Distant Shores (UK TV series)

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Distant Shores
Created byCaleb Ranson
Starring Peter Davison
Samantha Bond
Tristan Gemmill
Emma Fildes
Justin McDonald
Matthew Thomas-Davies
Gareth Thomas
Opening themeNick Bicat
Composer(s)Nick Bicat
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producer(s)Carolyn Reynolds (series 1)
Kieran Roberts (series 2)
Producer(s)Sue Pritchard
Production location(s)mainly Craster, Northumberland [1] [2]
Camera setup single camera
Running time~ 46:30
Production company(s) Granada Television Ltd.
(Granada Manchester)
Release
Original network ITV
Picture format16:9
Original releaseWednesday 5 January –
9 February 2005
Series 2 un-aired in the UK, but was aired elsewhere in the world

Distant Shores is a comedy-drama first shown in the United Kingdom on ITV in January 2005. Like the similar fish out of water dramedies, Northern Exposure and Doc Martin , it focuses on the difficulties of an unwillingly-transplanted metropolitan doctor who is forced to adjust to a rural environment.

Comedy-drama genre of theatre, film, and television

Comedy-drama or dramedy, is a genre in film and in television works in which plot elements are a combination of comedy and drama. It is a subgenre of contemporary tragicomedy. Comedy-drama is especially found in television programs and is considered a "hybrid genre".

ITV (TV network) TV network in the United Kingdom

ITV is a British free-to-air television network with its headquarters in London, it was launched in 1955 as Independent Television under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to BBC Television, that was established in 1932. ITV is also the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, its legal name has been Channel 3, to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time, namely BBC 1, BBC 2 and Channel 4. In part, the number 3 was assigned because television sets would usually be tuned so that the regional ITV station would be on the third button, with the other stations being allocated to the number within their name.

<i>Northern Exposure</i> American television series

Northern Exposure is an American comedy-drama Northern television series about the eccentric residents of a fictional small town in Alaska, that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It received a total of 57 award nominations during its five-year run and won 27, including the 1992 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, two additional Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globes. Critic John Leonard called Northern Exposure "the best of the best television in the past 10 years".

Contents

Concept

Peter Davison plays a successful London plastic surgeon Bill Shore. In a bid to save their marriage, his wife Lisa, played by Samantha Bond, accepts a six-month veterinary research job on a small Northumbrian island called Hildasay. [3] Bill reluctantly agrees to relocate on the island with his wife, daughter and son. The stories revolve around the various ways in which the family adjust to the island and its welcoming, but sometimes peculiar, inhabitants. The dominant themes of series 1 are Bill's attempts to leave the island, and the tragedy which befalls Lisa as she gradually pursues an adulterous relationship with one of its inhabitants. This overarching storyline is essentially reversed in series 2, with Lisa wanting to return to London and Bill considering starting an affair on Hildasay.

Peter Davison English actor

Peter Davison is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He became famous as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small stories. His subsequent starring roles included the sitcoms Holding the Fort and Sink or Swim, the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, Dr. Stephen Daker in A Very Peculiar Practice and Albert Campion in Campion. He also played David Braithwaite in At Home with the Braithwaites, "Dangerous" Davies in The Last Detective and Henry Sharpe in Law & Order: UK.

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Samantha Bond is an English actress, perhaps best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the series' Pierce Brosnan years, and for her role on Downton Abbey as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. She is also well-known for originating the role of "Miz Liz" Probert in the Rumpole of the Bailey series. Bond is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Broadcast history

The first series was broadcast in 2005 on ITV. According to one of the show's recurring co-stars, Yvette Rowland, it was "immensely popular", and brought in a viewership of over 6 million. [1] Canadian press releases put the number slightly lower at 5.2 million, but still called the programme "a major hit for Britain's ITV". [4]

Actual ratings data shows both these numbers to be correct, if incomplete. The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board reported that the debut episode of the series was the 20th most popular programme in the United Kingdom for the week ending 9 January 2005, with 7.53 million initial viewers. It was one of only three non-soap operas in the top 20 that week. [5] From this high-water mark, however, the show's audience declined, hovering between 5.2 and 6.2 million viewers. Despite this slip, it usually won its 9pm time slot. In the last two weeks of the run, however, BBC1 won the time slot due to special programming. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) is the organisation that compiles audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. It was created in 1981 to replace two previous systems whereby ITV ratings were compiled by JICTAR, whilst the BBC did their own audience research.

A soap opera is an ongoing drama serial on television or radio, featuring the lives of many characters and their emotional relationships. The term soap opera originated from radio dramas being sponsored by soap manufacturers.

A second series was filmed for the next television season, copyrighted 2006. [11] However, it was not aired in the United Kingdom, [12] resulting in the original run of the programme being only six weeks. Rowland has described ITV's failure to broadcast the second series as "a mystery". [1] Davison himself agreed with Rowland's diagnosis in April 2007 when he expressed puzzlement over the shelving of the show, adding, "There's a fair chance it will never be shown in Britain." [13]

Copyright is a legal right, existing in many countries, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to determine whether, and under what conditions, this original work may be used by others. This is usually only for a limited time. Copyright is one of two types of intellectual property rights, the other is industrial property rights. The exclusive rights are not absolute but limited by limitations and exceptions to copyright law, including fair use. A major limitation on copyright on ideas is that copyright protects only the original expression of ideas, and not the underlying ideas themselves.

Nevertheless, the second series aired outside the UK. In Australia it debuted on Seven Network it was aired on Hallmark Channel in 2009 and repeated again in 2011 on 7TWO. [14] [15] In Canada, it premiered on VisionTV, [16] [17] while in the United States, it was initially syndicated to PBS stations for a two-year period from December 2006 to December 2008. [18]

Seven Network Australian broadcast television network

The Seven Network is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia. Channel Seven head office is based in Sydney.

7TWO Australian television channel

7TWO is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 1 November 2009. The channel broadcasts a variety of programs, targeting a 25-and-over audience, with most programs originating from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States.

VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic.

Critical reception

During its initial run, two media reporters for The Guardian concluded much the same thing about the series: that it was "genial" or "very comforting" viewing, but that it was an obvious twin of shows like Doc Martin and Ballykissangel . [19] [20] The Times agreed, calling the show "an even cosier version of Two Thousand Acres of Sky and Doc Martin" which was "undemanding, predictable and pleasant". [21] Indeed, the similarities to Doc Martin were obvious enough to have crept into pre-launch publicity. Peter Davison responded to the charges in a personality piece in The Journal of Newcastle by saying, "It's only like Doc Martin on paper ... Distant Shores has a completely different tone and feel to it." [22]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Rowland, Yvette. "Distant Shores". self. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  2. ↑ "Craster - A Visitor's Guide". Northumberland, England: northumberland-coast.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  3. ↑ Not to be confused with the real-life Scottish Hildasay.
  4. ↑ "Prisoner of paradise". 1 August 2005. Retrieved 22 October 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ "Ratings - Who's reaping rewards of Freeview sales uplift?". Broadcast Now. broadcastnow.co.uk. 27 January 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  6. ↑ Plunkett, John (13 January 2005). "Houswives favourite for C4". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  7. ↑ Brook, Stephen (20 January 2005). "BBC1's FA Cup drama brings in over 8m". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  8. ↑ Deans, Jason (27 January 2005). "Football gives Sky a second leg up". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  9. ↑ Deans, Jason (3 February 2005). "Good night's sleep for BBC1". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  10. ↑ Deans, Jason (10 February 2005). "Football bore draw pulls in nearly 8m". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  11. ↑ Caleb Ranson (writer); Sue Pritchard (producer); Philip John (director). "(untitled on screen)". Distant Shores. Series 2. Episode 1. 46:30 minutes in.
  12. ↑ Ford, Coreena (30 August 2009). "Tracy Beaker heads North to film at La Gesse". Sunday Sun. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  13. ↑ Methven, Nicola; Polly Hudson (27 April 2007). "Down the Drain". The Daily Mirror. mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  14. ↑ "Australian Hallmark Channel series page" . Retrieved 22 October 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. ↑ "Distant Shores - The Shore Family Profiles". Australia. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  16. ↑ "VisionTV Fall Highlights 2005-2006" . Retrieved 22 October 2009.[ dead link ]
  17. ↑ "A Shore thing". VisionTV. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  18. ↑ "Distant Shores (Series II)". American Public Television online. Summer 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  19. ↑ Novakovich, Mary (5 January 2005). "Pick of the day". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  20. ↑ Smith, Rupert (6 January 2005). "Rearranged marriages". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  21. ↑ "Viewing guide". The Times. timesonline.com. 5 January 2005. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  22. ↑ Marlow, Wil (3 January 2005). "Doctor on Distant Shores". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
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