Forever Green
| Forever Green | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Family drama |
| Written by | Douglas Watkinson Jeremy Paul |
| Directed by | David Giles (6 episodes, 1989) Sarah Hellings (6 episodes, 1991) Christopher King (6 episodes, 1992) |
| Starring | John Alderton Pauline Collins Daisy Bates Nimer Rashed Wendy van der Plank Paola Dionisotti |
| Opening theme | Patrick Gowers |
| Composer | Patrick Gowers |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Brian Eastman Nick Elliot |
| Cinematography | Dick Pope Peter Greenhalgh Paul Bond |
| Editors | Neil Thomson Charles Rees |
| Running time | 50mins |
| Production companies | Carnival Films London Weekend Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 26 February 1989 – 24 May 1992 |
Forever Green is a television programme originally broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom from 26 February 1989 to 24 May 1992. It was made for London Weekend Television by Picture Partnership Productions, now named Carnival Films.
Cast
- Pauline Collins - Harriet Boult
- John Alderton - Jack Boult
- Daisy Bates - Freddy Boult
- Nimer Rashed - Tom Boult
- Paola Dionisotti - Lady Patricia Broughall
- Wendy van der Plank - Hilly
- Alan Rowe - Geoff Bate
- Ian Lindsay - Ted Hubbard
Plot
Jack, a former racing driver, and Harriet Boult, a nurse, live in a London flat with their two children, Frederica (Freddy) and Tom. Freddy suffers from asthma, which Harriet believes could be due to the city pollution, and after a serious attack begins to think leaving the city could be the best treatment available. Soon after, a letter arrives advising Harriet of an inheritance from one of her old patients, a run-down house in the country. It only takes one visit to persuade them to move.
The 18 episodes contain plots dealing with their adapting to life in the country and touches on environmental themes, alternative healing and alternative lifestyle choices.
Episodes
| Series | Episode | Plot summary[1] | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Freddy's asthma is getting worse and Harriet suspects city life might be the cause. A lucky inheritance makes an escape to the country a possibility but can they really just go? | 26 February 1989 |
| 2 | The Boult family is upset by the rural pastime of badger baiting. Freddy has a severe attack of asthma. But what can they do? Jack realises there's a way he can settle the score - using his skills at the wheel of a car. | 5 March 1989 | |
| 3 | Jack comes across some horse rustlers and Freddy is hit by a new asthma attack, the Boults also discover more about Hilly. Maybe she is sitting on some hidden assets which could be worth a lot of money. | 12 March 1989 | |
| 4 | Jack is late home after a hippy convoy blocks the local roads. Harriet and Hilly find the travelling life attractive and discover some secrets in Jack's past. | 19 March 1989 | |
| 5 | The Boult family is struck with headaches and ulcers. Only Freddy seems immune. | 26 March 1989 | |
| 6 | A day trip to London for Harriet, Freddy and Tom serves to reinforce the joys of Meadows Green Farm. But Hilly's musical talents bring a twist of fate to Freddy's apparent return to health. | 2 April 1989 | |
| 2 | 1 | Freddy is studying for her GCSEs, Harriet hopes to qualify for Shiatsu massage and Jack has his own test. | 8 March 1992 |
| 2 | Hilly and her animals invade the Boults' house, but their arrival coincides with a pair of barn owls who are brought to nest in a nearby barn. Suddenly, the place seems overcrowded. | 15 March 1992 | |
| 3 | Freddy decides to find out what has caused the local river to be unable to support much wildlife anymore. | 22 March 1992 | |
| 4 | Lady Pat organises a walk to keep local footpaths open. | 29 March 1992 | |
| 5 | Jack and Harriet are at odds over plans to convert a barn into flats. | 5 April 1992 | |
| 6 | Freddy and Hilly get to show their riding skills at the Oaksey races. | 12 April 1992 | |
| 7 | Freddy's local history project uncovers a mystery surrounding the ownership of Meadows Green Farm. | 19 April 1992 | |
| 8 | The Boults find a skeleton in their garden, a poltergeist in their house, and Freddy discovers a talent for automatic writing. | 26 April 1992 | |
| 9 | Jack and Harriet are tempted to move to Wales, while Freddy discovers that Lord Corwen plans to hold a hare coursing meet. | 3 May 1992 | |
| 10 | A mysterious Polish stranger and a majestic rogue stag arrive on Lady Broughall's estate. | 10 May 1992 | |
| 11 | Harriet's reluctance to talk about her deceased father is challenged when Ellen, his companion in his final years, turns up. | 17 May 1992 | |
| 12 | Ted needs a new barn and Freddy has an idea about how to build one. But someone is determined to burn it down. And is there room for a fox hunter and a fox enthusiast in the same family? | 24 May 1992 |
Filming locations
The Boult family's country home, Meadows Green Farm, is sometimes said to have been in the Cotswolds, though place names mentioned in the series point to it being further south in Somerset. For example, the fictional address of Geoff Bate's Handcross Garage is Handcross, Somerset, and Shepton is mentioned frequently, presumably a reference to Shepton Mallet. The exact location of the house is at Tunley, two miles southeast of Bisley, near Sapperton, Gloucestershire.
A scene in the first episode of series two was filmed at Furze Platt Senior School in Berkshire.
Lady Patricia's house is Nether Winchendon House in Nether Winchendon, Buckinghamshire.[2]
Also, Wincanton, in Somerset, is mentioned in the third episode. The horse rustlers were caught the other side of Wincanton, more evidence to suggest it was filmed in Somerset.
Other information
Originally filmed as three series, broadcast of the second series was delayed by coverage of the Gulf War and series 2 and 3 were shown as a continuous twelve-episode second series in 1992.[1]
Home video and DVD
Series 1 was originally released by Granada Ventures Ltd on VHS and DVD.
All episodes have since been released on DVD by Network. The first series was re-released on a two-disc set in June 2009. The remaining twelve episodes were released as a three-disc Series 2 DVD in April 2010. Later in 2010, a five-disc set of all eighteen episodes was released
The series was originally conceived and written by Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham for LWTV and Picture Partnerships. Brady and Bingham then wrote the entire first series, but due to a serious dispute with the producers they then withdrew from the subsequent series and requested their names be removed from the credits. They did, however, retain format and copyright in the series and characters.[citation needed]
See also
- Down to Earth (BBC series with a very similar theme)