The ultimate compendium of crisp one-liners, knockout jokes, droll asides and universal truths collected over the years by the creators of QI. 'You know 'that look' women get when they want sex? Me neither.' Steve Martin 'You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from nesting in your hair.' Chinese proverb 'The Beatles are dying in the wrong order.' Victor Lewis-Smith 'Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.' Mark Tw...
They're cheesy, they're crackers, they're more British than Union Jack underpants - Wallace and Gromit occupy a unique place in people's hearts.This nifty little book profiles one of the two plasticine heroes, in a way that will remind readers of their own lives. Wallace's "Book of Genius" will inspire and amuse dads and lads everywhere.
BBC TV and Radio's Bob Servant, self-styled 'hero of Dundee', addresses life's problems for you, and offers practical solutions you won't find anywhere else.
A rib-tickling collection of seasonal sketches, songs and plays from Eric and Ernie's BBC television Christmas specials. 'The greatest double act in the history of British television' The Independent Morecambe and Wise are one of the most popular and enduring double acts ever to appear on television. Their Christmas specials were amongst the highest-rated programmes of all time, with viewing figures in the tens of millions, and they soon became regarded as a national institution. These...
Four classic episodes of the popular BBC Radio 4 panel game. 5 January 1977/8 January 1980/11 March 1980/23 June 1988 Nicholas Parsons chairs four archive episodes of the evergreen BBC Radio 4 comedy panel game, featuring the four original regular players of the game: Clement Freud, Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo and Kenneth Williams. These specially selected episodes, all published for the first time, see the formidable foursome squaring up to eachother in a battle of wits – and wit. As they endeavou...
‘Prepare to laugh’ – Reese Witherspoon 253 steps to becoming an anti-it girl. Funny woman, Instagram star and international comedy sensation, Celeste Barber’s Challenge Accepted! is a raucous, hilarious and outspoken guide to life, unwanted gas and how to rock a sexy scar. Part-memoir, part-comedy routine, part-advice manual, Challenge Accepted! is Celeste at her best, revealing her secrets to love, friendship, family and marriage (oh hai, #h...
Ray - So...thinking about these books what the Guv wrote, I wondered if we might, you know, get in on the act a bit. I've knocked this up by remembering things the Guv's said about stuff, thought we could maybe send it to his publishers, get a cut of the proceeds. What do you think? Chris I think you'll be wearing your knacker-sack as a cap when the Guv sees it. Worth a try though I suppose. Ray Unable to resist the possibility of some easy cash, DC Chris Skelton and DS Ray Carling have brought...
PART OF THE VAULT OF SIMPSONOLOGY SERIES - ESSENTIAL READING FOR ALL SIMPSONS FANS. Bart Simpson is truly the unrivaled master of mischief. Amateur pranksters around the world take their tips and learn their tricks from Bart, the sneakiest of sneaks. The nightmare of every sister and the destroyer of calm composure for every grown-up, this clever kid knows how to push everyone’s buttons and get away with it all. Now Bart shares his mischievous secrets with the world, from the contents of the pe...
This handsome collector's box set contains the soundtrack of all twelve episodes of Fawlty Towers, as broadcast in two BBCTV series from 1975 to 1979. Presented in chronological order, the episodes star John Cleese, Andrew Sachs, Prunella Scales and Connie Booth. Also included is an interview with Cleese himself and some linking narration by Andrew Sachs. The six CDs are presented in individual pochettes, and the box also includes a hotel-style booklet with photographs, cast biographies, and a h...
A behind-the-scenes foray into the making of one of the world's most popular comedy shows. The author describes the history of the show, the biographies of the members and anecdotes from those involved in making the series.
Four classic episodes with the world's most famous rag and bone men. Crossed Swords/Two s Company/Tea For Two/T.B. Or Not T.B. Two junk men and a junk-cart, bonded by blood, yoked by emotional blackmail and tied by the reins of Hercules the horse. Albert a conniving old father clinging to an awesome jumble of useless bric-a-brac and to an exasperated son. Harold a shackled son full of indistinct ambition for an out-of-reach life and forever on the fringe of a flirt with a passing 'bird'. Peddlin...
The original six BBC TV episodes starring Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Brian Blessed, Peter Cook, Miriam Margolyes and Rik Mayall includes: "The Foretelling", "The Queen of Spain's Beard", "Born To Be King", "Witchsmeller Pursuivant", "Archbishop", and "The Black Seal". Through the ages, men of flair, faculty and outstanding courage have contributed to their country's heritage. Others, like the snivelling worm Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh (alias 'The Black Adder'), have emerged fro...
Britain, Britain, Britain. Recently awarded the OBE. But why? Not just because we invented the scone. Let's take a trip around this fragrant isle and find out just who are they, and what are their doings. Bring it on!' In these highlights from the second BBC TV series, Emily Howard has found a friend! Together they take afternoon tea - 'if they have a lady's cake' - and look for wedding dresses - 'a lady's dress, white of course, with frilly bits'. Vicky Pollard goes backstage at a Blazin' Squa...
'Britain, Britain, Britain. Land of tradition, fish and fries, the changing of the garden. Have you ever wondered about the people of Britain? Neither have I...' In these highlights of the first BBC TV series, Lou takes Andy to the opera - 'I don't like it!', to the pet shop - 'I want a rabbit!' - and on holiday to Helsinki - 'I want to go to Florida!' Lou also offers to paint Andy's bedroom: 'Now, are you sure you want red...?' Unconvincing transvestite Emily Howard, or rather Eddie Howard, tur...
To everything there is a season. A time to be born, a time to die...and a time to get a few things off your chest. The sequel to "Grumpy Old Men: The Official Handbook" covers a year in the sad and sordid life of a Grumpy Old Man, sorting into dates and seasons the many and manifold bloody irritations which multiply in this perpetual torment that we call modern living. Yes, it's a daily chronicle of life for the terminally irritable; an almanac of angst. If you know, live with, tolerate or - God...
The complete series of the vintage BBC Radio variety showRadio legends Kenneth Williams (Beyond Our Ken, Hancock’s Half Hour) and Ted Ray (Ray’s a Laugh) join forces for this quickfire mix of characters, songs and sketches, first broadcast on Radio 2 in 1974. Accompanied by Quote… Unquote’s Nigel Rees and veteran actress/comedian Miriam Margolyes, they cross their comedy swords and trade playful repartee.In these ten episodes, recorded in front of a live audience at the Paris Theatre, Ted Ray de...
This title features four classic episodes of the long-running BBC TV sitcom starring John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Wendy Richard, Frank Thornton, Trevor Bannister and others, all previously unavailable on audio. The staff of Grace Brothers department store are embroiled in four rounds of schemes, misunderstandings and skirmishes in which Mrs Slocombe, Mr Humphries, Miss Brahms and Captain Peacock play no small part. This work includes "Camping In", April 4, 1973; "Wedding Bells", March 4 1975; "Goo...
This is the fiscally chaotic tenth series of the popular BBC Radio 4 comedy, written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman and starring Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge. The Ladies are having to tighten their belts in this latest collection of Letters. Karen and St John have put the Bothy up for sale, and together with their children, have invaded Vera's Coach House. But very soon things become totally intolerable, and Vera is forced to take up residence in the shed on her allotment. Meanwhil...
The Museum Of Curiosity: Series 2
by Dan Schreiber, John Lloyd, and Richard Turner
Join Professor John Lloyd and Curator Sean Lock as once again they plunge down the badger hole of ignorance in a search for the universe’s most mind-boggling oddnesses. 'The Museum of Curiosity' is BBC Radio 4’s monumental comedy edifice, and the only one with gargoyles in the foyer. It allows nothing inside unless it makes you scratch your head, stroke your chin or, at the very least, go `Hmm’. Secondly, it is almost completely empty. Fortunately, helping to fill its vacant plinths is a gathe...
Aleksandr Orlov has become one of the most loved figures in British culture and his catchphrase - Simples! - can be heard from the playground to the office. Written in his inimitable voice (as dictated to his sidekick Sergei), his autobiography will offer the same humour as his TV ads, giving us the full story of his ancestor's Journey of Courageousness from the Kalahari to Russia, the low-down on his life as entrepreneur and founder of comparethemeerkat.com and his love of grubs and cravats.'My...
John Le Mesurier, Ian Lavender, Bill Pertwee star in four more episodes of the radio sequel to Dad's Army Inspecting the Piles (Episode 4) In order to save money, Hodges, Pike and Wilson decide to inspect the foundations of Frambourne Pier in an inflatable rubber dinghy at night. Pike in Love (Episode 5) Uncle Arthur is called in to give Pike a lesson on the birds and the bees. The Friends of Frambourne Pier (Episode 6) Pike and Hodges decide to launch a campaign asking for volunteers. And so...
The complete television soundtracks of all 12 episodes of the legendary BBC sitcomGround-breaking, satirical and anarchic, The Young Ones introduced alternative comedy to mainstream TV, and made household names of its writers and performers. It ran for two series on BBC Two between 1982 and 1984, winning a host of devoted fans and a BAFTA Award for its second series.A world away from the cosy suburban sitcoms that preceded it, the show centred around four degenerate students sharing a squalid No...