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!

I came across this on TV a couple of weeks ago, and I was surprised by how funny it was. I wasn't aware at the time that it was from the writer of "Blackadder", but it certainly shows in the quality. The cleverest thing is the dialogue. It's a great mix of Shakespearean phrases and modern English brilliantly rolled into one. The jokes are very funny, and the cast well-chosen (Mitchell is excellent as Shakespeare). If you haven't seen this, I'd recommend checking it out. It's well-worth your time if you like British Comedy.

I read the first 3 words of Dale R's review and knew immediately that the review was the worst thing ever written. It wasn't even a compete sentence! One might think it was unfair to only read 1/60th of his review - but Dale felt it was fair to judge the entire show based on 1/60th of the first episode . . .Upstart Crow is light, but very enjoyable. Interesting blend of modern humor and 16th century life. Love the casting!It definitely helps if you are familiar with the works of Shakespeare. Otherwise, you will miss many of the references made in each episode.My favorite episode is "Love Is Not Love"

This is a genuinely funny show that actually makes me laugh out loud - quite a rare thing for comedies these days which tend to be more low- key. It has a great cast and they look as though they're really enjoying themselves, which is infectious. I'm no Shakespeare buff, so I expect some of the references pass me by, but I enjoy the ones I do get and appreciated learning something about the sonnets in episode 4.For those complaining about 'canned laughter', the series was recorded in front of a live studio audience and it's them you can hear. You may think they're laughing at things you don't find funny, but that's a different issue.I'm sorry there's only one more episode to go and really hope the BBC commissions a second series.