Wing and a Prayer (TV series)
Wing and a Prayer is a BAFTA-nominated[1] British television legal drama series, written and created by Matthew Hall, first broadcast on Channel 5 on 22 September 1997.[2] The series, produced by Thames Television, was described as "an inside, behind-the-scenes look at the practice of law, and the lawyers whose lives are caught up in their work with each other". Sean Arnold starred as primary character Stephen Arlington, while Rita Wolf, David Bark-Jones, Philip Martin Brown and George Irving are also credited amongst the principal cast members.[3]
Wing and a Prayer | |
---|---|
Genre | Legal drama |
Created by | Matthew Hall |
Starring | Sean Arnold Rita Wolf David Bark-Jones Philip Martin Brown George Irving Connie Hyde Kate Buffery |
Composer | Rob Lane |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 14 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Antony Root Chris Parr Mal Young |
Producers | Matthew Kuipers Jacinta Peel |
Cinematography | Roger Bonnici |
Running time | 50 minutes |
Production company | Thames Television |
Release | |
Original network | Channel 5 |
Picture format | 16:9 |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | 22 September 1997 – 7 March 1999 |
A review of the series on AllMovie stated; "in the fine tradition of such American weeklies as L.A. Law and The Practice, the attorneys herein played as hard as they worked, with sexual intrigues and one-upsmanship abounding."[4] The first series was released on DVD in Australia on 5 June 2013.[5]
Cast
- Sean Arnold as Stephen Arlington
- Rita Wolf as Jasmin Jamal
- David Bark-Jones as Simon Hudson
- Philip Martin Brown as John Daley
- George Irving as Judge Michael Freeman
- Connie Hyde as Catherine Heywood
- Kate Buffery as Amanda Dankwith
- Mark Womack as Chris Merchant
- William Ilkley as Kevin Granger
- Dominic Mafham as Carl Hallam
- Maureen Beattie as Anna Crozier
- Geoffrey McGivern as Don Gittings
Episodes
Series 1 (1997)
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Hello, Goodbye" | Robin Sheppard | Matthew Hall | 22 September 1997 | N/A |
2 | 2 | "A Sense of Belonging" | Richard Laxton | Matthew Hall | 29 September 1997 | N/A |
3 | 3 | "Looking After Number One" | Richard Laxton | Matthew Hall | 6 October 1997 | N/A |
4 | 4 | "The Ties That Bind" | Robin Sheppard | Matthew Hall | 13 October 1997 | N/A |
5 | 5 | "A Fair Exchange" | Richard Laxton | Matthew Hall | 20 October 1997 | N/A |
6 | 6 | "The Greater Good" | Richard Laxton | Matthew Hall | 27 October 1997 | N/A |
Series 2 (1999)
- Broadcast of Series 2 was switched from 8pm on Wednesdays to Sundays mid-way through the series.
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | 1 | "Episode 1" | David Skynner | Matthew Hall | 13 January 1999 | N/A |
8 | 2 | "Episode 2" | David Skynner | Chris Lang | 20 January 1999 | N/A |
9 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Justin Hardy | Stephen Brady | 27 January 1999 | 0.91[6] |
10 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Justin Hardy | Lindsey Hill | 7 February 1999 | N/A |
11 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Martin Hutchings | Martin Stone | 14 February 1999 | N/A |
12 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Martin Hutchings | Patrick Melanaphy | 21 February 1999 | N/A |
13 | 7 | "Episode 7" | David Skynner | Peter Palliser | 28 February 1999 | N/A |
14 | 8 | "Episode 8" | David Skynner | Matthew Hall | 7 March 1999 | N/A |
References
- "M R Hall Screenwriter and Author - Kavanagh QC (ITV) - Wing and a Prayer (C5) - Dalziel and Pascoe (BBC1) - Scarlet Pimpernel (BBC1) - Loving You (ITV) - New Street Law (BBC1)". www.m-r-hall.com.
- "Matthew Hall: Why I abandoned my successful TV scriptwriting career". 11 January 2009.
- "Wing and a Prayer (TV series) (1997)".
- "Wing and a Prayer [TV Series] (1997) - Justin Hardy, Martin Hutchings, Richard Laxton, Robin Shepperd, David Skynner - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- "WING AND A PRAYER ~ SERIES 1" – via Amazon.
- "Weekly top 30 programmes - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.