Crapston villas

Animated adult soap opera where each episode focuses on the bizarre lives of London's most chaotic collection of flat-dwellers: Sophie and Jonathan live unharmoniously in Flat B where she reluctantly supports his ineffectual (and often stoned) attempts to become the next big thing in films. In between resenting him and restraining their vicious cat Fatso, she also plays reluctant host to the lodger from Hell, Flossie, an out-of-work actress who specialises in baby voices and flirting with Jonathan. Flat C is home for the Stenson family, headed by single parent Marge who is broke, blonde and hell-bent on finding a new boyfriend. Her son is 16-year-old Woody Stenson who spends most of his time concentrating on sexual discovery (but only with himself). And completing the household are the owners of Flat D, Robbie and Larry; a gay couple much feted by Flossie

‘I Think Women Are Possibly Judged More Harshly with Comedy’: Women and British Television Comedy Production

The issue of the lack of women working in British television comedy has recently been highlighted by both critics and creative workers. Through thematic analysis of interviews with British television comedy professionals, this article explores the ways in which women talk about their work and position in this industry, focusing on the context of gender. After outlining the specific industrial contexts within which female comedy professionals’ work, the article examines the institutionalised gender norms and practical impediments revealed by interviewees’ responses, whilst also exploring the institutional, as well as personal initiatives which have been instigated to address these problems

The roots of alternative comedy? – the alternative story of 20th century coyote and eighties comedy

There have been many articles but too few rigorous critiques detailing the naissance and flowering of alternative comedy – a rather loose and undefined term for the brand of ‘non-racist, non-sexist’ comedy of the 1980s. The descriptions that do exist of the formation, growth and continued influence of this ill-defined ‘genre’ tend to be rather uncritical and more often than not, factually incorrect. The articles are often London-centric and rarely identify the origins of one of the more important roots of this comedy phenomenon to a jazz club in Manchester. For it was Band on the Wall in the run down northern quarter of Manchester in1976 that first played host to one of the key inspirations for character-led improvised sketch comedy. This brand of performance, which also tends to be under-discussed, transferred to the comedy clubs in the late 1970s and 1980s, including the original Soho Comedy Store and The Comic Strip. Formed by the author Lloyd Peters in March 1976 whilst studying B.A. Drama at Manchester University, his improvisatory character-led comedy troupe 20th Century Coyote was to become the resident company at The Band on the Wall. Peters recruited fellow thespian student Rik Mayall principally because they shared the same off-beat humour – anarchic slapstick mixed with a large dose of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Two further Manchester University drama students were press-ganged from the year below and rather late in the day (October1976) Adrian Edmondson to appear in Coyote’s first improv-based comedy entitled Dead Funny (1976). Six other shows followed before an Edinburgh Fringe Festival spin-off. The 40-minute live shows were self-contained narratives based on recognized comedy templates but worked, or more correctly warped, by improvisation and then re-improvised in performance. The shows were often loud, crude and grotesque. This article details the importance of the group, its techniques and the lasting influence of character-led sketch and ‘ imrov’ comedy that shaped a distinctive brand of ‘alternative comedy’ in the 1970s and 1980s and that would soon dominate the comedy mainstream

The Multicultural First World War: memories of the West Indian contribution in contemporary Britain

The experiences of West Indian soldiers in the First World War have received renewed attention during the centenary commemorations. By exploring how the West Indian contribution is imagined in the media and creative arts, this paper problematizes the historical memory linking military service to citizenship in multicultural Britain. During the conflict, West Indian participation was used to suggest that the British Empire stood united in the face of German aggression. Through the 1920s and 1930s, the contribution of West Indian volunteers was recalled to support many political campaigns, including West Indian self-government and pan-African campaigns opposed to the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Although West Indian soldiers were often excluded from combat roles, these movements relied on the rhetoric of masculine military sacrifice. Post-independence, West Indian nation states recalled imperial military service to affirm national identity. For the descendants of West Indian migrants in Britain, First World War military service may serve to underpin claims to equal citizenship. Government agencies and funding organizations have also turned to the West Indian war memory to increase community cohesion. The paper concludes that memories of belonging predicated on past military service are problematic. Non-combatant service may be overlooked and troubling histories avoided

Cyber-Security Hazards in Society

Cyber-security hazards in society are viewed in the context of tensions, disasters, and development opportunities. The tension is essentially that between the physical and spiritual world as we know it and the challenge given by virtual cyberspace to this traditional understanding. The hazards can clearly cause disasters but can also create development opportunities. Beginning with a brief historical review of what is known, what is not known, and definitions of terms, the chapter moves on to look at the very different environments and difficulties created within cyberspace in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal arenas. Additionally, life, military, organizational, critical infrastructure, criminal, and moral hazards are explored. The analysis reveals some familiar, some surprising, and some unknown features of these hazards. The reluctant conclusion is that some form of regulation is required to ensure that society as a whole is protected from cyber-security hazards