|
The Fast Show
''The Fast Show'', also known as ''Brilliant'' in the United States, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran on BBC Two, BBC 2 from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams (actor), Mark Williams, John Thomson (comedian), John Thomson, Arabella Weir and Caroline Aherne. Other significant cast members included Felix Dexter, Paul Shearer, Rhys Thomas (comedian), Rhys Thomas, Jeff Harding (actor), Jeff Harding, Maria McErlane, Eryl Maynard, Colin McFarlane and Donna Ewin. Loosely structured and reliant on character sketches, running gags and many catchphrases, its fast-paced "blackout gag, blackout" style set it apart from traditional sketch series because of the number and relative brevity of its sketches; a typical half-hour TV sketch comedy of the period might have consisted of nine or ten major items, with contrived situations and extended setups, whereas the premiere episode featured ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Whitehouse
Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer, presenter and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Fast Show'' and has starred with Harry Enfield in the shows ''Harry & Paul'' and ''Harry Enfield & Chums''. He has appeared with Bob Mortimer in the BBC series ''Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing'' and has also acted in films including ''Corpse Bride'' (2005), ''Alice in Wonderland (2010 film), Alice in Wonderland'' (2010) and ''The Death of Stalin'' (2017). In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders. Early life Whitehouse was born on 17 May 1958, in Stanleytown, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Stanleytown, Glamorgan, Wales.Comic Paul tells of talent change ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabella Weir
Arabella Helen Weir (born 6 December 1957) is an American-born British comedian, actress and writer. She played roles in the comedy series ''The Fast Show'', ''Posh Nosh'' and ''Two Doors Down (TV series), Two Doors Down'', and has written several books, including ''Does My Bum Look Big in This?'' Weir has also written for ''The Independent'' and ''The Guardian'' and the latter's ''Weekend'' magazine. Early life and education Weir was born in 1957, in San Francisco, California, United States, to Scottish people, Scottish parents. She is the daughter of former British ambassador Michael Scott Weir, Sir Michael Weir and his wife, Alison ( Walker), who had met while studying at the University of Oxford; her father was from Dunfermline and her mother was from the Scottish Borders, daughter of the headmaster of a small boarding school. Weir attended nursery school in Washington D.C., where her father was posted as a member of the British diplomatic service. She later attended the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Thomson (comedian)
John Patrick Thomson (born Patrick Francis McAleer; 2 April 1969) is an English comedian, narrator and actor best known for his roles in ''The Fast Show'', ''Men Behaving Badly'', ''Cold Feet'', '' 24 Hour Party People'', '' The Brothers Grimsby'' and ''Coronation Street''. Early life Thomson was born in 1969 in Walkden, Worsley, Lancashire, to Mary McAleer, who gave him up for adoption six weeks later. He was adopted from the Catholic Children's Rescue Society by Andrew and Marita Thomson, a businessman and a bookseller from Didsbury. He has one younger brother, Ben (born to his adoptive parents).Cooke, Rachel (2003-05-11"Infamy, infamy ..." ''The Observer''. Retrieved on 2007-02-17 He attended All Hallows Catholic High School near Preston, Lancashire, leaving with three O-levels. He then attended Runshaw College between 1985 and 1987, studying for four A-levels, including theatre studies. He was described as "clearly avinga talent for comedy". Following this, he turned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caroline Aherne
Caroline Mary Aherne (24 December 1963 – 2 July 2016) was an English actress, comedian, writer and director. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host '' Mrs Merton'', in various roles in '' The Fast Show'', and as Denise in '' The Royle Family'' (1998–2012), a series which she co-wrote. She won BAFTA awards for her work on ''The Mrs Merton Show'' and ''The Royle Family''. Aherne narrated the Channel 4 reality television series '' Gogglebox'' from its inception in 2013 until 8 April 2016. She died of cancer at the age of 52. Early life Aherne was born in Ealing, London, on 24 December 1963, the second child of Irish parents Bartholomew Edmond "Bert" Aherne, a railwayman with London Transport, and Mary Frances "Maureen" Aherne (''née'' Regan). From the age of two, Aherne was brought up in Wythenshawe, Manchester.Rinaldi, Graham.Aherne, Caroline (1963–). screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2007. Like her brother Patrick, Aherne had retinoblast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Day
Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show ''The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''. Career Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning the '' Time Out'' new act of the year in 1991 with his music hall character Tommy Cockles. He then appeared on the BBC One show ''Paramount City'' as a weekly guest. He continued working live all over England before joining up with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer for two tours and two series of '' Big Night Out''. He continued to work with Vic Reeves throughout the 1990s. In 1993, he was a cast regular in '' Saturday Zoo'', Channel 4's Saturday night extravaganza, in which he appeared as groundbreaking white rapper Ice Pick. His other TV credits include '' Heartbeat'', ''Jonathan Creek'', '' Sensitive Skin'', ''Love Soup'', '' Driving School'', and '' Skins''. His film credits include ''Shakespeare in Love'', as a ferryman on the Thames. In 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shooting Stars (British TV Series)
''Shooting Stars'' is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as three full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with two series before returning to BBC Two for another three series from 2008 until its cancellation in 2011. Created and hosted by double-act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it uses the panel show format but with the comedians' often slapstick, surreal and anarchic humour that does not rely on rules in order to function, with the pair apparently ignoring existing rules or inventing new ones as and when the mood takes them. Format The basic format of the show is that of a conventional panel game. Hosts Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer ask questions of the two teams with points awarded for "correct" answers; however, scoring is largely arbitrary. Each episode is produced by editing together excerpts of a longer session. Rounds include "true or false", the film clip round, the impressions round ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Videocassette
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette recorders (VCRs) and camcorders. Videotapes have also been used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram. Because video signals have a very high bandwidth, and stationary heads would require extremely high tape speeds, in most cases, a helical-scan video head rotates against the moving tape to record the data in two dimensions. Tape is a linear method of storing information and thus imposes delays to access a portion of the tape that is not already against the heads. The early 2000s saw the introduction and rise to prominence of high-quality random-access video recording media such as hard disks and flash memory. Since then, videotape has been increasingly relegated to archival and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted And Ralph
Ted and Ralph are fictional characters created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, played by Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson in the BBC comedy sketch show ''The Fast Show''. They featured in all three series of the show. Characters Lord Ralph Mayhew (Higson) is an impoverished aristocrat in his early 30s who lives in his family mansion on an expansive country estate. He has never married or had children and is secretly in love with Ted. Ralph is painfully shy and reserved, occasionally hinted to have previously suffered from mental illness. The juxtaposition of Ralph's over-friendliness and Ted's embarrassed silence forms the basis for the humour in the sketches. Other characters, when seen, particularly Ted's fellow estate workers, seem aware of Ralph's sexuality and are uncomfortable in his presence, or make blatantly homophobic double-entendres, which Ralph always misses. Ted (Whitehouse) is an Irish groundsman who had worked for Lord Mayhew's late mother and father ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swiss Toni
Swiss Toni is a British television comedy character played by Charlie Higson. He is a 50-something car dealer, usually depicted wearing a double-breasted grey suit with a tie, a tie pin and a pocket square and with his hair styled in a platinum blond bouffant quiff; his accent is reported to be based on Higson's own poor impersonation of Sean Connery. The character was created by Charlie Higson and Bob Mortimer, and first appeared in 1995 in a sketch in the second series of '' The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer'', attempting to sell a car to the Bra Men. He became best known as a recurring character in another BBC comedy series, ''The Fast Show'', debuting in the show's third series in 1997. He featured in sketches alongside Rhys Thomas as Paul, a junior employee, in which Swiss would typically compare some activity to "making love to a beautiful woman", with the use of comically exaggerated sexual innuendo. Swiss later reappeared in a sitcom, also titled ''Swiss Toni'', which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spin-off (media)
A spinoff or spin-off is any narrative work derived from an already existing work that focuses on different aspects from the original work. History One of the earliest spin-offs of the modern media era, if not the first, happened in 1941 when the supporting character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve from the old time radio comedy show '' Fibber McGee and Molly'' became the star of his own program '' The Great Gildersleeve'' (1941–1957). Description A spin-off (also spelled spinoff) is derived from already existing works that focus on more details and different aspects from the original work (e.g. particular topics, characters or events), and includes books, radio programs, television programs, films, video games, or any narrative work in any medium. In genre fiction, the term parallels its usage in television; it is usually meant to indicate a substantial change in narrative viewpoint and activity from that (previous) storyline based on the activities of the series' principal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'', '' Harry Enfield & Chums'' and '' Harry & Paul'', across which he created and portrayed comedy characters such as Kevin the Teenager, Loadsamoney, Smashie and Nicey, The Scousers, Tim Nice-But-Dim and Mr "You Don't Want to Do It Like That". Early life Born in Horsham, Sussex, he is the eldest of four children (and only son) of English television, radio and newspaper journalist and presenter Edward Enfield and his wife, Deirdre Jenkins. The Enfield family are descendants of the nineteenth-century philanthropist Edward Enfield. He was educated at the independent Arundale School in Pulborough, Dorset House School, Worth School, Collyer's Sixth Form College (all in West Sussex) and the University of York, where he was a member of Derwent College and studied politics. He squatted in Hackney and worked f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and documentaries. BBC Two has a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is funded by the television licence, and is therefore free of commercial advertising. It is a comparatively well-funded public-service channel, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most public-service channels worldwide. Originally styled BBC2, it was the third British television station to be launched (starting on 21 April 1964), and from 1 July 1967, Europe's first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour. It was envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming, and while this tendency has c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
