Home from Home (TV series)

Home from Home is a BBC sitcom set in the Lake District, England.[1] The Hackett family buy a wooden lodge on a park site and immediately father Neil is trying to outdo the better off neighbours. The sitcom began as a pilot episode, part of the BBC Two's New on Two series featuring potential sitcom ideas. A full series was commissioned in December 2016, and debuted on BBC One in April 2018.[2]

Home from Home
GenreSitcom
Written bySimon Crowther
Chris Fewtrell
Directed byPaul Murphy
Country of originEngland
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes7 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerRebecca Papworth
Release
Original networkBBC One
BBC Two
Original release16 August 2016 (2016-08-16) –
25 May 2018 (2018-05-25)

Synopsis

Home from Home revolves around the class divide between the Hackett family and the Dillons.[3] The Hacketts, after saving for years to be able to afford a lodge holiday home in the Lake District, find that other second home owners are not quite on the same level as them. Their most immediate neighbours, the Dillons, have the most upmarket lodge on the site,[4] having downgraded from their villa in Ibiza.[5] A class-war emerges between the Dillons and the Hacketts, particularly between Penny and Neil: she describes the family as "The Stoke Massive".[6] Robert and Fiona, on the other hand, get on well and the Hackett's eldest son is clearly in love with the Dillons' adopted daughter, Petra.

Cast

Production

The pilot and six-part series were filmed at the Skiddaw View Holiday Park,[7] Ullswater and Pooley Bridge.[1]

The pilot, which was broadcast in 2016, originally featured Joanna Page as Fiona Hackett. Page did not return for the full series and was replaced by Niky Wardley.[8]

Episodes
No. in
series		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
Pilot"Pilot"TBASimon Crowther
Chris Fewtrell		16 August 2016 (2016-08-16)
Neil Hackett and his wife, Fiona (Vegas and Page) have finally achieved their dream of owning a lodge on a site in the Lake District. When they arrive, Neil feels usurped by their neighbours who make everything seem so effortless. Neil also makes a fool of himself over a "getting to know each other barbecue".[9]
1"The BLT"Paul MurphySimon Crowther
Chris Fewtrell		20 April 2018 (2018-04-20)
Neil Hackett believes he has been fired and so goes off the deep end. When the park manager, Thistlewaite, attempts to erect a wi-fi mast outside their home, Neil really does not like it and takes decisive action.[10]
2"Into Thin Air"Paul MurphySimon Crowther
Chris Fewtrell		27 April 2018 (2018-04-27)
Neil decides the family should go up Helvellyn; all 3,000 feet (910 m) of it. The Dillons go along too, though ostensibly only so dad Robert can keep a watchful eye on everyone as he is the only one with any mountaineering experience. Penny and Neil go off together and have to be rescued by Robert in a helicopter. Neil's mum, Mercy Hackett, arrives on site and gets cosy with Fieldhouse.[11]
3"The Party"Paul MurphySimon Crowther
Chris Fewtrell		4 May 2018 (2018-05-04)
Upset by Robert's popularity, Neil decides to hold a party which sees him as the cocktail waiter only for the results to be catastrophic. Robert, who used to be the head barman at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, proves to be adept at it though and an embarrassed Neil slouches off. In a quiet conversation with Penny, she reveals to Neil that her husband is magnificent at everything, apart from dancing, which gives Neil an idea...[12]
4"Pitter Patter"Paul MurphySimon Crowther
Chris Fewtrell		11 May 2018 (2018-05-11)
Neil books a table at a snazzy restaurant to celebrate his and Fiona's wedding anniversary; unfortunately Fiona is ill and when they finally manage to get to the restaurant, their table has been given away to Robert and Penny. Elsewhere, Garth overhears Petra splitting up with her boyfriend, Sebastian, and so he thinks that now is his time to shine. Neil's mum, Mercy, tries to hide her blossoming relationship with Fieldhouse.[13]
5"The Chrysler Building"Paul MurphySimon Crowther
Chris Fewtrell		18 May 2018 (2018-05-18)
Little Neil announces that he has homework to hand in on Monday; a research project into a world-famous building and to produce a scale model too. When Robert comes over, he helps out as he has his architectural building materials (for model-making) in his car. Neil is jealous and tries building the Empire State Building out of cereal packets, whilst Robert and Little Neil create a perfect scaled replica of the Chrysler Building. Elsewhere, Petra is without her study notes and Garth witnesses them getting mis-delivered to a neighbour's lodge, so he uses an open window to get into the neighbour's lodge. Unfortunately, whilst in the process of recovering the mis-delivered item, the occupants return home and Garth has to hide in the wardrobe.[14]
6"Mandy Rowlands"Paul MurphySimon Crowther
Chris Fewtrell		25 May 2018 (2018-05-25)
Garth observes the Dillon's arriving at the park without Petra, she has stayed home because her ex, Sebastian, has come back on the scene. Robert realises that there is a widening gulf between him and Penny, so they make the decision to sell up. A family come to view the lodge and Neil introduces himself, but the inverted snob in him comes out when the prospective buyer reveals he runs a garage on the A6, which he likens to a service station. Neil's revelation that his one true love when he was 12-years old was Mandy Rowlands, upsets Fiona. Neil organises a hot air balloon trip for Penny and Robert, but a mix-up means Fiona and Neil have to go too. Whilst airborne on the balloon trip, they all witness Fieldhouse on bended knee proposing to Mercy, but in reality he was just trying to tie a shoelace. Petra returns and makes-up with Garth and asks him to help her tear down the for sale signs as they [the Dillons] are going nowhere.[15]

Critical reception

Gabriel Tate, writing in The Telegraph, gave the sitcom three stars out of five and whilst acknowledging that the sitcom had many traits in common with other "over the garden-fence sitcoms" it was "fundamentally good-natured, resolutely unambitious and a lively addition to a crowded field."[16]

References
  1. Pattison, Kelly (16 March 2018). "Penrith to host premiere of new Johnny Vegas sitcom". News and Star. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. "BBC – Home From Home starring Johnny Vegas moves next door to BBC One – Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  3. Stubbs, David; Jones, Emma; Wright, Jonathan; Mueller, Andrew; Robinson, John; Harrison, Phil; Howlett, Paul (20 April 2018). "Friday's best TV: The Button; Unreported World; Home From Home". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  4. Clark, Caren (14 April 2018). "Holiday in Hell". TV Times. London: Independent Television Publications: 17. ISSN 0950-0081.
  5. "Meet the cast of Home from Home". radiotimes.com. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  6. Loton, Becky (27 April 2018). "Did you spot Stokie references in new BBC show starring Johnny Vegas?". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  7. "Comedy star films at holiday park". Times and Star. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  8. "What's on TV tonight: Home from Home, Pass Over and more". The Telegraph. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  9. "BBC – BBC Two announces a raft of brand new comedy sitcoms as part of the Landmark Sitcom Season – Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  10. "The BLT, Series 1, Home from Home – BBC One". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  11. "Into Thin Air, Series 1, Home from Home – BBC One". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  12. "The Party, Series 1, Home from Home – BBC One". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  13. "Pitter Patter, Series 1, Home from Home – BBC One". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  14. "The Chrysler Building, Series 1, Home from Home – BBC One". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  15. "Mandy Rowlands, Series 1, Home from Home – BBC One". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  16. Tate, Gabriel (21 April 2018). "Home from Home, review – fundamentally good-natured and resolutely unambitious". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
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