| Roger & Val Have Just Got In | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Starring | Dawn French Alfred Molina |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 (second in development) |
| No. of episodes | 6 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC Two |
| Original run | 6 August 2010 – present |
Roger & Val Have Just Got In is a BBC sitcom that stars Dawn French and Alfred Molina as married couple Roger and Val Stephenson. The show premiered on BBC Two on 6 August 2010. [1]
Each episode is set in the half hour after Roger and Val arrive home from work. Episodes play out in real time with no laughter track. Often times the deeper issues in the couple's lives are underplayed by being glossed over in conversation. The longing for escape is a trait prevalent in both characters' personalities.
The series, gradually episode by episode week after week permits the viewer an insight into the reality of Roger and Val's life. Underneath the mundane middle aged couple's daily routine, the viewer becomes aware of a real heartache which both characters avoid talking about but which has altered their life fundamentally; the death of their infant son Christopher. Kilcoyne insists the viewer tease away the facade of Val and Roger's utopia to reveal real turmoil and how humanity may deal with it. Roger and Val have Just Got In is a genius piece of screen-writing where everyday human emotions are utilized as a mask for real personal tragedy. The screenwriters adopted subtle hints in regard to Roger and Val's heartache, the light-shade in the spare bedroom and the photo of Val holding the baby (granted maybe not so subtle) but fantastically intense nevertheless. Shot in real time the viewer can begin to feel the unspoken pain each character endures but for the sake of the other would rather remain silent. The viewer requires no anagnorisis to understand that both Roger and Val's life has been devastated.
The existentialism of Becket retold in our front room. Wonderful, heartfelt, and completely endearing.
The show was recommisioned for a second series in late 2011 and will return for a further six episodes in early 2012.
Contents |
Six episodes were produced for the first series by the BBC. [1] The show was created by Dawn French, the director is Jamie Rafn and the writers are Beth Kilcoyne and Emma Kilcoyne. [1] A Further Six episodes are also been produced for the BBC for broadcast in early 2012.
| # | Title | Directed by | Original airdate | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Guarantee"[2] | Jamie Rafn[2] | 6 August 2010[2] | 1.71 Million[3] |
| The opening episode explores the Roger and Val looking for a Hoover guarantee so they can return it to the shop and get a refund. It takes the whole episode just to find it but when they eventually do find it, Val is so happy, she tears it up by mistake and in the last couple minutes of the episode, we see Val cooking the tea and Roger with sellotape sticking the pieces of the guarantee back together. | ||||
| 2 | "The Unglamorous Row"[4] | Jamie Rafn[4] | 13 August 2010[4] | 1.23 Million[4] |
|
Val comes home to find Roger in an agitated state. She has left that evening's meal, a pack of fish fingers and some frozen peas, in his plant fridge in the conservatory. Thus begins a chain of rows, each one seemingly all about fish fingers. Despite various attempts by both parties to smooth things over, there is a certain amount of tension in the air. It transpires that Roger is in a foul mood not because of the fish fingers, but because there are two new water voles at work who don't get on, and staff have named them after Roger and his boss Phil. |
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| 3 | "The Dining Room Curtains"[5] | Jamie Rafn[5] | 20 August 2010[5] | 1.09 Million[6] |
| Roger's father is critically ill in hospital. Meanwhile, there's the job of re-hanging the freshly laundered dining room curtains - courtesy of Year 9 - in the newly painted dining room. Top of the agenda, however, is putting on the kettle and unwinding with a cup of tea and a snack. In typical fashion, one scotch pancake leads to another and, with the pressing need to generally put the world to rights, will either of them have the energy for household chores? | ||||
| 4 | "Be Our Guests"[7] | Jamie Rafn[7] | 27 August 2010[7] | 1.16 Million[8] |
| Roger's dad is close to death. Roger's cousin Cathy is arriving with her husband so that she can say her farewells. Roger and Val find themselves under pressure to get the spare room ready for their stay. Things become too much for Roger. | ||||
| 5 | "Reply All"[9] | Jamie Rafn[9] | 3 September 2010[9] | 1.14 Million |
|
Roger lies almost mute in bed in the spare room. Val tries hard to reach him, but there's more to this crisis than the recent news about his father. Roger reveals that, alone in the house, he has followed grief counselling advice and written out an idealised self-image; however he has mistakenly emailed it to his management team at work. Hideously embarrassed, he and Val try to salvage the situation, but it leads to a terrible and definite schism between them. For the first time in the series, someone leaves the house. |
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| 6 | "The Valerie Step"[10] | Jamie Rafn[10] | 10 September 2010[10] | n/a |
| Val is curious to find out how Roger's work tribunal has gone but, following recent events, relations between the two of them are less than easy. | ||||
A Second series was commisioned in late 2011 and will broadcast in early 2012.
The First Series of Roger & Val was released on 13 September 2010.