Bleak Expectations
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| Genre | Comedy |
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| Running time | 28 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Starring | Tom Allen, James Bachman, Mark Evans, Sarah Hadland, Anthony Head, Richard Johnson, Susy Kane, Geoffrey Whitehead |
| Writers | Mark Evans |
| Producers | Gareth Edwards |
| Recording studio | BBC Radio Theatre |
| Air dates | since 15 August 2007 |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Opening theme | Mazurka from Three Characteristic Pieces by Edward Elgar |
| Ending theme | Mazurka from Three Characteristic Pieces by Edward Elgar |
| Website | http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ bleakexpectations/pip/archive/ |
Bleak Expectations is a Radio 4 comedy series, whose first series premiered in August 2007. It is a pastiche of the works of Charles Dickens – such as Bleak House and Great Expectations, from which it derives its name – and costume dramas set in the same period, and parodies several of their plot devices (such as cruel guardians, idyllic childhoods interrupted, lifelong friendships, earnest young people), whilst simultaneously tending toward a highly surreal humour along the lines of The Goon Show. The series has also demonstrated a fondness for allusions to and parodies of the films of Alec Guinness, particularly the Victorian satire Kind Hearts and Coronets.
It is written by Mark Evans, who plays minor characters in most episodes, and produced by Gareth Edwards. Its opening and closing theme is the main theme from the Mazurka from Three Characteristic Pieces by Edward Elgar.
The plot of the first series revolves around Philip "Pip" Bin, inventor of the Bin, and his two sisters, Poppy and Pippa, whose seemingly ideal life is disrupted by the death of their father and the madness of their mother. They are then locked away by their guardian, Mr. Gently Benevolent (who, despite his name, is actually the main villain of the piece), in St. Bastard's, the most vicious boarding school in England, and St. Bitch's, a nearby convent. Pip and his sisters attempt to free themselves of their guardian with the help of Harry Biscuit, whose father invented the biscuit. It is narrated by Pip as an old man to the journalist (and his eventual son-in-law) Sourquill, who brings various useless inventions to assist in recording the events.
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[edit] Production and broadcast history
The pilot episode was recorded in March 2006. The first series was broadcast at 11.30am on Wednesdays from 15 August 2007, with the first series repeated on Radio 4 from 9 January 2008 and subsequently on BBC 7. A second series was commissioned in late 2007, and was recorded on 18, 23 and 26 May 2008 at the BBC Radio Theatre. The British Comedy Guide website gave it its "British Comedy Guide Editors' Award" for 2008.[1] A third series was recorded at the Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House, on 7, 14 and 28 June 2009, the first episode of which was broadcast on Radio 4 on 29 October 2009.[2] The third series won a Bronze Sony Award in the Comedy category in 2010.[3] Recordings for the fourth six-part series began on 11 September 2010, again at the BBC Radio Theatre[citation needed], and transmission began on 11 November 2010.
Mark Evans tweeted on 20th Dec 2011 that a fifth series of the show would be made in 2012 for broadcast on Radio 4.[4]
The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, a TV series based on Bleak Expectations and written and produced by the same people, debuted on BBC Two on 19 December 2011.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Pilot episode
- Richard Johnson - Sir Philip ("Pip") Bin
- Tom Allen - Young Pip
- Joanna Page - Pippa Bin, Pip's sister
- Kellie Bright - Poppy Bin, Pip's sister
- Kim Wall - Thomas Bin, their father (impersonating Martin Jarvis)
- Sophie Thompson - Agnes Bin, their mother
- Tom Hollander - Mr Gently Benevolent "who was, ironically, a complete bastard"; his descendant the journalist Sourquill
- James Bachman - Servewell, Sir Philip's servant; Harry Biscuit (parodying Alec Guinness's portrayal of Herbert Pocket in the film of Great Expectations)
- Laurence Howarth - Mr Skinflint Parsimonious, who is - contrary to his name - very generous
- Geoffrey Whitehead - Mr Hardthrasher (a parody of Wackford Squeers and Mr Bumble)
[edit] Series 1, 2, 3 and 4
- Richard Johnson - Sir Philip ("Pip") Bin
- Tom Allen - Young Pip
- Susy Kane - Pippa Bin, Pip's sister and later Harry's wife
- Anthony Head - Mr Gently Benevolent (full name Gently Lovely Kissy Nice-Nice Benevolent); Jeremy Sourquill
- James Bachman - Harry Biscuit, always eager to assist his friend Pip, but usually with impracticable schemes. Dies tragically in the penultimate episode of series three, but is brought back to life in the next episode by Benevolent for his evil undead army.
- Laurence Howarth - Mr Skinflint Parsimonious (Series 1 and 2)
- Mark Evans - Mr Wyckham-Post-Forburton...., Thomas' lawyer whose full name took 20 minutes to say and to whom - since he charged by the hour - "his name was his greatest asset"; Revd Supermarket; Waiter; Dr Cure-Some-By-Chance; sundry boys, gentlemen and chavvies
- Sarah Hadland - Lily, Sir Phillip's daughter; Ripely Fecund, Pip's third wife (series 2); Miss Christmasham, Sweetly's guardian, parodying Miss Havisham (series 3)
- Geoffrey Whitehead - the entire dynasty of various evil families with equally unpleasant names. In the first series, he is the Hardthrasher clan; Jeremiah (Headmaster), Obadiah (Doctor), Ezekiel (Beadle), Hasdrubal (Admiral), Chastity (Governess) and Buford T (Judge). In the second series, he plays the six Sternbeater brothers; Francis N (Scientist), Emmett (Railway Magnate), Jedrington (Speaker), Avarice (Money-Lender), Pushington (Opium Dealer) and George S (General). In series 3 the family name is Whackwallop. In series 4, the family name is Grimpunch. This was inspired by the film Kind Hearts and Coronets, in which Alec Guinness played multiple members of the same family, all of whom died one way or another during the course of the picture. In similar fashion, Geoffrey Whitehead's characters have similarly short shelf-lives, and get bumped off in various gruesome ways during the series, usually one per episode, although occasionally one will run into the next episode, giving Geoffrey Whitehead an unequalled tally of comedy deaths as different characters. In the penultimate episode of the third series it is revealed that the father of each of these three sets of brothers was one of Benevolent's evil stepfathers. His Stepsiblings were his natural allies. The only good one was General George S. Sternbeater (the black sheep of the family), who is disintegrated while battling against the Martians, although his ghost appears at the end of the episode. In the final episode of Series 3, a Mr Harshsmacker appears briefly at the end, who claims to be the cousin of Bishop Whackwallop. Throughout Series 4 Whitehead plays the Grimpunch brothers, who don't imply that they're in any way related to the other families, and some of whom aid Pip in attempting to defeat Mr Benevolent.
[edit] Series 1 only
- Perdita Weeks - Poppy Bin, Pip's sister
- Celia Imrie - Agnes Bin, Pip's mother; Aunt Lily, Pip's aunt
- Martha Howe-Douglas - Flora Dies-Early, Pip's first wife
- Mark Perry - Thomas Bin; Benevolent's henchman; town crier; Flora's father; King George IV
[edit] Series 2 and 4 only
- David Mitchell - Ripely's father, the Reverend Godly Fecund
[edit] Series 3 only
- Jane Asher - Lovely Benevolent (née Malevolent), Gently's mother
- Raquel Cassidy - Miss Sweetly Delightful, Gently's first and only love, parodying Estella Havisham from Great Expectations
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Series 1
| # | Title | Original transmission date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Childhood Cruelly Kippered" | August 15, 2007 |
| The idyllic life of Pip, Pippa and Poppy Bin is ruined by the scheming of their evil guardian and Pip's incarceration in Britain's most violent school, St Bastard's (based on Dotheboys Hall). | ||
| 2 | "An Adolescence Utterly Trashed" | August 22, 2007 |
| Pip meets a mysterious aged crone who can help him escape from Britain's most terrifying school, with only a false beard and disguises as Admiral Nelson, a giant rabbit and a grandfather clock. But can they stop his evil guardian marrying his mother? | ||
| 3 | "A Youth Utterly Crocked" | August 29, 2007 |
| Pip must thwart the plans of his evil guardian Mr Gently Benevolent. Can underwater squirrels, oddly placed church bells and a stint in the workhouse foil him in his noble quest? Or will Aunt Lily and her Gloucestershire racing cows save the day? | ||
| 4 | "A Young Adulthood Bitterly Dismantled" | September 5, 2007 |
| Pip finds himself saved from the workhouse with the arrival of a vast sum of money from a stranger. But new problems await him. | ||
| 5 | "A Young Love Mercilessly Dismembered" | September 12, 2007 |
| Pip is saved from the wreck of Admiral Hardthrasher's vessel by Aunt Lily on a raft of trained tuna. He returns to London, to find true (if brief) love with the beautiful but terminally feeble Flora Dies-Early. Pippa and Mr Parsimonious flee to the continent, with Mr Benevolent in pursuit, but his nefarious attempts against them are thwarted by Aunt Lily. Harry, meanwhile, tries to join the army to forget his love for Pippa, but is thwarted by an allergy to the colour red. | ||
| 6 | "A Life Sadly Smashed... Then Happily Restored A Bit" | September 19, 2007 |
| Things look grim for Pip as he faces a highly prejudicial court case to defend his masterful and eponymous invention, the Bin. Is he to be hanged, or will there be a last-minute escape? | ||
[edit] Series 2
| # | Title | Original transmission date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Happy Life, Cruelly Re-Kippered" | August 7, 2008 |
| Pip Bin struggles against the cruel plotting of his evil guardian Mr Gently Benevolent, recently returned from the dead. A plot is afoot to steal Britain's loveliest school. | ||
| 2 | "A Re-Kippered Life Smashed Some More" | August 14, 2008 |
| Pip and Harry find themselves building an entire railway network in their bid to catch Benevolent. | ||
| 3 | "A Recovery All Made Miserable" | August 21, 2008 |
| Pippa is lost so Harry makes a "Pippa Detector" which actually works! | ||
| 4 | "A Restoration Re-ruined, Only Even Worse" | August 28, 2008 |
| Pip finds himself heavily in debt when he has to bribe the whole of the House of Commons. | ||
| 5 | "An Already Bad Life Made Worse but Sort of on Purpose" | September 4, 2008 |
| Full of self-loathing, Pip drinks some very strong gin, finds he is really quite keen on opium, and falls in with a gang of thieves. But is their Fagin-like leader Abraham Bagel, all he seems? | ||
| 6 | "A Happy Life Broken and then Mended a Bit" | September 11, 2008 |
| In a parody of The War of the Worlds, the planet is in deadly peril when Gently Benevolent summons a massive Martian invasion. Is this the end for Pip, Harry and the rest of the human race, not to mention Pippa's goose sanctuary? | ||
[edit] Series 3
| # | Title | Original transmission date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Lovely Life Re-Kippered Again Once More" | October 29, 2009 |
| The evil Gently Benevolent returns from the dead (again) during a seance, and Pip Bin is in peril once more. Framed for murder by a half-man, half-pigeon incarnation of his evil ex-guardian, Pip Bin faces total ruin at the hands of his mortal enemy. | ||
| 2 | "A Now Grim Life Yet More Grimified" | November 5, 2009 |
| Pip Bin faces his most gruelling fate yet at the hands of his evil undead ex-guardian and an enormous quantity of cheese. But can the A Christmas Carol-style spirits of Harvest Festival past, present and future show him a way to redemption? | ||
| 3 | "A Sort of Fine Life De-niced Completely" | November 12, 2009 |
| Pip Bin strives to improve working conditions in his Bin factory, and to end poverty once and for all using Harry Biscuit's anti-poverty cannon. But will his quest distract him from a dastardly plan to steal London and sell it to the French? | ||
| 4 | "A Horrible Life Un-ruined and then Re-ruinated a Lot" | November 19, 2009 |
| Pip, Harry, Pippa and Ripely are reduced to abject poverty on the banks of the Thames. Will Pip and Harry be able to find work, or will they have to end their days eating mud and listening to the gloating of Mr Benevolent? | ||
| 5 | "An Evil Life Sort of Explained" | November 26, 2009 |
| Pip Bin, Harry Biscuit and Gently Benevolent find themselves trapped in the vast emptiness of space. As their doom looks increasingly inevitable, Mr Benevolent finally explains just why it is that he is so very very evil thanks to thwarted love, his stepfathers' cruelty and a family ancestry reaching back to Judas's accountant, in a parody of Great Expectations. | ||
| 6 | "Lives Lost, Ruined, Wrecked and Redeemed" | December 3, 2009 |
| Pip and Ripely find themselves facing a vast and evil undead army. England has only one hope - that Miss Sweetly Delightful can melt Mr Benevolent's cruel, undead heart. | ||
[edit] Series 4
| # | Title | Original transmission date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Tolerable Life De-Happified" | November 11, 2010 |
| Pip must enlist the help of his former nemesis to fight a new Jekyll and Hyde-type evil spreading terror and cake-crumbs through the streets of London. | ||
| 2 | "A Now-Spoiled Life Smashed Some More" | November 18, 2010 |
| Pip and Harry journey to the Underworld to rescue Ripely, only to find the evil Mister Benevolent has got there first. | ||
| 3 | "A Wretched Life Made Much, Much Sadder" | November 25, 2010 |
| After an embarrassing disaster involving a bridge and a train full of puppies and orphans, Pip and Harry travel to America on the SS Massive Britain, where Pip begins a reading tour. But all is not as it seems and Mister Benevolent lures our hero into a gunfight at the "All Right I Suppose Corral". | ||
| 4 | "A Painful Life Further Re-Miserabled" | December 2, 2010 |
| Pip and Harry put to sea with Captain Beehab in a bid to thwart a sea-going Mister Benevolent and rescue Ripely. But fate has other plans and they are shipwrecked. Pip soon finds himself on a desert island that holds many surprising secrets. | ||
| 5 | "A Now Tricky Life Woefully Miseried Up" | December 9, 2010 |
| Pip and Harry have escaped the exploding desert island, but Harry has been transformed into a dinosaur. Now they must catch Mister Benevolent and prevent him taking over the world, but the trail has led them to France. Here they must face unimaginable horrors including a bacon-free breakfast and a deadly confrontation in a cheese mine. But there is a glimmer of hope in the form of The Scarlet Pimple. | ||
| 6 | "A Life Destroyed Then Repaired and Rehappied" | December 16, 2010 |
| Pip, Pippa, the Reverend Fecund and Harry Biscuit (now just a brain in a jar) have tracked Mister Benevolent to the heart of the vast Russian Empire. But when they find him he is at the head of a mighty army. Who will triumph in the final battle between good and evil? Will Harry get a new body? Will Mister Benevolent detonate his infamous cheese bomb? And what is the correct way to spell Tsar? As fate decides these crucial questions it seems there are a few surprises in store for Pip. | ||
[edit] References
- ^ "The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2008". British Comedy Guide. http://www.comedy.co.uk/awards/2008/. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Radio Times listings". http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=55&programmeId=105142292&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp.
- ^ "The Sony Radio Academy Awards 2010". http://www.radioawards.org/winners/?awid=214&awname=Best+Comedy&year=2010.
- ^ "Mark Evans Twitter feed". http://oauth.twitter.com/iammarkevans.
