Seven of One

Last updated

Seven of One
Seven of One.jpg
"Open All Hours" and "Porridge" were the two successful pilots from the Seven of One series.
Genre
Created by Ronnie Barker
Starring Ronnie Barker
Composer Max Harris
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes7
Production
Producers
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production company BBC
Original release
Network BBC2
Release25 March (1973-03-25) 
6 May 1973 (1973-05-06)

Seven of One, stylised as 7 of 1, [1] was a British sitcom anthology series that aired on BBC2 in 1973. [1] Starring Ronnie Barker, Seven of One was a series of seven separate 30-minute episodes that would serve as possible pilots for sitcoms. [1] Originally it was to be called Six of One, which Barker planned to follow up with another series called And Half a Dozen of the Other. [1] This was a BBC equivalent of a similar showcase for London Weekend Television called Six Dates with Barker created in 1971.

Contents

In addition to Barker, Seven of One also featured Roy Castle, Bill Maynard, Talfryn Thomas, Prunella Scales, Glynn Edwards, Joan Sims, Keith Chegwin, Leslie Dwyer, Robin Parkinson, Sam Kelly, Christopher Biggins, Richard O'Callaghan, Yootha Joyce, David Jason, and Avis Bunnage in supporting roles. [1] The series was released on BBC DVD in 2005.

Episodes

No.TitleWritten byOriginal air date
1"Open All Hours" Roy Clarke 25 March 1973 (1973-03-25)
Arkwright has only one true love – money. He is also pursuing Nurse Gladys Emmanuel and continues to instruct his nephew Granville (David Jason) in the art of getting money out of customers. Granville, however, wants a girlfriend.
2"Prisoner and Escort" Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais 1 April 1973 (1973-04-01)
Career criminal Norman Stanley Fletcher is on a train with prison officers Mr Mackay (Fulton Mackay), a martinet, and the kindly Mr Barraclough (Brian Wilde), on his way to serve a five-year sentence at Slade Prison.
3"My Old Man"Gerald Frow8 April 1973 (1973-04-08)
Sam Cobbett is a cantankerous, retired railwayman whose house is demolished by the council, forcing him to live in a tower block with his daughter Doris (Ann Beach) and her husband Arthur (Graham Armitage), whom he sees as posh and with whom there is mutual antagonism.
4"Spanner's Eleven"Roy Clarke15 April 1973 (1973-04-15)
Albert Spanners' life is tied to Ashfield Football Club – bottom of the league.
5"Another Fine Mess" Hugh Leonard 22 April 1973 (1973-04-22)
When Harry and Sydney (Roy Castle) plan to impersonate Laurel and Hardy, it all gets a bit close to the real thing.
6"One Man's Meat" Jack Goetz 29 April 1973 (1973-04-29)
Alan Joyce is a fat, greedy man whose wife (Prunella Scales) devises a plan to keep him off food for a day. She goes out and takes not only all the food from the house but Alan's clothes...
7"I'll Fly You for a Quid"Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais6 May 1973 (1973-05-06)
Grandpa Owen dies concealing a winning betting slip. His son Evan Owen and his gambling-mad family are desperate to prove that "you can't take it with you".

Successful pilots

Whilst most of the pilots were not developed any further, "Prisoner and Escort" was chosen to be developed into a series and became Porridge (1974–1977), [1] which also led to a spin-off series called Going Straight in 1978, a feature film adaptation of Porridge in 1979, and many years later a sequel sitcom Porridge (2016–2017).

"Open All Hours" was later developed into a sitcom of the same name, Open All Hours (1976, 1981–1982, 1985), [1] and many years later a sequel sitcom named Still Open All Hours (2013–2019). Additionally, "My Old Man" also led to a sitcom of the same name, My Old Man (1974–1975), which was made by Yorkshire Television and shown nationally on ITV, but featuring an entirely new cast led by Clive Dunn. [1]

Ronnie Barker's favourite of the seven pilots was "I'll Fly You for a Quid", which he initially chose to do as a series, before being convinced by the BBC that it would be harder to do a full series of scripts about Evan Owen in a Welsh gambling community compared to Norman Stanley Fletcher in the prison setting of "Prisoner and Escort".

Related Research Articles

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Jason</span> English actor (born 1940)

Sir David John White, known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Detective Inspector Jack Frost in A Touch of Frost, Granville in Open All Hours and Still Open All Hours, and Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May, as well as voicing several cartoon characters, including Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, the BFG in the 1989 film, and the title characters of Danger Mouse and Count Duckula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Barker</span> English actor, comedian and writer (1929–2005)

Ronald William George Barker was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as Porridge, The Two Ronnies, and Open All Hours.

<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.

<i>Open All Hours</i> British TV sitcom (1976–1985)

Open All Hours is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme was developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronnie Barker's Seven of One (1973) comedy anthology series. Open All Hours ranked eighth in the 2004 Britain's Best Sitcom poll. A sequel, titled Still Open All Hours, aired from 2013 to 2019.

<i>Porridge</i> (1974 TV series) British TV sitcom (1974–1977)

Porridge is a British sitcom, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977. The programme ran for three series and two Christmas specials. A feature film of the same name based on the series was released in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Beckinsale</span> English actor (1947–1979)

Richard Arthur Beckinsale was an English actor. He played Lennie Godber in the BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the ITV sitcom Rising Damp. He was the father of actresses Samantha and Kate Beckinsale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Wilde</span> British actor (1927–2008)

Brian George Wilde was an English actor, best known for his roles in television comedy, most notably Mr Barrowclough in Porridge and Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst in Last of the Summer Wine. His lugubrious world-weary face was a staple of British television for forty years.

<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.

<i>Going Straight</i> British TV sitcom (BBC1, 1978)

Going Straight is a BBC sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. The programme was a direct spin-off to the sitcom Porridge, which all four were involved in, with its premise surrounding the exploits of Barker's character Norman Stanley Fletcher following his release from prison and his attempts to not commit another crime for the sake of his family, despite the allure that crime brings. The programme also featured the appearance of Patricia Brake, reprising her role in Porridge, and Nicholas Lyndhurst. Both Fulton Mackay and Tony Osoba guest starred in the first episode, also reprising their earlier roles.

Royston Clarke is an English comedy writer best known for creating the sitcoms Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping Up Appearances, Open All Hours and its sequel series, Still Open All Hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ystrad Mynach railway station</span> Railway station in Caerphilly, Wales

Ystrad Mynach railway station is a railway station serving the town of Ystrad Mynach, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network.

Madge Hindle is an English actress, known for her roles in British television shows.

<i>My Old Man</i> (TV series) British TV sitcom (1974–1975)

My Old Man is a sitcom starring Clive Dunn as retired and embittered engine driver Sam Cobbett. ITV broadcast 13 episodes in two series during 1974 and 1975.

<i>Porridge</i> (film) 1979 British comedy film by Dick Clement

Porridge is a 1979 British comedy film directed by Dick Clement and starring Ronnie Barker, Richard Beckinsale, Fulton Mackay and Brian Wilde. It was written by Clement and Ian La Frenais based on their BBC television series Porridge (1974–1977). Most of prison officers and inmates from the original series appear in the film, with the notable exceptions of Lukewarm, Blanco, Heslop and Harris. There is also a different governor, played by Geoffrey Bayldon rather than series regular Michael Barrington.

This is a list of British television related events from 1973.

<i>Thick as Thieves</i> (TV series) 1974 ITV television series

Thick as Thieves is a British sitcom which was broadcast on ITV between 1 June and 20 July 1974 and produced by London Weekend. It was created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. There were 8 episodes over one series and starred Bob Hoskins, John Thaw and Pat Ashton.

<i>Porridge</i> (2016 TV series) British TV series or programme

Porridge is a British television sitcom, starring Kevin Bishop, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC One. The show is a sequel to the original 1974 series of the same name, which both Clement and La Frenais wrote. The sitcom focuses on prison inmate, Nigel Norman Fletcher, the grandson of Norman Stanley Fletcher, who is sent to Wakeley Prison to serve a five year sentence for cyber crimes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Seven Of One – Nostalgia Central". Nostalgia Central. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2024.