Green Wing-related stories
Posted Oct 6th 2009 1:00PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd
A few months ago, I ever-so-giddily wrote about the entire first season of the
British comedy Green Wing being available on Hulu to American viewers. It only seemed right to spread the good word, as it happens to be one of my favorite shows (it's like
Scrubs if it were a little less annoying and more demented).
Well, shame on me for being late with more news, because it wasn't until reader Erik pointed it out that I saw that the entire series of
Green Wing is now on Hulu. Having both seasons and the finale special means that you get the laughs
and closure. Isn't that nice?
Continue reading Green Wing finally available in full on Hulu
Posted Jul 24th 2009 1:03PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Web, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Hulu has been making all the right, super-sweet moves lately, at least in my book. Not only is the site streaming the marvelous British comedies
Peep Show and
Green Wing, but now
Spaced is on Hulu, too.
Spaced! You can tell I'm excited because I put an exclamation mark on it. The show has been available on DVD in the States for quite a while, but now that both seasons are online, there really isn't any excuse to not experience it. Is it obvious that I have a weird, almost evangelical need to spread the word?
Continue reading Spaced on Hulu! Now you have no excuse to be uninformed
Posted May 11th 2009 6:29PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Web, Reality-Free
You guys, you guys (Americans, specifically)!
Green Wing is on Hulu! Exclamation mark!
All right, let me back up. I am a British comedy nerd. Some of you more eagle-eyed readers may already know that one of my favorite shows is something called
Green Wing, which aired on Channel 4 way back in 2004. It's one of those programs that perfectly blends the quickness and quotability of sketch comedy with the engaging story arcs of more traditional sitcoms. There is no laugh track (thank goodness) but a beautifully quirky score that heightens the comedy instead of fighting with it. Plus, it's just plain snazzy.
Continue reading Americans! Green Wing is on Hulu!
Posted Jan 13th 2007 2:04PM by Keith McDuffee
Filed under: And I Quote
The TV Squad team has made their picks for the top quotes of the past couple of weeks from TV:
"In 48 hours, you solved 21 bank jobs, a murder and a kidnapping?" -- Det. Tutuola ribbing Det. Elliot Stabler about a confession given by a man on his death bed on Law & Order: SVU. - "Next time I need my gun cleaned, you're my girl... uhhh, what are you doing Saturday night?" -- Jason (David Arquette) to his doctor, Joanna (Lori Laughlin), on the premiere of In Case of Emergency.
- "You twat! Why are you dying?! Actually, I wish I was dying... I bet I'd be better at it than you are." -- Guy to Mac, upon hearing about Mac's fatal condition, on Green Wing.
- "So, if you want to solve a real mystery, go ahead and figure out who's taking my New York Times every Sunday. Or, better yet, how about why anybody on the planet actually thinks Dane Cook is funny!" -- Dr. Cox's response when his interns rave about House, on Scrubs.
- "My penis is already packed." -- Denny Crane (who else?) on Boston Legal.
- "We're back in Somalia, a country so poor, its charity ads run in Ethiopia." -- Jon Stewart, regarding the US troops' raid in Somalia, on The Daily Show.
- "That's a crapload of woo." -- Jerome reacting to a giant gift basket from a publisher wooing Marin, on Men in Trees.
Posted Jan 5th 2007 12:01PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, BBC
(S03E01) I have been looking forward to this Special for a very long time and, I'm sorry to say, I was a little bit disappointed. Although many questions were answered, I didn't think there was enough substance to justify an hour and a half of television. The whole thing could have wrapped up very neatly in about thirty minutes, I think.
Continue reading Green Wing: Christmas special (series finale)
Posted Nov 23rd 2006 4:07PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, The Five
I'm the type that engages more in Black Friday rather the stuffing of both family and turkeys on Thanksgiving Day (I suppose I'm more greedy than gluttonous), but that doesn't mean I can't express thanks for all the wonderful things I have. Here are the TV-related things that I am most thankful for, in no particular order.
My TV-loving friends in the UK: When it comes to getting a hold of the latest British comedies, I find no need to rely upon suspicious torrents, low-quality clips from YouTube, or prayers to the BBCAmerica gods. Why? Well, I have friends... Very giving friends with uploading abilities in the UK. So when the Green Wing Christmas Special rolls around, I'll have it on my Desktop before most American fans will even know of its existence. Thank you, friends.
Continue reading The Five: What Annie is thankful for
Posted Sep 11th 2006 10:41AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Talent, BBC, Celebrities
The latest edition of
The Guardian features some fantastic interviews and articles about some of today's hottest British comedians. They're all great reads, but the photos of the comics re-enacting various moments in pop culture are what really reeled me in. My favorites include Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant (from
The Office) as McCartney and Lennon, the boys from
Green Wing as Queen, and Nick Frost and Simon Pegg (from
Spaced and
Shaun of the Dead) as Paul Gascoigne and Vinnie Jones. Hilarious.
Read the
text and then check out the
great pics by Karl J. Kaul.
Posted Aug 14th 2006 1:31PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, The Five
Ahh... Fall... The season of red leaves, panicked college Freshmen, spankin' new shows, and returning favorites. Here are my Fall Picks.
Return of Saturday Night Live: Honestly, I've never been fond of Tina Fey and I'm quite glad that she's
moved on. Now that she's gone,
SNL has the chance to completely remake itself as something... um... good. Or maybe we'll find out that the program has already moved way past its prime and Tina was the (very weak) glue that's been holding the fort down for the past few seasons. So, either
SNL's going to be the best its been in years or it's going to fall completely flat on its face. It's a very exciting time and I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen.
Continue reading The Five: Annie's fall picks
Posted Jun 27th 2006 11:04PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, BBC, Retro Squad, The Office (BBC)
(S01E05) Although this episode had its share of funny moments, the amount of character development cannot be ignored. This half-hour took Brent's desperation, Tim's exhaustion, Dawn's confusion, Finch's perversion, everyone's everything to a higher level. Plus, we got to see some of Slough's rocking night-life. Sweet.
Continue reading The Office (BBC): Episode 5
Posted May 30th 2006 10:09PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, BBC, Retro Squad, The Office (BBC)
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorite shows, in order, every week.
(S01E01) In the beginning, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant decided to create a mockumentary comedy about the painful emptiness of office life. And it was good.
The Office debuted in England in 2001 and later aired on BBC America, where I promptly fell in love with the show. I think I was watching
Monty Python's Flying Circus on BBCA when a commercial popped up, promoting the premiere of
The Office. It featured a scrawny fellow named Gareth (played by Mackenzie Crook, who would later be the wood-eyed pirate from
Pirates of the Caribbean) talking about office relationships. He had a horrible bowl haircut and dark circles under his eyes, and yet I thought he was the most hilariously adorable thing I had ever seen. At that moment, I promised myself to watch. Little did I know I would soon have a new favorite show.
I suggest you American-version fans rent or
buy the DVDs and watch along. You might even notice that this episode bears a striking similarity to the American pilot. That's because a large portion of the US script was pulled out from this episode word-for-word (save for a few Americanizations, like changing "Camilla Parker-Bowles" to "Hillary Rodham-Clinton").
Continue reading The Office: Episode 1
Posted May 13th 2006 3:18PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, BBC
BBC America
will start airing one of my all-time favorite shows,
Spaced, starting June 23.
Spaced is an absolutely hilarious show, loaded with clever references to various aspects of stoner/pop/geek culture, from Tekken 2 to zombie flicks to
Star Wars. It's from the makers of
Shaun of the Dead, so expect that sort of material (but with less gore and a lot more
mimed gun fights). Plus, the show features a rather cool-looking Mark Heap (Dr. Alan Statham from
Green Wing) as a miserable, young painter. The now-defunct Trio channel aired the show to coincide with the American release of
Shaun of the Dead back in 2004, but I haven't seen
Spaced on TV since then. Now that it's on BBCA, maybe my American friends will know what I'm quoting all the time.
BBC America also has
Peepshow coming June 30 (I've heard a lot of good things). Apparently,
Peepshow and
Spaced will be a part of BBC America's late-night adult comedy line-up, "The Underground". Well, I would hardly consider
Spaced a candidate for this, but... okay.
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The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
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