BCG Daily Friday 15th August 2014

Radio Times review

This sitcom from Richard Pinto (Citizen Khan) will be clasped to the bosom of anyone who loves New Tricks, as Boomers centres on a group of old-timers, friends from years back, who find themselves out of kilter with the modern world.

The humour is broad and painted with the widest brush strokes and there are echoes of Victor Meldrew's curmudgeonly head-butting against the idiocies of political correctness and life in general. The cast includes some solid comedy names, including Russ Abbot as the dourest member of the group and Nigel Planer as the wide boy with the newly acquired young Eastern European wife (feel free to let out a weary groan).

The women (Alison Steadman, Paula Wilcox, Stephanie Beacham) always win out in any given situation as their hopeless blokes go to the pub. In the opening episode, everyone gathers at a funeral.

Simon Pegg hopes Robin Williams completed voiceover

Simon Pegg is concerned Robin Williams may not have completed work on their film Absolutely Anything before he died. He said "I think it would be a shame not to have him in the film.".

A day in the life of the most-fearsome comedy critic

My co-host is Kate Copstick, doyenne of comedy critics. She runs Mama Biashara, a charity based in Kenya where she spends, I guess, half her year.

Diary: 'I failed my A Levels, I better be a stand-up'

A grouchy Arthur Smith arrives in town to Sing Leonard Cohen (Pleasance Courtyard). Arthur made his Fringe debut more than 30 years ago, in the days when there were scores of student review shows and precious few stand-ups. "Now everyone in the world is a stand-up comedian," he grumbles. "I haven't met anyone who isn't: every waiter, every road sweeper, every politician, every nurse. Jeremy Paxman. It's a kind of default thing. We'll have 10,000 more tomorrow: 'Oh, I failed my A Levels, I better be a stand-up.'" There could be consequences, as those festival pheromones kick in. "I'll give you the world exclusive if I catch Paxman snogging Nancy Dell'Olio in the corner of the Pleasance Bar," Arthur promises.

The sketch show isn't over, it's just waking up

Twelve years after a comedy troupe last won the best newcomer award, there are signs of a resurgence in skits and silliness.

Are you a comedy snob?

Do you like belly laughs, or does giggling 'contaminate the aesthetic experience'? Academic research finds audiences torn betweeen low and high culture.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014 interview: BJ Novak

'There's a story in my book called Regret is Just Perfectionism Plus Time. That's how I feel'

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014 interview: Beardyman

The beatboxer extraordinaire discusses his new creation, Beardytron 5000, and his first ever TED talk.

Mark Thomas talks about being spied on

"According to the police, I'm a domestic extremist - that's my category"

My Comedy Hero by Loretta Maine

Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedian on why Sandra Bernhard's irreverent but intelligent comedy inspires her.

Four female comedy stars to watch at the Fringe

You may have failed miserably at scoring tickets for last year's Edinburgh Comedy Award winner - FYI, Bridget Christie's A Bic for Her rightfully scooped the Best Show prize - but there are plenty of other female comic talents making waves at the Fringe in 2014, actively disproving the myth that women aren't funny.

Royal ramblings meets Colt Cabana at the Fringe

So far as wrestling experience goes, Colt Cabana may have one of the most impressive CVs in the wrestling world.

Review: Cuckoo episode 2.2

I know many people will disagree, but as a fan of well-orchestrated gross-out comedy, this episode also had me laughing during its outrageous climax.

Massive Dad: a question for three

We put the same question to all three members of a Fringe trio.

John Robertson: A ThreeWeeks nifty history

A Nifty History Of Evil, one of three shows featuring a John Robertson at the Fringe this year, promises "2000 years of humans, sinister elephants, Polynesian zombies and Mickey Mouse". All squeezed into sixty minutes.

Fringe Q&As: Lloyd Griffith

Lloyd Griffith talks to HeraldScotland about having the voice of an angel and the body of a trucker.

Fringe Q&As: Alex Edelman

Alex Edelman talks to HeraldScotland about kareoke at bar mitzvahs, being horny, and the rubbery things at the bottom of fold-up chairs.

Fringe Q&As: Gordon Southern

HeraldScotland speaks to Gordon Southern about Lycra, colonic irrigation and being called Gordon.

Fringe Q&As: Paula Valluerca of Madame Senorita

Paula Valluerca of Madame Senorita talks to HeraldScotland about drunk audiences, monkey shoulder and a pre-gig cigarette.

Fringe Q&As: Rebecca Humphries

Rebecca Humphries talks to HeraldScotland about attention seeking, £16 tickets and bananas.

Laurence Clark: Why I bit a policeman

If you start to think about your regrets, one defining incident will leap out. Mine occurred 12 years ago on a protest against a charity ball raising funds for a care home for disabled people.

7 most annoying questions for Fringe performers

It can be a tough life for performers working away at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. As well as trying to pull in a crowd during the biggest arts festival in the world and dealing with an endless array of hecklers convinced they belong on the stage, year after year they find themselves faced with the same bafflingly obvious questions.

Tempting fate

Celia Pacquola tackles clairvoyance in her current show, but she's no sceptic. Ed Ballard gives her a reading.

Nish Kumar: A man of reason

Everything is subjective, but these things Nish Kumar knows: nobody can tell him how to discuss race; his dad will always wish he'd been a lawyer; and The Big Bang Theory is tripe.

Boomers, BBC One, review: 'well-observed and authentic'

When the credits rolled at the end of Boomers (BBC One, Friday) - the new sitcom exploring the accelerating dotage of the Sixties generation - my first instinct was to seek out the writer, Richard Pinto, wherever he may be, and buy him a nice cup of tea.

Why Italian comedy has dumbed down

Francesco de Carlo explains the lack of alternative comedy, satire or surrealism.

Baba Brinkman: Religious rap-ture

ThreeWeeks Editors' Award winner Baba Brinkman is back at the Fringe this year with not one, not two, but three shows, including The Rap Guide To Religion. Inspired by his Fringe hit The Rap Guide To Evolution, Brinkman expected the 'Religion' show to lead to bookings at atheist conferences and anger from the religious. But the response from the latter has surprised him.

The Ken Dodd Happiness Show - Whitley Bay

All in all, a thoroughly rewarding evening from the archetypal old pro in Ken Dodd, with a show well-named and well worth catching at some point in its lengthy tour.

Rik Mayall's death brings Comic Strip gang closer

Nigel Planner believes the death of his former co-star, Rik Mayall, in June, has brought their alternative comedy group, the Comic Strip gang, closer together again.

Edinburgh Festivals 2014: The hot tickets

As the crowds flock to the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, some of this year's hit shows have already emerged.