Home Time
Encyclopedia
Home Time is a British
television
comedy-drama
written by and starring Emma Fryer with Neil Edmond co-writing. The first series ran between 14 September and 22 October 2009 on BBC Two
.
describing it as a "a brilliant, sophisticated, low-key show" and "as smart and original as it is sad and funny", The Mirror as an "understated, subtle and very clever comedy", Heat
as "The best new comedy on the BBC for a long time" and the Financial Times
felt that it "attained the same balance of tenderness and acuity that has characterised so many of the greatest British sitcoms, from Porridge
to The Office
".
Home Time was also nominated for Best Sitcom at both the 2010 South Bank Show Awards and The Rose D'Or
.
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
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
written by and starring Emma Fryer with Neil Edmond co-writing. The first series ran between 14 September and 22 October 2009 on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
.
Series 1 (2009)
Gaynor Jacks has come home. Home to Coventry, home to her mum and dad's house, home to the three best friends who called her mad for ever leaving. At 17 she ran off to find her place in the big wide world, but now she's back - at 29 - with her tail between her legs and not so much as a starter home to show for her troubles. Gaynor can't hide forever in her tiny time-capsule bedroom with its Trainspotting poster peeling above the single bed and Wonderwall still paused on the CD player. She must crawl back into the life she left behind, suffering the gleeful sympathy of her friends and ill-judged parental intrusions, all played out in front of old flames and adversaries she thought she'd never see again, and underscored by smirking cries of 'See you're back then'.Cast and characters
- Emma Fryer portrays Gaynor Jacks, Gaynor can't hide forever, but a faint smile and a talent for fibbing are her only defences against the gleeful sympathy of her friends. It's like they kept her seat warm, knowing she'd be back. It doesn't matter what she's achieved down south, or how she's changed - if her Mum and friends have their way, she'll be exactly what she used to be: 17 all over again.
- Hayley Jayne Standing portrays Mel Wedglake, As Gaynor's best friend, Mel knows best. She's never left the West Midlands, lives by choice at her parents' house and still makes her living through babysitting, but why should that disqualify her from doling out advice? She's read Marie Claire. Plus, by relentlessly advising others she doesn't have to look at her own failings. Mel will look you sweetly in the eye while pulling you to pieces. After all, if it's for your own good, it's not cruelty, is it? She's also a romantic, of sorts, and wants to be seen as the embodiment of maternal warmth.
- Kerry Godliman portrays Becky Hogg, The go-getter. The long hours have finally paid off. With her commission-winning catch phrase "Cladding's Back" she's now Head of Marketing at CovConClad (Coventry's leading conservatories and cladding company). Becky is a massive fish in a pokey pond and wants the lifestyle to match, even if she can't afford it. This provincial player can never admit that she's desperately scrimping for the rent on her tiny apartment. She's doggedly pragmatic and straight-talking so vulnerability, affection and gratitude only ever leak out of her in grunts and punches.
- Rebekah Staton portrays Kelly Langley, Kelly is the bouncy one of the group. A still-aspiring DJ, Kelly's been caning it hard in Cov since she was 15. Still wild, still clubbing, still unable to persuade any club owner to let her have any more than a 30-minute set, Kelly's idiotic vigour is undiminished and her daft clothes, demeanour and buoyant physique contrast with her craggy fun-worn face. Kelly's beauty's faded at the same rate as her eyesight, so she doesn't see the creases: she's pretty sure she's 22, give or take a couple of years.
- Marian McLoughlinMarian McLoughlinMarian McLoughlin is a British Actress best known for her role as Marina Bonnaire in the BBC soap opera, Doctors. She also played the role of Brenda Jacks in the BBC series, Home Time in 2009.-Career:...
portrays Brenda Jacks, Gaynor's mum Brenda is by turns suffocatingly fond and sourly judgemental - she can't quite forgive her daughter for running away and making her look like a bad mum. She hides her resentment under energetic martyrdom and, though she dearly wants Gaynor to stay, they can't help but pick up where they left off: frustrated mother and sulking teen. In the 12 years she's been denied the role of mother, Brenda has overplayed a number of other roles, the latest being a 'befriender' at the local Irish centre, accent and all.
- Philip Jackson portrays Roy Jacks, Gaynor's dad Roy is delighted to have her back home, but has no idea how to make her feel better. He does his best to mediate and reassure, despite his generation's lack of tools for the job - words don't come easy to Roy, but he's brave enough to keep trying. Gentle, cumbersome and big-handed, this practical man has found nothing to do since he was made redundant from his supervisory position on the factory floor at the car plant. His mild contentment contains a shred of unfocused longing.
Series One (2009)
| # | Episode | Writer | Director | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Episode One | Emma Fryer & Neil Edmond | Christine Gernon | 14 September 2009 | |
| Gaynor Jacks - who ran away from Coventry 12 years ago - has come back home and is hiding in her teenage bedroom. But mum Brenda makes sure she gets out and faces up to the friends she left behind: manipulative Mel, club-weary Kelly and angry Becky. | |||||
| 2 | Episode Two | Emma Fryer & Neil Edmond | Christine Gernon | 21 September 2009 | |
| Gaynor's friends insist that, now she's back, she needs a boyfriend and a job. While they figure out which lad from school might still be available, Gaynor must prepare for a power dinner with the head honchos of cladding firm CovConClad. | |||||
| 3 | Episode Three | Emma Fryer & Neil Edmond | Christine Gernon | 28 September 2009 | |
| After a furious row with mum Brenda, Gaynor storms out of the house and is stranded up town. The girls come to the rescue, diagnose depression and cheer her up with a romantic mission - to find Paul Walsh, the One That Got Away. | |||||
| 4 | Episode Four | Emma Fryer & Neil Edmond | Christine Gernon | 5 October 2009 | |
| Just when she's settling back in, dad Roy decides to spruce up Gaynor's room "now she's having boys over". Meanwhile, Becky finds out about an age-old insult from Mel which blows the group apart. Gaynor must choose: Becky or Mel. | |||||
| 5 | Episode Five | Emma Fryer & Neil Edmond | Christine Gernon | 15 October 2009 | |
| While Gaynor summons up the courage to run off again, Kelly is the first of the girls to turn 30. Rather than leave her pal in her time of need, Gaynor mucks in with a budget luxury spa day and a night on the town. | |||||
| 6 | Episode Six | Emma Fryer & Neil Edmond | Christine Gernon | 22 October 2009 | |
| As the girls wake up from a boozy sleepover, Gaynor gets a nasty shock - an invitation to a school reunion. Whether she goes or not, she's finally going to have to face up to all the rumours about why she went and what went wrong. | |||||
Reception
Home Time received a positive critical response, The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
describing it as a "a brilliant, sophisticated, low-key show" and "as smart and original as it is sad and funny", The Mirror as an "understated, subtle and very clever comedy", Heat
Heat (magazine)
Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in...
as "The best new comedy on the BBC for a long time" and the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
felt that it "attained the same balance of tenderness and acuity that has characterised so many of the greatest British sitcoms, from Porridge
Porridge (TV series)
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland...
to The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
".
Home Time was also nominated for Best Sitcom at both the 2010 South Bank Show Awards and The Rose D'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
.