The longer I live, the more new incredible UK shows pop up! Every day I find something new, thanks to the mighty internet, and I've found so many shows in recent years that have shot up quickly into the favourites category. Traditionally the US source for UK telly has been public television, for which I'm eternally grateful. As I've stated before, however, I've come to see the the limitations of access to Brit shows as massive and broad-spectrum! Where we would get access to such gems as BLACKADDER and RED DWARF, we miss out on HI-DE-HI!, YOU RANG M'LORD, BLOTT ON THE LANDSCAPE, OH, DOCTOR BEECHING!, and a litany of other incredible shows, and that's just the comedy! Of course some programmes have been shown at various times, but many not for decades(and not in all areas); it wasn't until recently I got UP POMPEII, which was a forgotten childhood favourite, and for every one like that one there's a CHELMSFORD 123 that I was completely unaware of!
One such highly amusing comedy is the six-episode historical farce CAPTAIN BUTLER. It stars Craig Charles, best known for playing Dave Lister in the legendary space comedy RED DWARF. His sarcastic Liverpool vibe and rakish charm are hilarious. Of course he plays the title character, an eighteenth-century pirate captain with a zany, multi-ethnic ship's crew. There are two white characters on the show, an Indian guy, and two black characters(including Craig Charles, who is half black and half Irish, which is apparently different from 'black Irish', hehehe). Everyone is very funny and full of charisma. As a further treat for RED DWARF lovers, Robert Llewellyn(the 'mechanoid' Kryten) shows up as Admiral Lord Nelson! CAPTAIN BUTLER ran in 1997, so was filmed while Charles was on RED DWARF, which ran originally on BBC Two from 1988 to 1999.
It's actually pretty bawdy stuff; the sexual references are both modern and copious...and charmingly shameless. Anyone looking for historical accuracy should go elsewhere, as characters and events from completely different eras pop up throughout the show. Honestly I wish that there had been more, and that more people had access to them...so many treats like this go unnoticed. I'm sure many a RED DWARF fan would love to get their paws on these!
One such highly amusing comedy is the six-episode historical farce CAPTAIN BUTLER. It stars Craig Charles, best known for playing Dave Lister in the legendary space comedy RED DWARF. His sarcastic Liverpool vibe and rakish charm are hilarious. Of course he plays the title character, an eighteenth-century pirate captain with a zany, multi-ethnic ship's crew. There are two white characters on the show, an Indian guy, and two black characters(including Craig Charles, who is half black and half Irish, which is apparently different from 'black Irish', hehehe). Everyone is very funny and full of charisma. As a further treat for RED DWARF lovers, Robert Llewellyn(the 'mechanoid' Kryten) shows up as Admiral Lord Nelson! CAPTAIN BUTLER ran in 1997, so was filmed while Charles was on RED DWARF, which ran originally on BBC Two from 1988 to 1999.
It's actually pretty bawdy stuff; the sexual references are both modern and copious...and charmingly shameless. Anyone looking for historical accuracy should go elsewhere, as characters and events from completely different eras pop up throughout the show. Honestly I wish that there had been more, and that more people had access to them...so many treats like this go unnoticed. I'm sure many a RED DWARF fan would love to get their paws on these!