| Happiness | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Starring | Paul Whitehouse Fiona Allen Mark Heap Clive Russell Pearce Quigley |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC |
| Original run | 20 March 2001 – 18 February 2003 |
Happiness was a British sitcom broadcast on BBC2 with dramatic, melancholy overtones written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings with Whitehouse in the lead role.
There have been two series thus far, the first running in 2001 and the second in 2003. Whitehouse has stated that there will probably not be a third.[1]
Contents |
Whitehouse plays Danny Spencer, a successful voice artist for a popular cartoon bear called Dexter. Spencer is trying to come to terms with the death of his wife, though much of his concern is that he finds he isn't feeling the loss as deeply as he should.
Approaching his fortieth birthday he is independent and single and the programme's themes are largely bound up with the opportunities and problems that this situation creates. His friends are a disparate group, ranging from the strait-laced Terry and Rachel (Mark Heap, Fiona Allen), through the down and outs - Charlie and Sid (Johnny Vegas and Pearce Quigley), to the archetypal man in a mid-life crisis, Angus (Clive Russell). To varying degrees these friends offer Spencer inspiration and cautionary tales as to how Spencer can fill his life.
| # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Personality Crisis | 20 Mar 01 |
| 2 | I'm Doing It for Me | 27 Mar 01 |
| 3 | Chained to an Idiot | 3 Apr 01 |
| 4 | Desperate Dan | 10 Apr 01 |
| 5 | Celebration | 17 Apr 01 |
| 6 | Forty | 24 Apr 01 |
| # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Little Bit of Love | 14 Jan 03 |
| 2 | A Nice Person | 21 Jan 03 |
| 3 | Real Dancing | 28 Jan 03 |
| 4 | Perspective | 4 Feb 03 |
| 5 | Old Bloke at the Door | 11 Feb 03 |
| 6 | People Move On | 18 Feb 03 |
Simon Hoggart described the series as "part of that newish genre, the situation tragedy",[2] and Andrew Billen criticised it for the "emptiness at its heart and not enough going on peripherally to make up for it".[3] Nicholas Barber thought it "an impressive leap from catchphrase-heavy sketch comedy" with "topnotch supporting actors".[4] Many reviews singled out Johnny Vegas's performance as being the strongest among the cast.[5][6]