Ahead of a new stage revival, the creators and cast of Channel 4’s classic 90s newsroom sitcom remember close encounters with future Bond stars, writing episodes at the last minute and the meaning between that mysterious titleWhen Drop the Dead Donkey debuted on Channel 4 on 9 August 1990, it was something entirely new. Creators Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin used the offices of fictional TV studio GlobeLink News to combine a classic workplace sitcom with hot-off-the-presses topical gags. Over time, the characters became the main attraction: bickering anchors Henry Davenport (David Swift) and Sally Smedley (Victoria Wicks), amoral foreign correspondent Damien Day (Stephen Tompkinson), and Gus Hedges (Robert Duncan), the jargon-spouting emissary of GlobeLink’s rapacious owner Sir Roysten Merchant. Other cast members included Neil Pearson (as office dogsbody Dave Charnley) and, for two seasons, Haydn Gwynne (as adept assistant editor Alex Pates).Drop the Dead Donkey was a consistent hit, peaking at 4-5 million viewers during its eight-year run. It attracted guest stars such as Neil Kinnock and Jon Snow and up-and-coming actors including Andrew Lincoln, Hermione Norris, Gina McKee and Daniel Craig. Now, the entire surviving cast (Swift died in 2016 and Gwynne in 2023) has reunited for a touring stage show, Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening!, which drops the GlobeLink diaspora into a news landscape that makes the 1990s skulduggery seem almost sweet. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:55:00 UTC ]
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Reading some of your favorite Manga series may be getting a little easier soon: Kodansha, the publisher behind hit titles like Attack on Titan and Ghost in the Shell, has announced that it's launching a new digital reading platform in May. Simply titled, K Manga, the new app promises to launch... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-03-21 14:00:32 UTC ]
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Melvin Shapiro, once called by 'PW' the "sage of the bargain book business," died earlier this month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Pat Schroeder, who served as a congresswoman from Colorado for 24 years before being named president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, died on March 13. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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March 10, 2023 | Ottawa warns charging patients for medically necessary services could cost provinces. Plus, an inside look at Canada’s busiest airport. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-03-11 02:00:00 UTC ]
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A month after a ransomware attack shut down the bookseller's website and crippled its internal computer systems, the book chain's stores are again accepting all forms of payment and its online store has been restored and is fully functional. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Tear down the middle school geology posters: We have an update. A team at Australian National University (ANU) has found evidence of a new fifth layer to the planet, an iron-nickel alloy ball in the inner core. The scientists found the hidden core by studying seismic waves that travel up to five... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-02-27 12:15:33 UTC ]
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A ransomware attack compromised the data of current and former employees at Canada's biggest bookstore chain, Indigo Books & Music Inc. says. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-02-24 19:32:50 UTC ]
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“As a leading publisher of progressive education books, our response to Ron DeSantis and the College Board will be to bring attention to this chilling, racist, and cynical moment,” New Press publisher Ellen Adler told PW. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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We've been keeping tabs on the best TV deals ahead of this weekend's Super Bowl, but there are plenty of noteworthy tech deals going on for those who aren't looking to overhaul their living room. Apple's AirPods Pro, for instance, are back down to an all-time low of $199, while Amazon is running... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-02-10 16:29:46 UTC ]
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Sales from publishers reporting to the AAP's StatShot program were down 6.4% in 2022 compared to 2021. Sales were down in all publishing categories, with print sales off in both trade segments. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-02-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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If one of your goals for 2023 is to read more, a new Kindle might inspire you to stick to that intention. Amazon has discounted its entry-level e-reader. Right now, you can get the ad-supported model, in either Black or Denim, for $75 or $25 off its usual $100 price. The 25 percent discount... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-02-05 21:19:08 UTC ]
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Following the new double-dipping template of memoir and documentary, Pamela Anderson finally tells her own story with remarkable matter-of-factness. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-27 08:01:22 UTC ]
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I kind of love acknowledgement pages. When I was trying to find an agent for my first novel, I would go to the local Borders (it was a lifetime ago) open to them often to discover which agents and editors novelists worked with, which MFA programs they’d attended, who their early readers were. My... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-18 09:56:43 UTC ]
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This talk was delivered at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival. One of the longest biographies of recent years, the ill-fated Philip Roth by Blake Bailey, runs to 800 pages. It takes a total of 31 hours and 46 minutes to listen to on audiobook. Roth was 85 when he died, so his real... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-08 15:07:39 UTC ]
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'It all happened so fast,' Prince Harry writes in an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir about a 2019 argument he allegedly had with Prince William. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-01-05 21:00:28 UTC ]
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If you've been looking to grab Amazon's Kindle Scribe but didn't want to jump in at full price, the company has rolled out the first set of discounts on its new top-end e-reader with note-taking support. Depending on which configuration you want, the deals take $45 to $60 off the device's... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-01-05 20:40:33 UTC ]
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Prince Harry alleges in a much-anticipated new memoir that his brother, Prince William, lashed out and physically attacked him during a furious argument over the brothers' deteriorating relationship, The Guardian reported Monday. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-01-05 11:54:52 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books rose 15.5% last week over the previous week, but were still down 6.4% from the comparable week last year at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Prominent news organizations are high-value targets for hackers and it appears that The Guardian is the latest to have fallen victim to an attack. A "serious IT incident" struck the publication on Tuesday evening. “We believe this to be a ransomware attack but are continuing to consider all... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-12-21 19:15:42 UTC ]
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Poets, literary fiction authors, and other unexpected writers are taking their shot at sci-fi and fantasy. Here are some of the best, including Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-12-20 11:35:00 UTC ]
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