Goodnight Sweetheart (TV series)
Goodnight Sweetheart | |
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Genre |
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Created by | |
Developed by | Alomo Productions |
Directed by |
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Starring | |
Theme music composer |
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Opening theme | "Goodnight Sweetheart" |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 6 |
No. of episodes | 59 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Production locations | |
Running time | 30–45 mins |
Production company | Alomo Productions |
Original release | |
Network | BBC1 |
Release | 18 November 1993 2 September 2016 | –
Goodnight Sweetheart is a British science fiction
The sitcom premiered on
Premise
Goodnight Sweetheart is about the life of Gary Sparrow (
Gary soon finds himself leading a double life. When visiting Phoebe, he explains his absences through working as a
Over the next five years, Gary's life is further complicated by his relationships with the two women. Phoebe eventually takes over the running of the Royal Oak after the death of her father Eric, later marrying Gary, despite his committing bigamy. (Although Gary rationalises this with the technicality that — because of his continuing travels between eras — he isn't married to two women at the same time.) His marriage with Phoebe results in a son, Michael. Gary moves into a luxury flat in
Goodnight Sweetheart eventually concludes in 1945 during
Many Happy Returns
In the one-off 2016 special, Gary is still married to Phoebe as they live through the 1960s with their son Michael, who is now a teenager. Gary, missing the modern world, decides to visit the hospital where his younger self is being born but inadvertently encounters his father who faints, leaving him to hold his younger self. The incident causes Gary to be thrown into the future in the 2010s, arriving in the men's toilets of a trendy burger joint in east London, where his former shop was. During his visit, Gary meets Yvonne, now a multimillionaire investor, with Ron as her tenant in the basement. To his shock, Gary learns that Yvonne got pregnant before the closure of the time portal in 1999 and that he now has a 16-year-old daughter named Ellie. After meeting her, Gary contemplates living a double life again, upon finding a new time portal has opened, hoping to get to know his daughter, whilst still maintaining his life in the 1960s.
Episodes
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
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First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 6 | 18 November 1993 | 23 December 1993 | |
2 | 10 | 20 February 1995 | 1 May 1995 | |
Special | 26 December 1995 | |||
3 | 10 | 1 January 1996 | 4 March 1996 | |
4 | 11 | 3 March 1997 | 20 May 1997 | |
5 | 10 | 23 February 1998 | 27 April 1998 | |
6 | 10 | 18 April 1999 | 28 June 1999 | |
Special | 2 September 2016 |
A total of 59 episodes were made, including a Christmas special in 1995 and a special in 2016. Marks and Gran, the creators, wrote the first series; many later episodes were written by other writers. As in Marks and Gran's sitcom Get Back, most episodes of Goodnight Sweetheart — and the programme — were named after popular song titles, others being derived from film titles. The show is named after the song "
Cast
Actor | Role | Episodes | Series | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nicholas Lyndhurst | Gary Sparrow |
59 | 1–6 and 2 specials | 1993–99, 2016 |
Victor McGuire | Ron Wheatcroft
| |||
Christopher Ettridge | P.C. Reg Deadman / P.C. Deadman (Grandson) |
56 | 1–6 and 2 specials (Not in 1x02, 1x04, 2x04) | |
Elizabeth Carling | Phoebe Bamford / Sparrow |
32 | 4–6 and 1 special | 1997–99, 2016 |
Dervla Kirwan | 27 | 1–3 and 1 special | 1993–96 | |
Emma Amos | Yvonne Sparrow |
31 | 4–6 and 1 special (Not in 4x04) | 1997–99, 2016 |
Michelle Holmes | 27 | 1–3 and 1 special | 1993–96 | |
David Ryall | Eric Elward | 6 | 1 | 1993 |
Roger Sloman | George Sparrow | 1 | 4 | 1997 |
Liam Jeavons | 1 | 1 special | 2016 | |
David Benson | Noël Coward | 6 | 5–6 | 1998–99 |
Eve Bland | Majorie Hook / Deadman | 7 | 1996-1999 | |
Ian Lavender | Michael Sparrow | 1 | 5 | 1998 |
Tim Preston | 1 | 1 special | 2016 | |
Nimmy March | Stella Wheatcroft | 4 | 1995-1996 | |
Esme Coy | Ellie Sparrow | 1 | 1 special | 2016 |
DVD releases
All six series and the 1995 Christmas Special have been released on DVD in the UK (Region 2) with edits made to certain episodes, the Christmas special was released on the third series DVD. The first five series have been released in Australia (Region 4).
DVD Title | No. of discs | Year | No. of episodes | DVD release | DVD Interview | ||
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Region 2 | Region 4 | ||||||
Complete Series 1 | 1 | 1993 | 6 | 4 February 2005 | 3 June 2009 | Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran (Creators) | |
Complete Series 2 | 2 | 1995 | 10 | 26 September 2005 | 3 June 2009 | Christopher Ettridge (Reg Deadman) | |
Complete Series 3 | 2 | 1995 & 1996 | 11 | 23 January 2006 | 17 September 2009 | Dervla Kirwan (old Phoebe) | |
Complete Series 4 | 2 | 1997 | 11 | 22 May 2006 | 2 June 2011 | Emma Amos (new Yvonne) | |
Complete Series 5 | 2 | 1998 | 10 | 24 July 2006 | 2 August 2011 | David Benson (Noël Coward) | |
Complete Series 6 | 2 | 1999 | 10 | 18 September 2006 | — | Elizabeth Carling (new Phoebe) | |
Complete Series 1–6 | 11 | 1993–99 | 58 | 23 October 2006 | — | All of the above |
- Although the 2016 special "Many Happy Returns" has not been released onto DVD, it was released digitally in September 2016 on BBC Store.[6]
Future
The show's writers and producers have stated they have received thousands of emails and letters regarding the show wishing for its return to the small screen. Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran have both stated that while there are no plans to bring the series back, it might possibly come back if the musical is made and is a success. On 5 July 2016 it was announced that the show would be returning to BBC One for a one-off special, as part of the BBC's "landmark sitcom season". Unlike the original series, which was filmed in London, it was filmed and produced at dock10 studios, in Salford Quays. Marks and Gran wrote the script and Lyndhurst returned to the role of Gary Sparrow.[7] The special episode aired on 2 September 2016 on BBC One. It received a positive response.[8]
Musical
Since 2014 there was talk of Goodnight Sweetheart being turned into a musical and in December 2017, dates for a stage musical were announced.[9] This jukebox style musical would feature songs from the 1940s and 1980s with the world premiere taking place at the Brookside Theatre, Romford in September 2018.[10]
References
- ^ "Goodnight Sweetheart". Dock10. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ Masters, Tim (17 November 2013). "BBC News – Goodnight Sweetheart: Musical future for time travel show?". BBC News. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ "BBC – Comedy Guide – Goodnight Sweetheart". Archived from the original on 5 December 2004. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ "Winners – The National Television Awards". Nationaltvawards.com. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ "Goodnight Sweetheart (an Episode Guide)". epguides.com.
- ^ "Goodnight Sweetheart". BBC Store. Retrieved 21 February 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Goodnight Sweetheart is coming back with Nicholas Lyndhurst returning to star". Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ Kitchener, Shaun (2 September 2016). "BBC 'would be CRAZY' not to make full series of Goodnight Sweetheart after reboot special". Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ Masters, Tim (17 November 2013). "BBC News – Goodnight Sweetheart: Musical future for time travel show?". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
- ^ "Brookside Theatre". thelittleboxoffice.com. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
External links
- Goodnight Sweetheart at BBC Online
- Goodnight Sweetheart at the British Film Institute
- Goodnight Sweetheart at IMDb
- Goodnight Sweetheart at epguides.com
- Goodnight Sweetheart at British Comedy Guide
- Goodnight Sweetheart at British TV Comedy Guide