Victoria Wood (1989 TV series)
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| Victoria Wood | |
|---|---|
 Victoria Wood with Patricia Hodge and Jim Broadbent in 'Staying In', 1989 |
|
| Format | Comedy |
| Created by | Victoria Wood |
| Starring | Victoria Wood Julie Walters Celia Imrie Lill Roughley Liza Tarbuck Anne Reid Meg Johnson Kay Adshead Duncan Preston Una Stubbs Jane Horrocks Joan Sims Phyllis Calvert Jim Broadbent Patricia Hodge |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC1 |
| Original run | 16 November 1989 – 21 December 1989 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Victoria Wood was a series of six one-off situation comedies written by and starring Victoria Wood in 1989, who took a break from sketches, two years after her very successful and award winning series Victoria Wood As Seen On TV.
Bored with the sketch format and with a yearning to recapture previous success as a playwright, Wood came up with six individual sitcoms as a compromise. She admitted to finding the writing difficult. Though Wood was written as the central character, other lead parts were written with specific actresses in mind, like Julie Walters and Una Stubbs. "I want people to like me and the people who play my friends, and not everybody else" she said. [1] Screenonline says of the shows "Modest in ambition and scale but rich in wit and acuity, the six playlets showcase Wood's eye for human foibles and her distinctively eccentric characters.". [2]
Contents |
[edit] Reception
The series was met with a mixed critical reception initially.[3] The series started out with an impressive 13 million viewers tuning in, but by the next week had dropped to 11 million. Wood regretted the decision not to record it in front of a studio audience and described the filming as a "boring, diabolical and awful" experience. The Daily Express described the show as 'tiresome stuff' and the Daily Mirror said her targets were predictable and snobbish. Wood took some blame for the disappointing reaction saying "It wasn't well written by me as it could have been, and I shouldn't have been in all the sketches". [4]
[edit] Episode Guide
- Show 1 - Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah
- Transmitted 16 November 1989
- Victoria attends a health farm. [5][6][7]
- Show 2 - The Library
- Transmitted 23 November 1989
- Victoria helps her friend Sheila (Anne Reid) who uses the services of a dating agency. [8][9]
- Show 3 - Over to Pam
- Transmitted 30 November 1989
- Victoria chums her hairdressing friend (Kay Adshead) to a daytime TV interview on 'Live With Pam'. But the snobbish host Pam Cunard (Julie Walters) gets her comeuppance when a working class teenage girl guests.[10][11]
- Show 4 - We Would Quite Like to Apologise
- Transmitted 7 December 1989
- Victoria hangs around an airport passenger lounge waiting with her fellow passengers for their plane to arrive.[12][13]
- Show 5 - Val de Ree
- Transmitted 14 December 1989
- Victoria and Jackie (Celia Imrie) go on a walking holiday across the moors.[14][15]
- Show 6 - Staying In
- Transmitted 21 December 1989
- Victoria wants to stay in, but her stuck up friend drags her along to a posh London dinner party.[16][17]
[edit] Victoria Wood Presents
The series was released on DVD under the title 'Victoria Wood Presents' (Product Ref: cctv30608) on 21st May 2007. It has gained a PG Certificate. [18]
[edit] Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah
In 1991, the scripts of all six shows were published by Methuen as "Mens Sana In Thingummy Doodah - And other nuggets of homely fun". The book is dedicated to "All the old bags in Equity, most of whom were in the series". The book contains an exclusive introduction by Wood about what it's like to make a TV programme.
| “ | Once the Writer has finished writing, she takes the 'scripts' to the BBC where a seventeen-year-old Secretary spills coffee on them and leaves them behind the photocopier. When the Secretary leaves the BBC to become a full-time sunbather it can sometimes be a jolly long time before those 'scripts' come to light! And sometimes when they do they have been hidden for such a long time they have become 'dated' and 'unrealistic'. But fortunately, the BBC will still make them into 'programmes'. [19] | ” |
[edit] References
- ^ Victoria Wood - The Biography, Neil Brandwood, Ted Smart, 2002, p.151-152
- ^ Screenonline - Victoria Wood (1989) (2007).
- ^ Museum TV - Victoria Wood (2007).
- ^ Victoria Wood - The Biography, Neil Brandwood, Ted Smart, 2002, p.159
- ^ BFI page on Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah (2007).
- ^ BBC Shop - Victoria Wood Presents (2007).
- ^ IMDB page on Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah (2007).
- ^ BFI page on The Library (2007).
- ^ IMDB page on The Library (2007).
- ^ BFI page on Over To Pam (2007).
- ^ IMDB page on Over To Pam (2007).
- ^ BFI page on We Would Quite Like to Apologise (2007).
- ^ IMDB page on We Would Quite Like to Apologise (2007).
- ^ BFI page on Val de Ree (2007).
- ^ IMDB page on Val de Ree (2007).
- ^ BFI page on Staying In (2007).
- ^ IMDB page on Staying In (2007).
- ^ BBC Shop page on Victoria Wood Presents (2007).
- ^ Mens Sana In Thingummy Doodah, Victoria Wood, Methuen, 1991, p.1
[edit] External links
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