led'. Well, yes. What is there in those words that is wrong?
"We're not saying anybody did it deliberately or that there was a...
The then-Education Secretary was trying to set the tone for the nation marking the centenary of World War One's outbreak, and used Blackadder as an example in his argument that the war was being framed as a "series of catastrophic mistakes".
Speaking to The Telegraph, Elton said: "Michael Gove made a complete arse of himself over Blackadder. He is not a bad man but it was a monumentally stupid observation to say that we are not gung-ho enough about the war.
"Gove's comment was ill-thought-out and very silly. He said we had got the idea the war was 'an unmitigated human disaster, a series of appalling catastrophes and appallingly led'. Well, yes. What is there in those words that is wrong?
"We're not saying anybody did it deliberately or that there was a...
- 11/11/2014
- Digital Spy
Sir Tony Robinson has spoken of his "journey of discovery" while filming his latest Discovery Channel series.
Tony Robinson's World War I will see the Blackadder and Time Team star documenting the war using the recent discovery of thousands of 3D stereoscopic images taken at the time.
Action sequences and interviews with historians will tell the story of the Great War, with each episode focusing on a different year of the conflict.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Robinson said that he was amazed so many 3D photographs had been found.
"I didn't know anything about it, I don't think many people did know that all these 3D images existed," he said. "I was approached at the beginning of the year and I thought they would be talking about five photos or something.
"But there's hundreds of thousands of these bloody things out there, but no-one has ever catalogued them or...
Tony Robinson's World War I will see the Blackadder and Time Team star documenting the war using the recent discovery of thousands of 3D stereoscopic images taken at the time.
Action sequences and interviews with historians will tell the story of the Great War, with each episode focusing on a different year of the conflict.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Robinson said that he was amazed so many 3D photographs had been found.
"I didn't know anything about it, I don't think many people did know that all these 3D images existed," he said. "I was approached at the beginning of the year and I thought they would be talking about five photos or something.
"But there's hundreds of thousands of these bloody things out there, but no-one has ever catalogued them or...
- 11/5/2014
- Digital Spy
BBC
We Brits are known for our sense of class, or to be precise, upper class. Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry embody this stereotype beautifully, whether it’s stealing the spotlight from Rowan Atkinson in the various Blackadders, playing to their perceived personas in Jeeves and Wooster, or indulging in the middle class alternative to Bottom with their sketch show A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
It’s been two years since it was reported that the duo would be getting back together for a one-off adaptation of the Oscar Wilde novel The Canterville Ghost, but not a peep has been heard since then. But what I’m asking for here isn’t just a one off, I, and I’m sure many others included, wouldn’t mind something a bit more permanent.
Obviously, and sadly, the pair are in no position to warrant a substantial reunion. They’re both...
We Brits are known for our sense of class, or to be precise, upper class. Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry embody this stereotype beautifully, whether it’s stealing the spotlight from Rowan Atkinson in the various Blackadders, playing to their perceived personas in Jeeves and Wooster, or indulging in the middle class alternative to Bottom with their sketch show A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
It’s been two years since it was reported that the duo would be getting back together for a one-off adaptation of the Oscar Wilde novel The Canterville Ghost, but not a peep has been heard since then. But what I’m asking for here isn’t just a one off, I, and I’m sure many others included, wouldn’t mind something a bit more permanent.
Obviously, and sadly, the pair are in no position to warrant a substantial reunion. They’re both...
- 8/4/2014
- by Fred McNamara
- Obsessed with Film
I feel sorry for you, you zeros, you nobodies. What's going to live on after you die? Nothing, that's what!
This house will become a shrine! And punks and skins and Rastas will all gather round and all hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader! And all the grown-ups will say, 'But why are the kids crying?' And the kids will say, 'Haven't you heard? Rick is dead! The People's Poet is dead!'
And then one particularly sensitive and articulate teenager will say, 'Why kids, do you understand nothing? How can Rick be dead when we still have his poems?'.
Rik Mayall as Rick in The Young Ones
Rik Mayall has died at the age of 56.
As tributes pour in from the world of entertainment, Digital Spy pays homage to Rik in a way we hope that a man with an autobiography called Bigger than...
This house will become a shrine! And punks and skins and Rastas will all gather round and all hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader! And all the grown-ups will say, 'But why are the kids crying?' And the kids will say, 'Haven't you heard? Rick is dead! The People's Poet is dead!'
And then one particularly sensitive and articulate teenager will say, 'Why kids, do you understand nothing? How can Rick be dead when we still have his poems?'.
Rik Mayall as Rick in The Young Ones
Rik Mayall has died at the age of 56.
As tributes pour in from the world of entertainment, Digital Spy pays homage to Rik in a way we hope that a man with an autobiography called Bigger than...
- 6/9/2014
- Digital Spy
Warning: This feature contains spoilers that some readers may prefer to avoid.
The storm surrounding How I Met Your Mother's controversial finale may have mostly subsided, but Neil Patrick Harris (Barney) was still being grilled about the sitcom's unhappy ending when he appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman last night.
In defence of the divisive 'Last Forever', the actor said: "I value that it's a sitcom and a lot of people watched it to have laughs and to not have it become so dramatic and so emotional [but] I'm very proud of our show that it went beyond this sitcom conceit and told a bitter, better story."
Regardless of how you felt about its finale episode, one of Himym's strengths was its capacity to have you laughing one moment and crying the next - oh, Marshall's dad…
But while the heartfelt How I Met Your Mother - like Friends,...
The storm surrounding How I Met Your Mother's controversial finale may have mostly subsided, but Neil Patrick Harris (Barney) was still being grilled about the sitcom's unhappy ending when he appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman last night.
In defence of the divisive 'Last Forever', the actor said: "I value that it's a sitcom and a lot of people watched it to have laughs and to not have it become so dramatic and so emotional [but] I'm very proud of our show that it went beyond this sitcom conceit and told a bitter, better story."
Regardless of how you felt about its finale episode, one of Himym's strengths was its capacity to have you laughing one moment and crying the next - oh, Marshall's dad…
But while the heartfelt How I Met Your Mother - like Friends,...
- 4/25/2014
- Digital Spy
Sir Tony Robinson has hit out at Michael Gove MP over recent comments about Blackadder.
The actor and activist - who played Baldrick in the classic BBC comedy - responded to the education secretary's claims that the show used "left-wing academics" to "feed myths" about World War I.
Robinson stated that Gove was practically "slagging off teachers" with his remarks.
In response, the Conservative politician said that Robinson was "wrong" and that he was only attacking "myths", not teachers.
Gove told the Daily Mail that Blackadder had influenced people's understanding of the war by displaying "an unhappy compulsion on the part of some to denigrate virtues such as patriotism, honour and courage".
He wrote: "The war was, of course, an unspeakable tragedy, which robbed this nation of our bravest and best.
"But even as we recall that loss and commemorate the bravery of those who fought, it's important that we...
The actor and activist - who played Baldrick in the classic BBC comedy - responded to the education secretary's claims that the show used "left-wing academics" to "feed myths" about World War I.
Robinson stated that Gove was practically "slagging off teachers" with his remarks.
In response, the Conservative politician said that Robinson was "wrong" and that he was only attacking "myths", not teachers.
Gove told the Daily Mail that Blackadder had influenced people's understanding of the war by displaying "an unhappy compulsion on the part of some to denigrate virtues such as patriotism, honour and courage".
He wrote: "The war was, of course, an unspeakable tragedy, which robbed this nation of our bravest and best.
"But even as we recall that loss and commemorate the bravery of those who fought, it's important that we...
- 1/6/2014
- Digital Spy
The Us comedian slams Two and a Half Men's Chuck Lorre for nabbing her gags, Jennifer Saunders slags off the BBC and Johnny Vegas interviews himself
This week's comedy news
It's a powderkeg issue in the world of comedy – and Roseanne Barr has gone off like a rocket this week, accusing Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre of thieving jokes. On Friday, Barr used Twitter (what else?) to berate Lorre and the show's star, Ashton Kutcher, who cracked a gag on the show similar to one Barr performed in 2006. The joke is about old age and the menopause: "I'd imagine that you're wet in the places you used to be dry," said Kutcher's character, "and dry in the places you used to be wet." This prompted a volley of online abuse from Barr. "Comics," began one: "Begin Watching Chuck Lorre'S Shows 2 See If He Steals Your...
This week's comedy news
It's a powderkeg issue in the world of comedy – and Roseanne Barr has gone off like a rocket this week, accusing Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre of thieving jokes. On Friday, Barr used Twitter (what else?) to berate Lorre and the show's star, Ashton Kutcher, who cracked a gag on the show similar to one Barr performed in 2006. The joke is about old age and the menopause: "I'd imagine that you're wet in the places you used to be dry," said Kutcher's character, "and dry in the places you used to be wet." This prompted a volley of online abuse from Barr. "Comics," began one: "Begin Watching Chuck Lorre'S Shows 2 See If He Steals Your...
- 10/8/2013
- by Brian Logan
- The Guardian - Film News
Blackadder Goes Forth, Episode 6, “Goodbyeee”
Written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Directed by Richard Boden
Aired November 2nd, 1989 on BBC One
Blackadder ran for four series in the ‘80s, following the exploits of various members of the Blackadder line throughout history, first a prince during the War of the Roses, then a courtier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, then the butler for the Prince Regent during the Regency period, and finally a Captain during World War I. Each series features Rowan Atkinson as that season’s Blackadder and Tony Robinson as his servant Baldrick, surrounded by a differing guest cast each season. As the series progresses forward in time, Blackadder becomes increasingly intelligent as he loses power and agency, with an exploration of Britain’s class structure a key element to the series. Though an anniversary special and several one-off skits were produced after the final installment of the fourth series,...
Written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Directed by Richard Boden
Aired November 2nd, 1989 on BBC One
Blackadder ran for four series in the ‘80s, following the exploits of various members of the Blackadder line throughout history, first a prince during the War of the Roses, then a courtier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, then the butler for the Prince Regent during the Regency period, and finally a Captain during World War I. Each series features Rowan Atkinson as that season’s Blackadder and Tony Robinson as his servant Baldrick, surrounded by a differing guest cast each season. As the series progresses forward in time, Blackadder becomes increasingly intelligent as he loses power and agency, with an exploration of Britain’s class structure a key element to the series. Though an anniversary special and several one-off skits were produced after the final installment of the fourth series,...
- 9/5/2013
- by Kate Kulzick
- SoundOnSight
Review Jake Laverde 23 Aug 2013 - 07:00
Jake checks out the first two episodes of Sky One's Chickens, a promising new sitcom from the stars of The Inbetweeners...
Sky's Chickens is the first self-written project for The Inbetweeners stars Simon Bird and Joe Thomas along rising talent Johnny Sweet. Originally piloted on Channel 4, Chickens is the tale of three young men roundly despised by their local village of womenfolk for not joining in the first World War.
At first glance, it's tempting to make comparisons with Blackadder Goes Forth being as it's set in the same era. But Chickens avoids this by focusing on small town pettiness back home rather than the hardship of the trenches. The first episode establishes the setting and tone well, you first see our heroes cottage daubed in cheerfully abusive graffiti. Then you're introduced to Cecil (Bird) the wannabe soldier, George (Thomas) the conscientious...
Jake checks out the first two episodes of Sky One's Chickens, a promising new sitcom from the stars of The Inbetweeners...
Sky's Chickens is the first self-written project for The Inbetweeners stars Simon Bird and Joe Thomas along rising talent Johnny Sweet. Originally piloted on Channel 4, Chickens is the tale of three young men roundly despised by their local village of womenfolk for not joining in the first World War.
At first glance, it's tempting to make comparisons with Blackadder Goes Forth being as it's set in the same era. But Chickens avoids this by focusing on small town pettiness back home rather than the hardship of the trenches. The first episode establishes the setting and tone well, you first see our heroes cottage daubed in cheerfully abusive graffiti. Then you're introduced to Cecil (Bird) the wannabe soldier, George (Thomas) the conscientious...
- 8/22/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
One of the most out-of-the-blue TV stories for a while came on Tuesday morning when it was revealed that classic BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather is to be revived for a new eight-part series - though this time, Sharon, Tracey and Dorien will be taking up residence on ITV.
This surprising news got us to thinking - which other classic comedies would we like to see back on the box? We reckon there's potential for at least one more outing from these five departed shows...
> Netflix: Five shows that have us addicted - Friday Fiver
> Spooks, The Walking Dead: TV's Most Brutal Moments - Friday Fiver
Men Behaving Badly
Just over a year ago, Martin Clunes insisted that Men Behaving Badly will never return to our screens, saying that the show would seem "too seedy" now the cast have aged.
But we'd love to catch up with Gary (Clunes...
This surprising news got us to thinking - which other classic comedies would we like to see back on the box? We reckon there's potential for at least one more outing from these five departed shows...
> Netflix: Five shows that have us addicted - Friday Fiver
> Spooks, The Walking Dead: TV's Most Brutal Moments - Friday Fiver
Men Behaving Badly
Just over a year ago, Martin Clunes insisted that Men Behaving Badly will never return to our screens, saying that the show would seem "too seedy" now the cast have aged.
But we'd love to catch up with Gary (Clunes...
- 6/21/2013
- Digital Spy
Odd List Juliette Harrisson Dec 18, 2012
Juliette revisits five of the best geek TV Christmas Specials, with help from Community, Blackadder, The X-Files, and more...
This feature contains spoilers.
Like Halloween episodes, Christmas episodes tend to be restricted to contemporary settings (though I should add a shout-out to 1980s British drama sequel Another Flip for Dominick, follow-up to The Flipside of Dominick Hyde, which actually problematized the lack of Christmas in the future). Also like Halloween episodes, they tend to be comedies, horrors, or comedy-horrors. And so, Season’s Greetings from a collection of ghosts, pagan gods and people trying and failing to get through Christmas without getting embroiled in hilarious hi-jinks.
5. The Big Bang Theory, The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis
Which Christmas is this? Sheldon complains that he chooses not to celebrate the Roman festival of Saturnalia, but everyone ignores him and gets on with celebrating the secular side of Christmas.
Juliette revisits five of the best geek TV Christmas Specials, with help from Community, Blackadder, The X-Files, and more...
This feature contains spoilers.
Like Halloween episodes, Christmas episodes tend to be restricted to contemporary settings (though I should add a shout-out to 1980s British drama sequel Another Flip for Dominick, follow-up to The Flipside of Dominick Hyde, which actually problematized the lack of Christmas in the future). Also like Halloween episodes, they tend to be comedies, horrors, or comedy-horrors. And so, Season’s Greetings from a collection of ghosts, pagan gods and people trying and failing to get through Christmas without getting embroiled in hilarious hi-jinks.
5. The Big Bang Theory, The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis
Which Christmas is this? Sheldon complains that he chooses not to celebrate the Roman festival of Saturnalia, but everyone ignores him and gets on with celebrating the secular side of Christmas.
- 12/17/2012
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Movie would have starred Rowan Atkinson as illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Robinson as rock drummer named Bald Rick
The team behind Blackadder once planned a movie set in the swinging 60s, cast member Tony Robinson has revealed. It would have featured Rowan Atkinson as a Blackadder who is the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth II, with Robinson himself shifting from his regular role as sidekick Baldrick to that of a rock band drummer named Bald Rick.
Blackadder ran for four series on the BBC between 1983 and 1989, with the second, third and fourth seasons considered the classic runs. A number of specials based on the same historical comedy format have since followed, the most recent being the short film Blackadder: Back and Forth, produced for the Millennium Dome. Speaking at the Cheltenham literature festival, Robinson said there were once plans for a longer outing.
"We had a...
The team behind Blackadder once planned a movie set in the swinging 60s, cast member Tony Robinson has revealed. It would have featured Rowan Atkinson as a Blackadder who is the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth II, with Robinson himself shifting from his regular role as sidekick Baldrick to that of a rock band drummer named Bald Rick.
Blackadder ran for four series on the BBC between 1983 and 1989, with the second, third and fourth seasons considered the classic runs. A number of specials based on the same historical comedy format have since followed, the most recent being the short film Blackadder: Back and Forth, produced for the Millennium Dome. Speaking at the Cheltenham literature festival, Robinson said there were once plans for a longer outing.
"We had a...
- 10/17/2012
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
There’s nothing better in a miniseries like Parade’s End than a satisfying ending that rewards both the audience and the characters- and boy, did it deliver. Cumberbatch, White, Stoppard, Hall and Clemens certainly did deliver. Luckily, they did exactly what I hoped they would in last week’s review and shifted the focus back home, the war feeling more like a backdrop and the not the setting. It’s only this week I realised just how much I had missed Valentine Wannop. Rebecca Hall’s Sylvia went completely the opposite way and I lost what little sympathy I had left for her- this was the only minor letdown, that she has developed, then fell back to being one-dimensional, shallow and whinging. And what she did at the end of the episode- I shan’t spoil it- was unforgivable.
However, Sylvia’s final action, purely to spite Christopher,...
There’s nothing better in a miniseries like Parade’s End than a satisfying ending that rewards both the audience and the characters- and boy, did it deliver. Cumberbatch, White, Stoppard, Hall and Clemens certainly did deliver. Luckily, they did exactly what I hoped they would in last week’s review and shifted the focus back home, the war feeling more like a backdrop and the not the setting. It’s only this week I realised just how much I had missed Valentine Wannop. Rebecca Hall’s Sylvia went completely the opposite way and I lost what little sympathy I had left for her- this was the only minor letdown, that she has developed, then fell back to being one-dimensional, shallow and whinging. And what she did at the end of the episode- I shan’t spoil it- was unforgivable.
However, Sylvia’s final action, purely to spite Christopher,...
- 9/22/2012
- by Oscar Harding
- Obsessed with Film
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
So, in comparison to the last three episodes this was a little hit-and-miss. It was a little dodgy in trying to balance some comedy with its intellectual cynicism. I mean, once again, it defied clichéd an introduced further to complexities to Christopher and his relationship with (one of) the women in his life. It was still head-and-shoulders above any of its peers, but in comparison to the preceding episodes, it was a little bit of a let-down. Allow me to elaborate…
To be fair, it started off in a very interesting way, focusing on every character but Christopher himself. But Valentine and Christopher’s brother turned out to be pointless inclusions, as the action all happened in Rouen, so one side of Christopher’s love triangle was emitted (apart from one beautiful moment where Christopher runs to a woman he thinks is Valentine, only for it...
So, in comparison to the last three episodes this was a little hit-and-miss. It was a little dodgy in trying to balance some comedy with its intellectual cynicism. I mean, once again, it defied clichéd an introduced further to complexities to Christopher and his relationship with (one of) the women in his life. It was still head-and-shoulders above any of its peers, but in comparison to the preceding episodes, it was a little bit of a let-down. Allow me to elaborate…
To be fair, it started off in a very interesting way, focusing on every character but Christopher himself. But Valentine and Christopher’s brother turned out to be pointless inclusions, as the action all happened in Rouen, so one side of Christopher’s love triangle was emitted (apart from one beautiful moment where Christopher runs to a woman he thinks is Valentine, only for it...
- 9/15/2012
- by Oscar Harding
- Obsessed with Film
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
If you haven’t been watching Parade’s End, the five-part adaptation of Ford Madox Ford’s tetralogy of novels starring Benedict Cumberbatch, then I seriously suggest you do. As it stands at the start of the episode, the somewhat conservative and brilliant Christopher Tietjens (Cumberbatch), has resigned from the imperial office of statistics, and away from both his bitterly frustrated wife Sylvia (Rebecca Hall) and his potential saviour-cum-hopelessly smitten suffragette Valentine (Adelaide Clemens). So far, so Downton. But this episode was a reward for patiently enjoying the foundations set in the first two episodes- whilst we see less of the levity of Tietjens’ friend MacMaster (Stephen Graham) and his affair with Edith Duchemin (Anne-Marie Duff), we instead shift focus to three different themes- 1. What Titetjens really means to the women who love him, 2. The Tietjens dynasty and Christopher’s place in it, and 3. The effects...
If you haven’t been watching Parade’s End, the five-part adaptation of Ford Madox Ford’s tetralogy of novels starring Benedict Cumberbatch, then I seriously suggest you do. As it stands at the start of the episode, the somewhat conservative and brilliant Christopher Tietjens (Cumberbatch), has resigned from the imperial office of statistics, and away from both his bitterly frustrated wife Sylvia (Rebecca Hall) and his potential saviour-cum-hopelessly smitten suffragette Valentine (Adelaide Clemens). So far, so Downton. But this episode was a reward for patiently enjoying the foundations set in the first two episodes- whilst we see less of the levity of Tietjens’ friend MacMaster (Stephen Graham) and his affair with Edith Duchemin (Anne-Marie Duff), we instead shift focus to three different themes- 1. What Titetjens really means to the women who love him, 2. The Tietjens dynasty and Christopher’s place in it, and 3. The effects...
- 9/8/2012
- by Oscar Harding
- Obsessed with Film
The RoboCop remake. Booo. Blah blah blah. The end. [You need more than that, - Ed.]. Fine. RoboCop remake – yeah, you know the one. You may know it from the anticipation that it inspires in your household during conversations similar to “Oh, they’re remaking RoboCop? Please pass the salt. What were you saying?” Yeah, you could say I’m not really keen on this remake. Perhaps unfairly so. But I doubt it. Have you not watched the video I made where I dressed up like Chris Crocker and cried “Leave RoboCop alone!” (24 views and counting, natch)?
Anyway, the fucking RoboCop remake keeps casting pretty awesome people. First up, it cast Gary Oldman. I love him. Then it cast Sam Jackson. I love him like I do my father – in a vaguely terrified fashion. Then Abbie Cornish. Again, great. Now, THR is reporting, it may be casting Hugh Laurie.
Laurie is one of those guys I really like,...
Anyway, the fucking RoboCop remake keeps casting pretty awesome people. First up, it cast Gary Oldman. I love him. Then it cast Sam Jackson. I love him like I do my father – in a vaguely terrified fashion. Then Abbie Cornish. Again, great. Now, THR is reporting, it may be casting Hugh Laurie.
Laurie is one of those guys I really like,...
- 6/13/2012
- by Liam Jose
- Boomtron
On the morning of Monday 9th January 2012, just hours after the British premier at the Odeon in London’s Leicester Square, a press conference for Steven Spielberg's latest film War Horse was held in the magnificent ballroom of Claridge's, one of London's most lavish hotels located in the heart of Mayfair. As I reported in the first part of this article (which you can read here), the event was split into two halves, the first of which featured Spielberg and his long-time producer Kathy Kennedy speaking about the movie in what was a fascinating and informative half an hour.
The second part, though, was equally interesting, as author Michael Morpurgo and screenwriter Richard Curtis discussed the genesis of the story and its journey from Morpurgo's moving and poignant children's book that was originally published in 1982 to Curtis's script that Spielberg drew much of his direction from, and actors Jeremy Irvine,...
The second part, though, was equally interesting, as author Michael Morpurgo and screenwriter Richard Curtis discussed the genesis of the story and its journey from Morpurgo's moving and poignant children's book that was originally published in 1982 to Curtis's script that Spielberg drew much of his direction from, and actors Jeremy Irvine,...
- 1/18/2012
- Shadowlocked
The first world war epic filmed in Devon and Wiltshire could only have been made in the UK, according to the director
It was filmed in Devon and Wiltshire, is packed with the UK's top acting talent and saw the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at its royal premiere on Sunday night. Now director Steven Spielberg has said that he regards War Horse as his first truly British film.
"This could only have been shot in England," he told a press conference in London on Monday morning. "After I heard the reaction last night at the Odeon in Leicester Square, I realised that I'd made my first British film with War Horse. Through and through."
Spielberg said the epic had been inspired in part by John Ford's Welsh-set 1941 film How Green Was My Valley. Like his heroes Ford and David Lean, he had attempted to use the British countryside...
It was filmed in Devon and Wiltshire, is packed with the UK's top acting talent and saw the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at its royal premiere on Sunday night. Now director Steven Spielberg has said that he regards War Horse as his first truly British film.
"This could only have been shot in England," he told a press conference in London on Monday morning. "After I heard the reaction last night at the Odeon in Leicester Square, I realised that I'd made my first British film with War Horse. Through and through."
Spielberg said the epic had been inspired in part by John Ford's Welsh-set 1941 film How Green Was My Valley. Like his heroes Ford and David Lean, he had attempted to use the British countryside...
- 1/10/2012
- by Alex Needham
- The Guardian - Film News
If ever a film was openly seeking Oscar recognition, it’s Steven Spielberg’s latest solemn contender, War Horse, coming hot off the heels of his recent fun family adventure, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.
No stranger to evoking emotions when he so desires in his dramatic cinematic offerings that include Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and E.T., the visionary filmmaker puts his money on a guaranteed winner in the Awards race – Joey the horse: It’s a shame there are no animal Oscars up for grabs.
Set around the time of the Great War, a young Devonshire farm boy called Albert (Jeremy Irvine) forms a deep bond with a spirited horse called Joey, and with some training and a lot of trust, tries to save his struggling parents, the Narracotts (played by Peter Mullan and Emily Watson), from financial ruin at the hands of...
No stranger to evoking emotions when he so desires in his dramatic cinematic offerings that include Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and E.T., the visionary filmmaker puts his money on a guaranteed winner in the Awards race – Joey the horse: It’s a shame there are no animal Oscars up for grabs.
Set around the time of the Great War, a young Devonshire farm boy called Albert (Jeremy Irvine) forms a deep bond with a spirited horse called Joey, and with some training and a lot of trust, tries to save his struggling parents, the Narracotts (played by Peter Mullan and Emily Watson), from financial ruin at the hands of...
- 12/22/2011
- by Lisa Giles-Keddie
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Great War seen through the eyes of a heroic nag from Devon. What could possibly go wrong? Lots, Michael writes, in his review of Spielberg’s War Horse...
While his films don’t come out with the clockwork reliability of those directed by Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg works to his own halting, arrhythmic beat. Years of silence often give way to flutters of wild activity, with the Hollywood superstar sometimes stuffing more than one of his new flicks into the cinema calendar.
This has been done to calculated effect on more than one occasion, where blockbusters have shared space with bids for dramatic respectability. Most successfully, in 1993 Spielberg ruled both the box office and the Academy with the one-two punch of Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List. The twinning of popcorn adventure and super-serious historical drama continued with both The Lost World and Amistad, and War Of The Worlds and Munich,...
While his films don’t come out with the clockwork reliability of those directed by Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg works to his own halting, arrhythmic beat. Years of silence often give way to flutters of wild activity, with the Hollywood superstar sometimes stuffing more than one of his new flicks into the cinema calendar.
This has been done to calculated effect on more than one occasion, where blockbusters have shared space with bids for dramatic respectability. Most successfully, in 1993 Spielberg ruled both the box office and the Academy with the one-two punch of Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List. The twinning of popcorn adventure and super-serious historical drama continued with both The Lost World and Amistad, and War Of The Worlds and Munich,...
- 12/20/2011
- Den of Geek
Steven Spielberg's World War I story War Horse is creeping steadily closer to release, and here's a new poster to further whet your appetite for this equine epic. Appropriately enough, the poster shows star Jeremy Irvine in uniform as Albert, the main human character, and his horse Joey.The story sees young Albert bonding with the aforementioned Joey and being devastated when Albert's father, Ted (Peter Mullan), sells him to the Army early in World War I. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert sets off in search of his four-legged pal, who is having his own adventure with troops on both sides of the battle lines.The film also stars Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Toby Kebbell, David Kross and Eddie Marsan, with a screenplay by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis (who knows a few things about World War I from Blackadder Goes Forth - and yes,...
- 9/27/2011
- EmpireOnline
Many times, producers have attempted to turn a successful television series into a big blockbuster movie. Sometimes the resulting movie requires too much knowledge of the original series and non-fans are lost (The X-Files: Fight the Future). Sometimes, the film bears little or no relation to the original series and is not strong enough to stand on its own (Starsky and Hutch). Sometimes the connection goes the other way around, and a poor to middling film becomes a hit television series (Stargate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). But every now and again, a film inspired by a television series stands on its own as a huge success, enriching the television series for its fans and providing a solid couple of hours’ entertainment for non-fans. These are just six of the best.
Dad’s Army (dir. Norman Cohen, 1971)
Dad’s Army was a phenomenally successful British sit-com of the 1970s. Based on...
Dad’s Army (dir. Norman Cohen, 1971)
Dad’s Army was a phenomenally successful British sit-com of the 1970s. Based on...
- 5/4/2011
- by Juliette Harrisson
- SoundOnSight
Year: 2010
Directors: Edward McHenry & Rory McHenry
Writers: Edward McHenry & Rory McHenry
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 9 out of 10
Edward and Rory McHenry’s deliriously entertaining WW2 historical fiction, puppet animation begins with a desperate battle for Britain over the skies of Dover, as Spitfires and Messerschmitt blast bursts of machine gun fire and explode mid-flight. Soon the Nazi war machine reaches the shores of England and the good people of God’s own green and fertile land will have to mount a resistance to the menacing Hun, who have tunnelled under London for a blitzkrieg attack!
Brought to us in “Glorious Panzervision”, Jackboots On Whitehall is possibly the best film at the Eiff this year for sheer entertainment value. It’s a real gem with a dozen jokes a minute and a sense of fun and knockabout silliness that’s rare and immensely enjoyable, and as a debut feature from animation enthusiasts,...
Directors: Edward McHenry & Rory McHenry
Writers: Edward McHenry & Rory McHenry
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: projectcyclops
Rating: 9 out of 10
Edward and Rory McHenry’s deliriously entertaining WW2 historical fiction, puppet animation begins with a desperate battle for Britain over the skies of Dover, as Spitfires and Messerschmitt blast bursts of machine gun fire and explode mid-flight. Soon the Nazi war machine reaches the shores of England and the good people of God’s own green and fertile land will have to mount a resistance to the menacing Hun, who have tunnelled under London for a blitzkrieg attack!
Brought to us in “Glorious Panzervision”, Jackboots On Whitehall is possibly the best film at the Eiff this year for sheer entertainment value. It’s a real gem with a dozen jokes a minute and a sense of fun and knockabout silliness that’s rare and immensely enjoyable, and as a debut feature from animation enthusiasts,...
- 6/25/2010
- QuietEarth.us
The final scene of Friends has been named the most emotional moment in television history in a new poll. The closing minutes of the Us sitcom, during which the characters handed back their apartment keys, were voted the most tearjerking in the survey for Freeview HD. The climax of Blackadder Goes Forth, which saw Rowan Atkinson meet his death in the (more)...
- 4/5/2010
- by By Paul Millar
- Digital Spy
Most of us have a TV or movie moment that brings tears (of emotion, not laughter) to the eyes. A selection of Den Of Geek writers confess to theirs right here...
Before we get going, we need to bring your attention to the following...
A note about spoilers: inevitably, each of the entries here reveals a plot point about the show or film concerned that you may not want to know. That's why, for this list, those headers are bright red. That way, it should make it a bit easier to know where to skip to if there's a particular entry you want to avoid
That sorted, here are the moments that have been moving the writers of Den Of Geek to tears over the years - and please add your own in the comments at the bottom!
Serenity
"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I-"
Firefly,...
Before we get going, we need to bring your attention to the following...
A note about spoilers: inevitably, each of the entries here reveals a plot point about the show or film concerned that you may not want to know. That's why, for this list, those headers are bright red. That way, it should make it a bit easier to know where to skip to if there's a particular entry you want to avoid
That sorted, here are the moments that have been moving the writers of Den Of Geek to tears over the years - and please add your own in the comments at the bottom!
Serenity
"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I-"
Firefly,...
- 4/1/2010
- Den of Geek
It used to be a simple matter of us (good) versis Nazis (bad), but now a new kind of war film is emerging, says John Patterson
As far as movies are concerned, the first world war was all one story: the pity of war, the futility of those four years of mud and wire, iron and fire. Paths Of Glory, King & Country, Birdsong, Blackadder Goes Forth – the same essential elements are common to them all. You can get existential or poetic about the Great War, you can marvel at the heroics, but in the end, its lesson, its moral, is its very pointlessness.
The second world war, by contrast, is a war of many stories, of diverse locations and multifarious moral dilemmas (such as the one delineated in new German movie Anonyma: "How do I not get raped by Russian soldiers every day, and will it cost my soul?"). This...
As far as movies are concerned, the first world war was all one story: the pity of war, the futility of those four years of mud and wire, iron and fire. Paths Of Glory, King & Country, Birdsong, Blackadder Goes Forth – the same essential elements are common to them all. You can get existential or poetic about the Great War, you can marvel at the heroics, but in the end, its lesson, its moral, is its very pointlessness.
The second world war, by contrast, is a war of many stories, of diverse locations and multifarious moral dilemmas (such as the one delineated in new German movie Anonyma: "How do I not get raped by Russian soldiers every day, and will it cost my soul?"). This...
- 2/6/2010
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Chicago – Legendary TV shows deserve legendary DVD sets and the “Ultimate Edition” release for the beloved “Blackadder” truly lives up to the often over-used “ultimate” title. Giving fans everything “Adder”-related that they could possibly ask for, this is the perfect gift this holiday season for fans of British television.
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0
The glorious six-disc set for “Blackadder” includes every episode of the show digitally restored from the original program masters plus a host of all-new bonus features.
Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition was released on DVD on October 20th, 2009.
Photo credit: BBC Home Video
Starring Rowan Atkinson (“Bean”), Hugh Laurie (“House”), Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Miranda Richardson, and more, the four-series program is a classic in England and has a legion of fans here in the States, and this set is good enough to make a few new “Adder”-holics on either side of the pond.
Each...
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0
The glorious six-disc set for “Blackadder” includes every episode of the show digitally restored from the original program masters plus a host of all-new bonus features.
Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition was released on DVD on October 20th, 2009.
Photo credit: BBC Home Video
Starring Rowan Atkinson (“Bean”), Hugh Laurie (“House”), Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Miranda Richardson, and more, the four-series program is a classic in England and has a legion of fans here in the States, and this set is good enough to make a few new “Adder”-holics on either side of the pond.
Each...
- 11/2/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
If it doesn’t already, it should sadden you that Rowan Atkinson’s most well known role is Mr. Bean. Sure, attempting to remove your underwear in public has its comedic merit, but only if you’ve never seen Atkinson’s stupendously idiotic turn as the self-appointed Black Adder in the times of olde. The series spans different eras with each of the seasons taking place in a new one. Then, to further the adventures of the unfortunately inept title character, three of the specials created after the series’ conclusion are included on their own disc. It’s not the first “all inclusive” set to be released but it does a good job rounding up most of the extras that have been created for the show over time – though true Black Adder connoisseurs will notice that some of the smaller events (The Shakespeare Sketch in 1989 or the theatrical show Blackadder:...
- 10/27/2009
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
When I was a kid, I remember seeing episodes of a couple of strange British shows on my local PBS affiliate in Rochester, NY. I never caught them regularly, not even sure when they aired, but I remember one of them was a peculiar little period piece with some funny gags, and a storyline I never completely grasped.
I learned later this first show was the classic Blackadder series with Rowan Atkinson, and the reason the storylines never made sense from show to show is that there are four seasons of the show, all taking place in a different historical period. I saw them out of order, and mostly caught the first season.
Watching the new Black Adder Remastered - The Ultimate Edition DVD set from BBC America (video and audio both remastered), it's clear the best way to watch Blackadder is to at least watch each series in order.
I learned later this first show was the classic Blackadder series with Rowan Atkinson, and the reason the storylines never made sense from show to show is that there are four seasons of the show, all taking place in a different historical period. I saw them out of order, and mostly caught the first season.
Watching the new Black Adder Remastered - The Ultimate Edition DVD set from BBC America (video and audio both remastered), it's clear the best way to watch Blackadder is to at least watch each series in order.
- 10/21/2009
- by Nick Zaino
- Aol TV.
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