Learning British

After rewatching THE IT CROWD, Sam and Natalia look back at Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan's sitcom, BLACK BOOKS.

BLACK BOOKS is a British sitcom created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan, starring Moran as Bernard Black, Bill Bailey as Manny Bianco, and Tamsin Greig as Fran Katzenjammer. The series, set in the eponymous London bookshop, follows a grouchy and misanthropic shopkeeper after he gains a new employee. BLACK BOOKS ran for three series (eighteen episodes) from 2000 to 2004.

Topics of conversation include memes, ITV's PLAYING NICE and that "Theo!" advert, following private Instagram accounts, experimental and surreal humour, Basil Fawlty, travelling to Dublin, the set of NORMAL PEOPLE, unreleased pilot episodes, Collinge & Clark, and all these actors: Nick Frost, David Walliams, Rob Brydon, Jessica Hynes, Simon Pegg, Olivia Coleman, Lucy Davis, Alice Lowe, and Peter Serafinowicz (yes, really, they're all in this!).

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If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, ⁠⁠leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS⁠⁠ with your comments included as part of the review.

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam and Natalia finish their series reviewing the HARRY POTTER film series by watching THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 2.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) continues his quest to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes alongside his best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson).

Topics of conversation include Ron’s characterisation, Robert Galbraith, lost causes, Reddit and Tumblr, the Goblin bankers, YA fiction, Potter Puppet Pals, Stephen King, dishes in the sink, Jojo Rabbit, Toblerone, child actors, the Divergent factions, Amnesty International, the anti-trans movement, and that god-awful epilogue.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

Thank you to everyone who left comments to include in this episode! If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review⁠⁠⁠.

If you liked this episode, you may also like...

• ​In "The Goblet of Fire", Sam and Natalia review the fourth book and film in the Harry Potter series (On ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ / On ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠).

• ​In "The Order of the Phoenix", Sam and Natalia criticise J. K. Rowling's writing as well as the filmmaking of the fifth Harry Potter story (On ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ / On ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠).

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After finishing GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE, Sam and Natalia watch all four series of THE IT CROWD.

THE IT CROWD is a British television sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, written and directed by... sigh... Graham Linehan. Set within the IT department of fictional company Reynholm Industries, the series stars Richard Ayoade, Chris O'Dowd, Katherine Parkinson, Chris Morris, Matt Berry, and Noel Fielding.

Since its release, THE IT CROWD has developed a large cult fandom. However, the show has since come under fire for a controversial anti-trans episode, "The Speech" (S3E4), as well as the behind-the-scenes actions of the writer. Sam and Natalia watch all 25 episodes of the show to see what went wrong in the mind of Graham Linehan.

Topics of conversation include THE MIGHTY BOOSH, big egos, "Did you see that ludicrous display last night?", badly aged episodes, sexism, FRIENDS, musicals, COUNTDOWN, not being a fan of football, Twitter, the Titan submersible implosion, "FAAAAAATHEEER!", and BLACK BOOKS.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, ⁠leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review⁠.

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam and Natalia watch and review the penultimate film in the series, THE DEATHLY HALLOWS - PART 1.

Harry Potter's (Daniel Radcliffe) seventh and final year at Hogwarts is interrupted by Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), whose quest for immortality has brought suffering and chaos across the Wizarding World. Alongside best friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), Harry must find and destroy the mythical Horcruxes that are keeping He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named alive.

Topics of conversation include Piccadilly Circus, video games, THE HUNGER GAMES, controversial opinions, the dance scene, Orson Welles, the end of Dobby, M. Night Shyamalan's KNOCK AT THE CABIN, splitting the book into two movies, CORALINE, Boromir's death in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, the Three Brothers, Hitchcock, the Time-Turners, bad worldbuilding, Reddit and Tumblr, Algerian boxers, J. K. Rowling's tweets, deleted scenes with the Dursleys, Polish TV, HOT FUZZ on ITV, queer coding, and training AI on our podcast.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

Thank you to everyone who left comments to include in this episode! If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, ⁠⁠leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review⁠⁠.

If you liked this episode, you may also like...

• ​In "The Goblet of Fire", Sam and Natalia review the fourth book and film in the Harry Potter series (On ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ / On ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠).

• ​In "The Order of the Phoenix", Sam and Natalia criticise J. K. Rowling's writing as well as the filmmaking of the fifth Harry Potter story (On ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ / On ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠).

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Two words: telekinesis."

GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE is a horror parody series following fictional horror author Garth Marenghi (Matthew Holness) and his TV show DARKPLACE, presented as real in-universe, with commentary from producer Dean Learner (Richard Ayoade), actor Todd Rivers (Matt Berry), and actress Madeleine Wool (Alice Lowe).

Discontinued after poor viewing figures, GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE has since gained a cult following. Sam and Natalia sit down to watch and review all six episodes.

Topics of conversation include woke, DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS, memes, Graham Linehan, TERRORTOME, broccoli, THE IT CROWD, Stephen King, "I know writers who use subtext, and they're all cowards", acting range, 1980s British television, books, classic DOCTOR WHO, and the movie adaptation.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, ⁠leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review⁠.

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam and Natalia continue their series reviewing HARRY POTTER by looking back at the sixth film, THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) begins his sixth year at Hogwarts with his best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). After finding a mysterious textbook owned by "The Half-Blood Prince", Harry works with Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore to find a way to stop Lord Voldemort's ascent to power.

Topics of conversation include Sam and Natalia's rendition of Earth, Wind & Fire's 'September', the Millennium Bridge, the British Prime Minister, the Slitheen, Michael Gambon's performance, Ginny, Muggles, shipping Harry and Luna, and those bad spin-off movies with Eddie Redmayne.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, ⁠leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review⁠.

If you liked this episode, you may also like...

• ​In "The Goblet of Fire", Sam and Natalia review the fourth book and film in the Harry Potter series (On ⁠Spotify⁠ / On ⁠Apple⁠).

• ​In "The Order of the Phoenix", Sam and Natalia criticise J. K. Rowling's writing as well as the filmmaking of the fifth Harry Potter story (On ⁠Spotify⁠ / On ⁠Apple⁠).

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam and Natalia look back at the hit Channel 4 TV drama, IT’S A SIN.

IT’S A SIN follows a group of gay men who move to London in the 1980s, depicting their lives across the ensuing decade as the HIV/AIDS virus begins to spread.

The show stars Olly Alexander (Ritchie Tozer), Omari Douglas (Roscoe Babatunde), Callum Scott Howells (Colin Morris-Jones), Lydia West (Jill Baxter), Nathaniel Curtis (Ash Mukherjee), David Carlyle (Gregory "Gloria" Finch), Tracy-Ann Oberman (Carol Carter), Neil Patrick Harris (Henry Coltrane), and Stephen Fry (Arthur Garrison MP).

The five-episode limited series was acclaimed during its initial release in 2021, becoming the most binge-watched show on the All 4 streaming service. But does it still hold up?

Topics of conversation include Russell T Davies, DOCTOR WHO, the coronavirus pandemic, the meaning of the word "gangbuster", slay, the Slitheen, that Dalek scene, likeable characters, PHILADELPHIA, Dursley McLinden, reading out Reddit comments, death scenes, and writing history.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast (like we did in this episode!), ⁠leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review⁠.

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam and Natalia continue their series reviewing HARRY POTTER by looking back at the fifth film, THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) begins his fifth year at Hogwarts with his best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). After the Ministry of Magic take control of their school, Harry recruits his fellow classmates to fight against the return of Lord Voldemort.

Topics of conversation include David Yates, bad colour grading, Arthur Weasley, prophecies, the Cho Chang controversy, differences with the book, Sam and Natalia shipping Harry and Luna, truth serums, Dolores Umbridge and Imelda Staunton, CinemaSins, Alan Rickman's performance, J. K. Rowling's bad writing, Neville destroying all the time turners, young love, and whether this is the worst HARRY POTTER film.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review.

If you liked this episode, you may also like...

• ​In "The Goblet of Fire", Sam and Natalia review the fourth book and film in the Harry Potter series (On ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / On ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

• ​In "The Half-Blood Prince", Sam and Natalia watch and react to the sixth Harry Potter film (On ⁠Spotify⁠ / On ⁠Apple⁠).

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After reviewing series one of THE OFFICE, Sam and Natalia watch and react to series two.

THE OFFICE is a British mockumentary sitcom created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Series two of THE OFFICE follows David Brent (Ricky Gervais) as he battles to keep his job in Slough. Sam and Natalia sit down to watch and review the entire second series, including the Christmas specials.

Topics of conversation include AFTER LIFE, Natalia's hatred for Dawn, Ricky Gervais's fall from grace, Daniel Day-Lewis, NIGHT OF THE MUSEUM, Michael Scott's departure from the American version, method acting, the microphone scene, jump scares, uncomfortable laughs, and the finale of THE OFFICE.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review.

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After reviewing the first three HARRY POTTER movies, Sam and Natalia watch and react to THE GOBLET OF FIRE.

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) begins his fourth year with Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). After Harry is chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, he joins forces with Hufflepuff student Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson) to investigate a dark conspiracy at Hogwarts.

Topics of conversation include our Homer and Marge impressions, Dumbledore screaming “Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?!”, tonal shifts, CITIZEN KANE, normies, Mike Newell, Rita Skeeter, little elf boys, bad CGI, David Tennant, the ending, PRINCE OF PERSIA, Neville replacing Dobby, SPEW (the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare), Natalia’s defence of the controversial elf subplot, “My boy!”, Voldemort’s return, THE CURSED CHILD, the new HUNGER GAMES book, and Natalia breaking up with Sam over his objectively correct HARRY POTTER opinions.

Don’t forget to follow, rate five stars, and find us on Instagram.

If you would like us to read your comments on the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leave us a five-star rating on APPLE PODCASTS with your comments included as part of the review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

If you liked this episode, you may also like...

• ​In "The Order of the Phoenix", Sam and Natalia criticise J. K. Rowling's writing as well as the filmmaking of the fifth Harry Potter story (On ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / On ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

• ​In "The Half-Blood Prince", Sam and Natalia watch and react to the sixth Harry Potter film (On Spotify / On Apple).

Learning British is a weekly show hosted by Sam Brown, a born-and-bred Brit, and Natalia Brammen, a Polish immigrant living in the UK. In each episode, Sam introduces Natalia to a new piece of British culture, media, or history, from badly aged sitcoms to cancelled celebrities.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.