Hut 33
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| Hut 33 | |
| Running time | 30 min. |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Starring | Tom Goodman-Hill Robert Bathurst Fergus Craig Alex MacQueen Olivia Colman Lill Roughley |
| Writers | James Cary |
| Producers | Adam Bromley |
| Recording studio | Broadcasting House |
| Air dates | 25 June 2007 to present |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (as of 28 May 2008) |
| Website Hut 33 |
|
Hut 33 is a BBC Radio 4 sitcom set at Bletchley Park in 1941. It includes both the writer (James Cary) and producer (Adam Bromley) from Think the Unthinkable and Concrete Cow.
Contents |
[edit] Production
The first six-part series was recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House on 24 June, 1 July and 8 July 2007. It was broadcast at 11.30am on Mondays from 25 June to 30 July 2007. The second series began on 21 May 2008.
[edit] Parody
It is to some extent a parody of Enigma, also set at Bletchley, which also featured a Marxist codebreaker and (from series 1, episode 3) the beautiful stranger who turns out to be a spy.[original research?]
[edit] Cast
- Tom Goodman-Hill as Archie, a Geordie Marxist
- Robert Bathurst as Charles, the ultra-conversative snob who rejected Archie from Oxford for not knowing how to use a fish knife at the dinner table
- Fergus Craig as Gordon, 17-year-old child maths prodigy, still in short trousers, in love with Minka
- Alex MacQueen as 3rd Lieut Joshua Fanshawe-Marshall, theoretically in charge of the hut, made 3rd Lt when he could not be demoted any further from 2nd Lt after losing a tank regiment in the Battle of France by driving them into the sea
- Olivia Colman as Minka, the Hut's Polish secretary, worryingly keen on extreme violence as the solution to all problems
- Lill Roughley as Mrs Best, their sex-obsessed landlady who claims to have bedded both Bomber Harris and Hermann Goering
- Winstanley, the silent occupant of Hut 33 always working at his desk. In series 1 episode 3 he decides to wear a suit of armour, so his responses are assorted clanks and creaks - or is he just an empty suit?
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Series 1
| Episode # | Series # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "A Bridge Too Far" | 25 June 2007 |
| Chalk from lower Newcastle meets Cheese from the upper classes. Charles gets fringe benefits from Mrs. Best, but Archie knows how to pull a fast one. Meanwhile, Hut 33 are playing Hut 6 in the Bletchley Inter-hut Bridge Tournament. Gordon can't play because he has a date with Minka - so rather than play with Charles, Archie would rather try and teach Josh how to play. It doesn't go well. | |||
| 2 | 2 | "Baghdad" | 2 July 2007 |
| A posting to Iraq is up for grabs. Archie wants it but mainly to stop Charles from going. Charles is the obvious candidate being able to speak the local language and having been there before. Using bribery and blackmail, both seek to persuade Joshua to nominate them, until Charles finds out the posting is not to Baghdad, but Iraq's version of Death Valley... | |||
| 3 | 3 | "Careless Talk" | 9 July 2007 |
| The United Kingdom is surrounded by enemies, so when there's news of a security breach at Bletchley Park, everyone in Hut 33 is under suspicion. Then Nancy (Miranda Raison) arrives, the beautiful stranger who seems to want to know all about them. | |||
| 4 | 4 | "Don't Bet On It" | 16 July 2007 |
| The hut have to play a football match against the local POWs. Charles refuses to get involved, deeming Association Football to be beneath him. But Archie wants to prove his masculinity on the pitch, but Hut 33's team are a shambolic mess. That's until Minka gets involved. Meanwhile, some private wagers between Charles and Josh get out of hand. | |||
| 5 | 5 | "Food" | 23 July 2007 |
| Food Shortages are chronic, with the U-boats sinking vital supplies in the Atlantic. Things get so bad, Charles joins Archie's Marxist society. | |||
| 6 | 6 | "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" | 30 July 2007 |
| Archie is expecting a visit from his brother, but leave is restricted to one day per hut - and Charles has booked it. Archie seeks to persuade Charles to give him his day of leave. Meanwhile, Gordon undergoes a rapid Catholic conversion in an attempt to woo Minka. | |||
[edit] Series 2
| Episode # | Series # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Royal Visit" | 21 May 2008 |
| The Duke of Kent (Michael Fenton Stevens) is coming to inspect Bletchley Park, but the top brass are worried he is a Nazi sympathiser. Hut 33 has to delay him and make sure he doesn't see any of the code-breaking machines. | |||
| 8 | 2 | "Pigs N' Spivs" | 28 May 2008 |
| Rations are in short supply so Hut 33 resorts to the services of a spiv. But when they order bacon in bulk they end up with an actual pig - a regimental mascot that was recently stolen. | |||
