Oh, Doctor Beeching!
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| Oh, Doctor Beeching! | |
|---|---|
 Titlescreen featuring an LMS Ivatt Class 2 | |
| Created by | David Croft Richard Spendlove |
| Written by | David Croft Richard Spendlove John Stevenson Paul Minett Brian Leveson John Chapman |
| Directed by | Roy Gould |
| Starring | Paul Shane Jeffrey Holland Su Pollard Julia Deakin Stephen Lewis Paul Aspen |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 19 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | David Croft |
| Producers | David Croft Charles Garland |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 14 August 1995 – 28 September 1997 |
Oh, Doctor Beeching! is a BBC television sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove which, after a broadcast pilot on 14 August 1995, ran for two series from 8 July 1996, with the last episode being broadcast on 28 September 1997. The series is notable for being the last in a series of three comedies by co-writer David Croft to use many of the same actors, starting with Hi-de-Hi!, and followed by You Rang, M'Lord? and was also the last full series written by David Croft.
Introduction
Oh, Doctor Beeching! focuses on the small fictional branch line railway station of Hatley, which is threatened with closure under the Beeching Axe. The programme was filmed on the Severn Valley Railway. Arley SVR station in Upper Arley was used as Hatley station.
Plot
Set in 1963, at a rural branch line railway station called Hatley, Jack Skinner (Paul Shane) the porter is acting stationmaster until a replacement is found. Jack deeply loves his wife May (played by Sherrie Hewson in the pilot episode, with her scenes re-recorded by Julia Deakin when repeated as the first episode of the regular series) who runs the station buffet, but is prone to becoming very jealous of her around other men. Without a station master the station has become rather disorganised: for instance the eternally miserable signalman, Harry Lambert (Stephen Lewis), is so underworked that he is running several sidelines from his signalbox – including hair-cutting, selling fruit and vegetables, repairing bicycles, and taking bets – seeing his signalling duties as a distraction; he frequently speaks of "ruddy trains". The station is part run by the eccentric, easily flustered booking clerk, Ethel Schumann (Su Pollard), who is always on the lookout for a new man in her life, and whose late-teenaged son Wilfred (Paul Aspen), the product of a relationship with a now deceased American soldier during the war, is the station dogsbody. Wilfred often comes across as stupid, but sometimes displays signs that he is brighter than he appears – for instance, in the episode "The Van", he finds Arnold's missing wife, Jessica.
Also present are Vera Plumtree, (Barbara New), who has no particular role, but seems to do various jobs around the station and acts as Mr Parkin's housekeeper. Her late husband used to work on the railway, as she frequently reminds the other members of staff, (her catchphrase is, "he was an engine driver, you know"). She always muddles her words (Ethel also sometimes muddles her words, but not as often), and has an unrequited love for Harry (who always ignores her advances); Gloria (Lindsay Grimshaw), Jack and May's pretty teenage daughter, who loves wearing short skirts, much to the chagrin of the father. She shows an interest in men, but Jack is over-protective, and won't let any man take her out; the elderly engine driver, Arnold Thomas (Ivor Roberts); his inexperienced fireman, Ralph (Perry Benson), who is training to be a driver; the flirtatious guard, Percy (Terry John), with whom Ethel appears to be quite besotted at times. He returns her advances, but seems to prefer Gloria's friend, Amy Matlock (Tara Daniels), who appears in most episodes, albeit usually briefly. Richard Spendlove, one of the writers and the co-creator, also appeared in several episodes as Mr Orkindale, the strait-laced district inspector.
Soon the new stationmaster arrives in the guise of Cecil Parkin (Jeffrey Holland), a stern, well spoken man. He is amazed to learn that the café is run by May (then called Blanchflower), with whom he had a passionate fling during the war before she married Jack – although we later learn that she was seeing both of them at the same time. Although Jack is in the dark as to May and Cecil's history, he takes an instant dislike to the new stationmaster. A running subplot to the series is the question of whether Gloria is actually Jack's daughter, or the result of May's fling with Cecil (although in the second series episode "Father's Day", it is generally concluded that Jack is her father). Meanwhile, at the end of the episode a newspaper article is found threatening the station with closure under the Beeching Axe, which begins the series.
A running gag in the series was Vera almost finding out about Cecil and May's relationship. Mr Parkin steals every moment he possibly can with May, often sneaking into the kitchen near the beginning of the day, before anyone else has arrived, and Vera caught them almost every time.
The programme ran for two series, although the final episode did not conclude by answering whether the station was closed, as it was unknown at the time of production whether a third series would be produced or not.
Episodes
Characters and cast
Cecil R. Parkin (Jeffrey Holland) Stationmaster – the new stationmaster at Hatley who appears midway through the first episode. He is a perfectionist, and is determined to make the station the best on the line. On the surface, he seems refined, but it turns out that he knows the station's buffet manageress because they had a passionate affair, which was going on behind her boyfriend (later husband) Jack Skinner's back. He still has lecherous thoughts about her, and in several episodes he tries his best to get her to leave Jack. The station staff react to him in different ways – most are tolerant of him, but Jack and Harry, the signalman, take an intense dislike to him, which only slightly mellows as the series goes on.
Jack Skinner (Paul Shane) Head Porter and Deputy Stationmaster – He is deeply in love with his beautiful wife, May, but gets very jealous whenever she comes into close contact with other men, especially Cecil. He heartily dislikes Cecil and shows it. He is an ex-soldier with a limp, from a wound he received during the war (only in Episode 9 we learn that his leg was wounded when he was thrown out of a pub and the landlord's wife slammed the door on his foot, not during a battle, although Ethel changed the story to him jumping on a Nazi tank to shove a land mine down it and a big Nazi trapped his foot in the for).
Ethel Schumann (Su Pollard) Ticket Clerk – She is scatter-brained, and sometimes muddles her words. She often gets frustrated with Jack for his jealousy of May. She is also a flirt – she has a grown-up son from her marriage to a now deceased soldier named Earl, whom she frequently refers to in the earlier episodes. She is desperate for another boyfriend, and frequently makes advances to the station's guard, Percy, who appreciates her advances, but seems more interested in the regular commuter, Amy. She is the only one who knows of Cecil and May's war-time fling (other than Cecil and May, of course).
Harry Lambert (Stephen Lewis) Signalman – He is eternally miserable, with Stephen Lewis portraying the character very much like "Blakey" in On the Buses. He never smiles, and often sees the down side of things, never being seen happy. He hates his job, often calling the trains "ruddy". Because trains come through Hatley only a few times a day, he operates numerous sidelines from his box: growing vegetables, mending bikes and clocks, rearing farm animals (pigs, turkeys and chickens) for the staff's dinners, giving haircuts and taking bets. They are all illegal, yet all the staff, including Gloria know about them, are customers and keep their mouths shut. Cecil does not know, as he would make it stop. There is a recurring gag, where Harry will say, "if they poke their noses around, they will get the flat end o' my tongue", that person comes and he starts sucking up to them. Throughout the series, he bluntly tries to resist Vera's advances.
May Skinner (née May Blanchflower) (Julia Deakin and Sherrie Hewson) Buffet Manageress – She had a passionate affair with Cecil Parkin before she married Jack, which ended when Cecil was called up to serve in the Army. She appears to genuinely love Jack, but she seems to still have buried feelings for Cecil. She frequently resists Cecil's advances, but occasionally relents, even letting him kiss her in Episode 10, but states that it must never happen again. In early episodes it is hinted that Cecil is the father of her daughter, Gloria, but this is proved to be false in Episode 11.
Vera Plumtree (possibly later Vera Lambert) (Barbara New) Cleaner – She helps the staff, by cleaning their homes and washing clothes for them. She has much in common with Ethel: she muddles her words, and frequently talks about her unnamed late husband, who was an engine driver. She is in love with Harry, but it is unrequited. Her friendship with May and Ethel is similar to that of Lou Beale, Ethel Skinner and Dot Cotton in EastEnders.
Wilfred Schumann (Paul Aspen) Porter – Ethel's son. Most of the time comes across as extremely stupid. He is often verbally abused and hit around the head by Jack. Wilfred joins the Army in one episode so as to allow Ethel to elope with her American airmen boyfriend, but she ends her relationship. Wilfred was born in 1946, making him 17, and along with Jack, May, Gloria and Ethel speaks with a Northern accent.
Gloria Skinner (Lindsay Grimshaw) – Jack and May's daughter. A rebellious teenager, very fond of short skirts and the company of older men. She has a crush on Cecil Parkin, the new station master and Percy, the guard. Jack is over-protective, however, and will let no man in the station take Gloria out. Gloria was born in February 1945, making her 18.
Percy (Terry John) Guard – the main station flirt. He flirts with every woman he comes into contact with, except Vera. But he seems to prefer Amy Matlock above others: he takes her out on several dates during the series, often leaving Ethel in the lurch. We learn in Episode 14 that he keeps promising to take Ethel out, but never does.
Arnold Thomas (Ivor Roberts) Train Driver – An old train-driver – one of the more minor characters. He is the star of the penultimate episode, where he goes to great lengths to make sure he is not sacked. He has a wife called Jessica, who appears to be mentally ill. He alludes to her in almost every episode, but she only appears briefly in Episode 13.
Ralph (Perry Benson) Fireman and Trainee Driver – Works with Arnold – the two often engage in comic banter. Ralph is as daft as Wilfred, and slow at learning to drive – but he drives the train perfectly in the final episode. Like Arnold, he is a minor character, but one episode centres around him – in Episode 14 he threatens to go on strike.
Amy Matlock (Tara Daniels), best school friend of Gloria's, in most episodes. She is often the object of Percy's desires.
Mr Orkindale (Richard Spendlove) District Inspector – Opposite of Parkin, calls staff by Christian names and fancies May. Dislikes Mr Parkin as much as everyone else, and in Episode 17 cheats him out of a place on the bowls club outing, just so he can have a few extra drinks.
Earl Schumann – Earl was Ethel's husband and Wilfred's father. He was an American who was a salesman selling Intimate Apparel. During the Second World War, Ethel married Earl after he fell in love with her, joined the United States Army and moved to Britain. Ethel kept a piece of their wedding cake in a little pink box to prove they were married. At the end of the war, Ethel became pregnant with Wilfred. Earl was at a Nazi ammunition dump with his platoon, blowing up Nazi shells, when Earl was killed in an explosion ("there was a big explosion and he went missing!", in Ethel's words). They only found bits of him 18 years later. Because of his German name, May mistook him to be a German, Italian and Indian. According to Ethel, he was very handsome and trusted her ("As he left to go overseas with his platoon, he said to me", "one thing I know for sure Ethel, no man will be bothering you while I'm away!", in Ethel's words). Wilfred never knew him.
Ernie Bennett – the bus driver, played by Hugh Lloyd (who was reminiscent of the bus driver in the 1941 railway film "The Ghost Train")
Guest appearances
Co-writer Richard Spendlove made a number of guest appearances as the inspector, Mr Orkindale. Another former Hi-De-Hi! regular, Felix Bowness, also made a number of appearances as the train Guard Bernie Bleasdale. Windsor Davies appeared in the final episode as the Mayor of Clumberfield, when the station staff re-enacted the station's opening for its 100th anniversary. Sally Grace appeared in Episode 7 as Mr Parkin's former fiancée, Edna Taylor. The LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 No 46521 from the Severn Valley Railway was used on the film set and carried the named "Blossom". The engine has now been sold to the Loughborough Standard Locomotive Group and has just returned to service after an overhaul at the Great Central Railway.
Title and music
The title was a reference to the music hall song and Will Hay film Oh, Mr Porter!, and a modified version was sung as the end titles by Su Pollard:
- Oh, Dr Beeching what have you done?
- There once were lots of trains to catch, but soon there will be none,
- I'll have to buy a bike, 'cos I can't afford a car,
- Oh, Dr Beeching what a naughty man you are!
DVD release
The first series was released on DVD in 2004, and the second series in 2005. The packaging of the first series was slightly misleading by stating that it "included the pilot", but it really contained the revised first episode, not the original version of the pilot.
A complete box set containing both series and all 19 episodes (also excluding the original pilot) is now available, distributed by Acorn Media UK.
