Forever Green
| Forever Green | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Family drama |
| Written by |
Douglas Watkinson Jeremy Paul |
| Directed by |
David Giles (6 episodes, 1989) Sarah Hellings (6 episodes, 1991) Christopher King (6 episodes, 1992) |
| Starring |
John Alderton Pauline Collins Daisy Bates Nimer Rashed Wendy van der Plank Paola Dionisotti |
| Opening theme | Patrick Gowers |
| Composer(s) | Patrick Gowers |
| Country of origin | England, UK |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Brian Eastman Nick Elliot |
| Editor(s) |
Neil Thomson Charles Rees |
| Cinematography |
Dick Pope Peter Greenhalgh Paul Bond |
| Running time | 50mins |
| Production company(s) | Carnival Films |
| Distributor | London Weekend Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Original airing | 1989 - 1992 |
| External links | |
| Production website | |
Forever Green is a television programme originally broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1992. It was made for London Weekend Television by Picture Partnership Productions, now named Carnival Films.
Cast
- Pauline Collins - Harriet Boult
- John Alderton - Jack Boult
- Daisy Bates - Freddy Boult
- Nimer Rashed - Tom Boult
- Paola Dionisotti - Lady Patricia Broughall
- Wendy van der Plank - Hilly
- Alan Rowe - Geoff Bate
- Ian Lindsay - Ted Hubbard
Plot
Jack, a former racing driver and Harriet Boult, a nurse, live in a London flat with their two children Freddy and Tom. Freddy suffers from asthma which Harriet believes could be due to the city pollution, and after a serious attack begins to think leaving the city could be the best treatment available. Soon after, a letter arrives advising Harriet of an inheritance from one of her old patients, a run-down house in the country. It only takes one visit to persuade them to move.
The 18 episodes contain plots dealing with their adapting to life in the country and touches on environmental themes, alternative healing and alternative lifestyle choices.
Episodes
| Series | Episode | Plot summary[1] | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Freddy's asthma is getting worse and Harriet suspects city life might be the cause. A lucky inheritance makes an escape to the country a possibility but can they really just go? | 26 February 1989 |
| 2 | The Boult family is upset by the rural pastime of badger baiting. Freddy has a severe attack of asthma. But what can they do? Jack realises there's a way he can settle the score - using his skills at the wheel of a car. | 5 March 1989 | |
| 3 | Jack comes across some horse rustlers and Freddy is hit by a new asthma attack, the Boults also discover more about Hilly. Maybe she is sitting on some hidden assets which could be worth a lot of money. | 12 March 1989 | |
| 4 | Jack is late home after a hippy convoy blocks the local roads. Harriet and Hilly find the travelling life attractive and discover some secrets in Jack's past. | 19 March 1989 | |
| 5 | The Boult family is struck with headaches and ulcers. Only Freddy seems immune. | 26 March 1989 | |
| 6 | A day trip to London for Harriet, Freddy and Tom serves to reinforce the joys of Meadows Green Farm. But Hilly's musical talents bring a twist of fate to Freddy's apparent return to health. | 2 April 1989 | |
| 2 | 1 | Freddy is studying for her GCSEs, Harriet hopes to qualify for Shiatsu massage and Jack has his own test. | 8 March 1992 |
| 2 | Hilly and her animals invade the Boults' house, but their arrival coincides with a pair of barn owls who are brought to nest in a nearby barn. Suddenly, the place seems overcrowded. | 15 March 1992 | |
| 3 | Freddy decides to find out what has caused the local river to be unable to support much wildlife anymore. | 22 March 1992 | |
| 4 | Lady Pat organises a walk to keep local footpaths open. | 29 March 1992 | |
| 5 | Jack and Harriet are at odds over plans to convert a barn into flats. | 5 April 1992 | |
| 6 | Freddy and Hilly get to show their riding skills at the Oaksey races. | 12 April 1992 | |
| 7 | Freddy's local history project uncovers a mystery surrounding the ownership of Meadows Green Farm. | 19 April 1992 | |
| 8 | The Boults find a skeleton in their garden, a poltergeist in their house, and Freddy discovers a talent for automatic writing. | 26 April 1992 | |
| 9 | Jack and Harriet are tempted to move to Wales, while Freddy discovers that Lord Corwen plans to hold a hare coursing meet. | 3 May 1992 | |
| 10 | A mysterious Polish stranger and a majestic rogue stag arrive on Lady Broughall's estate. | 10 May 1992 | |
| 11 | Harriet's reluctance to talk about her deceased father is challenged when Ellen, his companion in his final years, turns up. | 17 May 1992 | |
| 12 | Ted needs a new barn and Freddy has an idea about how to build one. But someone is determined to burn it down. And is there room for a fox hunter and a fox enthusiast in the same family? | 24 May 1992 | |
Filming locations
The Boult family home Meadows Green Farm is sometimes said to have been in the Cotswolds though place names mentioned in the series point to it being further south in Somerset. For example the fictional address of Geoff Bate's Handcross Garage is 'Handcross, Somerset' and Shepton is mentioned frequently, presumably a reference to Shepton Mallet. The exact location of the house is at Tunley, two miles SE of Bisley, Gloucestershire.
Lady Patricia's house is Nether Winchendon House, Nether Winchendon, Buckinghamshire.[2]
The village of Nether Winchendon, with its distinctive cylindrical stone pillar box on the village green, is seen briefly in episodes 1 and 2 of series 1, as Jack rides home on his motorbike after giving up his job in London, and as he and Geoff Bate discuss a classic car that they are going to view.
The pub where Jack meets Geoff Bate in episode 2 series 1 is the Stirrup Cup in Bisley, Gloucestershire.
The pub that the Boults visit at the end of episode 5 in series 1 is the Bedford Arms in Chenies near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. On their way to the Bedford Arms they pass the Red Lion in the same road in Chenies, where they wave to Ted Hubbard.
In episode 1 of series 2, Jack meets Harriet at Seer Green railway station, which is given the name Fourbridge.
Handcross Garage, owned by Geoff Bate, is North's Garage in Lane End, near Marlow in Buckinghamshire.
The race track used was Prestwood Raceway which was in fact a Banger Race track, in Prestwood nr High Wycombe.
Other information
Originally filmed as 3 series, broadcast of the second series was delayed by coverage of the Gulf War and series 2 and 3 were shown as a continuous 12 episode second series in 1992.[1]
Home video and DVD
Series 1 was originally released by Granada Ventures LTD on VHS and DVD.
All episodes have since been released on DVD by Network DVD. The first series was re-released on a 2 disc set in June 2009. The remaining 12 episodes were released as a 3 disc series 2 DVD in April 2010. Later in 2010, a five disc set of all eighteen episodes was released
The series was originally conceived and written by Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham for LWTV and Picture Partnerships. Brady and Bingham then wrote the entire first series of FOREVER GREEN themselves but due to a serious dispute with the producers they then withdrew from the subsequent series and requested their names be removed from the credits. They did however retain format and copyright in the series and characters.
See also
- Down to Earth (BBC series with a very similar theme)