Absolutely (TV series)

Last updated

Absolutely
Absolutely.gif
Also known asThe Absolutely Radio Show
Directed by
  • Phil Chilvers
  • Alan Nixon
  • Alistair Clark
  • Graham C Williams
Starring
Theme music composer Pete Baikie
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes
  • 28 (television series)
  • 12 + 1 special (radio series)
Production
Producers
Production locations
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time
  • 45 minutes (TV series 1 & 2)
  • 35 minutes (TV series 3 & 4)
  • 30 minutes (radio)
Production company Absolutely Productions / The Comedy Unit / Gusman Productions
Original release
Network Channel 4 / BBC Radio 4
Release23 May 1989 (1989-05-23) 
present
Related

Absolutely is a British comedy sketch show. The cast and crew are mainly Scottish; the principal writers and performers are Moray Hunter, Jack Docherty, Peter Baikie, Gordon Kennedy (all of whom had performed together as The Bodgers for many years), Morwenna Banks (English) and John Sparkes (Welsh). The original television series, produced by Absolutely Productions, aired on Channel 4 for four series between May 1989 and February 1993. Following an award-winning one-off radio reunion special for BBC Radio 4 in 2013, the show returned for a new four-part radio series with most of the original cast in September 2015. [1] A second Radio 4 series of four programmes was broadcast from 25 June 2017, and a third in July 2019.

Contents

Recurring characters

History

Television

The original television run of Absolutely ran for four series, with a total of 28 episodes:

The characters of Don and George subsequently featured in their own spin-off series Mr. Don and Mr. George , which ran for six episodes. [6]

In 1995, a pilot was shown on BBC2 for a series called Mac, a sitcom based around MacGlashan and his long-suffering brother Finley (played by Gordon Kennedy). Finley ran a small shop selling the sort of stereotypical Scottish kitsch for tourists that inflamed Mac's senses, his assistant Aileen (played by Elaine Collins of City Lights ) acted as Mac's love interest, while Nick Hancock played his Londoner love rival Van Webster. [7]

All four series of Absolutely were released as a DVD boxset entitled Absolutely Everything on 5 May 2008. [8]

Radio

A reunion show was aired as part of BBC Radio 4's Sketchorama series, first broadcast on 20 May 2013. An extended version of the show was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2013. [9] A year later, the special won a BBC Audio Drama award for best live scripted comedy. [10]

Absolutely returned as a four-part radio series for BBC Radio 4 in September 2015, again featuring the original cast without Jack Docherty. The new series, a co-production between Absolutely Productions Ltd and The Comedy Unit, was recorded on two evenings in August and September 2015 at Òran Mór in Glasgow. [11] The first episode was broadcast on Sunday 6 September 2015.

A second four-part series aired on BBC Radio 4 during the summer of 2017, [12] with a third following in July 2019. [13]

Live

In the early 1990s, Pete Baikie and Gordon Kennedy briefly toured as comedy band, The Hairstyles. [14]

In the mid-90s, following the success of TV spin-off Mr. Don & Mr. George, Moray Hunter and Jack Docherty toured together as Hunter and Docherty. [15]

See also

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References

  1. Brand new Absolutely series confirmed for BBC Radio 4, Absolutely Productions, 17 July 2015
  2. "Pub Quiz - UKGameshows". www.ukgameshows.com.
  3. "BBC - Comedy - People A-Z - Morwenna Banks". www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. 1 2 "BFI Screenonline: Absolutely (1989-93)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  5. "Barry Welsh Is Coming[11/01/2002] (2002)". BFI. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019.
  6. "Mr. Don and Mr. George[25/08/93] (1993)". BFI. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019.
  7. "Mac (1995)". BFI. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019.
  8. "Absolutely Everything on DVD" . Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  9. "Want to hear more? Absolutely!". Absolutely Productions Ltd. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  10. "BBC Radio 4 - The Absolutely Radio Show, Series 3, Episode 1". BBC.
  11. Absolutely back for a full series - sketch team's comeback gathers pace, chortle.co.uk, 15 July 2015
  12. Absolutely Radio Show to return, chortle.co.uk, 2 February 2017
  13. . BBC Sounds page
  14. Hair Today, The List, 6 December 1991
  15. Couch potatoes, The List, 25 February 1994