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Here are the round two nominees in our Battle of the Britcoms2001/2002 competition. Remember, the top two vote getters move on to the championship round. Blackadder: The greatest Britcom of all time? Blackadder fans certainly seem to think so. No matter what era the program explored it always managed to strike the exactly right balance between sitcom and twisted history lesson. Agony: Memorable vehicle for the immensely talented Maureen Lippman. Playing radio/tabloid "agony Aunt" Jane Lucas (think acerbic, cynical and profoundly witty Ann Landers type advice columnist) Lippman is brilliant and the series top quality scripts never let her down. Later rehashed for American audiences in the deservedly short lived Lucie Arnez Show (yes, that's Lucy and Desi's offspring). The Army Game One of the earliest mega- popular Britcoms, launched in 1957 by ITV, The Army Game was not only inspired by a feature film (Private's Progess, a number of cast members who would resurface in The Army Game) but helped inspire the greatest feature film comedy series of all time (The Carry On series was launched with the "Army Game" inspired Carry on Sergeant). A brilliant, and remarkably liquid, ensemble cast which featured the likes of Alfie Bass, Bernard Bresslaw, Robert Desmond, Bill Fraser, William Hartnell, Charles Hawtrey, and Norman Rossington - to name more than a few. The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin: Leonard Rossiter's lovably warped Perrin, whose attempts to opt out of or subvert middle class society always seemed to fail in the most successful ways an succeed miserably. Not in the least grotty were Rossieter's supporting cast lead by Pauline Yates, Geoffrey Palmer, and Sue Nicholls. Sadly the nineties follow-up series "Legacy of Reginald Perrin" while fun could hardly match the originals sheer comic brilliance. Birds of a Feather: Women not in Prison sitcom about a pair of Essex girls brought together by their hubby's mutual incarceration. Wildly popular, mostly based on good ill towards stars Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and, as the girls status conscious neighbor, Leslie Joseph. The fact that Quirke and Robson are childhood chums only added to the comic chemistry the two shared and that helped elevate the series above it's rather mundane scripts plot devices. Are You Being Served? DVD info Over at The Home Theater Forum, the premier Home Theater site on the web (IMHO) they carry a spiffy DVD message board wherein a clever chap by the name of Steven Page recently posted that he'd been on the blower to Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Britcom Battle Round 2 , Moore and Cook's Not Only But Also in British Television is owned by Hunter Peters. Permission to republish Britcom Battle Round 2 , Moore and Cook's Not Only But Also in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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