The Robinsons:

From the creators of The Worst Week Of My Life comes a brand-new comedy series starring Martin Freeman and Hugh Bonneville.

The Robinsons aren't related to any of the famous Robinsons: Sugar Ray, Edward G, Smokey or even Anne.

No, they are a bog standard, run-of-the-mill family from Wimbledon, South London who have "done quite well".

All of them, that is, except the youngest, Ed (the black sheep of the family), who is 32, recently divorced after a disastrous marriage that lasted five-and-a-half months, doing a job that he hates and living in his aunt's housing association flat in Bermondsey.

What's gone wrong in his life? I mean, how difficult is it to find a girlfriend, a decent job, a good dry cleaners and the Meaning of Life?

Ed finds himself constantly imagining Robinsons from previous generations to whom he does not always measure up.

Anna Massey, Abigail Cruttenden and Amanda Root also star.

KC2

The Robinsons BBC2, 2005 – Sitcom starring Martin Freeman as Ed, a man in his early 30s who is an embarrassment to his well-to-do family. Ed has moved into his aunt's housing association flat in Bermondsey, south London after the end of his disastrous marriage. With Hugh Bonneville as Ed's older brother George, Abigail Cruttenden as younger sister Vicky and Anna Massey as his mother Pam. The show will feature fantasy sequences in which Ed imagines the exploits of previous generations of the family. Written by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni, whose credits include Barbara and The Worst Week Of My Life.

THE ROBINSONS (BBC/Carlton) Sitcom:

Comedy series starring Martin Freeman and Hugh Bonneville
Creator-Writers/Producers/Directors: Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni
In production
6 x 30 mins.

Martin Freeman as Fleck - Fleck is an orphan, and don't we know about it. He's a real whiner who drives Suki and Linus mad.

The Extras:

Considering the film is nearly three years old, Universal has had plenty of time to put together a DVD. Instead, it seems that they ported over the extras included on the 2002 UK release. First up is an audio commentary featuring Cohen and Martin Freeman (Ricky C) as their characters from the movie. I would consider myself a Ali G fan, but I could just barely get through this track. The mix is bad, as the actual soundtrack is as loud as the commentary, making the whole event a mumble at times, especially at the beginning, during the pounding music behind the opening titles. Worse is the way they talk, which is very conversational and very British, which, along with the bad mix, makes it very hard to understand. The idea is that Ali G was in the movie about himself, along with Ricky C, and now they are looking back at the movie. This worked for Spinal Tap, but nearly two hours of non-stop Ali G is more than most anyone can handle. Perhaps if it was easier to hear, it would have been more enjoyable.

Yahoo! Universal Studios Home Video Keeps it Real With 'Ali G Indahouse':

Synopsis:

In this wild amalgam of the sexy, gross-out comedy of "American Pie" and the subversive satire of the BBC's "The Office," Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen) unwittingly becomes a pawn in a plot to bring down the British Prime Minister (Michael Gambon, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," "Gosford Park") when he's convinced to run for a Parliament by a scheming politico (Charles Dance, "Gosford Park"). But the plan backfires when Ali wins the election and is embraced by the nation as the voice of youth and "realness," making the Prime Minister and his government more popular than ever. The film also stars Martin Freeman ("Love Actually," "Shaun of the Dead") as Ali's homeboy Ricky C. and Kellie Bright ("Upper Hand," "Bad Girls") as his girlfriend Me Julie. Directed by Mark Mylod, who also directed the upcoming "The Big White" starring Robin Williams, Holly Hunter and Woody Harrelson, the film is produced by Working Title Films ("Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Bridget Jones's Diary").

Then again, there's plenty for pop-culture addicts to chew on. There's a cameo-brief reunion of two cast members from BBC's "The Office," when Lucy Davis, playing a part in Shaun's platoon of survivors, runs into former co-star Martin Freeman. Also be on the lookout for a postscript cameo from members of Coldplay, lampooning their own do-gooder image.

Martin Freeman quits 'Hardware'
By Neil Wilkes
Digital Spy
August 2, 2004

Martin Freeman has quit ITV's comedy series Hardware in order to pursue more "serious" acting roles.

The actor - better known as Tim from The Office - played the co-manager of a DIY store in the sitcom, which, despite being a critical flop, regularly pulled in over 4 million viewers.

"He wants to turn his back on comedy to avoid typecasting," a source told The Sun. "ITV comedy chiefs are now looking to cast another actor or comedian in his role."

ITV comes up smelling of Roses in Euro-awards
By Jason Deans
Monday April 19, 2004
The Guardian

ITV eclipsed the BBC by taking the lion's share of the honours at the Golden Rose European TV entertainment awards in Lucerne.

It came away with five winners in a festival dominated by UK broadcasters, which landed 11 of the 19 awards handed out in the Swiss city on Saturday night.

Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly led the way for ITV, picking up the best variety show award for Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

They were also named best gameshow presenters at the ceremony, which was hosted for the second year running by the British impressionist Jon Culshaw.

It is not the first time Ant and Dec have enjoyed success at the Golden Rose awards. Two years ago they picked up an award for the hit ITV reality show Pop Idol.

The ITV comedian Harry Hill also won his second Golden Rose when he was named best comedy actor, having last year picked up the best comedy show award for the All New Harry Hill Show.

The other ITV Golden Rose winners were Martin Freeman, best known for his portrayal of Tim in The Office, who was named best sitcom actor for Hardware; and Creature Comforts, the animated series from Wallace and Gromit creator Aardman Animations, which took the best comedy award.

Channel 4 picked up three gongs in Lucerne, with winners including Wife Swap, which was named best reality show, and Peep Show, which won the best sitcom award.

My New Best Friend claimed the best gameshow award - something of an embarrassment for Channel 4 because it has already cancelled the hidden camera show in which contestants had to endure a weekend of humiliation at the hands of an outrageous character, played by the comic actor Marc Wootton, in order to win £10,000.

The BBC had to settle for three Golden Roses.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams's sketch show Little Britain picked up the press award, EastEnders' Shane Richie was named best male soap actor and the comedy Fur TV won the best pilot category.

5573-5604 Movie stand-ins John (MARTIN FREEMAN) and Judy (JOANNA PAGE) begin their off-screen relationship in Richard Curtis' romantic comedy Love Actually.
Photo Credt: Peter Mountain
Copyright Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Moviegoers fall for "Love Actually"
Tue 25 November, 2003 12:33

LONDON (Reuters) - Film fans have proved their devotion to "Love Actually", giving it the biggest-ever British opening for a home-grown romantic comedy, according to box office receipts published by Screen International.

The Yuletide tale starring Hugh Grant piled up 6.6 million pounds in sales over the weekend, a bigger haul than hits "Bridget Jones's Diary" or "Notting Hill" achieved over their first three days.

Directed by Richard Curtis, who wrote both "Bridget Jones" and "Notting Hill", "Love Actually" revolves around eight couples frantically sorting out their love lives during the week before Christmas in London.

The film also stars actors Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth and Bill Nighy.

Dropping to number two on the chart was "The Matrix Revolutions", which took 1.16 million pounds over the weekend, brining its total UK takings to more than 15 million pounds.

Animated hit "Finding Nemo" dipped from two to three with receipts of 800,000 pounds.

"Seabiscuit", the true story of a racehorse and the people who helped it overcome the odds to become a winner, fell from three to four.

Rounding out the top five was U.S. director Quentin Tarantino's martial arts film "Kill Bill - Vol. 1", which held the same spot from last week's chart.