Get Some In!
Encyclopedia
Get Some In! was a British
television series about life in Royal Air Force
National Service broadcast between 1975 and 1978 by Thames Television
. Scripts were by John Esmonde
and Bob Larbey
, the team behind the BBC TV sitcom The Good Life.
The programme drew its inspiration from late 1950s/early 1960s National Service situation-comedy The Army Game
, and from nostalgic BBC TV sitcom Dad's Army
, but the RAF setting gave it enough originality not to seem formulaic. Thirty-four (commercial) half-hour episodes were made.
The series has never been repeated in full on terrestrial TV, although the UKTV Gold
cable channel has aired the episodes uncut.
station RAF Skelton ("until the beginning of the third series where the recruit's barracks hut is destroyed by fire"). Series 3–4 were set at fictional RAF Midham. Series 5 was set at fictional RAF hostpital Druidswater.
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television series about life in Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
National Service broadcast between 1975 and 1978 by Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
. Scripts were by John Esmonde
Esmonde and Larbey
John Gilbert Esmonde and Bob Larbey were a British television comedy scriptwriting duo from the 1960s to the 1990s, creating popular situation comedies such as Please Sir! and The Good Life.-Larbey's life:Larbey was born in Clapham, South London in 1934 and made his writing debut for...
and Bob Larbey
Esmonde and Larbey
John Gilbert Esmonde and Bob Larbey were a British television comedy scriptwriting duo from the 1960s to the 1990s, creating popular situation comedies such as Please Sir! and The Good Life.-Larbey's life:Larbey was born in Clapham, South London in 1934 and made his writing debut for...
, the team behind the BBC TV sitcom The Good Life.
The programme drew its inspiration from late 1950s/early 1960s National Service situation-comedy The Army Game
The Army Game
The Army Game is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1957 to 1961. Made in black-and-white, it is about National Service conscription to the post-war British Army. It was created by Sid Colin...
, and from nostalgic BBC TV sitcom Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
, but the RAF setting gave it enough originality not to seem formulaic. Thirty-four (commercial) half-hour episodes were made.
The series has never been repeated in full on terrestrial TV, although the UKTV Gold
UKTV Gold
GOLD is the original channel of the UKTV network, broadcasting to the United Kingdom and Ireland. It launched on 1 November 1992 as UK Gold, and is currently available on Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV and terrestrial subscription via Top Up TV. It shows repeats of classic programming from the BBC...
cable channel has aired the episodes uncut.
Principal cast and characters
- CorporalCorporalCorporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
Percy Marsh. Corporal, later SergeantSergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Marsh is the stereotypical Drill InstructorDrill instructorA drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of indoctrinating new recruits entering the military into the customs and...
who becomes the bane of the recruits' lives. A man with a sadistic sense of humour, he continually makes his charges lives miserable. Marsh always craves promotion but his own schemes usually backfire preventing him from attaining his goal. Played by Tony SelbyTony SelbyTony Selby is an English actor.He has appeared in many television programmes including a starring role in RAF National Service comedy Get Some In!, and a recurring role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as the intergalactic conman Sabalom Glitz...
- Ken Richardson. A former grammar schoolGrammar schoolA grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
pupil, Ken is very well mannered much to the disgust of Corporal Marsh. Due to his, by then higher standard of education, he often finds himself on the receiving end of insults from Corporal Marsh such as 'poofhouse' and 'grammar school twit'. Played by David JansonDavid JansonDavid Janson is an English actor whose stage debut was in Oliver! in 1962. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 in A Midsummer Night's Dream and appeared as the young boy in The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.Janson became well known for his role as Jimmy Harker in the 1960s British...
.
- Jakey Smith, a Teddy BoyTeddy BoyThe British Teddy Boy subculture is typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II...
from LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Jakey soon finds himself at odds with Corporal Marsh, and dislikes the whole concept of National Service. He has little or no respect for authority but is at heart a decent individual. Played by Robert LindsayRobert Lindsay (actor)Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...
(Series 1–4) and Karl HowmanKarl HowmanKarl Howman is an English actor and also a British voice-over artist.He is well known but notable to many television viewers for his work as Jacko in the mid-1980's and early-90's BBC TV sitcom Esmonde and Larbey's Brush Strokes and as the title character in the series Mulberry .However Howman first...
(Series 5).
- Matthew Lilley. Matthew is the son of a vicarVicarIn the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
and is also very well mannered. Raised to be God-fearing, Matthew is very shy, but often gets flustered at Corporal Marsh's various schemes. Despite this, he tries to forgive him. Played by Gerard Ryder.
- Bruce Leckie. A stereotypical Scotsman from GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. Bruce has a very cynical view of life and always seems to see the worst outcomes in situations. Like Jakey, he does not like being conscripted for National Service. Bruce is very shy around women but eventually falls in love with and finds happiness with Corporal Wendy, though this happiness is short lived as after Bruce completes his trade training they are both posted to different RAF stations. Played by Brian PettiferBrian PettiferBrian Pettifer is an actor who has appeared in many television shows. Pettifer was born in Lower Durban, South Africa, and briefly brought up in Glasgow and London. He intended to become a photographer, but pursued a career as an actor...
.
- Alice Marsh. Corporal Marsh's long suffering wife. She is constantly irritated by her husband's lack of advancement in the RAF. She is also a kind-hearted woman and is good to the recruits, much to the irritation of Percy, she left him during the fourth series only to return in the end. Played by Lori Wells.
- Squadron LeaderSquadron LeaderSquadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
Baker. Played by John D. CollinsJohn D. CollinsJohn D. Collins is an English actor, perhaps best known for appearing in the BBC sitcom Allo 'Allo! in which he played Flt. Lt. Fairfax, a stranded British airman in occupied France during World War II...
. - Corporal Wendy. Married in the third series to Bruce Leckie. Played by Jenny Cryst.
Series
- Series 1, 16 October – 27 November 1975, Thu 8:30pm, 7 episodes
- Christmas Special, 25 December 1975, Thu 7:30pm
- Series 2, 28 June – 9 August 1976, Mon 8:00pm, 7 episodes
- Series 3, 6 January – 17 February 1977, Thu 7:05pm, 6 episodes
- Series 4, 16 June – 21 July 1977, Thu 7:00pm, 6 episodes
- Series 5, 6 April – 18 May 1978, Thu 8:00pm, 7 episodes
Settings
Series 1–2 were set at fictional Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station RAF Skelton ("until the beginning of the third series where the recruit's barracks hut is destroyed by fire"). Series 3–4 were set at fictional RAF Midham. Series 5 was set at fictional RAF hostpital Druidswater.
DVD
All five series including a 5-Disc set of the complete series of Get Some In! have been released by NetworkNetwork DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
.
| DVD | Release date |
|---|---|
| The Complete Series 1 | 19 September 2008 |
| The Complete Series 2 | 28 January 2009 |
| The Complete Series 3 | 6 April 2009 |
| The Complete Series 4 | 20 July 2009 |
| The Complete Series 5 | 5 October 2009 |
| The Complete Series 1 to 5 Box Set | 2 November 2009 |
External links
- Get Some In! at British TV Comedy