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Posts with tag british

British gameshow pornography - VIDEO

Ah, isn't the best porn FOUND porn?From 1986 through 2004, there was a popular English game show called Catch Phrase (we had a version in America, but like tea drinking and civility, we ditched it after only a very brief run). Here's how the bonus game on the show worked: nine blocks covered up a short video snippet. The blocks were removed randomly and the first contestant to correctly guess what phrase was being represented by the video won some British prize (like a top hat or a subcontinent or something).

In the following video, the randomized blocks' perfect placement over the animation combines with the dirty-minded twelve-year-old that lives inside all of us to hilarious effect. Every time a block is removed, the animation just looks more and more filthy. Even better is the reaction of the contestants and the host, who, about ten seconds in, decide to abandon any hope of getting through the animation without losing their minds with laughter. The video after the jump.

[Via DIGG]

Continue reading British gameshow pornography - VIDEO

NBC okays restaurant reality show

Chef WhiteThere's more reality being served up by NBC: a food-based competition show in which couples vie to open a restaurant. British chef Marco Pierre White will be the judge. NBC has greenlit The Chopping Block for next season, calling it a sort of Top Chef meets Hell's Kitchen. Actually, it sounds like a twin for BBC America's Last Restaurant Standing. That one has nine couples competing for one restaurant with Chef Raymond Blanc as the judge. The NBC incarnation will have eight couples, and unlike Chef Blanc who has earned two Michelin stars for his restaurants, Chef White has three.

Continue reading NBC okays restaurant reality show

Richard Ayoade: In the Limelight

Richard AyoadeLast year, after multiple recommendations from my English friends, I got around to watching a few episodes of The IT Crowd. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to all the wild hype generated by my buddies, but something did stick in my mind... The crazy-haired, nasal Moss character, played by Richard Ayoade. There was something wonderfully weird about him and, since I was so intrigued by his strange voice, I decided to look him up. Well, as it turns out, his usual voice is really that weird and nasal, which just made him a million times more better in my mind. In fact, Ayoade's the only cast member who has been carried over from the original version of The IT Crowd to the American adaptation, reprising his role as Moss.

Continue reading Richard Ayoade: In the Limelight

South Park: The Snuke

south park(S11E04) This was a hilarious episode, and yet I couldn't help but feel it's the sort of episode that comes easy to its creators. The "snuke in Hillary's snizz" gag wasn't exactly inspired, considering the very first episode centered on a gigantic satellite in Cartman's ass and just last season another episode focused on Oprah's "minge." Then there was Cartman's fart torture and the scene toward the end where the Queen shoots herself, both of which I laughed at quite uproariously but that still seemed a bit too easy by South Park standards.

Continue reading South Park: The Snuke

Doctor Who will be back for a fourth series

Doctor WhoDoctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies says the show will be back for a fourth series (that's British for season). He made remarks at the London premiere of series three.

What's less clear at the moment is who will be playing the Doctor in series four. Current Doctor David Tennant has remained silent on the issue. Series three has actress Freema Agyeman playing Martha Jones, the doctor's new assistant. She fills the void left by Billie Piper's departure from the program.

It had been widely suspected that a fourth season was already on deck, but Davies' confirmation should come as good news for Doctor Who fans. Now if only Americans didn't have to wait months or years for each new season to show up on the SciFi channel.

Is Eddie Izzard's American accent getting better?

Eddie IzzardOne of the things I noticed when I watched last week's pilot of The Riches was that Eddie Izzard was struggling to maintain an American accent of any kind, much less the southern accent that his character, Wayne Malloy, is likely to have.

But when I watched last night's episode (Brett and I are trading off reviews on this show), I noticed that Izzard's accent had smoothed out, and his British didn't seep out as much as it did in the first episode. This is no small feat; doing an accurate American accent is extremely difficult for Brits, as the many tiny differences between how each country speaks English are tough to keep track of. The effort to make the leap has sunk many accomplished British actors; even ones who do a reasonable job, like Emma Thompson, let their native accents leak through every so often.

Continue reading Is Eddie Izzard's American accent getting better?

Still more network pilot casting news

tvOliver Platt, last seen in the Showtime series Huff, will star in the ABC comedy pilot The Thick of It, about workers for a low-level congressman. The show is executive produced by Arrested Development creator Mitchell Hurwitz and based on the British comedy of the same name.

Chris Lowell (Veronica Mars) will join previously cast Tim Daly and Taye Diggs in the two-hour Grey's Anatomy episode meant to serve as a springboard to a possible Grey's Anatomy spinoff.

Steve Howey of Reba has been cast in The Beast, about a womanizing veterinarian who hates animals. Tucker Cawley, a writer and executive producer for Everybody Loves Raymond, will also write and executive produce the comedy pilot for FOX. The series is based on the British comedy Beast.

Continue reading Still more network pilot casting news

Kutcher brings Brit game show stateside

Ashton KutcherAnother European import gets a stateside remake. In TV land, it's sometimes cheaper to buy somebody else's idea than to come up with one of your own. This would be funny principle if we started teaching it in schools. "I was going to do my own science fair project, but then I realized, I could just do a remake of the photosynthesis experiment that won two years ago." Kids could pay each other royalties for old book reports. I see a whole new economy in the works for the playground set. Anyway, these international translations are obviously working out quite well for the networks, Simon Fuller (American Idol) and Ben Silverman (The Office, Ugly Betty). So, why shouldn't they work out for producer Ashton Kutcher who has already made a bundle marketing Beauty and the Geek worldwide?

Kutcher is translating the British Game Show in My Head for CBS. While the production company has remained quiet on the details, we know that the show involves a hidden camera element and is casting "everyday people who are ready for a little fun in extraordinary situations." They're looking for people who considered themselves to be "daredevils, risk takers and great sales people." The pilot will be shot later this month. Anyone out there seen the British version? Got any insight for us?

Christopher Guest to direct ABC comedy pilot

christopher guestChristopher Guest has agreed to direct the pilot for The Thick of It, a comedy being created for ABC by Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz. The show is being adapted for an American audience from the popular British comedy by the same name. In Britain, it was about a member of Parliament who had to deal with inept politicians, a prime minister and other silly minions. I can only guess that the American version will take place in Congress?

According to his IMDB bio, Guest hasn't done much directing for television lately. He seems to stick to the "mockumentary" (he hates that word) movie genre that's heavy on improv, such as Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman.

Computer geek changes name to Jack Bauer

jack bauerJack Bauer is a good name. It's a strong name that doesn't denote much ethnicity. It's the name of a fictional American hero.

And now it's also the name of a computer programmer in Britain. Tim Annan, 35, loves 24 so much that he has changed his name to 'Jack Bauer'. And he makes people at work call him that. He says, "It beats being plain Tim from Watford." Yes. Now he's "crazy Tim from Watford." No word on whether he does a lot of heavy breathing into a cell phone like his alter-ego.

According to British newspaper The Sun, the British Jack Bauer is single. Surprise, surprise.

Channel 4 helps virgin get laid

hippoChannel 4 in the UK is moving ahead with plans to air Virgin School, a documentary that will follow a virgin in his late twenties as he attends a sex school in Amsterdam and eventually loses his virginity with a sex therapist, despite protests from former chief executive of Channel 4, Jeremy Isaacs, who says the channel has been dumbing down its programming as of late.

There may be some merit to Issac's claim, since the network also plans to air a series of shows about masturbation next year. That's right, not one show, but a whole series of shows. I had no idea there was that much ground to cover when it came to playin' Whack-A-Mole with Captain Wang, but I also didn't know one could attend a three-month sex school, either. Frankly, I've never understood why people feel they need to be taught how to have sex. It's fairly easy: stupid people have it all the time. It's a pretty basic evolutionary mechanism.

Sacha Baron Cohen, former male model - VIDEO

sacha baron cohenThere's an old British 'Where Are They Now'-type special up on YouTube that is all about Sacha Baron Cohen. The special looks a little dated because it focuses on his work on television as Ali G, and it shows Kristoff, an Albanian reporter character that strongly resembles Borat. It chronicles Cohen's childhood-- he attended an affluent school and then went to Cambridge. There are some old, cringe-worthy video clips of him and his brother ridiculing Jews and of Cohen hosting various cable access shows. One interesting revelation is a picture is of Cohen as a model. That's right- behind the Ali G and Borat characters is a rather good-looking fellow. His short stint as a fashion model reportedly inspired his red carpet reporter character, Bruno.

The video is after the jump. It's pretty long, so if you just want to see the modeling bit, it's at 8:00.

Continue reading Sacha Baron Cohen, former male model - VIDEO

Brit series Beast being developed for American TV

tucker cawleyThe Brit series Beast, which aired for two season son BBC1, is being adapted for American television with the new title The Beast. That "The" makes all the difference in the world, I believe. Now those who tune into the series will know it's not about a beast. That's important, because in this day and age, I think we all need to underst-- sorry, I'm rambling. Anyway, FOX has ordered a pilot of the new series about a man who inherits his dead father's veterinarian practice, despite hating animals. Tucker Cawley, a writer and producer for Everybody Loves Raymond, will also write and executive produce for the new series. A vet who hates animals? Isn't that basically like House, but with animals instead of people?

The Daily Show: September 14, 2006

The Daily Show"Trial and Terror": During his interview with Matt Lauer, Bush seemed to express extreme interest in others murdering everyone that Lauer has ever known, seen, and loved. "These are people that want to come and kill your families!" Holy crap. Way to bring the terror, President Bush.

"John Oliver's Journey: Don't Stop Believing": John filed his first out-of-studio report, which was tremendously well done. He introduced the viewers to his difficult journey through America, a nation built on sepia-toned immigrants, as an immigrant. See, I'm sucker for this kind of thing... Awkard British guys, Benny Hill music (just the music, not the program), and exaggerated suffering... That's instant-funny to me. I'm really liking this John Oliver fellow. Keep it up, man! Oh, and would anyone care to share their funniest story about immigrants being dehumanized at work?

Continue reading The Daily Show: September 14, 2006

Paris Hilton doesn't like Ricky Gervais

Paris HiltonSomething tells me Gervais isn't losing any sleep over this.

Seems that hotel heiress/reality show star/professional nightclub visitor Paris Hilton wanted to be on Extras, and Gervais said no. So now Hilton is firing back, calling him insecure and saying: "I guess he's obviously scared of starring alongside an A-lister."

Hilton did not elaborate on who this "A-lister" was.

[via TV Tattle]

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