Home Time

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Home Time
Home time - cast 2009.jpg
The cast of Home Time in 2009. Clockwise from top left: Mel, Kelly, Becky and at the front Gaynor.
Genre Comedy drama
Written by Emma Fryer
Neil Edmond
Directed byChristine Gernon
Starring Emma Fryer
Marian McLoughlin
Philip Jackson
Hayley Jayne Standing
Kerry Godliman
Rebekah Staton
Narrated by Gaynor Jacks
played by Emma Fryer
Opening theme"Hometown Unicorn"
by Super Furry Animals
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers Henry Normal
Lindsay Hughes
Producer Ted Dowd
Running time30 minutes
Production companies BBC
Baby Cow Productions
Original release
Network BBC Two
Release14 September (2009-09-14) 
22 October 2009 (2009-10-22)

Home Time is a British television comedy-drama written by and starring Emma Fryer with Neil Edmond co-writing. The first series ran on BBC Two between 14 September and 22 October 2009.

Contents

Production

Home Time is set and filmed in Coventry, England. [1] [2]

Plot

Series 1 (2009)

Gaynor Jacks has come home. Home to Coventry, home to her mum and dad's house, home to the three best friends who called her mad for ever leaving. At the age of 17, she ran off to find her place in the big wide world, but now she is back, at 29, with her tail between her legs and not so much as a starter home to show for her troubles. Gaynor cannot hide forever in her tiny time-capsule bedroom with its Trainspotting poster peeling above the single bed and "Wonderwall" still paused on the CD player. She must crawl back into the life she left behind, suffering the gleeful sympathy of her friends and ill-judged parental intrusions, all played out in front of old flames and adversaries she thought she should never see again, and underscored by smirking cries of 'See you are back then'. [3]

Cast and characters

Episodes

Series One (2009)

#EpisodeWriterDirectorOriginal airdate
1Episode OneEmma Fryer & Neil EdmondChristine Gernon14 September 2009
Gaynor Jacks - who ran away from Coventry 12 years ago - has come back home and is hiding in her teenage bedroom. But mum Brenda makes sure she gets out and faces up to the friends she left behind: manipulative Mel, club-weary Kelly and angry Becky.
2Episode TwoEmma Fryer & Neil EdmondChristine Gernon21 September 2009
Gaynor's friends insist, now she is back, that she needs a boyfriend and a job. While they figure out which lad from school might still be available, Gaynor must prepare for a power dinner with the head honchos of cladding firm CovConClad.
3Episode ThreeEmma Fryer & Neil EdmondChristine Gernon28 September 2009
After a furious row with mum Brenda, Gaynor storms out of the house and is stranded up town. The girls come to the rescue, diagnose depression and cheer her up with a romantic mission - to find Paul Walsh, the One That Got Away.
4Episode FourEmma Fryer & Neil EdmondChristine Gernon5 October 2009
Just when she is settling back in, dad Roy decides to spruce up Gaynor's room "now she's having boys over". Meanwhile, Becky finds out about an age-old insult from Mel which blows the group apart. Gaynor must choose: Becky or Mel.
5Episode FiveEmma Fryer & Neil EdmondChristine Gernon15 October 2009
While Gaynor summons up the courage to run off again, Kelly is the first of the girls to turn 30. Rather than leave her pal in her time of need, Gaynor mucks in with a budget luxury spa day and a night on the town.
6Episode SixEmma Fryer & Neil EdmondChristine Gernon22 October 2009
As the girls wake up from a boozy sleepover, Gaynor gets a nasty shock - an invitation to a school reunion. Whether she goes or not, she is finally going to have to face up to all the rumours about why she went and what went wrong.

Reception

Home Time received a positive critical response, The Guardian describing it as "a brilliant, sophisticated, low-key show" [4] and "as smart and original as it is sad and funny", [5] The Mirror as an "understated, subtle and very clever comedy", [6] Heat as "The best new comedy on the BBC for a long time" [7] and the Financial Times felt that it "attained the same balance of tenderness and acuity that has characterised so many of the greatest British sitcoms, from Porridge to The Office ". [8]

Home Time was also nominated for Best Sitcom at both the 2010 South Bank Show Awards [9] and The Rose D'Or. [10]

DVD release

Home Time DVD released on 22 August 2011.

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References

  1. "Home Time". comedy.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  2. "Coventry News". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  3. "BBC - Press Office - Home Time press pack: introduction". BBC. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  4. Nicholson, Rebecca (22 October 2009). Home Time Proves BBC's Comedy Credentials
  5. Guardian (12 September 2009)
  6. The Mirror (11 September 2009)
  7. Heat (8 September 2009)
  8. "Financial Times (11 December 2009)". Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  9. "Diversity in art awards shortlist". BBC. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  10. "British shows lead Rose d'Or nominees". BBC News. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2015.