Produced by Iowa Public Television, this compilation is pledge-drive fodder--i.e., the stuff your local PBS station airs (with constant interruptions) when begging for your bucks. Hosted by Penelope Keith (of the PBS staple Britcom To the Manor Born), this choppy special offers a thoroughly inoffensive "tribute" to the comediennes of British TV and their characters that feels exactly like prepackaged TV snack food. There is no question that the parade of talent here--Judi Dench (As Time Goes By), Patricia Routledge (Keeping Up Appearances), Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley), Prunella Scales (Fawlty Towers), Mollie Sugden (Are You Being Served?), Felicity Kendal (Good Neighbours), among others--is exceptional, but the mini-bios of the women are anemic, their clips aren't nearly numerous enough to satisfy, and the deconstruction of their work is all but useless (there is but the briefest mention of the expert timing and lack of fear that farce requires, and only the most cursory discussion of the battles of the sexes and the classes that is the typical stuff of Britcoms). Optional. Aud: P. (M. Johanson)
The Funny Ladies of British Comedy
(2004) 124 min. DVD: $22.98. BBC Video (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. ISBN: 0-7907-8701-6. February 21, 2005
The Funny Ladies of British Comedy
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