Marriage Lines

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Marriage Lines
Genre Sitcom
Starring Richard Briers
Prunella Scales
Edward de Souza
Country of origin Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
No. of episodes 44 + 2 shorts
Production
Running time 37x25 minutes
7x30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC One
Original run 14 May 1961 – 3 June 1966
External links
IMDb profile

Marriage Lines was a popular black-and-white British sitcom that aired from 1961 to 1966 which launched the careers of its lead stars, Richard Briers and Prunella Scales. It was originally entitled The Marriage Lines. The programme was written by Richard Waring and was later adapted for radio.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Background

When Richard Waring was writing Marriage Lines, he had Richard Briers in mind, having previously worked with him on Brothers in Law. Graeme Muir, the producer of Marriage Lines had also worked on Brothers in Law. In early episodes, Marriage Lines was subtitled A Quizzical Look at the Early Days of Married Life.

[edit] Plot

George and Kate Starling are a newly-married couple, and the comedy came from many ordinary domestic situations. George was a junior clerk in an office and wanted the pub camaraderie of the single men in his office, while Kate gets increasingly frustrated by her domestic duties. In the third series, Kate gives birth to a daughter Helen. The last episode of the fourth series, Goodbye George - Goodbye Kate, showed the couple going to live in Lagos, Nigeria because of George's jobs. This was meant to be the last episode, however a fifth series was commissioned. The Starlings' returned to England as Kate was pregnant again, and gave birth in the final episode.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Pilot (1961)

  • Marriage Lines (14 May 61)

[edit] Series One (1963)

  1. The Threshold (16 Aug 63)
  2. Trial Separation (23 Aug 63)
  3. The Bed (30 Aug 63)
  4. The Parting (6 Sep 63)
  5. Four-Part Harmony (13 Sep 63)
  6. The Old Flame (20 Sep 63)
  7. The Good Neighbours (27 Sep 63)
  8. Party Mood (4 Oct 63)
  9. The Anniversary (11 Oct 63)
  10. The Old Place (18 Oct 63)

[edit] Christmas Special (1963)

  • Short Special as part of Christmas Night with the Stars (25 Dec 63)

[edit] Series Two (1964)

  1. The Job (22 May 64)
  2. The Loan (29 May 64)
  3. Among Our Souvenirs (5 Jun 64)
  4. The Move (12 Jun 64)
  5. The Convention (19 Jun 64)
  6. Happy Birthday (26 Jun 64)
  7. Celebration Night (28 Jun 64)
  8. The Patient (5 Jul 64)
  9. The Martyr (12 Jul 64)
  10. Holiday Attractions (19 Jul 64)
  11. Financial Consideration (26 Jul 64)
  12. The Divorce (2 Aug 64)
  13. A Nice Surprise (9 Aug 64)

[edit] Christmas Special (1964)

  • Short Special as part of Christmas Night with the Stars (25 Dec 64)

[edit] Series Three (1965)

  1. The Cuckoo (5 Jan 65)
  2. The Waiting Game (12 Jan 65)
  3. And Baby Makes Three (19 Jan 65)
  4. Nest of Starlings (26 Jan 65)
  5. The Ladies' Man (2 Feb 65)
  6. The Homecoming (9 Feb 65)
  7. Night of Nostalgia (16 Feb 65)

[edit] Series Four (1965)

  1. What's in a Name (22 Aug 65)
  2. The Dinner (29 Aug 65)
  3. Serenade in Two Flats (5 Sep 65)
  4. Tropical Magic (12 Sep 65)
  5. Migration of Starlings (19 Sep 65)
  6. Goodbye George - Goodbye Kate (26 Sep 65)

[edit] Series Five (1966)

  1. The New Start (22 Apr 66)
  2. Back to the Beginning (29 Apr 66)
  3. Home Market (6 May 66)
  4. Big Business (13 May 66)
  5. Alarums and Excursions (20 May 66)
  6. First House (27 May 66)
  7. And Then There Were Five (3 Jun 66)

All episodes were 25 minutes, except the fifth series when the episodes were 30 minutes long.

[edit] Radio series

Marriage Lines was adapted for radio from 1965 to 1967, with Richard Briers and Prunella Scales once again starring. The scripts were also written by Richard Waring. The first series, of 13 episodes, ran from 21 May to 13 August 1965 and the second series, of 13 episodes, from 19 March to 11 June 1967.

[edit] References