Catherine Tate

This is a collection of scripts from Catherine Tate's sketch show, which features an eclectic collection of comedy creations. From Cockney Nan to the rather outspoken schoolgirl, Lauren, Tate's characters are all the more funny because they remind us of people in everyday life.

A Guide to British television programmes shown at Christmas time, throughout the years.

This accessible and engaging text covering sketch, sitcom and comedy drama, alongside improvisation and stand-up, brings together a panoply of tools and techniques for creating short and long-form comedy narratives for live performance, TV and online. Referencing a broad range of comedy from both sides of the Atlantic, spanning several decades and including material on contemporary internet sketches, it offers all kinds of useful advice on creating comic narratives for stage and screen: using life experience as raw material; constructing comedy worlds; creating comic characters, their relationships and interactions; structuring sketches, scenes and routines; and developing and plotting stories. The book's interviewees, from the UK and the USA, feature stand-ups, sketch comics, improvisers and TV comedy producers, and include Steve Kaplan, Hollywood comedy guru and author of The Hidden Tools of Comedy, Will Hines teacher and improviser from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and Lucy Lumsden TV producer and former Controller of Comedy Commissioning for BBC. Written by “the ideal person to nurture new talent” (The Guardian), Creating Comedy Narratives for Stage & Screen includes material you won't find anywhere else and is a stimulating resource for comedy students and their teachers, with a range and a depth that will be appreciated by even the most eclectic and multi-hyphenated writers and performers.

"Horribly Awkward comedy - the kind that makes us laugh and wince at the same time - has never been so popular. This book looks at leading pioneers of the obscene, the cringeworthy and the extreme. It includes analyses of recent UK successes such as The Catherine Tate Show, Extras, The Office, Peep Show, The League of Gentlemen, Brass Eye, I'm Alan Partridge!, Nathan Barley and The IT Crowd; old favourites such as Monty Python as well as hugely successful US animations such as The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy."--BOOK JACKET.

“A joyful celebration of fan love. Unofficial episode guides don’t come much more engaging than this” (Benjamin Cook, co-author of Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale). Doctor Who was already the world’s longest-running science fiction series when it returned in 2005 to huge success. Enormously popular, the BBC show encompasses multiple other genres, from horror to comedy to action and historical adventure, and is loved for its uniquely British wit and clever scripting. Its hero, its monsters, and even its theme song have become pop culture icons. In this volume covering six seasons of the new series, two Doctor Who experts provide insights into everything from the history of the show, including Daleks, Cybermen, and the eight Classic Series Doctors, to a detailed episode guide. As Neil Gaiman complained to the authors, “I have just lost four hours to your blasted book. And I only meant to glance at it.” Allons-y!

A Life In Time And Space is the bestselling story of the life and career of David Tennant, acclaimed classical actor and television's most popular Doctor Who, that was originally published in 2008, but now revised and updated for this ebook edition. Energetic and charismatic, David achieved international acclaim for his riveting portrayal of the tenth Time Lord in the cult sci-fi television series at the same of building himself a reputation as a respected classical actor. This biography traces the events that helped shape David's career and transform him into both a hugely influential artist and, for a time, the coolest man on television. It provides details about his relationships with an impressive range of leading ladies, from Sophia Myles to Kylie Minogue, and most recently, Peter Davison's daughter, Georgia Moffett, and also uncovers the truth behind his on and off-screen relationship with co-star Billie Piper. With never before published behind-the-scenes stories and information from the sets of Doctor Who, Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, St Trinian's 2 and The Quatermass Experiment, the book also includes a filmography of television, film, stage, radio and audio books, and a complete list of all his awards and nominations as well as a unique Doctor Who episode guide.

How do we understand Christmas? What does it mean? This book is a lively introduction to the study of popular culture through one central case study. It explores the cultural, social and historical contexts of Christmas in the UK, USA and Australia, covering such topics as fiction, film, television, art, newspapers and magazines, war, popular music and carols. Chapters explore the ways in which the production of meaning is mediated by the social and cultural activities surrounding Christmas (watching Christmas films, television, listening or engaging with popular music and carols), its relationship to a set of basic values (the idealised construct of the family), social relationships (community), and the ways in which ideological discourses are used and mobilised, not least in times of conflict, terrorism and war.