| Life of Riley | |
|---|---|
Life of Riley titles for Series 1 |
|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Georgia Pritchett |
| Written by | Georgia Pritchett |
| Directed by | Martin Dennis |
| Starring | Caroline Quentin Neil Dudgeon |
| Opening theme | "The Life of Riley" |
| Composer(s) | Willie Dowling - Jackdaw 4 |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Alan Tyler Rosemary MaGowan |
| Producer(s) | Catherine Bailey |
| Editor(s) | Fergus MacKinnon |
| Location(s) | Pacific Quay Studios, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Cinematography | John Record |
| Running time | 20 x 30 mins |
| Production company(s) | Catherine Bailey Productions Limited BBC Scotland |
| Distributor | Outright Distribution Ltd. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One/BBC HD |
| Picture format | 16:9 (HDTV) |
| Original run | 8 January 2009 – 1 June 2011 |
Life of Riley is a British comedy television series, shown on BBC One & BBC HD. The show stars Caroline Quentin and Neil Dudgeon, who are recently married, and is set around their dysfunctional family. The show also features the couples four children, Danny, (Taylor Fawcett), Katy (Lucinda Dryzek), Ted (Patrick Nolan) and Rosie (Ava and Neve Lamb). After three series it was confirmed that the show had been cancelled.[1]
Contents |
The first episode aired on 8 January 2009, and was shown on Thursdays at 8:00pm on BBC One. Each episode of Life of Riley also aired in high-definition on BBC HD. Series 2 was shown on Wednesdays at 7:30pm from 17 March 2010. Series 3 was shown on Wednesdays at 8:30pm from 13 April 2011.[2]
The six episode series was commissioned by Lucy Lumsden, BBC Controller, Comedy Commissioning. The show is produced by Catherine Bailey Productions Limited for BBC Scotland, and is distributed by Outright Distribution Ltd. The show is written by Georgia Pritchett, and it is filmed at Pacific Quay Studios in Glasgow, Scotland [3] and on location.
The theme music is a cover version of The Lightning Seeds' song, "The Life of Riley".
Jim (Dudgeon) and Maddy Riley are newly-weds, Jim has two children from a previous relationship, teenagers Katy and Danny, whilst Maddy also has a child of her own - primary schooler Ted from her previous marriage - and baby Rosie with Jim. Jim and Maddy also try to compete with their next-door neighbours, the Weavers; this basic plot is in most episodes and usually makes the Rileys look like The Addams Family. As well as the Riley family, the Weavers also play principal characters in the sitcom.
Series 1 was released on DVD on 29 March 2010. Series 2 was released on DVD on 18 April 2011 along with the transmission of the new series.
Reviews for the first series were almost universally negative. The Herald described it as "a palpable flop" and "unfunny in any age".[4] The Daily Telegraph noted that it was "another half-hour firmly on Planet Sitcom: that strange world where people behave not like anybody in real life, but merely like people in other sitcoms".[5] The Daily Record called it a "lazy insult of a comedy".[6] The Northern Echo observed that "there was something missing for a comedy – jokes";[7] The Daily Mirror comments that there are "some witty moments but these are drowned out by more regular unfunny happenings, so unimaginative and staid it's embarrassing".[8] The Independent headlined its review of the opening episode by calling it "a marital comedy divorced from wit".[9] Most vehemently the Sunday Mail called the show "about as funny as inflamed piles".[10]
The second series of the show has been well received by audiences, with viewing figures reaching nearly 6 million, a much higher proportion of the viewing public than the BBC usually receives in this time slot.[11] However, it has again received regular negative reviews from critics. The Sun called it bland and dull, whilst The Herald declared that 'it lacked any of the basic ingredients of good sitcom'.[12] The Guardian described the show as a "tired effort" [13] The Scotsman reviewed it by noting that it "feels like a parody, this time of the kind of bland, mechanical, family sitcom they supposedly don't make anymore".[14]
| Series | Episodes | Original broadcast | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series premiere | Series finale | |||
| Series 1 | 6 | 8 January 2009 | 12 February 2009 | |
| Series 2 | 6 | 17 March 2010 | 21 April 2010 | |
| Series 3 | 8 | 13 April 2011 | 1 June 2011 | |
Life of Riley's first series comprises six episodes, each of which are thirty minutes long.
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "In the Family Way" | Georgia Pritchett | Georgia Pritchett | 8 January 2009 |
| When Maddy finds a pregnancy test, she is convinced it belongs to one of her stepchildren. But the identity of its true owner comes as a big surprise. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "New Beginnings" | Georgia Pritchett | Georgia Pritchett | 15 January 2009 |
| The cat's gone missing, half their possessions have vanished and a crate is doubling as the baby's cot. Maddy catches Danny smoking but Jim's way of disciplining Danny and his friend isn't the best idea. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Ex Factor" | Georgia Pritchett | Georgia Pritchett | 22 January 2009 |
| Maddy's husband Jim decides that her ex-husband Robbie is his new best friend. While the two of them bond by putting up shelves, Maddy's stepson decides to come out of the closet. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Beating the Bully" | Georgia Pritchett | Georgia Pritchett | 29 January 2009 |
| Ted is getting bullied at school by a girl so Maddy tries to help him stand up for himself. Meanwhile Katy has become a vegetarian and rescues a pigeon which is eaten by the cat. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Little White Lie" | Georgia Pritchett | Georgia Pritchett | 5 February 2009 |
| Maddy's son Ted does not want to go for a sleepover at his friend's house and so Maddy finds herself trying to create reasons why he isn't going. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Worst Best Man" | Georgia Pritchett | Georgia Pritchett | 12 February 2009 |
| Jim is asked to be Maddy's ex-husband's best man but he turns out to be the worst best man. | |||||
In May 2009, it was confirmed that the Life of Riley & The Old Guys will have a second series. It began airing on March 17, 2010 and The Old Guys returned on 9 July 2010.
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Just The Two of Us" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett, Paul Alexander | 17 March 2010 |
| Maddy decides that she needs to spend more quality time with her husband, but in doing so almost kills him (and her marriage)... | |||||
| 8 | 2 | "Crowded House" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 24 March 2010 |
| When building work puts Maddy and Jim's bedroom off limits, everyone has to shuffle round to make room and the lack of personal space leads to some uncomfortable discoveries. | |||||
| 9 | 3 | "Nine to Five" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 31 March 2010 |
| Maddy decides the time has come to get back into paid employment, but juggling her office job and her domestic responsibilities turns out to be harder work than she had expected. | |||||
| 10 | 4 | "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett, Dan Caster, Paul Howell | 7 April 2010 |
| When Maddy's ex-husband Robbie gets a young, trendy new girlfriend, Maddy cannot help setting herself up in competition - but her attempts to make herself more youthful do not go according to plan. | |||||
| 11 | 5 | "School's Out" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 14 April 2010 |
| Maddy tries to get Ted into the best school in the area, but discovers that passing the entrance exam is actually the easiest requirement, and that there are plenty more challenges to overcome if she's to get him the highest education. | |||||
| 12 | 6 | "Crazy" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 21 April 2010 |
| Maddy plays therapist to Danny when she discovers he has been seeing the school counsellor, but her efforts prove to cause more problems than they solve. | |||||
A third series had been in production from October 2010; it began airing on 13 April 2011.[2]
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | "The Boyfriend" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 13 April 2011 |
| Maddy discovers her mum has a boyfriend, her attempts to talk her out of the relationship lead to wedding plans and Maddy in a big pink fluffy dress. Ted finds a novel way of outwitting a bully, and Katy misplaces a car. | |||||
| 14 | 2 | "Letter of the Law" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 20 April 2011 |
| Maddy has what she thinks is a neighbourly chat with her neighbour, a lawyer, and finds she has been charged for the pleasure. Jim discovers he has an ardent admirer | |||||
| 15 | 3 | "Interference" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 27 April 2011 |
| Maddy sets out to prove she is not an interfering mum, while Jim tries to deal with his addiction to coffee. | |||||
| 16 | 4 | "Snake" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 4 May 2011 |
| Robbie gives Ted a snake, which his girlfriend owns for her magic act. Meanwhile, Maddy and Jim go to Alison's and Roger's for dinner, however, things turn for divorce for Alison and Roger, as Roger forgets to collect things from the shops and ignoring her texts, which leaves Maddy and Jim as witnesses. But a break-in occurs at the Riley house, and the furniture is trashed, but turns out the kids were looking for Ted's snake, which gone loose. Alison and Roger finally make up as a couple, and Danny is terrified when Ted's snake hatches eggs in his room! | |||||
| 17 | 5 | "Lost in Translation" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 11 May 2011 |
| Maddy persuades Jim to open up about his feelings, she gets more than she bargained for. Meanwhile, Danny plays host to a visiting French exchange student, awakening Ted's latent xenophobia. | |||||
| 18 | 6 | "Absent Friends" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 18 May 2011 |
| When an old friend passes away, Jim realises how small his social circle has become; Maddy decides to solve this problem by any means necessary. Meanwhile, Ted decides to take charge of the family finances. | |||||
| 19 | 7 | "The Bug" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 25 May 2011 |
| When Rosie starts playgroup Maddy thinks she will finally have some time to herself - instead Rosie turns out to be a germ magnet and Maddy ends up nursing the entire family. To make matters worse, the Rileys find themselves cut off from civilisation when their internet connection breaks down. | |||||
| 20 | 8 | "The Good Mother" | Richard Boden | Georgia Pritchett | 1 June 2011 |
| Ted finds his friendship with Anthony tested to the limit. Meanwhile, Jim's ex-wife invites the kids to spend the summer with her in New York and Maddy is worried that they might not want to come back. | |||||
| Episode No. | Airdate | Total Viewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 April 2011 | 4,460,000[15] |
| 2 | 20 April 2011 | 3,010,000[16] |
| 3 | 27 April 2011 | 3,890,000[17] |
| 4 | 4 May 2011 | 3,280,000[18] |
| 5 | 11 May 2011 | 3,700,000[19] |
| 6 | 18 May 2011 | 3,010,000[16] |
| 7 | 25 May 2011 | 3,430,000[20] |
| 8 | 1 June 2011 |