Yanks Go Home
Yanks Go Home | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Format | Sitcom |
Written by |
H.V. Kershaw John Stevenson Anthony Couch |
Directed by |
Eric Prytherch Roger Cheveley |
Starring |
Meg Johnson Bruce Boa Stuart Damon Catherine Neilson David Ross Harry Markham Freddie Earlle Alan MacNaughton Lionel Murton Richard Oldfield Norman Bird Jay Benedict |
Composer(s) | Derek Hilton |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Producer(s) | Eric Prytherch |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company(s) | Granada Television |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | ITV |
Original run | 22 November 1976 – 19 September 1977 |
Yanks Go Home is a British sitcom about U.S. Army Air Forcemen stationed in Lancashire, England in the Second World War. It was produced and directed by Eric Prytherch for Granada Television and broadcast on ITV between 1976 and 1977. The series ran for 2 series and 13 episodes in total before its cancellation.[1]
Plot
The series focused on a group of U.S. Army Air Force pilots stationed in a small northern town in Lancashire, England during the Second World War and their sometimes tense relationship with the local men, most often over the attentions of the young women in the town. The early interactions and friction between British civilians and the U.S. military during WWII, best summed up the popular wartime slogan of American servicemen "over paid, over sexed, and over here", was intentionally played up for humorous effect in the series.
Characters
- Pheobe Sankey (Meg Johnson) -
- Sgt. Gus Polaski (Bruce Boa) -
- Cpl. Vince Rossi (Stuart Damon) -
- Doreen Sankey (Catherine Neilson) -
- Harry Duckworth (David Ross) -
- Bert Pickup (Harry Markham) -
- Cpl. Pasquale (Freddie Earlle) -
- Col. Ralph Kruger (Alan MacNaughton) -
- Col. Irving (Lionel Murton) -
- Pfc. Burford Puckett (Richard Oldfield) -
- Leonard Chambers (Norman Bird) -
- Pvt. Floyd Tutt (Jay Benedict) -
Episodes
Series 1
# | Title | Writers | Original airdate | Series No. |
---|---|---|---|---|
01 | "Series One Episode One (Somewhere in England)" | 22 November 1976 | #1.01 | |
02 | "Series One Episode Two (Off Limits)" | 29 November 1976 | #1.02 | |
03 | "Series One Episode Three (Dear John)" | 6 December 1976 | #1.03 | |
04 | "Series One Episode Four (Open Day)" | 13 December 1976 | #1.04 | |
05 | "Series One Episode Five (Brooklyn's Uncle)" | 20 December 1976 | #1.05 | |
06 | "Series One Episode Six (Rossi Keeps His Cool)" | 27 December 1976 | #1.06 | |
07 | "Series One Episode Seven (The Liaison Committee)" | 3 January 1977 | #1.07 |
Series 2
# | Title | Writers | Original airdate | Series No. |
---|---|---|---|---|
08 | "Series Two Episode One (Cooke-Cooke)" | 8 August 1977 | #2.01 | |
09 | "Series Two Episode Two (The Name of the Game)" | 15 August 1977 | #2.02 | |
10 | "Series Two Episode Three (Bed of Roses)" | 22 August 1977 | #2.03 | |
11 | "Series Two Episode Four (Alarm and Despondency)" | 5 September 1977 | #2.04 | |
12 | "Series Two Episode Five (Some of Our Coal Is Missing)" | 12 September 1977 | #2.05 | |
13 | "Series Two Episode Six (The First of the G.I. Brides)" | 19 September 1977 | #2.06 |
Reception
Upon the premiere of the first episode, originally aired on 22 November 1976, the show's title "Yanks Go Home" raised some mild controversy as the United States had celebrated its bicentennial months before. With the immensely popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army in its final year, ITV created the series in an attempt to win over some of its audience. [citation needed] The show received considerable publicity from the network and appeared on the cover of TV Times.
The show failed to meet the network's expectations however, mostly due to the concept already having been touched upon in Dad's Army (such as in the episode My British Buddy) [citation needed], but also because of the lack of a regular writing staff. Nearly each episode was written by a different writer which created noticeable inconsistencies as the series progressed. The studio-based setting and canned laughter [<span title="Granada, in common with the vast majority of British television companies recorded their sitcoms in front of a live studio audience. What evidence is there that this programme used "canned laughter"? (December 2013)">citation needed] also lessened the feel in comparison with Dad's Army. The show was canceled a year later, the final episode airing on 19 September 1977, and was never brought back for a third.
One of the breakout stars of the show was Freddie Earlle, whose character Corporal Pasquale was favorably compared to Sgt. Bilko. The series also featured Stuart Damon of The Champions, who also wrote one episode.
DVD releases
The Complete Series is set to be released on 5 March 2012 by Network.
References
- ↑ Memorable TV (2002). "Yanks Go Home". UK Sitcoms - Yanks Go Home to Yus M'Dear. MemorableTV.com.
External links
- Yanks Go Home at the Internet Movie Database
- Yanks Go Home at TV.com
- Yanks Go Home at the British Film Institute's Film and TV Database