You may be asking, what does an American comedian like Colin Quinn have to say about Britishness? A lot, apparently. Quinn's one-man show, the Jerry Seinfeld-directed Long Story Short, premiered in New York this summer, and in it, the former Saturday Night Live Weekend Update anchor mused on many historical topics, including the rise and fall of the British Empire. In an interview shot last week, Anglophenia contributor Lindsay Davis sat down with Quinn to get his take on why Britain rose to such spectacular heights only to come crashing down, comparing the erstwhile world power to a "company that overfranchised":
And as BBC AMERICA will be showing movies featuring British baddies every weekend this month for its "The Accent of Evil" series, Lindsay got Colin's brief thoughts on why so many villains in American films are British. And his answer may be surprising. Watch:
Do you agree with Colin Quinn's thoughts about the rise and fall of the British Empire and why "The Accent of Evil" exists? Let us know below.
From io9: John Barrowman's older sister, Carole Barrowman, writes about the classic Doctor Who monster that scared her younger brother as a kid. It's an excerpt from Carole's piece in the new anthology, Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It: "When the Doctor was in his third regeneration, ditzy Jo was his companion, I was still afraid of Daleks, a bit creeped out by the Master, but the baby brother was growing on me. In fact, so much so that while shopping in Glasgow one Saturday morning, I insisted - and when I say insisted I mean forced with my arms clamped tightly around his chest - he stand outside a department store window for two or three minutes to make sure the mannequins weren't really Autons and that they were not poised to crash out of the display and follow us home. They were not and they did not, but baby brother checked his back the entire trip."
Here's an early clip of the Autons from 1970's Spearhead From Space, Jon Pertwee's first outing as the Third Doctor:
Two best friends came to blows while auditioning together for Simon Cowell's X Factor, and the fight will appear on tonight's episode.
(Mirror)
Is The King's Speech, which features Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen Mother and Colin Firth
as George VI, an Oscar contender this year? The Daily Mail's Baz
Bamigboye thinks so. Also: Inception star Tom Hardy replaces Michael Fassbander in the
new adaptation of John Le Carré's Cold War spy thriller, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which
also stars Firth and Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch.
Speaking of Mr. Hardy, you may need a cigarette after watching this video of him training in the gym for his role in Bronson.
OK, this is totes genius: Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders will write the Spice Girls musical, Viva Forever. Saunders tells The Stage: "I'm thrilled and terrified at the same time. It is very exciting to be writing a musical that encompasses the music and energy of the biggest girl-band of all time. My daughters grew up with The Spice Girls, I had to do it for them as well as myself." Viva Forever is set to debut in 2012.
If anyone could do this right, it's Jennifer Saunders. She's done a lot with the Girls over the years, including a memorable appearance in the 1997 movie Spice World. Here's a French and Saunders skit from 1998 featuring the Spice Girls.
And here's a cute clip featuring Saunders and her daughters in the 1997 TV special, An Audience with the Spice Girls:
You may be asking, what does an American comedian like Colin Quinn have to say about Britishness? A lot, apparently. Quinn's one-man show, the Jerry Seinfeld-directed Long Story Short, premiered in New York this summer, and in it, the former Saturday Night Live Weekend Update anchor mused on many historical topics, including the rise and fall of the British Empire. In an interview shot last week, Anglophenia contributor Lindsay Davis sat down with Quinn to get his take on why Britain rose to such spectacular heights only to come crashing down, comparing the erstwhile world power to a "company that overfranchised":
OK, this is totes genius: 
Login to submit a comment Comments (0)