When good TV goes bad: Goodnight Sweetheart

At the start the sitcom was a compelling comment on male insecurity, but it soon descended into cartoonish plotlinesThe 1990s were an innocent time. Tony Blair was a god, Donald Trump was a joke and the world felt hopeful. It really did seem as though things could only get better. In 1992, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama went so far as to publish a book called The End of History and the Last Man arguing that the triumph of liberal democracy marked a new age of stable government and sunlit uplands. The only real worry was whether you preferred Blur or Oasis. So it was perhaps inevitable that into this comfortable stupor popped Gary Sparrow, a time-travelling bigamist TV repair engineer from Cricklewood.Gary, played by the affable Nicholas Lyndhurst, was the protagonist of Goodnight Sweetheart, one of the most successful sitcoms of that halcyon decade. In it, Gary is a man behaving boringly who is unsure about his role in this confusing modern world where women like his wife Yvonne have the temerity to study psychology instead of cook his dinner. Luckily, he discovers that he can leave this hellish peace and equality behind and travel back to the more exciting East End of the early 40s, where men were men and innocent people died by the thousand. He then does what any of us would do if we’d just discovered the secret of time travel, and shags the first person he sees. This person is Phoebe, a pub landlord’s daughter, who becomes Gary’s other wife. And so begins his... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-01 12:00:23 UTC ]
News tagged with: #travel back #time travel #high concept

Other Publishing stories related to: 'When good TV goes bad: Goodnight Sweetheart'


Quarto's revenues fall 17%, but Powell hails good UK trade performance

Quarto's revenues fell by 17% year on year in the first half of 2020, hit by the coronavirus pandemic, but UK c.e.o. Polly Powell has hailed a good trade performance for her side of the business. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-29 11:49:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #polly powell


Canongate's Terri White memoir optioned by Bad Wolf

Production company Bad Wolf has optioned Terri White's memoir Coming Undone (Canongate, 2020) for TV.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-27 05:17:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bad wolf #memoir


Pandemic losses hit Scholastic despite good trade sales

Scholastic has reported a 10% revenue drop for the fiscal year to end May 2020, to $1.49bn, with an overall loss of $88.5m, after Covid-19 battered its fourth quarter. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-24 06:25:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiscal year #fourth quarter #scholastic


It’s a good day to rewatch John Lewis accepting the National Book Award.

In case you forgot: in 2016, legendary civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, along with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, for his graphic novel March: Book Three, the third volume in his trilogy about his... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-20 13:26:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good day #graphic novel #national book award


A.H. Kim’s ‘A Good Family’ is a domestic suspense that will keep readers guessing

Savvy readers know from the get-go that the title of Kim’s debut thriller must be ironic. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-07-15 05:17:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #domestic suspense #debut thriller


Sky commissions Pichon's Tom Gates series for TV

Sky has announced it is commissioning a new children’s series based on The Brilliant World of Tom Gates (Scholastic) by Liz Pichon. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-09 03:18:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Potts' Half Baked Idea cooks up TV deal

Baby Cow Productions has optioned Olivia Potts’ memoir A Half Baked Idea (Fig Tree, 2019), for TV.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-06 15:05:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv deal


While offensive TV shows get pulled, problematic books are still inspiring debate and conversation

A look at how people have engaged with “Huck Finn” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” over time offers a snapshot of who we were and are. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-07-03 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #huck finn #uncle tom


Amazon Prime Video Has the Deepest TV Streaming Library—But Not the Highest Quality One

Buzzy original series may drive attention to streaming services, but the bulk of most major streamers' programming catalogs are their libraries of licensed TV shows. And those licensed titles often account for the highest-quality content available on the service, according to data from streaming... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-07-02 10:30:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #highest quality #streaming services #licensed titles #libraries


Through the Leopard’s Gaze optioned for TV by Expectation

Comedian Njambi McGrath’s memoir Through the Leopard’s Gaze (Jacaranda) has been optioned by production company Expectation. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-28 14:48:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


HQ acquires Mayer and mother's Good Grief memoir

HQ has acquired a memoir by the co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party Catherine Mayer and her mother Anne Mayer Bird, written after they were both widowed within weeks of each other just before the Covid-19 lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-28 14:16:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 lockdown #memoir


Michael Winterbottom to bring Boris Johnson's handling of Covid-19 to TV

‘There are rare moments in history when leaders find their private lives uniquely connected to national events’ say producersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMichael Winterbottom is set to bring Boris Johnson’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic to television. The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-26 13:30:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 pandemic #latest updatessee #steve coogan #anthology


Good Vibrations: New Books Look at Sound and Silence

Five new and upcoming titles address how sound resonates in the spiritual life, in mindfulness, or in turning in to God. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


When Book Collaborations Go Bad

A veteran coauthor warns colleagues to watch for signs of high-maintenance experts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


John Bolton's bad reviews don't stop him topping US book charts

The Room Where It Happened, due out later this month if attempts to block publication fail, has received stinging early notices but is already Amazon’s No 1John Bolton’s damning indictment of the Trump presidency is topping bestseller charts in the US a week before its release, despite withering... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-18 11:54:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trump presidency #last-ditch attempt #family created #dangerous man #mary trump #ijeoma oluo #robin diangelo #top spots #bestseller charts


ShortBox: Good Comics Come in Small Packages

ShortBox is a one-of-a-kind small press that publishes a carefully curated collection of minicomics and sends them out into the world as part of a mail-order box. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #small press


Bad Form Young Writers’ Prize launches with trade support

Bad Form, the quarterly literary review magazine, is launching a new prize for young black, Asian, Arab and other non-white fiction writers based in the UK, with support from across the publishing industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-14 17:30:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #prize launches #trade support #bad form


‘Valley of the Dolls’ may be the best bad movie — and novel. A new book explores Jacqueline Susann’s cult hit.

Stephen Rebello’s “Dolls! Dolls! Dolls!” is a more than just a gossipy look at the making of the film everyone loves to hate. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-12 12:12:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Blackheath Séance Parlour optioned for TV by Eve Myles' new company

Empty Room Productions has optioned The Blackheath Séance Parlour (Cutting Edge Press, 2019)​ by Alan Williams. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-12 01:31:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


What Makes a Good Summer Reading Program?

We're talking to library staff about how libraries are working to plan for summer reading programs despite the limitations caused by a global pandemic. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-08 10:33:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #library staff #global pandemic #libraries