Acting
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.
Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One from 1989 until 1998 and on ITV from 2013. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers. The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs and Sharon Theodopolopodos brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault. The series ended on Christmas Eve 1998 after a 9-year-run.
This comedy series, which follows the exploits of employees at London's fictional "Grace Brothers" department store, is full of sexual innuendo, slapstick, visual gags, and double entendres. Much of the show's humor parodies Britain's class system, and many of the show's characters are based on stereotypes of the period, including the effeminate Mr. Humphries and the rich, but stingy, store owner.
The Scales of Justice is a series of thirteen British cinema featurettes produced from 1962 to 1967 for Anglo-Amalgamated at Merton Park Studios in London. The first nine were made in black and white, and the last four in colour. The finale, Payment in Kind, was Merton Park's final production. Episodes were based on criminal cases, and each film was introduced by criminologist Edgar Lustgarten. The series derives its title from the symbolic scales held by the statue of Justice, situated above the dome of London's Central Criminal Court, The Old Bailey. The opening narration describes her as having "in her right hand, the Sword of Power and Retribution, and in her left – The Scales of Justice".
Classic sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques as brother and sister twins who have to tackle the trials and tribulations of suburban life.
Hancock's Half Hour is a BBC television comedy series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock with Sid James. The final series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development.
Anthology series of half hour plays produced in BBC's Television Centre's studios.
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father and son played by Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett who deal in selling used items. They live on Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It was remade in the US as Sanford and Son, in Sweden as Albert & Herbert and in the Netherlands as Stiefbeen en zoon. In 1972 a movie adaptation of the series, Steptoe and Son, was released in cinemas, with a second Steptoe and Son Ride Again in 1973.
This final follow-up to 'Till Death Us Do Part' follows an aged Alf Garnett, now dealing with his wife Else's declining health and mobility, as well as the challenges of navigating the social security system and other everyday situations.
Enemy At The Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War. The programme generated a certain amount of criticism in Guernsey, particularly for being obviously filmed on Jersey despite being ostensibly set on Guernsey. The series also marked the TV debut of Anthony Head as a member of the island resistance. The theme music was by Wilfred Josephs.
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film also titled Porridge. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. "Doing porridge" is British slang for serving a prison sentence, porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight, which established that Fletcher would not be going back to prison again. Porridge was voted number seven in a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms.
An anthology of half-hour standalone situation comedies starring British comedian Jimmy Edwards in various roles alongside guest stars.
Slinger's Day is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and produced by Thames Television for ITV. A continuation of Tripper's Day, which had come to a natural end due to a combination of star Leonard Rossiter's death and an overwhelmingly negative response, Bruce Forsyth plays a different character to Norman Tripper but fulfilling the same role, that of the manager of a Supafare supermarket with a team of incompetent eccentrics. Several cast members from Tripper's Day reprised their roles in the first series but departed in the second, allowing for new characters. Broadcast for two six-episode runs from 1986–87, Slinger's Day represented Forsyth's sole situation comedy acting role, and he remained more associated with stand-up and game shows.
Zodiac was a six-part series transmitted by ITV in 1974. Starring Anton Rogers and Anouska Hempel as cynical detective David Gradley and his astrologer associate Esther Jones, the unusual astrological premise set this show apart from the humdrum detective dramas of the time. Little seen since its original broadcast, the series has garnered something of a cult status.
Earnest new recruit PC Penrose has left his hometown and joined the force in the Yorkshire town of Slagcaster. He's young and naive but seasoned officer Sergeant Flagg takes him under his wing and shows him the ropes, though his methods can be a little unconventional.
Period drama serial Holding On told of the life and times of the East End Wheelwright family over much of the 20th century from 1903 right up to 1970. The story began in 1903 with Dora Wheelwright struggling to bring up her kids, Charlie and Vi, following the death of her Stevedore husband in an accident. Charlie as an adult found himself caught up in the horrors of world war one and then struggles to survive throughout the depressed 1920's. He becomes involved in the General Strike before having to go through another world war and it's aftermath. Post war there is the changing face of the East End. The family lived in Steadman Street.
A quintessentially British comedy-of-manners. Based at the fictional Yeovil College of Lifemanship, Richard Briers plays Stephen Potter and is joined by Peter Jones as the snooty Gatling-Fenn and Frederick Jaeger, complete with monocle, playing Cogg-Willoughby. "The world is divided into two types of people," Potter says, "winners and losers, the one-up and the one-down. He who is not one-up is surely one-down".
Gulliver washes ashore on Lilliput and attempts to prevent war between that tiny kingdom and its equally minuscule rival Blefuscu.
In a bookbinding factory, Nobby, the foreman, is the master of his domain. Hector, a young new recruit, struggles. Ted, about to retire, refuses to be intimidated. Lorna, a young female employee, attempts to help Hector, but Nobby has other ideas.
An investigative reporter following an espionage story goes to London and gets involved with murder, scam artists and rock concerts.
