Tag Archives: Steve Spiers

Upstart Crow. Series Three, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: David Mitchell, Liza Tarbuck, Paula Wilcox, Harry Enfield, Helen Monks, Gemma Whelen, Tim Downie, Rob Rouse, Mark Heap, Dominic Coleman, Steve Spiers, Spencer Jones, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Adrian Edmondson, Rosanna Beacock, Joe Willis, Beattie Edmondson, Brandon Fellows, Ben Miller, Peter Hamilton Dyer, Ken Nwosu, Nigel Planer.

If there is one thing an audience can count on with Ben Elton, aside from being involved in some of television’s most iconic comedies in the last thirty years, it is his unequalled ability to take a moment and turn it completely on its head and leave you with the feeling of being driven over the edge emotionally, of having the laughter pulled from underneath you and understanding that with great comedy must come empathy and grief in equal measure.

Upstart Crow. Series Three, Television Review. full post

(493 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

Upstart Crow: Series Two. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: David Mitchell, Gemma Whelen, Liza Tarbuck, Harry Enfield, Paula Wilcox, Helen Monks, Tim Downie, Dominic Coleman, Mark Heap, Rob Rouse, Steve Spiers, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Adam Harley.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Ben Elton, one of the prestigious and prolific comedy writers of his generation, was asked to step in and take what was a perhaps seen as a series that confused some, baffled others and had those who had the wherewithal to not only admire Rowan Atkinson but who also understood the intricacies of historical comedy, heavily borrowing dialogue from William Shakespeare, to the absolute heights of the British comedy mountain.

Upstart Crow: Series Two. Television Review. full post

(553 words, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)