This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2021) |
The Squirrels | |
---|---|
Created by | Eric Chappell |
Starring | Bernard Hepton Patsy Rowlands Ken Jones Alan David |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 3 |
No. of episodes | 28 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | ATV |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 8 July 1974 – 10 February 1977 |
The Squirrels is a British television sitcom created by Eric Chappell. It was produced by ATV for ITV and broadcast from 1974 to 1977 running for 3 series and 28 episodes. Chappell later created the Yorkshire Television sitcoms Rising Damp , among other series.
The theme was office politics in the accounts department of a fictitious TV rental company. Little work was seen to be done as the staff were usually skiving or engaging in office romances. Bernard Hepton played Mr Fletcher, the authoritarian boss who also saw himself as a 'ladies man' and Ken Jones played Rex, an unassertive subordinate.
Phil Redmond, the creator of the soap opera Brookside , was also a writer for the series. The scripts written by Eric Chappell formed the basis of a remake, Fiddlers Three , broadcast in 1991. [1]
This section needs a plot summary.(August 2020) |
No. | Title | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
Pilot | "The Squirrels" | Eric Chappell | 8 July 1974 |
No. | Title | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "We Don't Want To Lose You" | Eric Chappell | 18 July 1975 |
2 | "Men Without Women" | Eric Chappell | 25 July 1975 |
3 | "Man Most Likely To" | Eric Chappell | 1 August 1975 |
4 | "The Yes Man" | Eric Chappell | 8 August 1975 |
5 | "The Fiddle" | Eric Chappell | 15 August 1975 |
6 | "The Favourite" | Eric Chappell | 22 August 1975 |
7 | "The Whizz Kid" | Eric Chappell | 29 August 1975 |
No. | Title | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
8 | "Ashes To Ashes" | Eric Chappell | 9 July 1976 |
9 | "Fluffy-Bun" | Eric Chappell | 16 July 1976 |
10 | "Burke In Clover" | Richard Harris | 23 July 1976 |
11 | "The New Broom" | Eric Chappell | 30 July 1976 |
12 | "On the Carpet" | Kenneth Cope | 6 August 1976 |
13 | "The Renaissance" | Alan Hackney | 13 August 1976 |
14 | "The X Factor" | Richard Harris | 20 August 1976 |
15 | "The Weaker Sex" | Eric Chappell | 27 August 1976 |
No. | Title | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|
16 | "The Snatch" | Eric Chappell | 25 November 1976 |
17 | "Leap Frog" | Kenneth Cope | 2 December 1976 |
18 | "The Cruise" | Brian Finch | 9 December 1976 |
19 | "The Bonus Scheme" | Phil Redmond | 16 December 1976 |
20 | "The Long Hot Summer" | Eric Chappell | 23 December 1976 |
21 | "The Argument" | Alan Hackney | 30 December 1976 |
22 | "What a Way To Go" | Kenneth Cope | 6 January 1977 |
23 | "Shoulder To Shoulder" | Eric Chappell | 13 January 1977 |
24 | "The Game's the Thing" | Brian Finch | 20 January 1977 |
25 | "The Cover Up" | Alan Hackney | 27 January 1977 |
26 | "The Break-In" | Phil Redmond | 3 February 1977 |
27 | "Men of Straw" | Brian Finch | 10 February 1977 |
Surviving episodes of The Squirrels were released by Network DVD in the UK (Region 2) on 29 April 2013. This DVD consisted of the existing 22 episodes (out of 28). Scripts for some of the missing episodes are included in .pdf format on disc one. The missing episodes are the pilot, 1/1, 1/5, 1/6, and 1/7. The rest of the first series survives only in inferior recordings to the original video format, either re-converted from NTSC copies (1/2, 1/3) or as a domestic videotape (1/4). [2]
Do Not Adjust Your Set is a British television series produced originally by Rediffusion, London, then, by the fledgling Thames Television for British commercial television channel ITV from 26 December 1967 to 14 May 1969. The show took its name from the message that was displayed when there was a problem with transmission or technical difficulties.
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three girls. After its cancellation in 1974, the series debuted in syndication in September 1975. Though it was never a ratings hit or a critical success during its original run, the program has since become a popular syndicated staple, especially among children and teenage viewers.
A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
Eric Sykes was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus and Johnny Speight. Sykes first came to prominence through his many radio credits as a writer and actor in the 1950s, which include collaboration on some scripts for The Goon Show. He became a TV star in his own right in the early 1960s when he appeared with Hattie Jacques in several popular BBC comedy television series.
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, including two Christmas specials in 1974 and 1975. After a three-year absence, the programme returned for a third series in 1978 and again in 2016 for a one-off special. The series regularly garnered 25 million viewers and was broadcast in 60 countries.
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.
Andy Richter Controls the Universe is an American sitcom created by Victor Fresco that originally aired on Fox from March 19, 2002, to January 12, 2003. The series was Andy Richter's first starring role after leaving NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2000, and centers around Richter's eponymous character, a writer living in Chicago who works at a fictional company called Pickering Industries. The show was a joint production of Garfield Grove Productions and 20th Century Fox Television in association with Paramount Television.
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. The final television series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone.
Steven William Moffat is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television series Doctor Who (2010–17), and for co-creating and co-writing the BBC crime drama television series Sherlock (2010–17). In the 2015 Birthday Honours, Moffat was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.
Rising Damp is a British sitcom, written by Eric Chappell and produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, which was originally broadcast from 2 September 1974 until 9 May 1978. Chappell adapted the story from his 1973 stage play The Banana Box. The programme ran for four series and a spin-off feature film of the same name was released in 1980. The series won the 1978 BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy. Rising Damp was the highest-ranking ITV sitcom in the BBC's 100 Best Sitcoms poll of 2004, coming in 27th overall.
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.
Eric George Chappell was an English television comedy writer and playwright who wrote or co-wrote some of the UK's biggest sitcom hits over a more than quarter-century career, first gaining significant notice in the 1970s.
Francis Bernard Heptonstall better known by the stage name Bernard Hepton, was an English theatre director and actor. He is known for his stage work and television roles in teleplays and series, he also appeared briefly on radio and in film.
Something Special is a British children's television programme presented by Justin Fletcher. It was created and produced by Allan Johnston. It is broadcast by the BBC, debuting on 1 September 2003. It is designed to introduce children to Makaton signing, and is specifically aimed at children with delayed learning and communication difficulties. It is aired on the CBeebies channel and is currently the longest running CBeebies programme and the longest running preschool series in Britain. In the past, it was also broadcast as part of the CBeebies programme strand on BBC One and BBC Two.
Please Sir! is a British television sitcom created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and featuring actors John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Penny Spencer, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty and Richard Davies. Produced by London Weekend Television for ITV, the series ran for 55 episodes between 1968 and 1972.
Prospects is a British television comedy-drama series written by Alan Janes and originally released on Channel 4 in 1986. The show was created by Euston Films, who were known for producing gritty dramas such as The Sweeney and Minder. Prospects followed the comic exploits of two East End 'geezer' characters, Jimmy 'Pincy' Pince and Billy 'Bill' Pearson, played by Gary Olsen and Brian Bovell respectively, Prospects showcases the pair's trials and tribulations of making a living in London's Isle of Dogs.
Dad's Army is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a feature film released in 1971, a stage show and a radio version based on the television scripts were also produced. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still shown internationally.
"Robin Redbreast" is the ninth episode of first season of the British BBC anthology TV series Play for Today. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 10 December 1970. "Robin Redbreast" was written by John Griffith Bowen, directed by James MacTaggart and produced by Graeme MacDonald.
Fiddlers Three is a British sitcom series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV which ran for 14 episodes from 19 February to 21 May 1991. Written by Eric Chappell and directed by Graham Wetherell, it stars Peter Davison as Ralph West, Paula Wilcox as Ros West, Charles Kay as J.J. Morley, Peter Blake as Harvey, Tyler Butterworth as Osborne and Cindy Marshall-Day as Norma.
Great Expectations is a British television series which first aired on BBC 1 in 1967. It is an adaptation of the 1861 novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, which follows a humble orphan suddenly becoming a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.