Andy Capp (TV series)

Last updated

Andy Capp
Andy Capp (TV series).jpg
Genre Sitcom
Created by Reg Smythe
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time30 minutes
(including adverts)
Production company Thames Television
Original release
Network ITV
Release22 February (1988-02-22) 
28 March 1988 (1988-03-28)

Andy Capp is a British sitcom based on the cartoon Andy Capp . It starred James Bolam and ran for one series in 1988. [1] It was written by Keith Waterhouse. Unusually, for a sitcom at the time, there was neither a studio audience nor a laugh track during the filming of Andy Capp, and was filmed entirely on location. It was made for the ITV network by Thames Television.

Contents

Cast

Plot

The sitcom Andy Capp was based on the cartoon strip of the same name that had run since 1957 in The Daily Mirror . Andy Capp is a slothful man from Hartlepool, whose life consists of drinking, sleeping, watching TV, betting, going to the pub and occasionally playing football (as opposed to rugby, which was Andy's sport in the comic strip). His wife, Flo, is constantly annoyed by her lazy husband and frequently uses a rolling pin as a weapon.

Episodes

  1. "New Leaf" (22 February 1988)
  2. "The Sporting Life" (29 February 1988)
  3. "Flo's New Frock!" (7 March 1988)
  4. "Love me or leave me?" (14 March 1988)
  5. "Economy Drive" (21 March 1988)
  6. "The Anniversary Waltz" (28 March 1988)

DVD release

The Complete Series of Andy Capp was released by [Network DVD in the UK (Region 2) on 11 June 2012.

Related Research Articles

A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.

<i>The Likely Lads</i> British TV sitcom (1964–1966)

The Likely Lads is a British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966. However, only ten of these episodes have survived.

<i>Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?</i> British TV sitcom (1973–1974)

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a British sitcom which was broadcast on BBC1 between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. There were 26 television episodes over two series, and a subsequent 45-minute Christmas special was aired on 24 December 1974. The show won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Situation Comedy in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Doyle-Murray</span> American actor (born 1945)

Brian Murray, known professionally by his stage name as Brian Doyle-Murray, is an American actor and screenwriter. He has appeared with his younger brother, actor/comedian Bill Murray, in several films, including Caddyshack, The Razor's Edge, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, and Groundhog Day. He co-starred on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son, where he played the foul-mouthed Hank Murphy. He also appeared in the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants as The Flying Dutchman, the Cartoon Network original animated series My Gym Partner's a Monkey as Coach Tiffany Gills, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack as Captain K'nuckles, a recurring role as Don Ehlert on the ABC sitcom The Middle, and Bob Kruger in the AMC dramedy Lodge 49.

<i>Andy Capp</i> British comic strip

Andy Capp is a British comic strip created by cartoonist Reg Smythe, seen in the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror newspapers since 5 August 1957. Originally a single-panel cartoon, it was later expanded to four panels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physical comedy</span> Comedy genre

Physical comedy is a form of comedy focused on manipulation of the body for a humorous effect. It can include slapstick, clowning, mime, physical stunts, or making funny faces.

British humour carries a strong element of satire aimed at the absurdity of everyday life. Common themes include sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek, banter, insults, self-deprecation, taboo subjects, puns, innuendo, wit, and the British class system. These are often accompanied by a deadpan delivery which is present throughout the British sense of humour. It may be used to bury emotions in a way that seems unkind in the eyes of other cultures. Jokes are told about everything and almost no subject is off-limits, though a lack of subtlety when discussing controversial issues is sometimes considered insensitive. Many British comedy series have become successful internationally, serving as a representation of British culture to overseas audiences.

James Christopher Bolam is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Collier in The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes In, Roy Figgis in Only When I Laugh, Trevor Chaplin in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Arthur Gilder in Born and Bred, Jack Halford in New Tricks and the title character of Grandpa in the CBeebies programme Grandpa in My Pocket.

<i>Comedy Playhouse</i> 1961–1975 British television series

Comedy Playhouse is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 128 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Meet the Wife, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, Up Pompeii!, Not in Front of the Children, Me Mammy, That's Your Funeral, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served? and particularly Last of the Summer Wine, which is the world's longest running sitcom, having run from January 1973 to August 2010. In all, 27 sitcoms started from a pilot in the Comedy Playhouse strand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Television Studios</span> Television arm of Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Television Studios, operating under the name Warner Bros. Television, is an American television production and distribution studio and the flagship studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of Warner Bros., a flagship studio of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Launched on March 21, 1955 by William T. Orr, it serves as a television production arm of DC Comics productions by DC Studios and, alongside Paramount Global's CBS Studios, The CW, the latter that launched in 2006 and WBD has a 12.5% ownership stake. It also serves as the distribution arm of WBD units HBO, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

Andy Riley is a British author, cartoonist, and Emmy-winning screenwriter for TV and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mitchell (comedian)</span> British comedian and actor (born 1974)

David James Stuart Mitchell is a British comedian, actor and writer.

<i>Only When I Laugh</i> (TV series) British TV sitcom (1979–1982)

Only When I Laugh is a British television sitcom made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It aired between 29 October 1979 and 16 December 1982 and is set in the ward of an NHS hospital. The title is in response to the question, "Does it hurt?".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Bewes</span> British actor (1937–2017)

Rodney Bewes was an English television actor and writer who portrayed Bob Ferris in the BBC television sitcom The Likely Lads (1964–66) and its colour sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973–74). Bewes' later career was of a much lower profile, but he continued to work as a stage actor.

<i>Extras</i> (TV series) British TV sitcom (2005–2007)

Extras is a British sitcom about extras working in television, film, and theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom starred in it. It follows the lives of Andy Millman (Gervais), his friend Maggie Jacobs and Andy's substandard agent and part-time retail employee Darren Lamb (Merchant) as Millman muddles through life as an anonymous "background performer" who eventually finds success as a B-list sitcom star.

Second Thoughts is a British comedy television programme that ran from 3 May 1991 to 14 October 1994. It was broadcast on the ITV network and made by the ITV company LWT. It was followed by a sequel, Faith in the Future. Second Thoughts followed the lives of two middle-aged divorcees, Bill MacGregor and Faith Greyshott, from very different backgrounds trying to develop a relationship, despite the pressures pulling it apart.

<i>The Office</i> (British TV series) British mockumentary television sitcom (2001–2003)

The Office is a British mockumentary television sitcom first broadcast in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, it follows the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company. Gervais also starred in the series as the central character, David Brent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reg Smythe</span> British cartoonist, creator of Andy Capp

Reginald Smyth was a British cartoonist who created the popular, long-running Andy Capp comic strip.

A sitcom is a genre of comedy focused on a recurring cast of characters navigating humorous situations in a consistent setting, such as a home, workplace, or community. Unlike sketch comedy, where different characters and settings are introduced in each skit, sitcoms typically maintain plot continuity between episodes, often building storylines and developing characters over time.

<i>Big Bad World</i> (TV series) 2013 British TV series or programme

Big Bad World is a British television sitcom which first aired on Comedy Central in 2013. Created by Joe Tucker and Lloyd Woolf, it stars Blake Harrison as Ben, a directionless, young graduate who returns to his home town of Great Yarmouth after leaving university.

References

  1. "BBC - Comedy Guide - Andy Capp". 29 January 2005. Archived from the original on 29 January 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2022.