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

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How linear TV benefits from an excess of streaming options

The giddy excess of the Peak TV era has culminated in a sort of option paralysis among consumers, many of whom, when presented with a near-infinite number of entertainment choices, make none whatsoever. According to Nielsen’s newly released Total Audience Report for the first quarter of 2019,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-02 20:18:24 UTC ]
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Poopers and bloopers: the greatest TV fails

It’s 50 years since Lulu the elephant went rogue on Blue Peter. We look back at the biting ferrets, gurning kids and sweary slips that have delighted viewers, and ask: are they a dying breed?Studio G at the BBC’s old Lime Grove studios in London was on the second floor of the building, meaning... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-07-02 15:03:55 UTC ]
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Andersen reveals plans for new Elmer TV series

Andersen Press is working with animation studio Factory on a new TV series of David McKee’s Elmer series of picture books.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-02 03:37:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #andersen press #picture books


Lovejoy books snapped up for updated TV adaptation

Lovejoy has been acquired for adaptation 33 years after it was first broadcast, to be "updated for the 21st Century". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-01 19:24:37 UTC ]
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‘Very Nice’ is a good book to pack for your vacation. But maybe it’s more than that.

Marcy Dermansky’s fourth novel is a story of sex and intrigue set around a beautiful pool at a luxurious house. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-06-25 16:46:07 UTC ]
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'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' Isn’t the Next 'Pokémon Go.' Good

'Wizards Unite' is bloated and overly complex—but at least it's something different. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2019-06-25 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Perks, Griffiths and Koomson make Dead Good Reader Awards shortlists

Heidi Perks, Dorothy Koomson and Elly Griffiths are among 28 writers to make the Dead Good Reader Awards shortlists, following a record number of nominations.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-25 02:16:00 UTC ]
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Hodder lands Skehan's super food book ahead of TV series

Hodder & Stoughton has recommissioned cook Donal Skehan for a new book called Super Food in Minutes to accompany his upcoming 10-part TV series. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-20 09:58:32 UTC ]
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How Nielsen Is Using Its Cannes Yacht for Good as Well as for Profit

CANNES, France--If you want to rent a yacht for client meetings, branded events or just a good, old-fashioned party in Cannes, it'll set you back about a quarter of a million dollars this week. As Adweek's Ronan Shields reported that's a relative bargain. Nielsen is back with its yacht this... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-06-19 20:19:28 UTC ]
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At Cannes, Comcast urges TV industry to expand addressable advertising

Over 1,000 Cannes attendees woke up Tuesday morning to find brochures hanging on their hotel doors with a message from Comcast on the need to expand the ability for marketers to deliver commercials on a household basis—which is known as addressable advertising. This week on the French Riviera,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-06-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Comcast takes Cannes, urges TV industry to expand addressable advertising

Over 1,000 Cannes attendees woke up Tuesday morning to find brochures hanging on their hotel doors with a message from Comcast on the need to expand the ability for marketers to deliver commercials on a household basis—which is known as addressable advertising. This week on the French Riviera,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-06-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ncc media #project oar #established earlier #yearto develop #open standard #delivering ads #individual households #smart tvs #nbc universal #achieve scale #hearst


In the Shadow of Potential Tariffs on China, AAP StatShot Logs a Good Q1

As representatives of the Association of American Publishers and other industry players testify on Trump's proposed tariffs on books and other goods from China, StatShot figures for the first quarter are positive. The post In the Shadow of Potential Tariffs on China, AAP StatShot Logs a Good Q1... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-06-18 02:33:53 UTC ]
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Fostering Good Citizenship: Q & A with Mary Keeling

PW spoke with the incoming AASL president about her vision for her term, which will begin when ALA Annual comes to a close. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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New film and TV deal for Stroud’s Bartimaeus Sequence

Start Media has optioned the film and TV rights to Jonathan Stroud’s fantasy series The Bartimaeus Sequence, according to Deadline. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-02 10:41:06 UTC ]
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Broadcast autopsy: 6 things we learned from digging in the guts of the 2018-19 TV season

The 2018-19 broadcast TV season (which officially wrapped up last Wednesday) died of natural causes, succumbing to the thousand natural shocks the primetime schedule is heir to after having served out its assigned 35-week lifespan. The brain has been weighed, the heart dissected, the guts... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-31 16:36:08 UTC ]
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Orion dominates £10,000 Thumping Good Read Award shortlist

Orion dominates the seven-strong shortlist for W H Smith's Thumping Good Read Award with two titles up for the £10,000 prize.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-31 14:39:00 UTC ]
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Hillary and Chelsea Clinton to form film and TV production company

The mother-daughter pair follow the Obamas into content creation, focusing on stories about womenHillary and Chelsea Clinton are to form a film and TV company to produce female-centric content. Bloomberg and the Hollywood Reporter have confirmed that the pair are in talks with studios about “a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-05-31 11:14:17 UTC ]
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Watch the newest commercials on TV from Audible, Popeyes, Dunkin’ and more

Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the TV ad measurement and attribution company. The ads here ran on national TV for the first time on May 28. Popeyes spokeswoman “Annie” (actress Deidrie Henry) crashes a picnic date that’s not going so... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-30 15:15:37 UTC ]
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‘Linear cannot exist by itself’: OpenAP wants to help TV ad sellers contend with Google, Facebook

At the center of the TV industry’s audience targeting efforts is OpenAP, which will roll out a marketplace for advertisers to buy targeted TV and digital video ads. The post ‘Linear cannot exist by itself’: OpenAP wants to help TV ad sellers contend with Google, Facebook appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-05-30 04:01:33 UTC ]
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When the government used bad science to restrict immigration

Daniel Okrent describes how eugenics and xenophobia mixed in the early 20th century. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-05-24 12:46:56 UTC ]
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