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Sorry! (TV series)

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Sorry!
GenreSitcom
StarringRonnie Corbett
Barbara Lott
William Moore
Marguerite Hardiman
Derek Fuke
Roy Holder
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes42 + 1 short
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release12 March 1981 –
10 October 1988

Sorry! is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1981 to 1988. Starring Ronnie Corbett, it was written by Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent, both of whom had previously written for the The Two Ronnies, of whom Corbett was one half.

The theme music was composed by Gaynor Colbourn and Hugh Wisdom, and arranged and conducted by Ronnie Hazelhurst.

Cast

Plot

Sorry! is based around Timothy Lumsden who, 41 years old in the first three series (his age increased to 42 and then 44 in subsequent series), is a librarian who still lives at home with his domineering mother Phyllis and henpecked father Sydney. Although quite shy around women, Timothy longs to find love and leave home, but Phyllis is always aghast at the idea, and constantly manipulates her son into staying at home. One of the running gags of the series is Sydney frequently shouting "Language, Timothy!" when he feels Timothy has said something inappropriate, even though most times nobody would typically find the words even close to offensive.

In contrast, Timothy's friend Frank and sister Muriel urge Timothy to stand up to his mother once and for all. Muriel had successfully left home, and married Kevin, and as a result is viewed with distrust by her mother.


In a bid to boost flagging ratings the writers introduced Rick (Bedding), Timothy's younger and less good looking brother. Alas his mother's liking for clean and proper language appeared to have passed Rick by and in most episodes he could be heard to utter his hilarious catchphrase 'The name's Rick, the p's silent'. Audiences reacted angrily to what until now had been regarded as a family show and sadly for the cast and crew the show's long and successful run ended with Series 7.

Episodes

Series One (1981)

  1. "For Love or Mummy" (12 March 81)
  2. "Buttons" (19 March 81)
  3. "The Godfather" (26 March 81)
  4. "Bachelor Seeks Anywhere" (2 April 81)
  5. "Does Your Mother Know You're Out?" (9 April 81)
  6. "Curse of the Mummy" (16 April 81)

Series Two (1982)

  1. "Cromer or Bust" (22 April 82)
  2. "Perchance to Dream" (29 April 82)
  3. "Sons and Lovers" (6 May 82)
  4. "Great Expectations" (13 May 82)
  5. "The Next Best Man" (20 May 82)
  6. "Could Do Better" (27 May 82)

Series Three (1982)

  1. "The Rabbit and the Pussycat" (28 October 82)
  2. "You're Going Nowhere" (4 November 82)
  3. "Bottom of the Class" (11 November 82)
  4. "Spellbound" (18 November 82)
  5. "It Never Rained In Those Days" (25 November 82)
  6. "The Big Sleep" (2 December 82)

Special (1983)

  • Short special as part of The Funny Side of Christmas (27 December 83)

Series Four (1985)

  1. "My Huckleberry Friend" (28 April 85)
  2. "Move Over Mrs Lumsden" (5 May 85)
  3. "One of Our Naughty Bits Is Missing" (12 May 85)
  4. "Confessions of a Jobbing Gardener" (19 May 85)
  5. "A Little Something Set Aside" (26 May 85)
  6. "Collapse of Small Party" (2 June 85)

Series Five (1986)

  1. "The Primal Scene, So to Speak" (10 May 86)
  2. "Every Clown Wants to Play Hamlet" (17 May 86)
  3. "Bells for Uncle Barstable" (24 May 86)
  4. "Natural Wastage" (7 June 86)
  5. "My Family and Other Monsters" (14 June 86)
  6. "It's a Wonderful Life, Basically" (21 June 86)

Series Six (1987)

  1. "A Chief Inspector Calls" (1 June 87)
  2. "Dream Time" (8 June 87)
  3. "Amaze Your Friends!" (15 June 87)
  4. "Gone, But Not Forgotten" (22 June 87)
  5. "Little Foxes" (29 June 87)
  6. "Do You Take This Man - And His Mother?" (6 July 87)

Series Seven (1988)

  1. "Mothers and Brothers" or "There's no 'P' in Rick" (5 September 88)
  2. "Every Day, In Every Way" (12 September 88)
  3. "A Fool and his Money" (19 September 88)
  4. "Flying Lessons" (26 September 88)
  5. "Winter's Tales" (3 October 88)
  6. "Up, Up and Away?" (10 October 88)

DVD releases

The first two series of Sorry! were released on DVD under Playback Entertainment(Region 2, UK) in 2004. The DVD was put out of print in 2006, but the first series was re-released on DVD in 2007 under 2entertain & BBC Worldwide. It includes three audio commentaries by Ronnie Corbett. The second series was re-released in March 2008. The third series is due on 5 October 2009, with the fourth series due in 2010.

DVD Title Discs Year Ep. No. DVD release
Region 2 Region 4
Complete Series 1 1 1981 6 02 Jul 2007 12 Sep 2007
Complete Series 2 1 1982 6 17 Mar 2008 19 Mar 2008
Complete Series 3 1 1982 6 05 Oct 2009 08 Oct 2008
Complete Series 1 & 2 3 1981 & 1982 12 17 May 2004 -

References

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