It’s been a crazy week. While organizing my piles of Bits and Bobs files, I noticed all the boffo stateside premieres on the horizon. Billie Piper’s newest Sally Lockhart adaptation, The Shadow in the North, hits Masterpiece Mystery! on September 28th. Masterpiece Contemporary is finally bringing the Benedict Cumberbatch-led political thriller, The Last Enemy, across the pond this fall. Plus, BBC America will air Peter Kosminsky’s BAFTA-winning miniseries Britz, which features another excellent turn by The Road to Guantanamo‘s Riz Ahmed, in November.
Then, as if to kill my buzz, Jonas Armstrong announces he’s leaving Robin Hood after season 3. Wha-ha? Someone remind me the name of the show again and tell me how it will go on without its star? My Richard Armitage love aside, this series needs Robin! Yet, the creators promise Jonas’ final episode will be a stunner, and that’s something to hold onto. And how can I stay too sad after BBC Radio 4 announced its plan to broadcast an exclusive Torchwood set in the European Organization for Nuclear Research on September 10th—followed by interviews with Ben Miller, Eddie Izzard, and John Barrowman by celebrity physicist Brian Cox? Then I thought about David Tennant’s rave reviews in Hamlet and how Little Britain USA will premiere on September 29th (check out some of the new characters here), and I cheered up. A bit.
In that spirit, I decided to dedicate this column not to what we’re losing (Jonas; The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, which ends on Sunday) but to what we’re gaining in the next few weeks—namely the U.S. debuts of Skins (on BBC America), Gavin & Stacey (also on BBCA), and The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle—and to treat you to some clips from each. All three are amazing. I hope these get you watching!
1. Skins, premieres Sunday, August 17th, at 9pm on BBC America. Don’t just think of this teen soap as an English Gossip Girl with a sizable wallop of dark British humor. Think of it as a better Gossip Girl with a huge dollop of Brit smarts. And it stars About a Boy‘s Nicholas Hoult, all grown up and acting his pants off. Literally.
[style-poll http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1716414817]
2. Gavin & Stacey, premieres Tuesday, August 26th at 8:40pm.A show so successful, the Cardiff Airport considered renaming itselfafter it. Which kinda makes sense: This romcom (from Steve Coogan’sBaby Cow Productions) centers around the long distance engagementbetween a standup guy from Essex (Matthew Horne, The Catherine Tate Show) and a sweet girl from Barry (Love Actually’sJoanna Page). Did I mention they meet on the phone and only spend twonights together before he asks her to marry him? Trouble…brewing…
3. The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle, premieres Sunday, September 7th on the Sundance Channel. What can’t Jennifer Saunders do? The AbFabco-creator is uproarious as a fictional talk show host (think SallyJessy Raphael) experiencing sordid, exploitative success in thisblacker than black comedy. Miranda Richardson co-stars as herchainsmoking, pottymouthed producer.
So, which (and what) are you most excited for? Do you think you’ll betuning in? Or will you still be crying about Jonas come next week? And,last, but not least, what are you dying to see come over to the U.S.?
And now, your anglophile calendar for the week:
Monday (August 11th): Tune in to the Brit radio mystery The Lost Stradivarius on BBC 7 at 5:30pm. Stick around to hear Primeval‘s Juliet Aubrey read Love for Lydia.
Tuesday: DVR Damian Lewis in Keane on Sundance at 2:05pm. All four seasons of Hustle drop on one DVD set, as well as the third series of the girl mystery Blue Murder. Also on DVD: The Anton Chekhov Collection. The extras include five short stories read by Ewan McGregor, and Ralph Fiennes in the radio version of Ivanov.
Wednesday: Check out the Guardian’s podcast from the Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Festival.
Thursday: Watch these clips from the Life on Mars creators’ new BBC series Bonekickers.
Friday: The skit show Star Stories debuts on BBC America at 9:20pm.
Saturday: Download the soundtrack to the Steve Coogan vehicle Hamlet 2 from iTunes.
Sunday: Skins premieres on BBC America at 9pm!
Ohhh Skins. The first series was actually pretty good, but then the quality plummeted with every episode of the second series. I’m curious to see what BBC America does with it.
I.LOVE.SKINS!!! It’s sooo good. I’ve watched the first two series but will definitely be tuning in to rewatch. Right now, I’m watching Pulling (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsemm_acIz8 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsBBOaTBwYk&feature=related). Another great series, sort of anti-SATC. I’m also getting into bonekickers. It’s rather interesting. Just about to finish series one.
I was so excited to see the Skins promo during Top Gear last week. Love that show and glad when I talk to friends about it, they can actually watch it here. I’m not hearing good things about Bonekickers, but will check out the ep with Burn Gorman to give it a shot.
In the meantime, I’m counting down the days until my trip to the UK & Hamlet tickets. Glad it’s getting great reviews.
Noooo! Don’t go Jonas Armstrong! What is Robin Hood without, er, Robin Hood? Looking forward to Skins. My sister’s been raving about it for ages.
BTW – Can anyone help me out with the song that’s playing in that clip? I swear its Four Tet, but I can’t be sure….
I love, love, love, love Skins! I’ve already seen all the episodes, but I was still excited when BBC America said they were going to air them. Except, since we’re in America and we apparently can’t take sex/drugs/language on cable (not even basic cable!), they’re editing it- for ‘time.’ right. I might still watch.
Benedict Cumberbatch. Best. Name. Ever.
How much do I love the fact that PopWatch has a weekly feature for anglophiles?!?! I don’t have BBC America, so I rely on “Bits and Bobs” for the latest news about what’s coming to this side of the pond. Thank you so much, Aubry!
I’d like to see Stephen Fry’s cozy mystery Kingdom make it over, perhaps as a Masterpiece Mystery. Matthew Macfadyen did an incredible job playing a sympathetic child molester (yup, that’s what I said) in the recent TV movie Secret Life.
And The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency! I’m sure it’s on its way, but when?!! I’m so looking forward to this.
Of the three, I liked the clip from The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle the best. We’ll see how it does Stateside.
Sadly, I don’t have cable, so I won’t be able to catch any of these till they hit DVD. But after watching the clips, I’m most excited about “Vivienne Vyle”, as I have long had a mad crush on Jennifer Saunders. Plus Miranda Richardson is always a hoot.
I don’t know why I watch Robin Hood – I don’t really enjoy it, and it is frequently absurdly silly (see the second season’s “heist” episode where they stole from an impossibly booby-trapped room) without being enjoyably silly. But I still watch it.
But with Maid Marion now dead, and Jonas Armstrong gone, I really can’t see myself watching it anymore.
I think the show could carry on, though – I never watched it, but didn’t Robin of Sherwood actually kill off Robin and have someone else take up the identity – so it has been done before.
FOR SKINS – Just want to make sure everyone knows about the following:
- http://www.bbcamerica.com/skins
- http://www.youtube.com/skinsbbcamerica
- http://www.twitter.com/skinsbbcamerica
The YouTube channel hosts trailers, character montages (great to post on your MySpace profile) and cast interviews. The latter gives you an idea about what kind of special material will be in the BBC America episodes. Definitely a must-watch on-air even if you’ve already seen it.
Vivienne Vyle is superb – make sure you stick with it. I hope that there’s a second series.
I watched the No. 1 Ladies’ (don’t forget the apostrophe) Detective Agency on Sunday. LOVED IT! Jill Scott did an excellent job although I had to laugh at that accent (I’m african). Anika Noni Rose was also stellar. I hear HBO is supposed to air it stateside this fall. It’s definitely entertaining.
Amusingly, the BBC’s Robin Hood series from the 80s had the same problem: their pretty, pretty brown-haired Robin quit after a couple of seasons. They brought in big, beefy blond Jason Connery (yes, son of Sean)to replace him.