Chelmsford 123
Encyclopedia
Chelmsford 123 is a British television situation comedy
produced for Channel 4
by Hat Trick Productions
. It ran for two series, of six and seven episodes, in 1988 and 1990.
The series was set in the British town of Chelmsford
in the year AD
123, and concerned the power struggle between Roman governor Aulus Paulinus (Jimmy Mulville
) and the British chieftain, Badvoc (Rory McGrath
). Britain is a miserable place, cold and wet – just the place to exile Aulus for accidentally insulting the Emperor's horse, but also give him something useful to do. Aulus, probably a play on Aulus Platorius Nepos
, the governor of Roman Britain
between 122 and 125, was a rather delicate Roman, who was usually outwitted by the scheming Badvoc, who hadn't had a haircut for twenty-five years. Many of the other regular "Hat Trick" actors, previously seen in shows such as Who Dares Wins, also appeared.
Both series are now available on 4 on Demand and SeeSaw
.
Series 1 and 2 will be released on DVD by Acorn Media UK
on September 5th 2011.
Also appearing in a number of episodes were :-
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
produced for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
by Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions is a British independent production company that produces television programmes, mainly specialising in comedy.-History:...
. It ran for two series, of six and seven episodes, in 1988 and 1990.
The series was set in the British town of Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
in the year AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
123, and concerned the power struggle between Roman governor Aulus Paulinus (Jimmy Mulville
Jimmy Mulville
James Thomas "Jimmy" Mulville is an English comedian, comedy writer, producer and television presenter. Jimmy Mulville is best known for co-founding in 1986 the British independent television production company Hat Trick Productions with Denise O'Donoghue and Rory McGrath...
) and the British chieftain, Badvoc (Rory McGrath
Rory McGrath
Patrick Rory McGrath is an English comedian and writer. He is best known for roles in Who Dares Wins, Chelmsford 123, Three Men in a Boat and its successors. He was also a regular panellist on They Think It's All Over....
). Britain is a miserable place, cold and wet – just the place to exile Aulus for accidentally insulting the Emperor's horse, but also give him something useful to do. Aulus, probably a play on Aulus Platorius Nepos
Aulus Platorius Nepos
Aulus Platorius Nepos was a Roman politician of the early 2nd century.Platorius Nepos was governor of Germania Inferior. He was a close friend and possible kinsman of the Emperor Hadrian and may have accompanied Hadrian on his visit to Britain in 122. In this year he was made governor of Roman...
, the governor of Roman Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
between 122 and 125, was a rather delicate Roman, who was usually outwitted by the scheming Badvoc, who hadn't had a haircut for twenty-five years. Many of the other regular "Hat Trick" actors, previously seen in shows such as Who Dares Wins, also appeared.
Both series are now available on 4 on Demand and SeeSaw
SeeSaw (Internet television)
SeeSaw was an Internet television service, born out of the BBC-led Project Kangaroo and launched in the UK on 17 February 2010. It was acquired by the Criterion Media Group in July 2011 but the agreed investment never materialised. The service was shut down on 28 October 2011...
.
Series 1 and 2 will be released on DVD by Acorn Media UK
Acorn Media UK
Acorn Media UK is a DVD publisher which distributes and sells home video products with a particular focus on British television.- Company history :The company was founded in 1997 when Lesley Fromant set up a branch of parent company Acorn Media in the UK....
on September 5th 2011.
Principal cast
- Rory McGrathRory McGrathPatrick Rory McGrath is an English comedian and writer. He is best known for roles in Who Dares Wins, Chelmsford 123, Three Men in a Boat and its successors. He was also a regular panellist on They Think It's All Over....
-- Badvoc, British chieftain - Jimmy MulvilleJimmy MulvilleJames Thomas "Jimmy" Mulville is an English comedian, comedy writer, producer and television presenter. Jimmy Mulville is best known for co-founding in 1986 the British independent television production company Hat Trick Productions with Denise O'Donoghue and Rory McGrath...
-- Aulus Paulinus, Roman Governor of Britain - Philip PopePhilip PopePhilip R. J. Pope is a British composer and actor. He was educated at Downside School and New College, Oxford.-Performer:He appeared in the Oxford Revue in Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1978 and 1979, both with Angus Deayton...
-- Grasientus, Aulus' Brother in-law. (Pope also wrote the series' title music.) - Howard Lew LewisHoward Lew LewisHoward Lew Lewis is an English comedian and actor, best known for his roles in comedy series including Maid Marian and her Merry Men and Brush Strokes.-Biography:Lewis' grandmother Dame Ethel Gomer-Lewis was an opera singer...
-- Blag - Neil PearsonNeil PearsonNeil Joshua Pearson is a British actor best known for his work on television.-Biography:Pearson grew up in Battersea, London, the son of a panel beater, who left home when he was five, and a legal secretary, and was educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Suffolk, a boarding school, where he first...
-- Mungo - Erika HoffmanErika HoffmanErika Hoffman is an American/British actress who starred as Lesley Bainbridge in the BBC comedy Brush Strokes from series 3 onwards, when she took over the role from Kim Thomson...
-- Gargamadua, Badvoc's girlfriend (Series 1 only) - Robert Austin -- Functio (Series 1 only)
Also appearing in a number of episodes were :-
- Geoffrey McGivernGeoffrey McGivernGeoffrey McGivern is an English actor in film, radio, stage and television. He was born in Balham, South London and grew up in York. There he attended Archbishop Holgate's School, where he was made Head Boy...
-- Wolfbane - Geoffrey WhiteheadGeoffrey WhiteheadGeoffrey Whitehead is an English actor. He has appeared in a huge range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at the Shakespeare Globe, St...
-- Viatorus, engineer, bringer of rain, sculptor (unable to do noses, "not all elephants have trunks"), ... - Andy HamiltonAndy HamiltonAndrew Neil Hamilton is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter and radio dramatist.-Early life:...
-- Taranis, British "warrior" and sometime programme associate. - Chris LanghamChris LanghamChristopher "Chris" Langham is an English writer, actor and comedian. He is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost...
-- The Gate Guard. - Bill WallisBill WallisBill Wallis is a British character actor and comedian who has appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre....
-- Emperor.
Series 1
- Arrivaderci Roma -- 9 March 1988 (sections in Rome played entirely in Latin, until Aulus arrives in Britain)
- What's Your Poison? -- 16 March 1988
- The Girl of My Dreams -- 23 March 1988
- One For The Road -- 30 March 1988
- Vidi Vici Veni -- 6 April 1988
- Peeled Grapes and Pedicures -- 13 April 1988
Series 2
- Heads You Lose -- 9 January 1990
- Get Well Soon -- 16 January 1990
- Bird Trouble -- 23 January 1990
- Odi, et Amo -- 30 January 1990
- The Secret War -- 6 February 1990
- Mine's a Double -- 13 February 1990
- Something Beginning With 'E' -- 20 February 1990 (as with first episode, sections in Rome played entirely in Latin, until the Emperor arrives in Britain)