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The best books for reality TV obsessives

Identity Crisis

Comedian, screenwriter &amp; bestselling author returns with a blistering satire. No one is safe as Ben Elton sends up everything from fake news culture to extreme gender politics, from political sloganism to the power of the hashtag, and everything in between.

Ben Elton’s multi-award winning career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past thirty-five years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he was co-writer of TV hits The Young Ones and Blackadder and sole creator of The Thin Blue Line and Upstart Crow. He has written fifteen major bestsellers, including Stark, Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous, High Society, Two Brothers and Time and Time Again, three West End plays and three musicals, including global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written and directed two feature films, Maybe Baby and Three Summers. 
 
He is married and has three children.

Why are we all so hostile? So quick to take offence? Truly we are living in the age of outrage. 
 
A series of apparently random murders draws amiable, old-school Detective Mick Matlock into a world of sex, politics, reality TV and a bewildering kaleidoscope of opposing identity groups. Lost in a blizzard of hashtags, his already complex investigation is further impeded by the fact that he simply doesn’t ‘get’ a single thing about anything anymore. 
 
Meanwhile, each day another public figure confesses to having ‘misspoken’ and prostrates themselves before the judgement of Twitter. Begging for forgiveness, assuring the public “that is not who I am”. 
 
But if nobody is who they are anymore - then who the f##k are we? 
 
Ben Elton returns with a blistering satire of the world as it fractures around us. Get ready for a roller-coaster thriller, where nothing - and no one - is off limits.

Upstart Crow

The hilarious script book - with new introduction and annotations - to accompany Ben Elton's Upstart Crow, the BBC historical sitcom which is now entering its third series and attracts over 1.5 million viewers per episode.

A knockabout, well-researched take on the working and domestic life of Shakespeare

Gloriously restores Elton's credentials as a reliable provider of quality sitcom

This does indeed deserve comparisons with Blackadder

Ben Elton’s multi-award winning career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past thirty-five years. In addition to his hugely influential work as a stand-up comic, he was co-writer of TV hits The Young Ones and Blackadder and sole creator of The Thin Blue Line and Upstart Crow. He has written fifteen major bestsellers, including Stark, Popcorn, Inconceivable, Dead Famous, High Society, Two Brothers and Time and Time Again, three West End plays and three musicals, including global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written and directed two feature films, Maybe Baby and Three Summers. 
 
 He is married and has three children.

"This does indeed deserve comparisons with Blackadder" Radio Times 
 
"A knockabout, well-researched take on the working and domestic life of Shakespeare." The Guardian 
 
It’s the 1590s. William Shakespeare – brought to life on screen by the inimitable David Mitchell – is at the start of his career. But no one is taking him seriously. In London, he is mercilessly mocked by his rivals and at home in Stratford he is belittled by his sullen teenage daughter. 
 
Yet he is determined to find an ending for his newest creation Romeo and Juliet. Luckily, inspiration is forthcoming. The trials and tribulations of his closest friends and family reveal the plot twists he’d been missing. And not only for this famous tragedy but for many of his finest plays. 
 
With sparkling wordplay, hilarious gags and his trademark wit, Ben Elton celebrates the great William Shakespeare and reveals the startling stories behind the playwright’s best-known plays.

Time and Time Again

If you had one chance to change history...Where would you go? What would you do? Who would you kill?

Time and Time Again triumphs and it’s the best I’ve read of Elton’s many bestsellers

It’s the 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be. 
 
Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come. He knows this because, for him, that century is already history. 
 
Somehow he must change that history. He must prevent the war. A war that will begin with a single bullet. But can a single bullet truly corrupt an entire century? 
 
And, if so, could another single bullet save it?

Two Brothers

A deeply poignant novel set in Berlin between 1920 and 1945

Berlin 1920 
 
Two babies are born. 
Two brothers. United and indivisible, sharing everything. Twins in all but blood. 
 
As Germany marches into its Nazi Armageddon, the ties of family, friendship and love are tested to the very limits of endurance. And the brothers are faced with an unimaginable choice....Which one of them will survive? 
 
Ben Elton's most personal novel to date,Two Brothers transports the reader to the time of history's darkest hour.

Blackadder: The Complete Collected Series

The complete soundtracks of all four Blackadder series, plus over three hours of specials and extras

The complete soundtracks of all four Blackadder series, plus over three hours of specials and extras 
 
Through the ages of Britain, from the 15th century to the 21st, Edmund Blackadder has meddled his way along the bloodlines, aided by his two imbecilic sidekicks, Lord Percy and Baldrick, and hindered by an assortment of dimwitted aristocrats. With cunning plans and cutting comedy, listen as the Blackadder dynasty plot their way through history… 
 
The Black Adder – Set in the Middle Ages, this iconic first series follows the fictitious reign of King Richard IV, played by Brian Blessed, through the experiences of his unfavoured second son Prince Edmund “The Black Adder” 
 
Blackadder II - The Blackadder genes resurface in Elizabethan England for more historical comedy 
 
Blackadder the Third - Blackadder turns up as butler to the Prince Regent in the late 18th Century 
 
Blackadder Goes Forth – The scheming Blackadder is dropped into the trenches during the First World War 
 
Also included in this collection are eight Blackadder TV and radio specials: Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, Blackadder: The Cavalier Years, Blackadder: Woman’s Hour Invasion, The Shakespeare Sketch, Blackadder: Back and Forth, Blackadder: The Army Years, Blackadder: I Have a Cunning Plan and the Blackadder instalment of the TV series Britain's Best Sitcom. 
 
Written by film and TV royalty Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and Rowan Atkinson, and starring comedy giants Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson, and Rik Mayall, this is history at its grittiest and funniest. 
 
Track Listing:<ul><li>Chapters 1-6: The Black Adder</li><li>Chapters 7-12: Blackadder II</li><li>Chapters 13-18: Blackadder the Third</li><li>Chapters 19-24: Blackadder Goes Forth</li><li>Chapter 25: Blackadder’s Christmas Carol</li><li>Chapter 26: The Cavalier Years</li><li>Chapter 27: Woman’s Hour Invasion</li><li>Chapter 28: The Shakespeare Sketch</li><li>Chapter 29: Back and Forth</li><li>Chapter 30: The Army Years (Royal Variety Performance)</li><li>Chapter 31: I Have a Cunning Plan</li><li>Chapter 32: Britain's Best Sitcom</li></ul>Cast and credits 
Written by Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and Rowan Atkinson 
 
Edmund Blackadder - Rowan Atkinson 
S. Baldrick - Tony Robinson 
Melchett - Stephen Fry 
Lord Percy Percy – Tim McInnerny 
George – Hugh Laurie 
Queen Elizabeth I / Various – Miranda Richardson 
 
Including standout performances by Rik Mayall, Miriam Margolyes, Patsy Byrne, Brian Blessed, Robbie Coltrane, Jim Broadbent, Gabrielle Glaister, Elspet Gray, Robert East, Helen Atkinson-Wood, Bill Wallis, Stephen Frost, Mark Arden, Lee Cornes, Warren Clarke, Philip Pope, Barbara Miller, David Nunn, Denis Lill, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Stephen Frost, Chris Barrie, Jeremy Hardy and Ben Elton. 
 
 
©2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Richard Curtis (Author) 
Richard Curtis is a British screenwriter, actor, film director and music producer. Among his screenwriting credits are Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually, whilst for television he created and wrote Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Vicar of Dibley. He created the first Black Adder series with Rowan Atkinson, before going on to write subsequent series with Ben Elton. 
 
Ben Elton (Author) 
Ben Elton is a British comedian, author, playwright and director. His early career was in stand-up comedy, as well as writing for TV series including The Young Ones. He met Richard Curtis, and together they co-wrote the second and subsequent series of Blackadder. Ben Elton went on to success as a novelist and stage writer.

Meltdown

A biting satire of the credit crunch from this hugely popular and bestselling author

An entertaining, well-written, often very funny read

Bang up to date... Very funny... Emotionally engaging

For amiable City trader Jimmy Corby money was the new Rock n' Roll. His whole life was a party, adrenalin charged and cocaine fuelled. If he hadn't met Monica he would probably have ended up either dead or in rehab. 
 
But Jimmy was as lucky in love as he was at betting on dodgy derivatives, so instead of burning out, his star just burned brighter than ever. Rich, pampered and successful, Jimmy, Monica and their friends lived the dream, bringing up their children with an army of domestic helps. 
 
But then it all came crashing down. And when the global financial crisis hit, Jimmy discovers that anyone can handle success. It's how you handle failure that really matters.

Ben Elton

Rik Mayall

Lise Mayer

Adrian Edmondson

Nigel Planer

Christopher Ryan

Alexei Sayle

Dawn French

Jennifer Saunders

Stephen Fry

Hugh Laurie

Full Cast

The Complete BBC TV Soundtracks

The complete television soundtracks of all 12 episodes of the legendary BBC sitcom 
 
Ground-breaking, satirical and anarchic, The Young Ones introduced alternative comedy to mainstream TV, and made household names of its writers and performers. It ran for two series on BBC Two between 1982 and 1984, winning a host of devoted fans and a BAFTA Award for its second series. 
 
A world away from the cosy suburban sitcoms that preceded it, the show centred around four degenerate students sharing a squalid North London house: hippy Neil (Nigel Planer), right-on Rick (Rik Mayall), Mike 'TheCoolPerson' (Chris Ryan) and punk psycho Vyvyan (Ade Edmondson). Alexei Sayle co-starred as the various members of the dodgy Balowski family, and the plethora of guest stars included Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson and series co-writer Ben Elton. Musical interludes were provided by top bands such as Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Damned, Madness, Motörhead and Nine Below Zero. 
 
Collected here are all the dysfunctional foursome's manic adventures - from discovering oil in the basement, to playing host to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, to representing Scumbag College on University Challenge. Now you can hear from your favourite characters once again, and listen to their iconic one-liners, inventive insults and fabulously funny quotes. 
 
Full of wild slapstick, surreal twists, over-the-top ultra-violence and absurdist humour, this innovative, iconoclastic series remains one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. This audio-only collection of the original TV soundtracks provides the perfect opportunity for fans to relive the show's finest moments while on the go. 
 
Contains strong language and humour that some listeners may find offensive. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer 
With additional material by Alexei Sayle 
Music: Peter Brewis 
Sound: Laurie Taylor 
Directed by Paul Jackson and Graeme Story 
 
Rick - Rik Mayall 
Vyvyan Basterd - Adrian Edmondson 
Neil Pye - Nigel Planer 
Mike - Christopher Ryan 
The Balowski family - Alexei Sayle 
 
With Amazulu, Mark Arden, Helen Atkinson Wood, Jim Barclay, Christopher Barrie, Gary Beadle, Perry Benson, Paul Bradley, Arnold Brown, Ruth Burnett, Jean Campbell-Dallas, Jonathan Caplan, Hugh Cecil, Vikki Chambers, Jean Channon, Jacqueline Clarke, Robbie Coltrane, Ron Cook, Lee Cornes, Brian Croucher, The Damned, Mark Dewison, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Paola Dionisotti, Steve Dixon, Nick Dunning, Christine Ellerbeck, Chris Ellis, Ben Elton, Alan Freeman, Dawn French, Stephen Frost, Stephen Fry, Paul Gale, Peter Greene, Roger Ashton Griffiths, Gareth Hale, Damaris Hayman, Tamsin Heatley, Lenny Henry, Clair Hill, Jools Holland, Ceri Jackson, Terry Jones, Gerard Kelly, Steve Kelly, Ken Bishop 's Nice Twelve, Mark Lambert, Hugh Laurie, Peter Laxton, Helen Lederer, Justine Lord, Norman Lovett, Madness, Paul Martin, Hilary Mason, Kilian McKenna, Pauline Melville, Carla Mendonca, Motörhead, Patrick Newell, Nine Below Zero, Herbert Norville, Brian Oulton, John Otway, John Owens, Norman Pace, Robin Parkinson, Ken Parry, Daniel Peacock, Joanne Pearce, Jan Prince, Radical Posture, David Rappaport, Michael Redfern, Griff Rhys Jones, Rip Rig + Panic, Tony Robinson, David Rolfe, Jennifer Saunders, Cyril Shaps, Anthony Sharp, Cindy Shelley, Roger Sloman, Mel Smith, Barry Stanton, Maggie Steed, Kay Stonham, Tony Sympson, Emma Thompson, Andy de la Tour, Peter Wear, Julianne White 
 
First broadcast on BBC Two, 9 November-14 December 1982 (Series 1), 8 May-19 June 1984 (Series 2) 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ben Elton

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