The Grimleys

Last updated

The Grimleys
The Grimleys logo.png
Genre Comedy drama
Created by Jed Mercurio
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes22 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production company Granada Television
Original release
Network ITV [1]
Release5 July 1997 (1997-07-05) –
1 April 2001 (2001-04-01) [2]

The Grimleys is a comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. [3] It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series. [4]

Contents

The show was written by Jed Mercurio, who had trained as a doctor and whose first series, Cardiac Arrest – written under the pseudonym 'John MacUre' – had attracted critical plaudits for its dark portrayal of life in a disintegrating British National Health Service. [5]

The filming of the school took place in Salford, Buile Hill High, Hope High, and Pendleton College, and the characters' homes were filmed in Langley, Greater Manchester. [6] Later series featured location filming in Dudley, including a scene at Dudley Zoo.

Premise

The Grimleys follows the ups and downs of the dysfunctional Grimley family in their struggles with everyday life. Gordon Grimley (James Bradshaw) is an intellectual but feeble schoolboy who has a crush on his teacher, Miss Geraldine Titley (Amanda Holden; Samantha Janus in the pilot). His younger brother Darren (Ryan Cartwright), who also narrates the storyline and sets the scene, is fond of Gordon and sympathetic to his unrequited love for Miss Titley, but is frustrated by his brother's fey personality and his nickname, "The School Spanner". Their father Baz (Nigel Planer) is a bone-idle British Leyland car worker, who injured his back on his first day at the Longbridge plant and went on strike on the second. He has not moved from his armchair since then and spends his days watching television. [7] He is particularly infuriated by Gordon's artistic leanings and is determined that he should do "a man's job" rather than go to university, unlike their hard-working mother Janet (Jan Ravens).

Other domestic characters are their older sister Lisa Grimley (Corrieann Fletcher) and their Nan (Barbara Keogh), who seems to be obsessed with the "Grimley curse". The Grimleys' next-door neighbours are the Titleys, consisting of Geraldine, plumber uncle Reg (Paul Angelis) and his son Shane (Simon Lowe), a Bay City Roller lookalike and self-styled ladies' man with a clapped-out Vauxhall Viva car.

To complicate matters further, Shane is dating Lisa, and Janet and Reg carry obvious torches for each other. Reg's sensitivity and surprisingly poetic tongue give rise to a question mark over Gordon Grimley's parentage, as does Shane Titley's oafish behaviour and idolisation of Baz Grimley.

Many of the scenes are set in the Grimley brothers' school, alongside their sadistic PE teacher Doug "Dynamo" Digby (Brian Conley; Jack Dee in the pilot), who lives in a corner of the school gymnasium. [8] Doug always takes both pride and pleasure in bullying his pupils, perhaps due to the behaviour of his thuggish father (Lewis Collins). Doug is dating Geraldine Titley, much to Gordon Grimley's chagrin, leading to increasing tensions between them. Also present is Amazonian gym mistress Miss Thing (Ruby Snape), whom Digby seems to fancy.

The show also stars Noddy Holder, the former lead singer of Slade, in the role of music teacher Neville Holder (his own real name), and there are a number of cameos including one by the glam rock singer Alvin Stardust as a pub landlord. [9] This leads to a series of in jokes, such as Holder and Stardust bemoaning the lost opportunities of their youth over a pint of beer, and Holder's character being described as "not exactly Mr Rock 'n' Roll".

Other guest stars were Bamber Gascoigne as the school's headmaster; Johnny Ball as a maths teacher in another school; Michael Cronin as "Bullet" Baxter (the role that he had played in Grange Hill ); William Woollard as science teacher Mr Woollard; Elizabeth Berrington as a school inspector; Ron Atkinson as the manager of an opposing football team; Stephen Lewis playing a coach driver very similar to his character Inspector Blake in On The Buses ; Jim Bowen as a militant trade unionist; and Pam Ayres as herself.

Series 3 changes

Series one and two features the same regular cast and runs in a continuous time frame, while series three is set later in the 1970s. Doug Digby's character is killed off in a gym accident in the first episode of the third series, and he is replaced in Geraldine Titley's affections by the scheming, manipulative woodwork teacher Dave Trebilcock (pronounced "Trebilco"), played by Craig Kelly. Geraldine has spent the time between the second and third series in a coma, which allows the series to shift its focus from the glam rock era to the punk era. Gordon is now working as a trainee teacher at the school, where he is bullied and insulted by the pupils, many of whom, including his brother, Darren, are dressed as punks. Their mother, meanwhile, has walked out on her husband and taken up with Neville Holder, who has now become the school's headmaster, leaving Gordon as the family's sole breadwinner.

Cast

Logos

The pilot episode, shown in 1997, features a Grimleys logo on the opening titles that is never seen otherwise. Series one and two (as well as on the respective VHS releases and first soundtrack album) feature a green Grimleys logo showing the letters of "Grimleys" in platform shoes, with a lava lamp taking the place of the "I". A yellow silhouette of this logo made its way onto the cover of the VHS release of the pilot episode.

As Nigel Planer left the cast between series two and series three, series three was given a new logo to go with its late 1970s punk concept. The new logo of The Grimleys featured the letters of the words in red on individual pieces of white paper, highly remisicent of (and most likely inspired by) how the words "Swindle" appear on the cover of The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (an album of the Sex Pistols).

Music

The theme music of the first series is "Bye Bye Baby" by the Bay City Rollers over the title credits and either "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" or "Cum On Feel the Noize", both by Slade, over the end credits. Noddy Holder performs an acoustic version of "Cum On Feel the Noize" over the end credits of the episode "The Road Not Taken".

In the second series the end title credits vary between "Cum On Feel the Noize", "How Does It Feel?" and "Everyday", also by Slade. Holder performs an alternative Easter version of "Merry Xmas Everybody" during the episode "???", mimes "How Does It Feel?" on a piano in the episode "The Bionic Boy" and performs an acoustic version of "'Coz I Luv You" over the end credits of the Series 2 finale, "The Prime of Mr Doug Digby".

"Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" by the Buzzcocks is the theme music of the third series, which also features the song "Jilted John" by Jilted John (Graham Fellows) with its refrain "Gordon is a moron" for a punk disco scene in which the members of the Blackpool punk band UFX appear opposite Amanda Holden.

Episodes

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
0 15 July 1997 (1997-07-05)
1 68 March 1999 (1999-03-08)20 April 1999 (1999-04-20)
2 109 January 2000 (2000-01-09)12 March 2000 (2000-03-12)
3 622 January 2001 (2001-01-22)1 April 2001 (2001-04-01)

Pilot (1997)

The pilot originally aired as the fourth installment of Comedy Premieres on 5 July 1997.

TitleOriginal air date
"The Grimleys"5 July 1997 (1997-07-05)

Series 1 (1999)

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Romeo and Juliet"8 March 1999 (1999-03-08)
2"The Road Not Taken"15 March 1999 (1999-03-15)
3"The Golden Whistle"22 March 1999 (1999-03-22)
4"Something for the Weekend"29 March 1999 (1999-03-29)
5"Kung Fu Fighting"19 April 1999 (1999-04-19)
6"Survival of the Fittest"20 April 1999 (1999-04-20)

Series 2 (2000)

No.TitleOriginal air date
7"The Beautiful Game"9 January 2000 (2000-01-09)
8"The Gold Star"16 January 2000 (2000-01-16)
9"The Beast with Two Backs"23 January 2000 (2000-01-23)
10"One Day in the Life"30 January 2000 (2000-01-30)
11"The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence"6 February 2000 (2000-02-06)
12"Driving Miss Titley"13 February 2000 (2000-02-13)
13"The Bionic Boy"20 February 2000 (2000-02-20)
14"The Pon Farr"27 February 2000 (2000-02-27)
15"The Memory Gland"5 March 2000 (2000-03-05)
16"The Prime of Mr Doug Digby"12 March 2000 (2000-03-12)

Series 3 (2001)

No.TitleOriginal air date
17"The Big Sleep"22 January 2001 (2001-01-22)
18"Death and the Maiden"29 January 2001 (2001-01-29)
19"Ecce Homo"5 February 2001 (2001-02-05)
20"An Inspector Calls"12 February 2001 (2001-02-12)
21"Forbidden Fruit"19 February 2001 (2001-02-19)
22"The Grimley Curse"1 April 2001 (2001-04-01)

Home media

Very few episodes of The Grimleys have been released for public purchase.

Series 1 was released on VHS in 2000, both as a boxed set of the complete series and as two separate releases containing three episodes each. It was also released on a very rare DVD in 2007 (it is unknown if this DVD was official or a pirate release). Series 2, Series 3 and the finale have not been released.

The pilot episode from 1997 was released on VHS in 2001, featuring a five-minute introduction to the series by Noddy Holder.

In 2000 a two-disc soundtrack album was released and peaked at number 17 in the UK Compilation Chart. Another two-disc soundtrack album was released in 2001. The first album focused on glam metal and pop songs from the 1970s, and was titled Get Down and Get With it, Here Come the Grimleys. The second album featured punk, post-punk and new wave songs from the late 1970s, and was titled The Official Soundtrack to the Hit TV Show The Grimleys.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slade</span> British rock band

Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The British Hit Singles & Albums names them the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles. They were the first act to have three singles enter the charts at number one; all six of the band's chart-toppers were penned by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. As of 2006, total UK sales stand at 6,520,171, and their best-selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", has sold in excess of one million copies. According to the 1999 BBC documentary It's Slade, the band have sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

<i>Lovejoy</i> British television comedy drama series (1986–1994)

Lovejoy is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 1986 and 4 December 1994, although there was a five-year gap between the first and second series. It was adapted for television by Ian La Frenais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicktoons</span> Animated series brand used by Nickelodeon

Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company in their copyright bylines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noddy Holder</span> Musical artist

Neville John "Noddy" Holder is an English musician, songwriter and actor. He was the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the English rock band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his unique and powerful voice, Holder co-wrote most of Slade's material with bass guitarist Jim Lea including "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Merry Xmas Everybody". After leaving Slade in 1992, he diversified into television and radio work, notably starring in the ITV comedy-drama series The Grimleys (1999–2001).

<i>Noahs Arc</i> (TV series) Television show filmed in Vancouver

Noah's Arc is an American cable television comedy-drama series that aired for two seasons on the Logo network from October 19, 2005 to October 4, 2006. The show centered on the lives of four African-American gay friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Conley</span> English actor, comedian (b. 1961)

Brian Paul Conley is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Conley has been the host of The Brian Conley Show, as well as presenting the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions. In his 40-year television career, he has starred in multiple award-winning television sitcoms including Time After Time and The Grimleys. In the West End, he has played the lead role in musicals such as Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hairspray, Oliver!, The Music Man, Barnum and Jolson for which he was nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. As a musician, he has released five albums, including Brian Conley Sings, Let the Good Times Roll, and Stage to Stage. He has won numerous awards in his career including The National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performer, Best Live Performer in Manchester Evening News and a British Comedy Award.

<i>Care Bears</i> (TV series) American animated television series

Care Bears is an American animated television series based on the franchise of the same name. After two specials in 1983 the main series began in 1985. The series was produced by DIC Audiovisuel's American branch DIC Enterprises and aired on syndication a while after the theatrical release of the first movie in the series.

<i>Rubbadubbers</i> British stop-motion childrens television series

Rubbadubbers is a British stop-motion children's television series produced by HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series was broadcast in the UK on BBC2 and CBeebies from 2002 to 2005. Created by Peter Curtis, it focuses on seven friendly, sentient bath toys as they tell stories in imaginary worlds outside of their bathroom - the ringleader in the series being a pink frog named Tubb. In the US, the series was broadcast on Nickelodeon, on Noggin and on PBS Kids Sprout.

<i>Whatever Happened to Slade</i> 1977 studio album by Slade

Whatever Happened to Slade is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 21 March 1977 by Barn Records, but did not enter any national album chart. By the time of the album's release, Slade's popularity was waning as were their record sales, which they acknowledged in the album's title. The glam rock movement, with which Slade was associated, had died, and the careers of other glam rock artists such as Mud, Gary Glitter and Sweet had hit the buffers. In Britain, where Slade had traditionally been most popular, the fashion of the day was punk rock. With this album, Slade stood their ground as a straight-ahead rock group; gone were their "glam" statements of the early decade.

<i>Return to Base</i> 1979 studio album by Slade

Return to Base is the eighth studio album by the British rock group Slade. It was released on 1 October 1979 by Barn Records, and did not enter any national album charts. At the time of the album's release, the band's success had waned and were receiving little fortune. Forced to play at small halls and clubs around the UK, the only income they were reliant on was Noddy Holder and Jim Lea's songwriting royalties. Their recent singles had sold poorly and they were no longer drawing in large audiences. Prior to their last-minute call up for the 1980 Reading Festival, they were on the verge of disbanding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mama Weer All Crazee Now</span> 1972 single by Slade

"Mama Weer All Crazee Now" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1972 as the lead single from their third studio album Slayed? It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK, giving the band their third number one single, and remained in the charts for ten weeks. In the United States, the song reached No. 76.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coz I Luv You</span> 1971 single by Slade

"Coz I Luv You" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1971 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their first number one single, and remained in the top 50 for fifteen weeks.

"Legion" is the second episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI and the 32nd in the series run. It was first broadcast on British television on 14 October 1993, was written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor and was directed by Andy de Emmony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me</span> 1973 single by Slade

"Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1973 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK, giving the band their fifth number one single, and remained in the charts for ten weeks. The song was certified UK Silver by BPI in July 1973. The song would be included on the band's 1973 compilation album Sladest.

<i>Diffrent Strokes</i> American television sitcom (1978–1986)

Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, respectively, who are two boys from Harlem taken in by a wealthy Park Avenue businessman and his daughter. Phillip Drummond is a widower for whom their deceased mother previously worked; his daughter, Kimberly, is played by Dana Plato. During the first season and the first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred, as Mrs. Edna Garrett, the Drummonds' first housekeeper, who ultimately spun off into her own sitcom, The Facts of Life, as a housemother at the fictional Eastland School. The second housekeeper, Adelaide Brubaker, was played by Nedra Volz. The third housekeeper, Pearl Gallagher, was played by Mary Jo Catlett, first appearing as a recurring character, later becoming a main cast member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UFX</span> English alternative rock band

UFX are an English alternative rock band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far Far Away (song)</span> 1974 single by Slade

"Far Far Away" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1974 as the lead single from the band's first soundtrack album and fifth studio album Slade in Flame, in promotion of the upcoming film of the same name. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 2 in the UK, remaining in the charts for six weeks. The song was certified UK Silver by BPI in November 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How Does It Feel (Slade song)</span> 1975 single by Slade

"How Does It Feel" is song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1975 as the second single from the band's first soundtrack album and fifth studio album Slade in Flame, in promotion of the film of the same name. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 15 in the UK, remaining in the charts for seven weeks.

It Aint <i>Seinfeld</i> 1998 Extreme Championship Wrestling supercard event

It Ain't Seinfeld was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place on May 14, 1998, in the Elks Lodge #878 in Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, New York.

Thomas & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Reverend W. Awdry.

References

  1. ↑ Robert Hanks (9 March 1999). "Television Review - Arts & Entertainment" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "BBC - Comedy Guide - the Grimleys". Archived from the original on 5 December 2004.
  3. ↑ Thu, 11 Mar 1999 (11 March 1999). "Ratings boost for new ITV post-10pm schedule | Archive". Marketing Week. Retrieved 24 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Jason Deans (21 May 2002). "The Grimleys Go West | Media | MediaGuardian". London: Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Belcher, David (1 March 1999). "With a Flare for the Past". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  6. ↑ Dudley Chronicle, 15 May 1998
  7. ↑ "BBC - Comedy Guide - The Grimleys". Archived from the original on 5 December 2004. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  8. ↑ James Rampton (12 June 1999). "Dee Goes Straight - Arts & Entertainment" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  9. ↑ James Rampton (6 March 1999). "Still Crazee Now - Arts & Entertainment" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.