The Lovers (1970 TV series)

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The Lovers
The Lovers (TV series).jpg
Opening title card
Genre Comedy
Created by Jack Rosenthal
Written byJack Rosenthal
Geoffrey Lancashire
Directed by
Starring Paula Wilcox
Richard Beckinsale
Robin Nedwell
Joan Scott
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes13
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production company Granada Television
Original release
Network ITV
Release27 October 1970 (1970-10-27) –
18 November 1971 (1971-11-18)

The Lovers is a British television sitcom created and written by Jack Rosenthal, and produced by Granada Television. It stars Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox as Geoffrey and Beryl, a courting couple with conflicting attitudes toward sex and marriage.

Contents

ITV transmitted the two-series programme from 1970 to 1971; Channel 4 repeated it in 1996. Rosenthal also wrote a feature film, The Lovers!, which British Lion Film Corporation released in 1973.

Episodes

The Lovers ran for 13 episodes over two series. Michael Apted directed Series 1; Les Chatfield directed Series 2.

Series 1 (1970)

  1. "Sardine Sandwiches" (27 October 1970)
  2. "The Date" (3 November 1970)
  3. "Freckle Face" (10 November 1970)
  4. "Brainwashing" (17 November 1970)
  5. "A Pipe and a Moustache" (24 November 1970)
  6. "The Truth Game" (1 December 1970)

Series 2 (1971)

  1. "The Engagement" (7 October 1971)
  2. "Breaking It Off" (14 October 1971)
  3. "Birthday" (21 October 1971)
  4. "Joint Bank Account" (28 October 1971)
  5. "The Better Homes Exhibition" (4 November 1971)
  6. "A Trial Marriage" (11 November 1971)
  7. "The Best Laid Plans..." (18 November 1971)

Characters

Geoffrey Scrimshaw
Portrayed by Richard Beckinsale
Geoffrey is a young man in his twenties who embraces the relative sexual freedom of the "permissive society". He is determined to bed Beryl, and has no interest in abstaining from sex before marriage.
Beryl Battersby
Portrayed by Paula Wilcox
Beryl is a chaste young woman preoccupied with thoughts of marriage. She describes sex as "Percy filth" ("Percy" is a colloquial word for the penis.) [1]
Mrs Battersby
Portrayed by Joan Scott
Mrs Battersby is Beryl's mother.
Roland Lomax
Portrayed by Robin Nedwell

Feature film

Series creator Jack Rosenthal wrote a feature film, The Lovers!, based on the sitcom. Photography began in 1972, some months after the transmission of the second series. Beckinsale, Wilcox, and Scott reprised their roles, with Herbert Wise directing. John Comer and Stella Moray appear as Geoffrey's parents. [2]

British Lion Film Corporation released the film in the UK on 14 May 1973.

Video releases

Network Distributing released The Lovers on Region-2 DVD-Video in 2007. The release includes all 13 episodes from the two series. Network released the feature film on Region-2 DVD in 2013.

See also

Sources

References

  1. ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Lovers, The (1970-71)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  2. ↑ "The Lovers! (1973)". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018.
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