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A newish comedy programme that rather passed me by until this week.

For those not in the know its a new Ben Elton sitcom based around William Shakespeare staring the surprisingly good David Mitchell as William and Mark Heap as his nemesis Robert Greene.

Comedy about William Shakespeare as he starts to make a name for himself in London while also trying to be a good husband and father for his family in Stratford-upon-Avon.

I missed it on Tv as I wrote it off as a Blackadder clone and am of the mind that Ben Elton has gone off the boil in the last decade but how wrong I was.

It is like Blackadder insofar as it's set historically and plays around with famous characters of the time (all the better for it too) and the writing is fantastic, easily Eltons best work for some time. Yes they introduce allot of modern tropes which at first made me unsure about it but it works well. There was a particularly good simile with the internet where Will bemoans modern printing allowing any old hack to get review out into the public realm no matter how qualified they are to make such comment.

It's all done in Pseudo Elizabethan prose which really added to it for me.
I only caught episodes 3-6 but on what I saw found it a really treat. Well done the Beeb, you can make decent comedies!



Also in the interests of openness it does have Liza Tarbuck as Mrs Shakespeare who is someone that I have had somewhat of a secret crush on for more years than is decent. So I might be a bit biased.

Must admit I rather guiltily enjoyed the series; yes it was just Blackadder with a load of Shakespeare-themed in jokes, but I like both of those after all! And frankly if there's anyone other than Rowan Atkinson suited to playing such a Blackadderesque character it is David Mitchell.

First episode was a bit dodgy, and I wasn't a huge fan of the more modern-speaking characters though I can see why there were there. The only bit that bugged me was the


All in all, good stuff. Some very clever satire hidden in there, and definitely lots of more obscure jokes that those familiar with Shakespeare's work will find rather amusing.

Got it recorded, good to know it's worth watching.


Literally just popped up in my feed :

http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2016/06/23/25150/from_iron_throne_to_chat-show_sofa?mc_cid=22b543d82d&mc_eid=ba6ebe4961#

Thanks Red.

Chortle has some reviews as well, mostly positive.

I note they also carry a story saying that Upstart Crow has been commissioned for a second series.