BCG Daily Wednesday 28th May 2014

How Eric Morecambe influenced modern entertainers

To mark the 30th anniversary of Eric Morecambe's death we look at how he influenced some of Britain's favourite entertainers.

Radio Times review

Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns wrote a sketch for this series where they played two horror writers, shut up in a room to finish a screenplay, who end up killing each other. They rejected it in the end but, watching this apocalyptic series-closing double bill, you can see where the idea came from. Episode five boasts a tale of festival-going gone wrong that could be by Shearsmith & Pemberton, while the finale gives a couple of long-running characters an icky end.

There are still great little gags popping up here and there, though. Look out for the ultimate "man sneaks away from a one-night stand" sketch.

Radio Times review

If you're someone who is always rooting for Episodes to live up to its promise, good news: now it roars into gear, after a so far slightly halting start to series three.

To begin with there's a lovely scene where a young actor on Pucks! (the show-within-a-show) goes to Matt LeBlanc for advice. He's getting offers of movie roles and he doesn't know how to choose them. "Back when you were hot, you did a lot of movies, right?" he asks. "I do not wanna be 50 and still doing sitcoms!" The fact that he makes a little gesture to Matt at this point does not endear him to the star of the show, who is now keen to get a movie role himself - at whatever cost to Pucks!

Meanwhile, Sean and Beverly try to discuss the fact that they're having "a problem, fornicationally" and the new network boss calls a 6am meeting and instructs Carol, "Tell people I expect them to bring their truth."

Radio Times review

This is quite simply TV heaven. Just stick two colossi of comedy writing in front of a telly and get them to comment on favourite scenes. At one point in another delicious serving of Porridge memories, writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais do just that, the latter nailing the success of the show's plots and its main character with one phrase.

But there's much more besides. Celebrity fan Simon Day tracks down the famous, clanging doors of HM Prison Slade, there's brief behind-the-scenes footage from 1977 (more!), and Kate Beckinsale, daughter of Richard (Godber) will bring a lump to your throat with a story about her favourite episode.

Chris Ramsey gets pizza delivered to train

Chris Ramsey thought up an idea where, while travelling on a train, he'd get pizza delivered. Pizza! On a train!

BBC launches 3D Strange Hill High game

The BBC today launches 3D game The Merchant Of Menace: The Lost Episode, as part of the even more hilarious second series of CBBC's Strange Hill High.

WitTank interview

Mark Cooper-Jones, Naz Osmanoglu and Kieran Boyd are WitTank.

Interview with writer Bob Weide

Curb Your Enthusiasm director Bob Weide on his new Watford based sitcom Mr Sloane and why happy people aren't funny.

7 life lessons we've learnt from Derek

Ricky Gervais' Derek Noakes has taught us about more than just weird and wonderful knitwear.

Comic Relief ends investing in arms, tobacco & alcohol

Comic Relief will no longer invest in tobacco, arms or alcohol companies, after reviewing its investments, it has said.

QI: some quite interesting facts about salad

A quietly intriguing column from the brains behind QI, the BBC quiz show. This week: QI's in a salad daze.

Should Derek come back for a 3rd series?

Should the Ricky Gervais comedy Derek get another series?

Derek, series 2, episode 6, review

We had some very obvious attempts at heart-warming that didn't really move very much, partly because the show seems to have been devised by someone of Derek's limited intelligence.

V Festival: Nothing funny about the all-male line-up

Organisers of V Festival have come under fire for failing to book a single woman for the comedy tent this year.

'Little Waster' tribute on its way to the Tyne Theatre

Bobby Thompson's woodbine smoking 'Little Waster' alter ego became a folk hero across the North East, yet hid a man troubled by drink, gambling debts and the tax man.

Performed expertly by Pete Peverley, a stage show celebrating his life is coming to the Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre in Newcastle on Thursday 30 October.

V Festival: Nothing funny about all-male comedy line-up

Organisers of V Festival have come under fire for failing to book a single woman for the comedy tent this year.

Steve Bugeja: I no longer feel like a massive fraud

Winning the BBC New Comedy Award was brilliant. Quite simply it was the best thing that has happened to me in my career so far.

Episodes review

It's a banal relationship comedy, with no special ingredient at all. Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig are a geeky, immature couple, trying to write a hit show but out of their depth among the U.S. has-beens and permatanned executives. It might as well be called Californian Luvvies.