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Americans likely know David Frost best as the TV host who took on Richard Nixon in the landmark interview that served as the basis for Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon — a film that earned rave reviews from everybody except those who went in thinking it was a sequel to Michael Keaton’s harmonica-playing snowman movie.

Frost also had a huge impact on the comedy world, thanks to his 1960s satirical news program The Frost Report, which, along with the Frost-hosted That Was the Week That Was, inarguably paved the way for future news parodies such as The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.”

The Frost Report’s supporting cast included Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett (who later starred in The Two Ronnies) as well as a young performer named John Cleese. The show’s writing staff also included future Monty Python members Graham Chapman, Michael Palin and Terry Jones.

As a member of the comedy troupe Monty Python, Eric Idle’s name has been synonymous with British comedy for nearly five decades. It’s a history he’s relived in interviews but never in an official autobiography. A few years ago, when he spoke with Rolling Stone, he joked that he was working on his “posthumous memoirs,” but instead he’s decided to recount his life story while he’s still alive.

In his new book, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography (out October 2nd...

Flash Drinks Some Milk Of Amnesia

How do research labs in comic book or science fiction universes or, in this case, the TV show The Flash stay in business? Given that their experimental default setting seems to be catastrophe, how can they afford their insurance premiums?

To no one’s surprise, an experiment in the Central City branch of S.T.A.R. Labs went wrong in the Flash episode “Cause and Effect.” The result – other than one of those marking time episodes that crop up when the season has three more episodes but the season-long arc only has two episodes worth of story – Barry (The Flash) Allen got amnesia. It also resulted in the world’s most unnecessary Spoiler Warning.

By the end of “Cause and Effect” Barry got his memory back. And if you didn’t want to know that, you should have stopped reading two sentences ago.

So, on The Flash, there have been a couple of theories of the true identity of Savitar, and the top two candidates are Eddie Thawne or Wally west. The only time we have seen Savitar without armor on was from behind, and he was played by Daniel Cudmore (the actor that played Colossus in the X-Men movies, not the Deadpool voice-over). However, this means nothing, as we have already seen the ability for a speedster to change his appearance using future tech. Being trapped in the speedforce allows one to travel through time and see visions of everything at once.

I do not think it is Wally West, but I could see it happening after Wally's uniform was torn off at the end of yesterdays episode. However there are some quotes and another piece of evidence that actually now make me believe he is Eddie Thawne, the hero of Season...

Jenny Morrill Feb 20, 2017

Round The Horne is touring around the UK. We went. We laughed. A lot.

New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

2017 sees another run of the Round The Horne 50th anniversary tour by the Apollo Theatre Company, where the classic Radio 4 show is brought to life by a brilliantly authentic cast of voice actors.

If you've never heard Round The Horne, you're missing a staple of British comedy. The show ran from 1965-1968, and pushed the boundaries of acceptable humour with its blend of double entendres, camp comedy and general silliness.

The staple cast included Kenneth Horne, Betty Marsden, Hugh Paddick, Kenneth Williams, and announcer Douglas Smith. Smith's involvement is made funnier in contrast to his other well known role as a Radio 4 announcer. The original show featured musical accompaniment by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers, and later The Max Harris Group. For the anniversary show, musical and sound effect...

Teamwork gets the job done.

So why does Team Flash seem to need a not-so-gentle reminder of that at least once or twice a season?

On The Flash Season 3 Episode 12 "Untouchable," that reminder came in the form of Iris' near death at the hand of one of Alchemy's metas. 

Welcome back, Flashpoint.

Okay, technically, Flashpoint was not back. More like there are still looming consequences from Barry's timeline manipulation.

And since these consequences do not include a dejected Cisco, I'm actually happy that we're still feeling the effects. 

As great at this show is, it does have a tendency to drop storylines for too long. Then, when it picks up the thread again, either the audience forgot the original premise, or we're too involved in the present to care.

But taking a break from worrying about the future to deal with the past felt seamless.

Joe: This is not something you keep from your father,...

The Flash Season 1, Episode 20: “The Trap”

Written by Alison Schapker & Brooke Eikmeier

Directed by Steve Shill

Tuesdays at 8pm Et on the CW

In “The Trap”, Barry and his team have found the secret room of Harrison Wells, and with it the secrets he has been hiding all along. They put together a plan to get Wells to confess to murdering Barry’s mother and help clear his father’s name once and for all. As they set a trap to lure Wells into telling everything, who is really trapping who?

It is getting tiring to have to begin every review with “the group tries to figure out the mystery of Harrison Wells.” The continuous overall plot of the last few episodes has been convincing everyone that Wells is up to no good. That is no longer the case. Everyone is on-board the “Harrison Wells is the Reverse-Flash!?!” train,...

Barry Manilow has sold more than 80 million records worldwide since “Mandy” hit the charts 40 years ago, making him one of the biggest selling-artists ever, and even though he hasn’t had a Top Forty hit in over thirty years, his music will live on forever, thanks to the love and support of his “Fanilows.” Barry’s discography includes 25 Top Forty Hits (including 11 top ten and 3 #1′s) and 13 of those songs hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, making him one of the greatest AC artists of all time.

His time with Bette Midler (as her piano player) at the Continental Baths in New York City in the early 70′s is legendary, but did you know he wrote or performed some of the most iconic commercial jingles?

On his 71st birthday, let’s rank his top 20 songs. This isn’t the entire Barry Manilow collection, but it’s a good place to...

News Louisa Mellor 10 Feb 2014 - 10:28

Christopher Barry, noted director of classic Doctor Who and countless other series, has passed away at the age of 88...

We're sad to learn that director Christopher Barry, who directed over forty episodes of Doctor Who between 1963 and 1979 alongside a great deal of much-loved television work, has passed away at the age of 88.

Christopher Barry was one of the rare Doctor Who directors whose work on the show spanned four Doctors, including stories with William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. His first Who episode was 1963's The Dead Planet, part of the first Dalek serial that famously introduced the planet Skaro and the Thals. Sixteen years later, Barry's final Who serial was 1979's The Creature From The Pit featuring Tom Baker.

In addition to Doctor Who, Barry took the helm on over thirty episodes of Z-Cars, as well as several instalments of All Creatures Great And Small,...

My mother Pat Ashton, who has died aged 82, was an actor for over four decades. Probably her most important TV role was that of Annie, wife of a burglar (Bob Hoskins) who comes out of prison to find that his old friend (John Thaw) has moved in, in Thick As Thieves (1974). When Yorkshire TV declined a second series, the writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais took the idea to the BBC, where it was developed into the much-loved series Porridge.

Pat was born and raised in Wood Green, north London. During her early years, the piano was the focus of entertainment at home, with her brother Richard playing all the popular songs of the day. Her grandmother had been a trapeze artist, performing in front of the tsar in Russia, and Pat quickly became fascinated with music hall, learned to tap-dance from an early age and went on to...

On the Season 2 finale of "Beyond Scared Straight" (Thu., 10 p.m. Est on A&E) 15 year-old Barry took a trip to Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Virginia.

Barry was in the program because of fighting and theft, and he was pretty confident that he'd easily be able to handle doing 10 years in jail.

However, after being cornered by convicted murderer Perry and his friends, Barry changed his mind. Challenged to a fight by the enormous convict, Barry found it hard to look him in the eye and quickly admitted that he was scared.

Then after being told his name was now "Betty," the teen broke down in tears. This just provoked even more abuse: "You crying already! We broke you down! And you could do ten years?"

So, was Barry "scared straight?" After his stay in jail he admitted, "I couldn't even do a day in here."

TV Replay scours...

Our detailed look back over the non-Bond scores of John Barry continues with a look at his work between the years 1968 to 1979…

In the third part of our John Barry retrospective, we enter the late 60s and a surge of activity that would typify the composer’s output for nearly two decades. Despite the exacting nature of his commissions, he continued to build on his reputation with a succession of quality scores that stockpiled brilliant and unexpected surprises on top of unprecedented new ground. But all the while, he continued to strive for authenticity of arrangement and sincerity of expression. This phase demonstrates his broadening outlook but also reflects, in a profound way, the diversity of his musical influences.

His early output took inspiration from both the rhythm and blues of The Barry Seven and the popular rhythms of the time, such as Gene Vincent and American guitarist Duane Eddy,...

Our detailed look back over the non-Bond scores of John Barry continues with a look at his work between the years 1968 to 1979…

In the third part of our John Barry retrospective, we enter the late 60s and a surge of activity that would typify the composer’s output for nearly two decades. Despite the exacting nature of his commissions, he continued to build on his reputation with a succession of quality scores that stockpiled brilliant and unexpected surprises on top of unprecedented new ground. But all the while, he continued to strive for authenticity of arrangement and sincerity of expression. This phase demonstrates his broadening outlook but also reflects, in a profound way, the diversity of his musical influences.

His early output took inspiration from both the rhythm and blues of The Barry Seven and the popular rhythms of the time, such as Gene Vincent and American guitarist Duane Eddy,...

Composer John Barry has died of a heart attack in New York. He was 77 years old. The Oscar-winner is perhaps best remembered for his association with the James Bond series, working on the Dr No score with Monty Norman, before going on to provide the music for 11 further Bond films, including From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Some of his best-known scores outside of the Bond franchise include Zulu, Midnight Cowboy, The Lion in Winter, Born Free, Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves. Throughout his career, Barry took home five Oscars, and...

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In the latest Music in the movies column, we celebrate the Bond themes of John Barry…

A phenomenally successful composer with dozens of credits to his name; John Barry is best known for his contributions to the James Bond franchise. Throughout his work for the franchise, Barry helped create iconic scores that would set the foundation for those who would follow him, and whilst he didn't receive any recognition from the Academy for his work, the scores he created are held in high regard.

Below is a look back at the full scores Barry composed for the Bond franchise:

From Russia With Love

Barry's first full score for the Bond franchise really set the formula for what followed, and what is now deemed as being iconic and fairly typical as far as action scores go, was, at the time, seen as being quite dynamic.

All in all, it's a near...

16 year old Josh Barry took to the Britain’s Got Talent stage on tonight’s show and wowed the crowd (especially the girls!) with his rendition of ‘My Girl.’

He told Ant and Dec:

‘My name’s Josh, I’m 16 years old and I’m a student. Today’s audition is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s quite nerve wracking, I’m nervous that Simon’s going to say something really bad.’

He went on to tell the judging panel:

“I want to be a professional singer. I just want to sing in front of people really.’

As Josh started to sing you could almost feel the rush of teenage hormones from the girls in the crowd, but we found the song choice a little old fashioned and possibly irrelevant in this day and age.

Judges Comments:

Amanda – You were confident, you were a showman and you delivered.

Comedy legend John Cleese was scared that Monty Python's Flying Circus would be a failure. The tall Python star and five colleagues first appeared on television on 5 October 1969 having been brought together at the suggestion of British Broadcasting Corporation scriptwriter Barry Took. Cleese remembers, "We knew we wanted to do something different. But I remember before one of the first shows I said to Michael Palin: 'Do you realise that we could be the first people in history to do a whole comedy show to complete silence?'"...