BCG Daily Tuesday 15th March 2011
News
People
Press clippings
The Timeline: Comic Relief
The history of the charity.
Samuel Muston, The Independent, 15th March 2011Last Night's TV - Twenty Twelve, BBC4
At the top of their Games.
Brian Viner, The Independent, 15th March 2011Twenty Twelve, Monday 10pm, BBC Four
It's very rare for a new comedy to hit the ground running and become an instant success. Even so, I always feel a sense of disappointment if I haven't laughed out loud five minutes or so into an opening episode, particularly when the premise and cast list have inspired high expectations. And so it was with last night's Twenty Twelve.
Jane Murphy, Orange TV, 15th March 2011Mrs Brown's Boys is truly terrible
If Miranda was a step forward for quaintly old-fashioned sitcoms, Mrs Brown's Boys is two giant leapfrogs back.
Rachel Tarley, Metro, 15th March 2011Richard Ayoade takes the helm for Submarine
Not since The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole has there been a teenage character like Oliver Tate - whose self-obsessed and sometimes hilarious inner monologues are the subject of Submarine.
Emma Jones, BBC News, 15th March 2011Twitrelief? I don't follow
Buying' a celebrity Twitter follower may raise money for Comic Relief, but isn't there a less sycophantic way to give to charity?
Carrie Dunn, The Guardian, 15th March 2011BBC accused of plagiarism with new series Twenty Twelve
Australian writers are claiming that the BBC has stolen their concept for the new BBC 4 series Twenty Twelve.
Stephen Lepitak, The Drum, 15th March 2011Twenty Twelve, BBC Four, review
Ed Cumming finds that the BBC Four's new spoof documentary about a fictitious 2012 Olympics committee misses its target.
Ed Cumming, The Telegraph, 15th March 2011Twenty Twelve feels toothless
Twenty Twelve is a cheeky comedy that charts the daily activities of the headless chickens at the Olympic Deliverance Commission, but also suggests that we've been hypnotised into not questioning the Olympic dream.
Keith Watson, Metro, 15th March 2011A look at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival
If four minutes of television can encapsulate the mood of a nation's comedy, it might just be the voice-activated lift sketch in BBC Scotland's sketch show Burnistoun, a send-up of the notion that Scottish accents are unintelligible to indifferent English and American ears.
Jay Richardson, The Scotsman, 15th March 2011Twenty Twelve - 2012 BBC Sitcom Review
New to the illustrious BBC4 is the sitcom twenty twelve an Office style fake documentary satirically designed to laugh a long with the tricky business of hosting an Olympic games. The sitcom written and directed by "People like Us" mastermind John Morton managed to come under fire before even been released. This was due to the fact that the idea in itself is spookily similar to an Australian sitcom called the games which was based around getting ready for the Sydney Olympics and famously featured the 100 meter sprint track being 93 meters long.
R. Green, Comedy Critic, 15th March 2011'Twenty Twelve' 1.1
The docuspoof/mockumentary format feels curiously old-fashioned suddenly. It's the perfect approach to take with BBC4's Twenty Twelve, which charts the efforts of an inept Olympic Deliverance Commission to promote London 2012, but there was something too safe and cozy about the whole endeavour. Almost like it's a part of the Olympic marketing and, with a future cameo from Lord Sebastian Coe himself, that's probably half-true. So, rather than deliver a scabrous and insightful criticism of the Olympic Games, Twenty Twelve is just a quietly mocking series that elicits the odd giggle.
Dan Owen, Obsessed With Film, 15th March 2011Twenty Twelve out of starting block with 341k viewers
BBC4 sitcom about the preparations for the London 2012 Olympics begins with a 1.75% audience share.
John Plunkett, The Guardian, 15th March 2011Submarine - Richard Ayoade
Already a contender for film of the year.
Andrew Moore, Geeks.co.uk, 15th March 2011#AskMrsBrown: Your Questions Answered! (Part 2)
Thanks for sending in all your questions for #AskMrsBrown. Our favourite Irish Matriarch has been reading through them, and offers up her pearls of wisdom in the video below. Has Mrs. Brown answered your question?
Jaine Sykes, BBC Comedy, 15th March 2011Interview: Doug Stanhope, comedian
Ahead of his appearance in Glasgow, controversial stand-up Doug Stanhope tells Kate Copstick why he's confident that he'll never run out of subjects for his chain-smoking, drink-fuelled tirades.
Kate Copstick, The Scotsman, 15th March 2011Comedy books round-up March 2011
Books from Mark Thomas, Emma Kennedy, Jon Richardson, Andy Riley and Paul Barker.
Brian Donaldson, The List, 15th March 2011Interview: Simon Munnery
Surrealist comedian on theft, referring to previous answers and things yet to happen.
The List, 15th March 2011Down the Line is back
Editor's note: when Down the Line first appeared on Radio 4 there was uproar. A popular phone-in with an award-winning presenter most obviously recruited from a different part of the speech radio spectrum? Not a popular commission. However, Radio 4 listeners - ever tolerant - have taken the show, and its enthusiastic (and award-winning) host to their heart - SB.
Gary Bellamy, BBC Blogs, 15th March 2011Twenty Twelve: Missing the heart of a good sitcom
Humour is a matter of taste. A joke that has one audience howling with laughter can leave another simply howling. The same applies to television comedy. Which is why it's not surprising that the reviews for BBC Four's new spoof doc, Twenty Twelve, were mixed. I was in the equivocal camp.
Will Gompertz, BBC News, 15th March 2011Frank Skinner interview
Frank Skinner is back with more forthright and funny opinions on the week's news...
David Collins, TV Choice, 15th March 2011Will Mellor interview
Will Mellor tells us more about his new sitcom...
David Collins, TV Choice, 15th March 2011Videos
TV
TV
TV
TV
TV & radio
7:45am10 min
Timmy Time
Series 3, Episode 2 - Beep Beep TimmyTimmy is distraught to find the hooter on his trike is broken but is delighted when Osbourne replaces it.
6:30pm30 min
Down The Line
Series 4, Episode 1Spoof phone-in show starring Rhys Thomas as Gary Bellamy. With Amelia Bullmore, Simon Day, Felix Dexter, Charlie Higson, Lucy Montgomery and Paul Whitehouse as the Great British Public.
10:30pm30 min
24 Hour Panel People
Episode 3BBC Three presents more highlights from the epic comedy event, following David Walliams as he switches between the roles of host, team captain and panellist on various panel games.
11pm35 min
The Ricky Gervais Show
Series 2, Episode 2Karl imagines what life would be like if he had a doppelgänger.