The Green Green Grass (series 1)

The Green Green Grass's first series originally aired between 9 September 2005 and 14 October 2005, beginning with the episode "Keep On Running". A Christmas special aired on 25 December 2005.

The Green Green Grass
Season 1
The Green Green Grass Series 1 DVD Cover
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes7
Release
Original networkBBC
Original release9 September (2005-09-09) –
25 December 2005 (2005-12-25)
Series chronology

Outline

The series introduced the seven main characters that would appear in further series. These were:

Actor Role
John Challis Boycie
Sue Holderness Marlene
Jack Doolan Tyler
David Ross Elgin
Ivan Kaye Bryan
Peter Heppelthwaite Jed
Ella Kenion Imelda

Lisa Diveney's character, Beth, who was Tyler's girlfriend, became a regular from the episode "Pillow Talk".

Episode Information
Episode Number Broadcast Date Duration Title Written by
1 – 1.19 September 200530 minutes"Keep On Running"John Sullivan
2 – 1.216 September 200530 minutes"A Rocky Start"John Sullivan
3 – 1.323 September 200530 minutes"The Country Wife"John Sullivan
4 – 1.430 September 200530 minutes"Hay Fever"John Sullivan
5 – 1.57 October 200530 minutes"Pillow Talk"John Sullivan
6 – 1.614 October 200530 minutes"Sex and the Country"John Sullivan
7 – 1.725 December 200550 minutes"One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock"John Sullivan

Production

The series was produced by Shazam Production,[1] a company that produces comedies by John Sullivan.[2] The series was filmed at Teddington Studios, with a live audience. All episodes in the first series were directed by Tony Dow, director of Only Fools and Horses.

Reception

Viewers

The series began airing on Friday evenings, at 8:30pm. The series was an immediate hit with viewers, with the first episode, "Keep On Running" gaining 9.13 million viewers, which was in the top five of the highest rating for the week ending 11 September 2005.[3] Ratings then fell for the next two episodes before steadily rising again. The second half of the series performed much better than most other sitcoms, with episode four going back up above 6 million viewers. The following two episodes remained at the six million mark. The ratings were high enough for a new series, of seven episodes, to be commissioned. A 2005 Christmas special was also commissioned.

Rank Episode Viewership Audience Percentage
1 "Keep On Running" 9.13 million 41.7%
2 "Pillow Talk" 6.63 million
3 "Sex and the Country" 6.40 million
4 "A Rocky Start" 6.34 million 28.0%
5 "Hay Fever" 6.33 million 30.1%
6 "The Country Wife" 5.86 million 24.5%
7 "One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock" 4.59 million 19.7%

Note: Viewership value taken from Barb.
Note: Audience Percentage value taken from Digitalspy.

Critics

The comedy has been criticised due to its spin-off roots. As a spin-off of the nation's favourite sitcom, The Green Green Grass was always going to have a difficult start.[4] The series received has always received negative reviews from critics and some fans of Only Fools and Horses alike.[5] The series has continued to run due to the bigger than usual audiences it attracts and the general thoughts towards it. Many have said that The Green Green Grass without Only Fools and Horses behind it is fantastic but the minute you put Only Fools and Horses back in the picture, The Green Green Grass loses its good points.

References
Specific
  1. "Shazam Productions on the Comedy Guide".
  2. "John Sullivan Sitcoms – The Green Green Grass".
  3. "Weekly terrestrial top 30 (BBC 1) w/e 11 Sep. 2005". Archived from the original on 8 November 2008.
  4. "The Green Green Grass at The Comedy Guide".
  5. "The Green Green Grass a hit with many but not all".
General
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