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'


TV Alert: 'Theodosia'

A live-action adaptation of the Theodosia series by Robin L. LaFevers will begin streaming on HBO Max starting March 10. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv alert #live-action adaptation #begin streaming


Q&A with VAB CEO Sean Cunningham on the trade org’s role in the TV ad industry’s measurement makeover

The VAB is helping to create new standards for TV measurement, but can it be an objective party if it counts some measurement providers -- but not Nielsen -- as dues-paying members? The post Q&A with VAB CEO Sean Cunningham on the trade org’s role in the TV ad industry’s measurement makeover... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2022-03-04 05:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv measurement #nielsen


Introducing Huang Beijia’s ‘I Want to Be Good’

Phoenix Publishing and Media Group offers contemporary voices in its newly launched Jiangsu Literature Translated series. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #phoenix publishing


LeVar Burton Chimes In On Banned Books Debate: 'That's Where The Good Stuff Is'

In a "Daily Show" skit, the "Reading Rainbow" icon urges youngsters to seek out several controversial titles even as he's blocked from doing so himself. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2022-02-16 23:30:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good stuff #daily show #reading rainbow


Super Bowl has 101 million TV viewers, up from 2021

The Nielsen company estimates that 101.1 million people watched the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl on NBC and Telemundo Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2022-02-15 21:42:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #super bowl #nielsen


Our world might be a simulation. Would that be so bad?

Philosopher David Chalmers contemplates the deep questions surrounding virtual reality. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-11 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Review: A debut novel of love and privilege that's made for TV

Coco Mellors' 'Cleopatra and Frankenstein' evokes a rich universe in multiple senses, but it feels engineered for a Netflix adaptation. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-02-04 14:00:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coco mellors #netflix adaptation #debut novel


UK film and TV industry bounces back from Covid with record £5.6bn spend

Annual investment doubles as production industry races to replenish libraries depleted by the pandemicThe UK film and TV industry has bounced back spectacularly from the pandemic with a record £5.6bn spent making blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible 7 and big-budget dramas including... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-02-04 13:52:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv industry #coronavirus shut #libraries


Good Vibes for King as Hay House sales top one million

Vex King's personal development book Good Vibes, Good Life has now sold one million copies globally, according to publisher Hay House, alongside clocking up 100 weeks on the Sunday Times non-fiction paperback bestsellers list. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-02-01 07:43:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Advertisers, TV networks plan to set Nielsen alternatives as ‘shadow currencies’ in this year’s upfront negotiations

Alternative measurement providers will mainly play the role of understudy to Nielsen’s measurements, but some advertisers will adopt them as primary currencies for individual campaigns and targeted ad buys. The post Advertisers, TV networks plan to set Nielsen alternatives as ‘shadow currencies’... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2022-01-31 05:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #upfront negotiations #nielsen


W H Smith sales hit 85% of 2019 levels after good Christmas trading

W H Smith has reported a "good performance" for the 20-week period to 15th January 2022, with total group revenue at 85% of 2019 levels.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-18 20:43:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #good performance #w h smith


Cornerstone celebrates Fforde's latest with TV ad campaign

Cornerstone has created a TV advert featuring real readers to support the paperback publication of Katie Fforde’s novel A Wedding in the Country.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-18 19:17:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paperback publication #katie fforde


How to make it rich as a bad art friend

Andrew Lipstein's "Last Resort" captures our tenuous ownership of life experiences and the vampiric practice of fiction writing. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-01-18 13:57:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #andrew lipstein #fiction writing


Print Book Sales Get a Bad Start in 2022

Facing tough comparisons to 2021, when sales got off to a strong start compared to 2020, unit sales of print books fell 13.9% last week from the first week in 2021 at outlets that report to BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Osman named 2021's number one bestseller as TV star’s cosy crime titles set the tills alight

Richard Osman claims the crown for the bestselling book of 2021 ahead of Charlie Mackesy, although the top-line figures are once again affected by some data blackouts owing to lockdowns. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-06 06:20:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv star #charlie mackesy #bestselling book


After a Good 2021, Pietsch Sees Some Lingering Issues

In a letter welcoming the Hachette Book Group staff back from the holiday break, CEO Michael Pietsch called 2021 “a very successful year for HBG," while also noting that challenges such as supply chain disruptions and return-to-office uncertainties didn't end with the arrival of a new year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #successful year


White Lion bags first official cookbook inspired by TV series Peaky Blinders

White Lion has bagged the first official cookbook inspired by hit television show "Peaky Blinders". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-04 23:21:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #peaky blinders #cookbook


Nielsen’s Latest CTV Tool Aims to Sharpen TV Ad Targeting

Ad measurement firm Nielsen released its latest Connected TV tool, Streaming Signals, so advertisers can target CTV audiences with sharper precision. CTV can seem a murky lens for certain advertisers--those used to the granular precision of digital ecosystems--to reach their intended audience... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2022-01-04 11:56:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #intended audience #nielsen


‘We would discuss how dislikable I was’ – what’s it like to see your life story on TV?

Telling your story in a book is hard enough. But what if it ends up on screen? Adam Kay, writer of This Is Going to Hurt, and Dolly Alderton, who penned Everything I Know About Love, relive the shocksMore cultural highlights of 2022Most people find seeing themselves on screen distinctly... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-29 14:00:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #life story #adam kay #dolly alderton #life stories #junior doctor #ben whishaw #memoir


Nielsen’s TV Measurement Woes Continue As It Admits OOH Undercounting Since 2020

On Tuesday, Nielsen was excitedly looking ahead to its future, touting next month's rollout of Nielsen One Alpha, the first version of its cross-platform tool that will enable publishers and marketers to transact on a single metric across linear and digital platforms. With Disney and Magna among... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2021-12-23 13:56:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cross-platform tool #enable publishers #single metric #digital platforms #nielsen