Happiness (British TV series)
| Happiness | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy drama |
| Starring | Paul Whitehouse Fiona Allen Mark Heap Clive Russell Pearce Quigley Johnny Vegas |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 20 March 2001 – 18 February 2003 |
Happiness is a British television drama written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings, with Whitehouse starring in the lead role.
Two series were broadcast on BBC Two in 2001 and 2003. Whitehouse stated that there would not be a third.[1]
Synopsis
[edit]Whitehouse plays Danny Spencer, a successful voice artist for a popular cartoon bear called Dexter. Spencer is trying to come to terms with the death of his wife, though much of his concern is that he finds he isn't feeling the loss as deeply as he should.
Approaching his 40th birthday he is independent and single and the programme's themes are largely bound up with the opportunities and problems that this situation creates. His friends are a disparate group, ranging from the strait-laced Terry and Rachel (Mark Heap, Fiona Allen), through the down and outs – Charlie and Sid (Johnny Vegas and Pearce Quigley), to the archetypal man in a mid-life crisis, Angus (Clive Russell). To varying degrees these friends offer Spencer inspiration and cautionary tales as to how Spencer can fill his life.
Episodes
[edit]Series 1
[edit]| # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Personality Crisis" | 20 March 2001 |
| 2 | "I'm Doing It for Me" | 27 March 2001 |
| 3 | "Chained to an Idiot" | 3 April 2001 |
| 4 | "Desperate Dan" | 10 April 2001 |
| 5 | "Celebration" | 17 April 2001 |
| 6 | "Forty' | 24 April 2001 |
Series 2
[edit]| # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Little Bit of Love" | 14 January 2003 |
| 2 | "A Nice Person" | 21 January 2003 |
| 3 | "Real Dancing" | 28 January 2003 |
| 4 | "Perspective" | 4 February 2003 |
| 5 | "Old Bloke at the Door" | 11 February 2003 |
| 6 | "People Move On" | 18 February 2003 |
Awards
[edit]- British Comedy Awards, 2001
- Won
- Johnny Vegas, best newcomer for his role as Charlie.
- Nominations
- Best TV Comedy drama.
- Won
- British Academy Television Awards, 2002
- Nominations
- Situation comedy award.
- Nominations
Critical reception
[edit]Simon Hoggart described the series as "part of that newish genre, the situation tragedy",[2] and Andrew Billen criticised it for the "emptiness at its heart and not enough going on peripherally to make up for it".[3] Nicholas Barber described it as "an impressive leap from catchphrase-heavy sketch comedy" with "topnotch supporting actors".[4] Many reviews identified Johnny Vegas's performance as being the strongest among the cast.[5][6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Limited Happiness: Second series 'probably the last'". Chortle: The UK comedy guide. 20 September 2001. Archived from the original on 24 October 2001. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
- ^ Hoggart, Simon (24 March 2001). "Upfront misery". The Spectator. Vol. 286, no. 9007. pp. 61–62. eISSN 2059-6499. ISSN 0038-6952. Find Articles mi_qa3724/is_200103/ai_n8947259; ProQuest 201201478; Gale A78033281; Factiva spectr0020020212dx3o00166; Nexis Uni 44TD-04W0-0159-P3BF-00000-00.
- ^ Billen, Andrew (26 March 2001). "Upstaged by a prop: Television: ANDREW BILLEN is less than happy with Paul Whitehouse's new comic creation". The Back Half. New Statesman (& Society). Vol. 130 (14), no. 4530 (649). pp. 46–47. eISSN 1758-924X. ISSN 1364-7431. FindArticles mi_m0FQP/is_4530_130/ai_72703201; EBSCOhost 4279256; Gale A72703201; Factiva nsts000020010712dx3q000cu.
- ^ Barber, Nicholas (12 January 2003). "DVD & Video: IMPRESSIVE COMEDY (HHHHI) Happiness DVD/VHS retail". Features. The Independent on Sunday. London, England. p. 13. Gale A96362708, A96362709; ProQuest 336896472, 336875196; Factiva indos00020030112dz1c000c7, indos00020030112dz1c000gq; Nexis Uni 47NK-NMP0-014V-R3DN-00000-00, 47NK-NMP0-014V-R3DP-00000-00.
- ^ Gilbert, Gerard (14 January 2003). "(TV) Pick of the Day". Features / The Independent Review: Today's Television. The Independent. p. 23 (#47). ProQuest 312156676; Newspapers.com 721242192; Factiva ind0000020030113dz1e000xy; Nexis Uni 47P0-JF20-014V-R3SK-00000-00.
- ^ Hyland, Ian (19 January 2003). "Ian Hyland's TV week: Happiness". Features. Daily Mirror. London, UK. p. 59. ProQuest 339515014; Factiva smirr00020030121dz1j000i1.
