Green Wing (series 1)

Green Wing is a surreal medical sitcom starring Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt. All the episodes were written by a team of eight writers working on every episode together. The writers are Victoria Pile (who is also the producer), Robert Harley, Gary Howe, Stuart Kenworthy, Oriane Messina, Richard Preddy, Fay Rusling and James Henry. The series was directed by Tristram Shapeero and Dominic Brigstocke.[1] The first series consisted of nine episodes broadcast between 3 September and 29 October 2004 on Channel 4. A DVD of the series was released on 3 April 2006.[2] The scripts of the first series entitled Green Wing: The Complete First Series Scripts were released in paperback on 22 October 2006.[3] The first series was received well by both critics and fans.[4][5] The series also won several awards including a BAFTA,[6] two Royal Television Society (RTS) awards,[7][8] and a Rose d'Or.[9]

Green Wing
Series 1
Green Wing Series 1 DVD
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes9
Release
Original networkChannel 4
Original release3 September (2004-09-03) –

29 October 2004 (2004-10-29)
Series chronology

In the first series, the main plot involves a love triangle between surgical registrar Dr. Caroline Todd (Greig), anaesthetist Dr. Guy Secretan (Mangan), and surgeon Dr. "Mac" Macartney (Rhind-Tutt) and the affair between consultant radiologist Dr. Alan Statham (Mark Heap) who is in love with Joanna Clore (Pippa Haywood), the director of human resources.

Cast

The thirteen main characters appear in all nine episodes of the first series. Amongst the recurring guest characters, Lyndon, Oliver (Ken Charles), Lady Emily "Emmy" Lewis Westbrook (Daisy Haggard), Liam (Oliver Milburn), Cordelia Denby (Saskia Wickham) and Charles Robertson (Harley) all appear. However, Charles is credited as "Chief Executive" in the episode that he appears.[10] Guest actors who appear in this series include John Oliver, Stephen Merchant, Kevin Eldon and Rosie Cavaliero. Other than Harley, other Green Wing writers make cameos. These include Fay Rusling, Gary Howe, Oriane Messina and Henry James.[11]

Reception

The first series is the most popular amongst Green Wing fans. According to one poll conducted in 2006 (before the final special episode was broadcast), the fifth episode of the series, "Housewarming Party", was voted the best Green Wing episode of all. The second most popular was the eighth episode of series one, "Slave Auction".[4] "Housewarming Party" was also watched at the "Wingin' It Green Wing convention", being voted the favourite episode in, "A landslide victory".[12]

The series was also commented positively by critics. A. A. Gill from The Times praised the cast and characters, although he did comment negatively on the filming style and dramatic qualities.[13] He also said

"...it was one of the most freshly funny and crisply innovative comedies for years. The humour was all based in the character, not the situation. The story lines were negligible; there were no catch phrases; it was surreal in a way we hadn't seen since Monty Python; and the cast were actors being funny from inside a characterisation, not stand-up comics bolting a cartoon persona onto the back of gags."[5]

Awards

The series received a number of awards. It was the first series ever to win the BAFTA Pioneer Audience Award in 2004, the only BAFTA voted for by the general public.[6] Haywood won the 2005 Rose d'Or for "Best Female Comedy Performance".[9] Greig won the 2005 RTS award for "Best Comedy Performance".[7] Jonathan Whitehead, who wrote music for the show, won the 2005 RTS Craft & Design Award for "Best Original Score".[8]

List of episodes
# Title Original airdate
1"Caroline's First Day"3 September 2004 (2004-09-03)
Caroline, having spent a bad night sleeping in her car, arrives at East Hampton Hospital for her first day of work. Guy offers her his spare room, but Caroline later discovers that Guy lied, hoping that he would sleep with her. When Caroline confronts Guy, he offers her his bedroom and sleeps on the sofa.[14][15][16]
2"Rumours"10 September 2004 (2004-09-10)
After spending a night at Guy's flat, Caroline attracts too much attention to herself by setting off Guy's car alarm. Guy then starts to spread rumours of a long night of passion with her. Listening in on a conversation between Boyce and Dr. Martin Dear (Karl Theobald), she discovers that Guy's middle name is "Valery" and intends to blackmail him with this information if he does not stop spreading the rumours. However, a slip-up by Guy himself about a fling with Sue White (Michelle Gomez) overshadows this, forcing Guy to stop. Also, Angela (Sarah Alexander) tells Mac that his former girlfriend is getting married.[14][15][17]
3"Lodgers"17 September 2004 (2004-09-17)
Caroline looks for a lodger to move in with her, but so far the only people to apply are "Loonies". When she advertises in the hospital, Boyce tells her that Angela is looking for a place to stay. Caroline however, prefers the loonies to Angela and tries to stop her from knowing about the vacancy. Boyce tells Angela anyway and an appointment is made for her to see the house. Guy has problems when he remembers his troubled days at public school and also worries that IT manager Lyndon Jones is sniffing around "his patch" of attractive women. Alan is worried that Joanna is falling for Lyndon, so he tries to be more spontaneous. Mac learns that his former girlfriend is not only getting married, but is pregnant. Caroline reluctantly makes Angela her lodger.[14][15][18]
4"Joanna's Birthday"24 September 2004 (2004-09-24)
Joanna celebrates her 48th birthday. Alan gives her a present of a locket containing his sperm, but Kim (Sally Bretton) tells her it is from Lyndon. It is also Martin's mother's birthday, but she refuses to talk to him over the phone. Caroline and Angela find a database kept by Guy containing a list of all the "Hospital females" and how they rate in different sexual areas. When Caroline confronts the male staff, they blackmail her into keeping the list a secret after they claim that she made discriminatory remarks against Guy, Mac, Martin and Boyce. At the end of the episode, Martin does manage to give his birthday greetings to his mother, who turns out to be Joanna.[14][19][20]
5"The Housewarming Party"1 October 2004 (2004-10-01)
Caroline is worried about no-one coming to her housewarming party. Joanna has dyed her hair blonde in order to get Lyndon's attention, but Alan plans to win her back by following Boyce's advice on being mysterious. Therefore, he "kidnaps" Joanna and takes her to a secret location (a park) where they have sex. The housewarming party is a success with several people coming, such as Guy, Mac, Martin in an odd shirt, an uninvited Sue, and three of the HR admin workers, Kim, Karen (Lucinda Raikes), and Rachel (Katie Lyons). During the evening, Karen expresses her love for Martin, who is oblivious, and Caroline kisses Guy, Mac, Martin and Sue.[14][19][21]
6"Tests"8 October 2004 (2004-10-08)
Martin worries about failing his exams again as he prepares for more tests. Mac goes for an interview for promotion, but fails to get the job. Caroline tries to piece together what happened during the party. After having sex with Alan, Joanna is worried she might be pregnant, while Harriet thinks she might be expecting her fifth child. When they receive their pregnancy tests, Joanna and Harriet's results are mixed up with Joanna receiving Harriet's paper saying she is pregnant and Harriet getting the all clear. But when the truth is discovered, Alan discovers he is not going to be a father, and Joanna dumps him. This leads Alan to steal a milk float in anger.[14][19][22]
7"Tangled Webs"15 October 2004 (2004-10-15)
Caroline decides that it is either Guy or Mac that she truly loves, but cannot decide which one. Although Guy is busy preparing for his World Guyball Championship semi-final, he and Caroline manage to get the afternoon off, much to Mac's anger. During the day out however, Caroline makes her mind up and decides that Mac is her true love. After having been dumped by Joanna, Alan is lonely, but finds comfort in both Jesus and in the hospital chaplain, Cordelia Denby. When Martin gets his exam results, Guy lies to him about passing them, but an unexpectedly furious Mac chases him through the hospital and forces him to apologise to Martin.[14][23][24]
8"Slave Auction"22 October 2004 (2004-10-22)
Now knowing that she loves Mac, Caroline discovers that he already has a girlfriend: Emmy the physiotherapist. Mac announces to her and Guy that he is moving to get a better job in Sheffield with her. Sue is horrified to learn of Caroline's love for Mac, to the extent of trying to kill her. Alan plans to raise money for charity by hosting a slave auction and puts himself up for sale when Lyndon says he will do so. Caroline also takes part, as does Guy when he learns Mac is doing so as well. Mac later gets out of the auction when he learns that Sue is going to bid for him. The night has mixed results: Martin buys Caroline for £3,000, but almost ruins their night by trying to win her affections by pretending to be a bastard. Alan is bought by Boyce for 30p and ends up sleeping in his bed. Joanna wins Lyndon, but discovers that he finds her disturbing. Sue, not being able to bid for Mac, buys Guy and makes him pretend to be Mac.[14][23][25]
9"Emergency"29 October 2004 (2004-10-29)
As Mac prepares to leave for Sheffield with Emmy, both Caroline and Sue try their hardest to make him stay at East Hampton. Martin, who is sick and tired of Guy bullying him, gets his own back by opening Guy's post. However, he is shocked when he discovers that the letter he opens reveals who Guy's biological parents are. Mac decides to make one last bet with Guy before he leaves: Since all of Guy's affairs have been with younger women, Mac bets Guy that he could not sleep with Joanna. Joanna herself, after being dumped by Lyndon, manages to win back the Christian Alan. Caroline, in an attempt to get Mac and Emmy to break up, accuses Emmy of being a fraud, but it turns out to be a different person with the same name. Despite this, Mac still admires Caroline's bravery. As a result, he is dumped by Emmy and embraces Caroline. Martin, after pulling Karen, tries to find Guy before he does something he will later regret. Guy is video-taping himself and Joanna having sex as evidence that he has won his bet with Mac, so Martin is too late to tell Guy that his mother is in fact Joanna. Going mad, he stabs Martin's legs with botox and steals an ambulance, taking Martin and Mac with him to Wales. Guy is in such a state that he nearly drives it off a cliff. The series ends with the three men in jeopardy, stuck in the ambulance which is teetering on the edge of the cliff.[14][23][26]

References
  • Pile, Victoria; Harley, Robert; Henry, James; Howe, Gary; Kenworthy, Stuart; Messina, Oriane; Preddy, Richard; Rusling, Fay. Green Wing: The Complete First Series Scripts. London: Titan Books, 2006. ISBN 1-84576-421-8.

Notes
  1. "Green Wing: Overview". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  2. "Release News - The Green Wing Cast Signing Event". Digital Lard. 2006-04-07. Archived from the original on 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  3. "News Archive". Julian Rhind-Tutt.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  4. "The Green Wing Poll". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  5. Gill, A. A. (2006-04-02). "Television: AA Gill: Doctor! It's a sickly shade of green". London: The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  6. "Television Nominations 2004". BAFTA. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  7. "RTS Winners and Nominations list 2005". Royal Television Society. Archived from the original on 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  8. "RTS Craft & Design Awards 2004/5". Royal Television Society. Archived from the original on 2006-02-15. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  9. "Award Winners 1961-2007" (PDF). Rose d'Or. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  10. "Slave Auction". Green Wing. Season 1. Episode 8. 2004-10-22.
  11. "Green Wing Writers". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  12. Nixon, Terri. "The GW Convention". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  13. Gill, A. A. (2004-09-12). "Television: AA Gill: These performances are worthy of a ward". London: The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  14. Watson, Sam. "Green Wing: Series 1 Synopsis". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  15. "Green Wing: Series 1 - Page 1". Channel 4. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  16. Pile, Victoria; Harley, Robert; Henry, James; Howe, Gary; Kenworthy, Stuart; Messina, Oriane; Preddy, Richard; Rusling, Fay (2006). Green Wing: The Complete First Series Scripts. London: Titan Books. pp. 8–41. ISBN 1-84576-421-8.
  17. Pile, p. 42–75
  18. Pile, p. 76–107
  19. "Green Wing: Series 1 - Page 2". Channel 4. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  20. Pile, p. 108–141
  21. Pile, p. 142–179
  22. Pile, p. 180–211
  23. "Green Wing: Series 1 - Page 3". Channel 4. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  24. Pile, p. 212–247
  25. Pile, p. 248–283
  26. Pile, p. 284–319

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