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Holiday

Doctor Who Christmas Special to star Claire Skinner, other UK comedians

Follow @ChannelGuide It’s hard to believe the holidays are just around the corner. (Well, they aren’t, but if the retail world has anything to say about it, they are.) With the holidays come all variety of holiday-themed programming. And what says “the holidays” like Doctor Who? BBC America announced today that for this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special, Matt Smith, the current Doctor in the decades-running sci-fi series, will be joined by a number of UK comedy stars for an emotional and festive celebration, including Claire Skinner (Outnumbered), Bill Bailey (Black Boots), Arabella Weir (Skins) and Alexander Armstrong (Armstrong & […]

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Drama

“Doctor Who” returns to BBC America with … “Let’s Kill Hitler”???

I have to admit that although I’ve never personally been much of a fan of the Doctor Who series — I gave it a go when that guy with the big, long scarf had the lead role — I often like the idea of it, regardless. Some of what the show supposes is brilliantly thought out and the premises for some of the episodes I’ve heard of or seen in part are definitely compelling. For a long time, I’d still occasionally leave it on if there was nothing better showing and see if it could suck me into its vortex. […]

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Documentary

BBC America’s “Reveals” series looks at “My Big Breasts and Me”

By Tom Comi Follow @ChannelGuide When most networks talk about shows in development, they are talking about forthcoming programs to be aired. At BBC America, it can mean something entirely different. Tonight at 9pm ET, BBC America’s cup runneth over. As part of the network’s “Reveals” series, it is re-running the documentary My Big Breasts and Me, which we should make clear is not a prequel or sequel to the hit movie Marley & Me.

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Comedy

Simon Bird drops in for BBC America’s “Friday Night Dinner”

By Ryan Berenz Follow @ChannelGuideRAB Some comedy aficionados in America may recognize actor Simon Bird as awkward teen Will McKenzie on The Inbetweeners, which just finished a third season on BBC America. Bird earned two British Comedy Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for that series. But recognition comes with the price of people shouting “briefcase wanker!” at him on the street. “I still get that. I got it earlier today,” Bird tells us. Fans of Inbetweeners definitely need to see Bird in BBC America’s new comedy, Friday Night Dinner, premiering Saturday, July 30, at 11:30pm ET/PT, […]

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Action

“Mars” Departs, “Ashes” Arrives

By ElaineB ABC announced Monday that it is canceling Life on Mars – bad news for fans of the quirky American version of the British series. But if there is one thing the network folks have learned from the disastrous season a few years back – in which heavily plotted shows like Surface and Invasion simply Vanished from the air – it’s that even short-run series must have a resolution. So if you have been immersed in this throwback-to-the-past police drama, you’ll at least be able to find out what happened to Sam before the series takes its final bow […]

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Drama

Britz: The heartbreak, the anger, the attempt at understanding

When I was very young, one of my earliest memories was of hearing the whispers in my family concerning relatives who were fighting the communists in Hungary. My grandparents were concerned, certainly. These were people they had known before they came to America. My mother, who tried so hard to fit in, was concerned but more for her parents than for people she did not know. As for me,  who did not speak Hungarian and was only a small child, I could only listen to the whispers and worry. But it did affect me. Later in life, I became for […]