Upstart Crow

2016

Seasons & Episodes

  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0

7.7| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 09 May 2016 Canceled
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Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0959g26
Synopsis

Comedy about the life and times of William Shakespeare as he starts to make a name for himself in London, whilst also trying to balance life as a husband and father for his family in Stratford-upon-Avon.

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Bill Polhemus In sooth, the rollicking merriment of this ribald offering hath caused me to strain my vitals till I'm like to fill my puffling-pants with that which doth provide fertilizer but canst be found not at yon Walmart Garden Center, and which doth provide relief when brought forth but not in polite company!'Struth, were it not for the modern blessing of indoor plumbing I fear I'd long since have become the laughingstock of my near neighbors were I observed struggling to gain entry to mine own privy in time to forestall a reeking pant-load!Those other critics here who disavow the comic genius of this arch take on the life of the Bard of Avon canst not have seen the selfsame episodes I've viewed this far; that, or they are in the clandestine pay of that odious scoundrel, the Green-Eyed Robert Greene himself!Have you a secondary-school inmate resident in your abode, pray have them watch an episode or three of this noisome farce! Mayhap their grumblings regarding forcéd tutelage upon "Romeo and Juliet" will turn less nettlesome should they behold the fruitless attempts of Kate to strut the stage in the first female role in English theatre to be played by one who hath the greater weight of Bolingbrooks to her credit, yet not, alas, dangling 'twixt her thighs!
rmemmott-49738 Upstart Crow is one of my current favourites. I particularly like the idea of Shakespeare being a close friend of Christopher Marlowe. There is no evidence that they actually ever met, but who cares? Marlowe is shown as a sort of "Flashheart" type, with all the boozy, womanising style of that great character.The regular speculations of Will on how his work will be seen in history, and allusions to things that could never happen, but that we know actually have occurred, is always fun. The seasoned older actors like Enfield, Tarbuck etc is well mixed with the younger cast.Some of the references to the plays, sonnets etc are no doubt sometimes lost on the average viewer, but, hey, I did Shakespeare at grammar school so I get it, or most of it!
gauravborkar I am going to be honest about it this seems a missed opportunity we could have a black adder at hand but it seems to be beyond repair, where shall I start the incessant laugh track or the unfunny jokes for those who come for mockery of the Shakespearean style or David Mitchell's cynicism I was dismayed to find the series without any of these and those of you calming the humor is esoteric its not it is as bland as it gets.
bentos-66878 I love this show, it is witty and contains a lot of puns, play upon words, ... it has a lot of recurring jokes, e,g, the extremely bad coach service, which is of course British rail, which is a running gag in itself. I absolutely love Mitchell's ranting about it, and about the oxbridge ruled England. This show also has a lot of references to contemporary "evils of modern society" like the new found printing which will ruin young peoples minds. Obvious a reference to social media and it is nice to see Mitchell getting his rant on ....You have to be familiar with UK politics, with Shakespeare's plays, his poetry and the general criticism to get some of the references (which I don't always get). this is high brow comedy and a galaxy removed from the usual British comedy u see nowadays on the television.I think it is funny that Elton mocks that a lot of Shakepeare's jokes cannot be understood without footnotes (or Shakespeare explaining them in the show) but the jokes he makes in the show are sometimes only funny for shakespearean scholars and hence need explaining. Luckily for us, the common folks, there is the internet where we can google why a certain phrase was funny.