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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We're in the thick of the holiday season, so we're still seeing good deals on a number of gadgets and tech gear we recommend. Apple's iPad Air, for instance, is down to its second-lowest price to date at $500, while Amazon's Fire HD 8 is down to an all-time low of $55. The Xbox Series S is still... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-12-09 17:01:40 UTC ]
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Bob McGrath, an actor, musician and children's author widely known for his portrayal of one of the first regular characters on the children's show Sesame Street, has died at the age of 90. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2022-12-05 03:00:34 UTC ]
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The novelist on his new collection of journalism, why he regrets criticising Sally Rooney and how he’s never shaken off the influence of JG Ballard“I’ll see your eidolon next Tuesday,” writes Will Self, 61, when I email to arrange a video call to discuss his new collection of journalism, Why... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-26 18:00:32 UTC ]
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Amazon's latest entry-level Kindle has received its first discount in time for Black Friday. The company is selling the 2022 ad-supported Kindle for $85, or $15 below the official price. That makes it tempting if you're planning a gift for the bookworm in your life, or have just been waiting for... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-11-24 13:30:55 UTC ]
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S&S has decided not to extend the deal's deadline, which prevents PRH from appealing the court's decision to block the merger. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-21 14:58:02 UTC ]
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With the purchase agreement between Paramount and Penguin Random House set to expire, reports from multiple media sources say that Simon & Schuster's parent company will let the deadline lapse, thereby killing the deal. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Though Black Friday is technically a week away, we're already seeing a barrage of sales that we expect to carry over into the shopping holiday. Several of Apple's iPads, Apple Watches and MacBooks are available at their lowest prices to date, for instance, as are a plethora of devices from... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-11-18 17:15:53 UTC ]
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Beyond Wakanda Forever, comic book writers like Evan Narcisse are extending the reach of the Black Panther’s story. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2022-11-11 10:00:00 UTC ]
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“I’d never read anything like it,” says the actor and director, whose memoir “All About Me!” is newly out in paperback. “It was hysterically funny and incredibly moving at the same time. It’s like Gogol stuck a pen in his heart, and it didn’t even go through his mind on its way to the page.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-10 10:00:12 UTC ]
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Former prime minister and media academics criticise reports, but Jeff Kennett says questions are ‘fair play’Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastKevin Rudd has accused News Corp Australia’s Herald Sun tabloid of “dog-whistling to conspiracy theorists” over its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-08 07:13:45 UTC ]
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Despite three books posting sales of more than 100,000 copies last week, unit sales of print books fell 14.2% compared to the week ended October 30, 2021 at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Historian and critic Elvis Mitchell talks about his revealing Netflix documentary that focuses on an often forgotten eraI’m worried about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The original, released to great fanfare in 2018, was such a hit across the board – with critics, at the box office, as a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-29 06:17:49 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Golden Voice narrator George Guidall compellingly narrates Craig Johnson’s latest Longmire... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-24 13:48:59 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books fell 10.5% in the week ended Oct. 15, 2022, from the comparable week in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 28th issue of Kayak—a literary magazine edited and published by George Hitchcock out of Santa Cruz, California—appeared in 1972. The issue includes mostly poetry, as well as a few book reviews, a work of verse fiction, collages, illustrations lifted from old books and manuals, and an acerbic... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-19 08:57:28 UTC ]
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Unit sales of print books fell 8% in the week ended Oct. 8, 2022, from the comparable week in 2021, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's Prime Early Access Sale is coming next week and we've already started to see a number of preview deals pop up. Devices like the Echo Show 5, Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Kindle Paperwhite have been discounted ahead of the event, and we expect to see more deals on Amazon gadgets during the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-10-07 15:45:38 UTC ]
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The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece spans 80 years and is said to be ‘thoughtful, poignant and hugely entertaining’Oscar winner Tom Hanks’s debut novel has been announced, and is due out next year. The book, Hanks’s second foray into fiction – he published a short story collection... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-09-27 14:01:40 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel, the best-selling British author known for her award-winning Wolf Hall historical trilogy, died on Thursday at the age of 70, her publisher said on Twitter on Friday. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2022-09-23 11:29:52 UTC ]
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Mantel was credited with reenergizing historical fiction with “Wolf Hall” and two sequels about the 16th-century English powerbroker Thomas Cromwell. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2022-09-23 10:42:20 UTC ]
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