Coming of Age (2008 TV series)
| Coming of Age | |
|---|---|
 Title Card from 2010-present | |
| Genre | Situation comedy |
| Created by | Tim Dawson |
| Written by | Tim Dawson |
| Directed by | Ed Bye Nick Wood David Sant |
| Starring | Anabel Barnston Tony Bignell Hannah Job Ceri Phillips Joe Tracini Minnie Crowe Ellen Thomas Matthew Earley |
| Theme music composer | KateGoes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 23 (inc. Series 3 Episodes) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jo Sargent |
| Producer | Simon London |
| Editors | Richard Halleday Mark Lawrence |
| Running time | 29 Minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Three (Series 1-present) BBC HD (Series 2-present) |
| Release | 21 May 2007 – Present |
Coming of Age is a British situation comedy written by Tim Dawson produced in house by BBC Productions and aired on BBC Three. The show takes a direct look at five sixth form students, Jas, Ollie, Matt, Chloe and DK, as well as new character Robyn Crisp, who are living in Abingdon. Their lives rotate around the fictional Wooton College, their bedrooms, and as they're always getting thrown out of the local pub, Ollie's garden shed.[1] A pilot was originally aired in 2007, followed by the first series in 2008, a second in 2010, and third beginning in January 2011.[2] The third series is currently airing every Tuesday at 10.30 on BBC Three.
Recording
Coming of Age is set in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Although the show consists of scenes recorded on location and pre-recorded studio scenes, most of the show is recorded in front of a live studio audience at BBC Television Centre, White City, London. [citation needed]
Wooton College external shots filmed at West Herts College Cassio Campus, Langley Road, Watford.
Theme tune
The Coming of Age production joined forces with BBC Introducing (a BBC wide project that supports unsigned, undiscovered and under-the-radar artists and DJs) to find the original theme tune and sound for the show. They held a competition for 6 up-and-coming artists including Kate Goes, to write a theme tune for the show from a written specification. KateGoes won, and worked with experienced composer Richie Webb - whose credits include That Mitchell and Webb Look and Comedy Shuffle - to create the finished piece.[3]
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Hannah Job | Jasmine Brown (Jas) |
| Ceri Phillips | Oliver Maldwyn Sinclair (Ollie) |
| Anabel Barnston | Chloe Wheeler |
| Tony Bignell | Matthew Cobbett |
| Joe Tracini | Darren Karrimore (DK) |
| Minnie Crowe | Robyn Crisp |
| Ellen Thomas | Principal Jane Reed |
| Matthew Earley | Mr. Wilberforce De Wilde |
Guest Appearances
The show has featured guest appearances from a number of well known British actors and comedians including Miriam Margolyes, Stephen K. Amos, Geraldine McNulty, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Dave Lamb, Dick and Dom and Stephen Wight.
Margolyes said of working on the programme: “It’s just funny and fun, so I think the age gap worked in our favour and I think it’s very good to have an older person in a young person’s comedy because young people have got to know that there are old people in the world, they’ve got to face up to that fact.”[4]
Episodes
There have been 20 episodes of Coming of Age broadcast so far. There are number of differences between the pilot and the subsequent series. Most notably, Alex Kew and Amy Yamazaki, who played Ollie and Jas in the pilot, have been replaced by Ceri Phillips and Hannah Job. Also, Dani Harmer originally played Chloe, but was replaced by Anabel Barnston. As well as new sets, the theme tune also changed, from "Steady, As She Goes" by The Raconteurs to a specially written piece by Birmingham band Kate Goes and Richie Webb.
Reception
The show proved enormously popular with its target audience from the beginning, with Series 1 enjoying an average weekly reach of 1.2 million, and each episode appearing in the top 10 requested programmes on BBC iPlayer the day following transmission.[5] Series 2 built on this success, with the first episode premiering to 719, 000 viewers.[6] BBC Three controller Danny Cohen (who commissioned the show) noted: “I'm delighted that Coming Of Age has been such a hit with young viewers. The writer Tim Dawson and the young cast are bright emerging stars for the BBC.” [5]
Despite this, the show often receives a poor reaction from television critics. Writing about the first episode, The Daily Telegraph's Culture magazine was negative: "Crudeness abounds... but neither wit nor charm has tagged along for the ride.".[7] Meanwhile, The Scotsman said simply: "Coming of Age may be the worst BBC Three sitcom yet. It is supposedly aimed at teenagers, but I refuse to believe that even the easiest-to-please teenager is happy to accept something so horribly written, horribly acted and horribly vulgar in lieu of actual humour."[8] However, some have been more willing to acknowledge the sitcom’s appeal, with the British Comedy Guide conceding, “For its fans, it's a heightened reflection of their own experience of teenage years, with brilliantly absurd exchanges and sublime vulgarity to match.” [9]. At the start of 2011, the public voted the show the worst returning sitcom at the British Comedy Guide awards.[10]
DVD releases
Series 1 was released on DVD in late 2009.
References
- ^ "Coming Of Age British Sitcom". Retrieved 12-01-2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Exclusive Coming of Age Announcement - brapppp!". Retrieved 2010-04-16.
- ^ "BBC - Switch Videos - 'Kate Goes' Theme Tune Fun". Retrieved 2010-03-14.
- ^ "I've got a filthy sense of humour, says Harry Potter star Margolyes". February 2010.
- ^ a b "Youth sitcom Coming of Age is recommissioned for BBC Three". Retrieved 12 January 2010.
- ^ "BBC's 'Survivors' returns to 4.5 million". Retrieved 15-01-2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Naughton, Pete; Reynolds, Gillian (30 September 2008). "Tuesday's TV & radio choices". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 12-01-2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Last night's TV review: Dawn Porter: Free Lover, Channel 4 - Coming Of Age, BBC3". Retrieved 12-01-2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Coming of Age". comedy.co.uk.
- ^ British Comedy Guide 2010 Awards