channel4-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 Jun 6th 2009 2:10PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Hey, gang! It's time to get your sketch comedy fill and kick the
Saturday Night Live summer break shakes.
This week, I'm here to educate you on a little British program called
Big Train. It was created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, the brains behind
Father Ted, and ran two seasons/series in 1998 and 2002. Most of the sketches were surreal and played with the most beautifully serious deadpan expressions. There are people in giant cat and mouse costumes getting in fights, professional evil hypnotists lurking in hallways, as well as
jockeys being preyed upon by Prince, so it's a wonder the actors could ever keep straight faces.
Continue reading Sketch Comedy Saturday: Big Train
Posted May 30th 2009 10:02AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Web, Celebrities, Reality-Free
I recently -- and giddily -- posted about Hulu.com's inclusion of
Channel 4's Green Wing, one of my favorite programs. Hulu is definitely on my good side right now, as they also have the first season of
Peep Show online now. Those of you that don't have this in your list of British comedies to conquer, you should. Now. I mean, once you get over David Mitchell's extra-weird, giant, almost-black eyes, it's pretty enjoyable.
Continue reading Peep Show's on Hulu... No, not that kind of peep show
Posted May 25th 2009 9:02AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, Web, Reality-Free
A lot of readers outside of the United States regularly express their disgust with us over our use of Hulu's videos on some of our posts.
Well, I've got some good news ... for 1/100ths of the rest of the world.
Hulu could be coming to the United Kingdom and include more programming than what's available in the States. So if you Brits have been hankering for some
Facts of Life but don't feel like the necessary humiliation of having people see you buy it at the local video store, you're in luck.
Continue reading Could the rest of the world get Hulu... or at least the U.K.?
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 Mar 20th 2009 3:05PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, Reality-Free, British TV
It's easy to forget in these troubling times that America isn't the only country that's feeling the tight, constricting pinch from the claw of the economic lobster.
This is a GLOBAL economic meltdown. Everyone is feeling that pinch and looking forward to the day when they can grab that lobster by the antennae, throw it in a boiling pot of water, rip off the tail, sprinkle it with butter, pepper and herbs and serve it in a roll with a side of waffle fries. Damn I'm so broke and hungry.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, however, has an interesting way of dealing with their economic problems. Instead of trimming at the bottom, they are aiming their gardening shears squarely towards the top.
Continue reading BBC cutbacks are imminent, but not where you might think
Posted Aug 15th 2008 8:04AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Programming, OpEd, Video, Reality-Free
After years of reaching US audiences as only a series of forwarded video clips and teh internetz, the original Channel 4 British sitcom
The IT Crowd is finally coming to American TV. The IFC Channel has picked up the series and will begin airing it September 29.
I had to make an extra point to specify that this is the UK
IT Crowd and not the NBC remake starring original cast member Richard Ayoade and Joel McHale. No, no, that project is still dead. As much as I love Ayoade and McHale, I couldn't help but feel a little relieved that the show didn't take off. I'd rather get my fix from
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and
The Soup than see them attempt to tip-toe through that dangerous territory of American remakes.
Continue reading Original IT Crowd finally comes to America - VIDEO
Posted Aug 13th 2008 8:02AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Video, Reality-Free
The script for the
IT Crowd's third season has just been completed, and folks from the show are looking for some help to
dress up the set. Calling all geeks with decent knowledge in pop culture! If you've never seen the show before, it's basically the geekiest show about IT guys in the history of British programming. "Did you turn it off and on?" is a recurring joke, so that should say enough.
Continue reading Add some geek love to the IT Crowd set - VIDEO
Posted Mar 3rd 2008 7:00PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, TV on DVD, OpEd, Celebrities
Let's start with the good news, because I like ending on a downer. American fans of the British comedy
Spaced, starring Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson), and Nick Frost, are in for a treat because the
Spaced Region 1 DVD finally has a release date! Expect the good stuff to come out July 23 of this year. I'm tempted to buy it just because it's something new, shiny, and
Spaced-related, but I already splurged on the 3-Disc Collectors' Set and a region-free player that I got just so that I could watch the series. Why, yes, I am a sad little person.
Continue reading Good news and bad news for Spaced
Posted Apr 4th 2007 4:30PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, News
The UK's Channel 4 had decided not to broadcast a drama featuring British soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees so as not to exacerbate the current situation surrounding fifteen Royal Navy personnel currently held captive in Iran. The debut for the movie was moved to May 17, which will most likely remain now that the soldiers have been released to the British Embassy (and assuming their return to British soil).
The drama, Mark of Cain, is somewhat based on the true-life story of three British soldiers who were convicted of abusing Iraqi civilians at Camp Bread Basket, Basra, in May 2003. The drama itself, however, is entirely fictional according to Gerard Kearns, who plays a soldier in the made-for-TV movie. Due to the tumultuous nature of the diplomatic standoff, the channel decided it was better to avoid anything that might endanger the lives of the fifteen soldiers, who were held captive in a secret location for twelve days.
Posted Sep 1st 2006 3:29PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cable, Premium Cable, Industry, Programming
Imagine what would happen if, in this highly tense and prickly time in the country's history, the president was assassinated. That's what the UK's Channel 4 will examine in a
new movie called
Death of a President. The movie, shot in documentary format, will be a fictionalized account of the investigation following the assassination of George W. Bush, who will be shown being killed by a sniper in Chicago. Digital mock-ups will allow the movie producers to show a realistic-looking picture of the incident.
The purpose of the movie is to show what the implications such an event would have in a world where we can't take shampoo on an airplane. The investigation in the movie will focus on a Syrian-born man, who may or may not be the person who did the deed. The movie will be shown on Channel 4's digital channel and will also be shown at the Toronto Film Festival.
Of course, showing a real president, especially one as controversial as Bush, getting assassinated is a risky move. Not sure if any US outlet is going to have the fortitude to show this movie over here.
Posted Aug 19th 2006 7:22PM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, News, Programming, Big Brother (UK)
The 13-week long marathon that was the seventh series of the popular reality TV show
Big Brother in the U.K. ended last night, with
Tourette Syndrome sufferer Pete Bennett ending the show as the last remaining contestant in the house and earning himself £100,000 prize money in the process.
Having re-introduced former evictee Niki back to the BB house last week (and thereby confirming what a sham the whole Big Brother process is), viewers watched as the final six housemates were left to slug it out and then departed the house one at a time on the whim of the public, starting with Liverpudlian Jenny, then Niki, followed by Canadian Richard.
Davina McCall then chopped it down to the last two when Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace was evicted from the house, leaving just Pete and Welsh lad Glyn.
When the announcement finally arrived, Pete jumped around the house throwing pillows into the air, and found it difficult to speak to Davina in the traditional post-celebration interview. Glyn was presented with his exam results and a message from the Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan, who described him as an "inspiration for other young people in Wales".
Continue reading Big Brother 7 (U.K.) winner announced
Posted Aug 7th 2006 6:25PM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, News, Programming, Big Brother (UK)
I haven't updated on the U.K.
Big Brother series for several weeks, mostly because it started to lose whatever appeal it ever had as a reality TV show when the producers introduced half a dozen new housemates half-way through the series, but also because it started to feel like I was watching some kind of bizarre, mind-numbing TV marathon that had absolutely no point to it whatsoever.
In the intervening weeks since my last post on the show, we've lost Nikki (the most irritating person in the western hemisphere), the 'golden ticket' housemate Susie, loudmouth Jayne, Irish DJ Spiral, Michael and Mikey.
Things picked up a few weeks ago when Big Brother introduced a hidden prison in the house and split the housemates up like some kind of Stanley Milgram experiment, but it was temporary relief from the mundanity of this overly-extended offering from Endemol.
Continue reading Big Brother 7 (U.K.) update: yes, it's still running
Posted Jul 3rd 2006 1:06PM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, News, Programming, Big Brother (UK)
Another week, another twist to the
Big Brother U.K. house.
If you're recording the shows and watching them later, like me, you might want to go elsewhere.
Warning: spoilers after the jump.
Continue reading Big Brother 7 update: evictions, twists and more evictions
Posted Jun 13th 2006 8:39PM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Programming, Big Brother (UK)
As ever folks, look away now if you don't want to know who will be facing the chop in the
Big Brother 7 public vote over here in the U.K. this week...
Warning: spoilers after the jump.
Continue reading Big Brother 7 update: nominations announced
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