The Old Guys
| The Old Guys | |
|---|---|
 The Old Guys title card for series 1. | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Jesse Armstrong Sam Bain |
| Written by | Jesse Armstrong Sam Bain Simon Blackwell |
| Directed by | Dewi Humphreys |
| Starring | Roger Lloyd-Pack Clive Swift Jane Asher Katherine Parkinson) Justin Edwards |
| Theme music composer | Ivor Cutler (Series 1) Clive Swift Roger Lloyd-Pack |
| Opening theme | "I'm Happy" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Alan Tyler Cheryl Taylor |
| Production locations | BBC Pacific Quay, Glasgow |
| Production company | BBC Scotland |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One BBC HD (series 2) |
| Release | 31 January 2009 – Present |
The Old Guys is a British comedy television series that revolves around two ageing house-mates: Tom Finnan (Roger Lloyd-Pack) and Roy Bowden (Clive Swift). The pair live across the street from Sally (Jane Asher), who they both find attractive. Tom moved in with Roy after Roy's wife Penny deserted him. Baby-boomer Tom has little in life but his daughter Amber (Katherine Parkinson), who is dating Phil (Justin Edwards), a vicar. Roy is a suburban pensioner who believes that he is one of the country's leading intellectuals. It premiered on 31 January 2009 on BBC One, and aired on Saturday evenings. The show examines the relationship between two aging men. The show is currently airing its second series, which is broadcast on Friday evenings. The first series airs in the United States on PBS Saturday nights.
Production
The sitcom produced by BBC Scotland stars Jane Asher, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Clive Swift and Katherine Parkinson, and is written by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell and Sam Bain. The show was commissioned by Lucy Lumsden, BBC Controller of Comedy Commissioning.[1] It is recorded at BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow. The first series is currently been repeated on G.O.L.D.
In 2005, while in the early stages of development, a script for The Old Guys was used for a BBC Three competition, The Last Laugh, aimed at encouraging young writers. Along with seven other scripts for potential sitcoms, the first 13 scenes were published, and entrants invited to write the remainder.
Plot
Ageing housemates Tom Finnan (Lloyd-Pack) and Roy Bowden (Swift) live across the street from Sally (Asher), whom both find attractive. Tom moved in with Roy after Roy's wife Penny has deserted him. Baby-boomer Tom has little in life but his daughter Amber (Parkinson), who is dating Phil (Edwards), a vicar. Roy is a suburban pensioner who believes that he is one of the country's leading intellectuals.[2]
Characters
- Roger Lloyd-Pack as Tom
- Clive Swift as Roy
- Jane Asher as Sally
- Katherine Parkinson as Amber
- Justin Edwards as Steve
Title music
Ivor Cutler's distinctive song "I'm Happy", which is used as the theme-tune for the programme, can be found on his 1967 album Ludo. For the 2010 series the song is sung by Lloyd-Pack and Swift.
Episodes
The Old Guys has so far run for six episodes by the end of series one. All episodes are thirty minutes. The first series aired at around 9:30pm every Saturday. The first episode gained 4.95 million viewers, an audience share of 22.5%. The second episode slumped slightly with 3.75m (17.2%) viewers. A second series began on 9 July 2010[3].
References
- ^ "Two brand new sitcoms from BBC Scotland - Life Of Riley and The Old Guys". BBC Press Office. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
- ^ "The Old Guys". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
- ^ The Old Guys – Series 2 at BBC Programmes