Features
Book On British TV Bloody Good
By Tommy Garrett
Jul 27, 2008 - 12:36:36 PM

A.S. Berman’s book, “30 Years of British Television,” was a very fascinating read. Being an entertainment and Hollywood historian, I had been a longtime admirer of many of the British television shows. It was these shows that introduced us to many of the greats today, such as Judi Dench and the like. My favorite British comedy was “Keeping Up Appearances” but I also enjoyed “Are You Being Served” and “Red Dwarf.” There are so many others like “Monty Python” and “Waiting for God” to name a few.
   Author A.S. Berman is a former USA Today writer and editor, co-founder of British Television magazine, and author of a great book called “The New Horror Handbook.” This 21st century guide to horror film culture is forthcoming also from Bear Manor Publishing. Bear Manor has taken over the educational styled books that made McFarland famous. This budding publishing company will be doing a classic stars photo book with yours truly in September.
   Back to Mr. Berman’s work, the book is very concise and easy to read. Short chapters make this tome one that you can take on a plane and read, take to a doctor's office while waiting to be called or just by the bedside every night for reading before bed. Berman also found an ingenious way to incorporate interviews that he’d done with his stories from the shows to make it very contemporary. His writing style is smooth and enticing. I thought I’d read a couple chapters and then finish it next week on a trip I had planned. I didn’t want to put it down after the first night and finished it in two sittings. That’s unheard of today with books. Most are difficult to keep interest in, but not Berman’s book.
   The chapter on John Mortimer was quite interesting. Such great actors don’t come this way often, television was the place where many such actors, who weren’t quite movie star handsome, could shine and reach an even bigger audience by playing beloved characters that we all grew to feel were part of our family. American television was the beginning, but the British seemed to capture humor better than we did. They also were able to capitalize on “less is more” where as American sitcoms are filled with bad language and much to do about nothing today.
   John Inman is another character that we fell in love with. As the “gay” Mr. Humphries on “Are You Being Served,” we were sometimes left in hysterics as he threatened to slap someone silly and was able to make a gay character funny and non-threatening in the same breath. British television never seemed to get into preachy and stayed in the realm of entertainment and humor. Inman was a master of this. And therefore probably was able to make more people in the audience comfortable with his being funny more than being on an agenda, which shows like "Will & Grace" and "Queer as Folk" seemed to personify.
   The '70s to the '90s seems to have been Britain’s best years of comedy and television, which coincides slightly with our own. This book by A.S. Berman is a must read for anyone who ever enjoyed British television and for those who haven’t watched but may want to see what it was all about. Easy to read and laid out brilliantly by the publisher. I give this Five Stars of Five and label it a "must-read" for the summer.


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