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Merriman Weir
Matthew James Holness (born 1975) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He is best known for creating and playing the fictional horror author Garth Marenghi. Early life and education Born in Whitstable, Kent, Holness became a fan of Hammer horror films at a young age, to the extent that when, at the age of six, he asked Hammer star and fellow Whitstable resident Peter Cushing for his autograph, Cushing expressed concern that the child knew so much about the films. Holness attended Chaucer Technology School in Canterbury and went on to read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. As a member of the Cambridge Footlights, he appeared in a number of shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the mid-1990s. He also served as vice-president when David Mitchell was president. Other contemporaries included Robert Webb, Richard Ayoade and John Oliver. Holness received the Master of Arts from Cambridge, graduating ''in absentia'' due to his comedy work. Career In 2000, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitstable
Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of 32,100. The town, formerly known as Whitstable-on-Sea, was famous for its 'Native Oysters' which were collected from beds beyond the low water mark from Roman times until the mid-20th century. The annual Whitstable Oyster Festival takes place during the summer. In 1830, one of the earliest passenger railway services was opened by the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company. In 1832 the company built a harbour and extended the line to handle coal and other bulk cargos for the City of Canterbury. The railway has closed but the harbour still plays an important role in the town's economy. The railway route, known as The Crab and Winkle Line, is now a cycle path which leads to the neighbouring city of Canterbury. History Archaeological finds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruiser (TV Series)
''Bruiser'' is a TV comedy sketch show that was produced for BBC Two. It premiered on 28 February 2000 and ran for six episodes, ending on 15 March 2000. The principal writers were David Mitchell (comedian), David Mitchell and Robert Webb (actor), Robert Webb. Additional writers included Richard Ayoade and Ricky Gervais. The BBC writes, "And if the series itself is not widely remembered, it's notable not least for bringing together an immensely talented group of young performers who have since joined the 'A' list of British comedians." In addition to Mitchell and Webb, cast members included Olivia Colman, Martin Freeman, Matthew Holness and Charlotte Hudson. Due to much of the cast's later popularity, the show has achieved cult status. Sketches * Two Writers: (Webb and Colman) pitch surreal ideas for television shows to Alan Titchmarsh's agent (Mitchell). *Outdoor Wee: Television host Keith (Holness) interviews celebrities one-on-one (played by Mitchell, Webb, Colman, and Free ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Time Trumpet
''Time Trumpet'' is a six-episode satirical television comedy series which aired on BBC Two in August 2006. The series was written by Armando Iannucci, Roger Drew and Will Smith in a similar manner to Iannucci's earlier one-off programmes, '' 2004: The Stupid Version'' and '' Clinton: His Struggle with Dirt''. One sketch was later spun off by network in Ireland, RTÉ, into the cult television series ''Soupy Norman'', in May 2007. Premise ''Time Trumpet'' is set in the year 2031, and is a retrospective documentary on the first thirty years of the 21st century. Actors and actresses play the parts of 'today's stars' thirty years on, who are interviewed as part of the show. These 'older selves' include David Beckham, Anne Robinson, David Cameron, Sebastian Coe, Kate Middleton, Charlotte Church, Ant & Dec, June Sarpong, Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, Charles Clarke, Noel Edmonds, Chris Moyles, Gordon Brown, David Miliband, Bob Geldof, Saddam Hussein, Natasha Kaplinsky, Prince Harry, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man To Man With Dean Learner
''Man to Man with Dean Learner'' is a British comedy chat show that was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 20 October 2006 and released on DVD on 3 September 2007. It features comedians Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness. Originally called ''Deano's After Dark'', the show features Dean Learner (Ayoade) chatting to a range of guest characters (all played by Ayoade's co-writer, Matthew Holness) including folk singer Merriman Weir and horror writer Garth Marenghi. Production Holness and Ayoade spent time testing out material in front of a live audience in December 2005 ; the show involved Ayoade fixed in the role of smut-peddling presenter Dean Learner and Holness playing various characters. These included Glynn Nimron, a sci-fi – or "S.F.", as he preferred it – actor with a new biography detailing his extremely close relationship with a director; Garth Marenghi, returning to promote his new ''Darkplace''-esque movie ''War of the Wasps''; folk musician Merriman Weir who has a penc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Department
''The Department'' is a satirical comedy on BBC Radio 4 about a secret organisation with the power to influence every aspect of your life. Chris Addison, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman star as Research Team 32, an eccentric three-man think-tank with the brief to brainstorm new ideas on solving society's problems. ''The Department'' is written and performed by Chris Addison, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman (cancelled after the third series which was written only by Oliver and Zaltzman, after Addison concentrated on his first book), with Peter Dickson, Matthew Holness Matthew James Holness (born 1975) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He is best known for creating and playing the fictional horror author Garth Marenghi. Early life and education Born in Whitstable, Kent, Holness became a f ... and Lucy Montgomery. Character List *Oscar Proud (Chris Addison) - Team 32's team leader and historian. Very patriotic and nostalgic for the time of the British Em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' is a British horror parody television series created by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness for Channel 4. The show focuses on fictional horror author Garth Marenghi (played by Holness) and his publisher Dean Learner (played by Ayoade), characters who originated in the stage show ''Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight''. The series is presented as a special release of the fictional television series ''Darkplace''. Within the canon of the show, ''Darkplace'' was produced in the 1980s, but failed to gain an audience anywhere but Peru, eventually becoming a lost series. Saved footage has recently resurfaced, with Marenghi republishing with the intent of gaining interest from a modern audience. The "original footage" of the show is intercut or bookended with commentary from many of the "original" cast, where characters such as Marenghi and Learner reflect on what it was like to make the show. ''Darkplace'' parodies the fashion, special effects, production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rich Fulcher
Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1968) is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series ''The Mighty Boosh'', and Edward Sheath in the American series '' Jon Benjamin Has a Van''. He has also appeared in Noel Fielding's more recent show, ''Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy''. His other appearances include '' Unnatural Acts'' with Julian Barratt and Fielding of ''The Mighty Boosh'' and he starred in and wrote the TV series ''Snuff Box'' alongside Matt Berry. Early life Fulcher was born in Massachusetts. He attended St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., and then earned a degree in government from Dartmouth College. After graduating he pursued a career in comedy. He took to improvised comedy at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago, where he was one of the early members of the Upright Citizens Brigade. Beginning in late 1992 in Chicago, Fulcher began working on a new long-form improvisational comedy concept – a completely imp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which aired from 2004 to 2007, and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the United States. The first television series is set in a zoo operated by Bob Fossil, the second in a flat and the third in a secondhand shop in Dalston called Nabootique. Various members of The Mighty Boosh have appeared in a number of different comedy series including '' Nathan Barley'', ''Snuff Box'' and ''Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy'', and regular Boosh collaborators included Richard Ayoade and Matt Berry. The troupe is named after a childhood hairstyle of co-star Michael Fielding. History Fielding first met Barratt after seeing him perform his solo stand-up routine at the Hellfire Comedy Club in the Wycombe Swan Theatre, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Office (UK TV Series)
''The Office'' is a British television mockumentary sitcom first broadcast in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme follows the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company. Gervais also starred in the series, playing the central character David Brent. Two six-episode series were made, followed by a two-part Christmas special. When it was first shown on BBC Two, ratings were relatively low, but it has since become one of the most successful of all British comedy exports. As well as being shown internationally on BBC Worldwide, channels such as BBC Prime, BBC America, and BBC Canada, the series has been sold to broadcasters in over 80 countries, including ABC1 in Australia, The Comedy Network in Canada, TVNZ in New Zealand, and the pan-Asian satellite channel Star World, based in Hong Kong. The show was shown in the United States on BBC America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garth Marenghi's Netherhead
''Garth Marenghi's Netherhead'' was a low-budget comedy horror stage show written by Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade, and starring Holness, Ayoade and Alice Lowe. It was performed at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it won the Perrier Award. The show was built around Holness's spoof horror writer character Garth Marenghi, with additional parts played by Ayoade (as Marenghi's publisher Dean Learner) and Lowe. ''Netherhead'' was the sequel to ''Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight'', which was nominated for the Perrier Award in 2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from .... References External linksOfficial Garth Marenghi website British plays Garth Marenghi's Darkplace 2001 plays {{2000s-play-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varsity (Cambridge)
''Varsity'' is the oldest of Cambridge University's main student newspapers. It has been published continuously since 1947 and is one of only three fully independent student newspapers in the UK. It moved back to being a weekly publication in Michaelmas 2015, and is published every Friday during term time. ''Varsity'' has received numerous awards, including repeated recognition at the now defunct ''Guardian'' Student Media Awards. History ''Varsity'' is one of Britain's oldest student newspapers. Its first edition was published on 17 January 1931, as ''Varsity: the Cambridge University Illustrated'' (later ''The Varsity Weekly'', and then the ''Cambridge Varsity Post''. However, the first few years saw ''Varsity'' get off to a shaky start. In 1932, a controversy about some of its stories resulted in the editor being challenged to a duel, and the following year the paper went bankrupt (having lost £100). Revival A variety of attempts to revive ''Varsity'' led to the paper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
