First broadcast live in 1959 as part of Tony Hancock's 4th BBC TV Series, these rare recordings are made available for the first time in over fifty years. The Wrong Man sees Hancock and Sid called in to take part in a police identity parade. However, when a witness picks Hancock out for the burglary of a high street tobacconist, he has only days to clear his name. One of the long 'lost' Hancock TV Episodes recently discovered by the Hancock Appreciation Society. 2009 is the 60th Anniversary of the Galton and Simpson writing partnership. Some of the lost episodes feature Ray and Alan in walk on parts as well as stars like John Le Mesurier, Arthur Mullard, Rolf Harris, and of course the inimitable Sid James and Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock!!
Includes excerpts from a wide range of hilarious personalities spanning the last few decades: Al Franken, Joan Rivers, Tracey Ullman, Martin Short, Chris Rock, Jay Leno, Jackie Mason, Larry David, Phyllis Diller, and more.
Danny Wallace was bored. Just to see what would happen, he placed a whimsical ad in a local London paper. It said, simply, 'Join Me'. Within a month, he was receiving letters and emails from teachers, mechanics, sales reps, vicars, schoolchildren and pensioners - all pledging allegiance to his cause. But no one knew what his cause was. Soon he was proclaimed Leader. Increasingly obsessed and possibly power-crazed Danny risked losing his sanity and his loyal girlfriend. But who could deny the attraction of a global following of devoted joinees?
A book about dreams, ambition and the responsibility that comes with power, Join Me is the true story of a man who created a cult by accident, and is proof that whilst some men were born to lead, others really haven't got a clue.
Just as uproariously funny and terrifically popular today as when it first began on BBC Radio 4 in 1967, Just a Minute challenges contestants to speak for one minute on a given subject without repetition, hesitation or deviation. Its mix of irreverent fun and ferocious competition has always attracted stellar names from the world of comedy and theatre, all of whom pit their wits and their wit against regular players including Kenneth Williams, Paul Merton, Derek Nimmo, Clement Freud and Peter Jones. Each episode is preceded by extracts from a fascinating conversation between Nicholas Parsons and Paul Merton, in which they good-humouredly reflect upon the enormous appeal of the game, the various techniques for playing it, the numerous guest players who have taken part over the years, and their favourite moments in these particular episodes. Among the guests in these four archive programmes are Sheila Hancock, Eddie Izzard and Bernard Cribbins. The original transmission dates of these episodes are 11th April 1978, 23rd January 1982, 19th February 1994 and 8th February 1997.
This six-part comedy series was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. Hosted by Stephen Fry, accompanied each week by Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Emma Thompson and a selection of guests including Phyllida Law, Robert Bathurst, Julia Hills and Alison Steadman, the show takes the form of a round table discussion, interspersed with sketches which veer tangentially from the sublime to the ridiculous.
In twelve months between 2007 and 2008, Christopher Buckley coped with the passing of his father, William F. Buckley, the father of the modern conservative movement, and his mother, Patricia Taylor Buckley, one of New York's most glamorous and colorful socialites. He was their only child and their relationship was close and complicated. Writes Buckley: "They were not - with respect to every other set of loving, wonderful parents in the world - your typical mom and dad."
As Buckley tells the story of their final year together, he takes listners on a surprisingly entertaining tour through hospitals, funeral homes, and memorial services, capturing the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a 55-year-old orphan. Buckley maintains his sense of humor by recalling the words of Oscar Wilde: "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness."
Just as Calvin Trillin and Joan Didion gave solace and insight into the experience of losing a spouse, Christopher Buckley offers consolation, wit, and warmth to those coping with the death of a parent, while telling a unique personal story of life with legends.
Jen Lancaster hates to burst your happy little bubble, but life in the big city isn't all it's cracked up to be. Contrary to what you see on TV and in the movies, most urbanites aren't party-hopping in slinky dresses and strappy stilettos. But lucky for us, Lancaster knows how to make the life of the lower crust mercilessly funny and infinitely entertaining.
Unabridged ? 11 hours This is the smart-mouthed, soul- searching story of a woman trying to figure out what happens next when she's gone from six figures to unemployment checks and she stops to reconsider some of the less-than-rosy attitudes and values she thought she'd never have to answer for when times were good.
Jean Paul Sartre said, ‘Hell is other people’. But, as Satan will tell you, Hell is actually a fiery, unendingly cruel domain where Oliver Reed can never quite catch the barman’s eye and Yves St Laurent is forced to wear a donkey jacket. But Hell is about to become more hellish for Satan himself (Andy Hamilton). Not only is the historian Edith Barrington (Annette Crosbie) taking for ever to write his biography, An Angel Misunderstood, but everything is thrown into confusion when a dog turns up. Animals aren’t meant to end up in Hell because they’re not evil - well, except for dolphins of course. So why is it here? After much licking, begging and slobbering - mainly from Scumspawn - Satan decides to keep the dog and ask God (Timothy West) what is going on. But God has decided to go on a gap year to find himself. And Hell receives another, even more inexplicable guest... All six episodes from the seventh series of BBC Radio 4’s Sony Award-winning comedy set in Hell. ‘One of the great comic creations of recent years’ - Sunday Telegraph. '... one of the best-written comedies around, sustained over its 12 years on the air by brilliant performances and production' - Daily Telegraph.
Dawn French takes a humorous look into the art of sulkiness in this complete BBC Radio 4 series.
Professor Joy Klamp (Dawn French) welcomes you to the joy of sulks as she guides us on a humorous journey into the heart of sulkiness.
Along with her Sourpussy Posse - Christopher Douglas, Sally Grace, Lucy Montgomery and Dan Tetsell - Joy will show you the best sulking techniques in the workplace; at parties; on holiday; and with food and drink. In other words, she reveals the best way to sulk and moan - often by the seat of your pants - to get exactly what you want, when you want it.
Including all six episodes of the BBC Radio 4 series, Mastering the Universe is written by Christopher Douglas (co-writer and star of Ed Reardon's Week) and Nick Newman (co-writer: My Dad's the Prime Minister).
Milton Jones returns for a third series in which he gets to become a complete and utter expert at various different and unrelated things. In these four episodes, he's a Fashion Photographer, Antiques Expert, Magician and Health Food Guru - and in each episode, with absolutely no ability or competence, he plunges into a furiously funny and fast-paced adventure with utterly hilarious results. In Episode One, Milton is a world-famous photographer who travels from the catwalks of Milan to the jungles of Bolivia to find the perfect picture of a calendar. Next up, in Episode Two he’s a collector and antiques expert whose passion for Fabergé eggs leads him to bankruptcy, a Russian sleigh ride and a mysterious Swiss Schloss. Or should that be Schwiss Sloss? In Episode Three, our wayward hero has become an internationally-renowned magician and illusionist who gets tangled up in a devilish plot to make the Bank of England disappear. And finally, in Episode Four he’s a health and diet guru who plans to take over the world by means of a Walnutshell and Nettle face scrub. The man they call 'Britain’s funniest Milton', Milton Jones stars in this smash hit BBC Radio 4 comedy show, with Tom Goodman-Hill (The Office, Spamalot).
The bestselling authors of Somebody Is Going to Die If Lilly Beth Doesn't Catch That Bouquet deliver up a hilarious treatise---complete with recipes---on the joys, trials, and tribulations of being the daughter of a Southern mother.
