Dear John (British TV series)

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Dear John
Dear John (UK).jpg
Genre Situation comedy
Written by John Sullivan
Starring Ralph Bates
Belinda Lang
Peter Denyer
Peter Blake
Rachel Bell [1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes14
Production
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original network BBC1
Original release17 February 1986 (1986-02-17) 
21 December 1987 (1987-12-21) [2]
Related
Dear John (1988)

Dear John is a British sitcom, written by John Sullivan. Two series and a special were broadcast in 1986 and 1987. [3]

Contents

The sitcom's title refers to "Dear John" letters, usually written by women to their partners as a means of ending a relationship. John discovers in the opening episode that his wife is leaving him for a friend. He is kicked out of his home, while still being expected to pay the mortgage, and forced to find lodgings. In desperation, he joins the 1-2-1 Singles Club and meets other people who have fared equally unfortunately in their romantic lives. [4] The outside shots of houses were filmed in Melthorne Drive, South Ruislip.

In 1988, an American adaptation of Dear John was produced by Paramount for the NBC network, starring Judd Hirsch. That series lasted for four seasons. [5]

Characters

Major characters

Minor characters

Episodes

Series 1 (1986)

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"A Singular Man"17 February 1986 (1986-02-17)
After his wife leaves him for his best friend, teacher John Lacey finds himself living in a bedsit and isolated from his old friends. He joins a support group for divorcees where he finds a collection of unusual characters.
2"In The Club"24 February 1986 (1986-02-24)
The 1-2-1 club discuss depression, and Kate reveals that her previous three marriages failed because she is frigid.
3"Death"3 March 1986 (1986-03-03)
When Ralph does not turn up to the 1-2-1 disco and talks of suicide, the others rush to his home to make sure he is okay. Ralph believes he is cursed and that is why things keep going wrong for him.
4"The Party"10 March 1986 (1986-03-10)
John finds out his old girlfriend is back in town and tries to invite her to a party. He then sits by the phone desperately waiting for her to call back and tries to find anyone who might be his date.
5"Toby"17 March 1986 (1986-03-17)
It is Sunday and John has access to his son. With nothing else to do, they go to the zoo again. When he drops him off at home, his ex-wife is unusually welcoming. The 1-2-1 club attend a party hosted by a woman with an unfortunate ailment.
6"The Fourteen Year Itch"24 March 1986 (1986-03-24)
John has been exaggerating the tales of his adventures as a single man to his fellow teacher, Ken. Despite his family at home, Ken joins the 1-2-1 club hoping for some action and gets on well with Kate, putting John in a moral dilemma. Ralph becomes a mobile disc jockey.
7"Under Cover"31 March 1986 (1986-03-31)
Kirk asks John to put in a good word for him with Kate, so he takes her out for dinner. But things get carried away and they end up in bed together. John tries to visit Kirk at home but is surprised by what he finds.

Series 2 (1987)

No.TitleOriginal air date
8"A New Member"7 September 1987 (1987-09-07)
The 1-2-1 club has a new member who claims to be an old pop star but no-one recognises him. John and his ex-wife have to pretend to be together to get their son into a Catholic school.
9"Confidence"14 September 1987 (1987-09-14)
The group throw a sixties themed party for charity and John asks Rick to perform, hoping it will boost his confidence.
10"Problems With Toby"21 September 1987 (1987-09-21)
Sylvia reveals how her marriage broke down after she found out that her husband is a transvestite. John's son is unhappy and he tries to work out how to help but is undermined by Kirk.
11"Sanctuary"28 September 1987 (1987-09-28)
John has a hot date with Liz but Ken needs help to patch up his marriage. Kate announces she is leaving for Greece.
12"Torquay"5 October 1987 (1987-10-05)
Despite a steamy weekend in Torquay, Liz has a new man competing for her affections and John is unsure of his position. Ken is worrying about his upcoming vasectomy. Kirk laments the loss of Kate.
13"Once Bitten"12 October 1987 (1987-10-12)
John is in line for promotion to headmaster and he meets a lovely young woman who seems very interested in him.
14"Kate Returns"21 December 1987 (1987-12-21)
Realising he will be spending Christmas alone, John attempts to find anyone who will take him in for the day. Kirk has lost faith in his personality and Ralph has a run in with some Hell's Angels.

Title music

As with his other series, the title music was composed by the series' writer, John Sullivan. It was arranged by Ronnie Hazlehurst, who composed the music used in many BBC comedies and light entertainment programmes. Joan Baxter provided the vocals.

Home releases

Dear John appeared on video in 1998, three cassettes with both series and the Christmas special, under Playback Entertainment.

Acorn Media UK released both series of Dear John on DVD in the UK in 2010. The first episode is shorter than the one originally broadcast on BBC1 as contractual edits have been made, namely the removal of Beatles music during and at the end of the episode. The subtitles still show "Day Tripper" being played as John enters the community hall and acknowledges some men dressed in 'Fab Four' suits, but the music playing is actually muzak. And, at the end, when John and Kate discuss whether they will return the following week, Beatles music can be heard and silhouettes seen in an upper window of the centre. This scene has been totally removed.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. "Dear John.... – BBC1 Sitcom – British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  2. "BBC - Comedy Guide - Dear John". Archived from the original on 8 December 2004.
  3. Quantick, David (24 April 2011). "John Sullivan: A master of comedy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  4. "A Forgotten Classic – Dear John – British Classic Comedy". British Classic Comedy. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  5. "Dear John – Classic TV Database". classic-tv.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. "Dear John". BBC. Retrieved 11 May 2017.