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Rowan Atkinson is a terrific writer! Some of the sketches on 'Not The Nine O' Clock News' still shine after nearly forty years (some really don't, of course); and he was great in 'Keeping Mum' too. I suppose it's just that genre of comedy that some people love and others squirm over, then?
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Churchmouse,
Counting on you to keep this conversation going, because I have NO IDEA what you are talking about.
"NOT the Nine O'clock news" -just the title sounds like something I would have liked., but I never heard of it.
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Ohmygod I feel so old!

Back in the late 1970s, The Times went on strike. How can I explain..? It felt as though Big Ben had fallen down. The *Times*??? On *strike*??? No Times????? Aaaarrrgggh the end of the world is nigh etc etc etc.

It was first published in 1785. The idea of not having The Times to read over breakfast was unthinkable.

The strike dragged on. The nation despaired, but then got resigned and read something else instead (though that still left the problem of whom to write to when you needed to protest about a public issue).

After many weeks? Months? Anyway. After some considerable time, some journalists got together and put out a spoof edition called "⁁Not The Times" with the Not inserted as superscript above the masthead.

A couple of seasons after that, four young comedians - Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson, Griff Rhys-Jones and Mel Smith - came out with a sketch show called Not The Nine O' Clock News.

Mel Smith is sadly no longer with us. Pamela Stephenson is a respected psychotherapist who is married to Billy Connolly. The memory of her version of Olivia Newton-John's hit song "Physical" - retitled "Typical" - still makes me snicker and I haven't seen it for over thirty years.

And The Times, which started the fashion, was bought by Rupert Murdoch and that was when the UK realised that our handcart had at last reached H*ll.

If you can find "Alien Warning broadcast on TV' or the sketch about welcome to the afterlife, you'll see Rowan Atkinson in his salad days and probably laugh quite a lot.
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If you want a current funny Brit - I adore John Oliver. He has a show on HBO called Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He focuses a lot on politics and government in general and is so sharp, smart and laugh out loud funny. If you don't get HBO you can watch him on YouTube.
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Boy, I have my work cut out for me now! I was not on my computer much today (trying to take advantage of the last few nice days to finish outside stuff), but I will start searching for some of these titles. Most of them were familiar, but I had forgotten about them. Thanks everyone!
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I love 'Some Like It Hot' -- think it's my fave funny movie of all time, and then there's 'Fargo' too, and 'Birdcage', which might also be my fave movie.
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Definitely Best in Show. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (with Steve Martin). The original of The Producers. Bridesmaids. The SNL skit of The first debate!
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Oo! And what was that film with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin doing a double act? (literally) - that was gorgeous, I loved it.

'What's Up Doc?' - Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand made a great couple, too. Plus you get the underrated Madeleine Khan (sp?).
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Churchmouse- the Steve Martin/Lily Tomlin movie was All of Me. I like Steve Martin in some things - not so much in others. He was wonderful in the remake of Father of the Bride - which isn't terribly funny, I don't think but is very, very sweet.
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I like the original Father of the Bride, with Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor (good lord, she was beautiful then). Laughed my head off. Has Young Frankenstein been mentioned? Madeleine Kahn was in that too -- she died early, I think, but she was wonderful. Gene Wilder's version on Puttin' on the Ritz (with the monster -- Peter Boyle, I think?) was hilarious.

Love Astaire and Rogers. I have DVDs of all their movies. Gay Divorce is one of my faves of theirs.
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Mama Mia!
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And TV Mash and WKRP in Cincinnati, with Howard Hesseman as Johnny Fever and I'll never forget Les Nessman's mispronunciation of Chi Chi Rodriguez the baseball player's name as "Chy Chy Rod-ri-gweeze".

Ah, those were the days (All in the Family?) ...
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You are all angels!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Now if I can only figure out how to get the DVD player to come through on the TV :) !!! Thank you! Again and again!!!!!
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jinglebts- yes, I mentioned Young Frankenstein. I'm not a fan of too many Mel Brooks movies but loved this one! Another fabulous cast - Gene Wilder was soo talented. The Puttin on the Ritz scene is wonderful but my favorite scene is when the monster is having dinner with the blind monk - played by Gene Hackman. Too funny!
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joanne27, I know what you mean about making the DVD player work with the TV... I haven't used my DVD player there must be 2" of dust on it, it's been years. I know I wrote down notes on how to get it to work, there was just so many steps that I just gave up.

Oh how I liked my old VHS player, pop in the tape and up it came onto the TV. So very simple :)
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joane27: I don't like when I have to make notes to do anything. Once, my DD's setup was so complicated that she had to make notes for the babysitters (and me) too. (You had to use three remotes). Never, never, never. Can't even remember how to PVR the odd program on my setup and it's easy-peasy. Oh well. :(
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I cannot believe these were left out:
Monkey Business (Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe and Ginger Roger, and the Marx Brothers!), Bringing Up Baby (Cary Grant and A young beautiful Katherine Hepburn), His Gal Friday, (Cary and Rosalind Russell), People will Talk ( Cary and Jean Crain), My favorite Wife (Cary and Irene Dunne) and Topper (Cary and Constance Bennett) I have been a Cary Grant fan my entire life. These are just some of his comedies. There are many more and some dramas.
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