Hallelujah! (TV series)

Last updated

Hallelujah!
Hallelujah Complete.jpg
Created byDick Sharples
Starring Thora Hird
Patsy Rowlands
Rosamund Greenwood
David Daker
Garfield Morgan
Geoffrey Bayldon
Michael Aldridge
Derek Benfield [1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes15
Production
Producer Yorkshire Television
Running time25 minutes
Original release
Network ITV
Release29 April 1983 (1983-04-29) 
21 December 1984 (1984-12-21)

Hallelujah! is a British television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television that aired on ITV from 29 April 1983 to 21 December 1984.

Contents

The series was set in a Salvation Army citadel in the fictional Yorkshire town of Brigthorpe during series 1 (and later in the fictional place of Blackwick in series 2). Captain Emily Ridley (Thora Hird) has been posted there, having been an active member of the Salvation Army for 42 years. Despite the town and residents being seemingly pleasant, Emily is determined to flush out sin from behind the net curtains. Assisting Emily is her niece Alice Meredith (Patsy Rowlands).

The programme was a repeat collaboration between Hird and the creator Dick Sharples, who had worked together on the comedy series In Loving Memory between 1979 and 1986.

The series also featured guest appearances from the likes of Hird's Last of the Summer Wine co-star Michael Aldridge and television presenter Richard Whiteley.

Plot

The show was set in the Salvation Army based in the fictional Yorkshire town of Brigthorpe during Series 1, and in the equally fictional Yorkshire place of Blackwick during Series 2. Thora Hird starred as Captain Emily Ridley, with Patsy Rowlands as her niece Alice Meredith and Rosamund Greenwood as Sister Dorothy Smith (who left after the first series and was later replaced by David Daker as Brother Benjamin in the second series).

Cast

Episodes

Series 1 (1983)

Series 2 (1984)

Only 15 episodes over two series were made though some sources claim that there were three series made. This is incorrect; there were only two series and one Christmas special shown between 1983 and 1984. [3]

In 1985, it was reported that a continuation/sequel of the series was to be produced for BBC 2. This follow-on series ultimately never appeared; instead, Hird later that year signed up to play Edie Pegden, a character with a number of parallels to her Hallelujah! character Captain Emily Ridley, in Last of the Summer Wine , a role that was written especially for her by Roy Clarke when she became available.

Location filming

The series was filmed mostly in and around both Yorkshire Television Studios and the Leeds area. Most notable filming location was Leeds General Infirmary, especially appearances by old run-down buildings old and new around the Leeds-area at the time. Some scenes in the Christmas special were filmed in the Victorian street exhibition of the York Castle museum. The opening sequence was filmed outside the Garden Gate pub in Hunslet.

Theme music

The theme music was performed by the James Shepherd Versatile Brass, conducted by Robert Hartley. [4]

DVD release

DD Home Entertainment (now known as 'Simply Home Entertainment') released series 1 and 2 in 2008. They claimed that series two was complete at first, However, as the Christmas special was not included, they later dropped this claim (the artwork on the cover stayed the same however) [5]

Both series of Hallelujah! and the Christmas Special are now available from Network DVD. [6]

DVDYear(s)Release date
The Complete Series 1198319 April 2010
The Complete Series 219845 July 2010
The Complete Series 1 & 2 and Christmas Special1983–19848 Nov 2010

Hallelujah! has been released in Australia by Acorn Media Australia. [7] It is a boxset with both series plus the Christmas special. It has been released as an all region DVD (PAL).

Notes

  1. "Hallelujah! (1983-1984)".
  2. "Hallelujah! (1983-1984)".
  3. The British Comedy Guide: Hallelujah! Archived 9 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine The British Comedy Website
  4. Perry, Chris (2016). The Kaleidoscope British Christmas Television Guide 1937-2013. p. 266. ISBN   9781900203609.
  5. "DDHE Releases (Now known as Simply Home Entertainment)". Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  6. Hallelujah! The Complete Series
  7. "Hallelujah! Complete". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2010.

1. Lewisohn, Mark. Radio Times Guide to British Comedy p. 292. ISBN   0-563-36977-9

Related Research Articles

<i>Absolutely Fabulous</i> British TV sitcom (1992–2012)

Absolutely Fabulous is a British television sitcom based on the French and Saunders sketch "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saunders, who also stars as one of the main characters. Its cast includes Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha.

<i>Last of the Summer Wine</i> British TV sitcom (1973–2010)

Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed all episodes of the show from late 1981 to 2010. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of the Summer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. Subsequently, the final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. Since its original release, all 295 episodes, comprising thirty-one series—including the pilot and all films and specials—have been released on DVD. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on BBC One, Gold, Yesterday, and Drama. It is also seen in more than 25 countries, including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. With the exception of programmes relaunched after long hiatuses, Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running TV comedy programme in Britain and the longest-running TV sitcom in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thora Hird</span> British actress (1911–2003)

Dame Thora Hird was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution.

<i>Meet the Wife</i> (TV series) 1963 British TV sitcom

Meet the Wife is a 1960s BBC sitcom written by Chesney and Wolfe, which featured Freddie Frinton as Freddie Blacklock with Thora Hird as his tyrannical wife, Thora. It ran for five series.

<i>The League of Gentlemen</i> British comedy television series

The League of Gentlemen is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives of bizarre characters, most of whom are played by three of the show's four writers – Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith – who, along with Jeremy Dyson, formed the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe in 1995. The series originally aired for three series from 1999 until 2002, and was followed by a film The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse and a stage production The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You!, both in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patsy Rowlands</span> British actress (1931–2005)

Patricia Amy Rowlands was an English actress who is best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films series, as Betty Lewis in the ITV Thames sitcom Bless This House, and as Alice Meredith in the Yorkshire Television sitcom Hallelujah!.

Watching is a British television sitcom, produced by Granada Television for the ITV network and broadcast for seven series and four Christmas specials between 1987 and 1993.

<i>Terry and June</i> British TV sitcom (1979–1987)

Terry and June is a BBC television sitcom, broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of Happy Ever After, and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford, who live in Purley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherrie Hewson</span> English actress (born 1950)

Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson, known professionally as Sherrie Hewson, is an English actress, television personality and novelist. She is known for her roles as Maureen Holdsworth in Coronation Street, Virginia Raven in Crossroads (2001–2003), Lesley Meredith in Emmerdale (2004–2006), Joyce Temple-Savage in Benidorm (2012–2018) and Martha Blake in Hollyoaks (2024–present).

<i>The Black Sheep of Whitehall</i> 1942 British film by Basil Dearden, Will Hay

The Black Sheep of Whitehall is a 1942 British black-and-white comedy war film, directed by Will Hay and Basil Dearden, starring Will Hay, John Mills, Basil Sydney and Thora Hird in her screen debut. It was produced by Michael Balcon and Ealing Studios.

<i>A Kind of Loving</i> (film) 1962 British film by John Schlesinger

A Kind of Loving is a 1962 British kitchen sink drama film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Alan Bates and June Ritchie. It is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Stan Barstow which was later adapted into the 1982 television series A Kind of Loving. The film tells the story of two lovers in early 1960s Lancashire. It belongs to the British New Wave movement.

<i>In Loving Memory</i> (TV series) 1969 British TV series or programme

In Loving Memory is a British period sitcom set in an undertakers business that starred Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny. A pilot with Marjorie Rhodes in the Thora Hird role was transmitted in 1969 by Thames Television, who rejected the idea before it was finally accepted by Yorkshire Television nearly 10 years later, where it ran for a further five series between 21 May 1979 and 27 March 1986.

<i>When We Are Married</i> Play written by J. B. Priestley

When We Are Married is a comedy by the English dramatist J. B. Priestley. Written in 1934, it was first performed in London at the St. Martin's Theatre, London, on 11 October 1938. It transferred to the larger Prince's Theatre in March 1939 and ran until 24 June of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Delaney</span> English comedian (born 1954)

Steve Delaney is an English comedian and character actor, best known for his comedy character Count Arthur Strong on BBC Radio 4 and then a television sitcom broadcast on BBC2 and BBC1.

Farrington of the F.O. is a British television comedy series by Dick Sharples about the staff of the British Consulate in "one of the armpits of Latin America". It was produced by Yorkshire Television and broadcast from 1986 to 1987. Its second, and final, series was simply called Farrington.

Dick Sharples was a British TV scriptwriter of British sitcoms. He has also written novels, plays and drama series.

<i>Billy Liar</i> (TV series) British television series

Billy Liar is a sitcom of 26 30-minute episodes over two series made by London Weekend Television in 1973–1974 which starred Jeff Rawle as Billy Fisher. In addition there was a short five-minute long special as part of the All Star Comedy Carnival broadcast on 25 December 1973.

<i>Under the Hammer</i> 1994 British TV series or programme

Under the Hammer is a British comedy drama television series which originally aired on ITV from 10 January to 21 February 1994. Written by John Mortimer, it is set at a London auction house.

The Boys and Mrs B is a 1977 British comedy television special. Written by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, it was originally intended as pilot for a sitcom but was made as a one off special. It was produced and directed by Dennis Main Wilson with a cast of established and upcoming comedy actors.