Marriage Lines
Encyclopedia
Marriage Lines was a popular black-and-white
British
sitcom
that aired from 1961 to 1966 which launched the careers of its lead stars, Richard Briers
and Prunella Scales
. It was originally entitled The Marriage Lines. The programme was written by Richard Waring
and was later adapted for radio.
. Graeme Muir, the producer of Marriage Lines had also worked on Brothers in Law. In early episodes, Marriage Lines was subtitled A Quizzical Look at the Early Days of Married Life.
camaraderie of the single men in his office, while Kate gets increasingly frustrated by her domestic duties. In the third series, Kate gives birth to a daughter Helen. The last episode of the fourth series, Goodbye George - Goodbye Kate, showed the couple going to live in Lagos
, Nigeria
because of George's jobs. This was meant to be the last episode, however a fifth series was commissioned. The Starlings' returned to England
as Kate was pregnant again, and gave birth in the final episode.
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
British
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...
sitcom
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
that aired from 1961 to 1966 which launched the careers of its lead stars, Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
and Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
. It was originally entitled The Marriage Lines. The programme was written by Richard Waring
Richard Waring (writer)
Richard Waring was a British television scriptwriter.The author of numerous sitcoms from the early 1960s, he is particularly associated with writing domestic sitcoms. His first success was Marriage Lines with Richard Briers and Prunella Scales...
and was later adapted for radio.
Cast
- Richard BriersRichard BriersRichard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
- George Starling - Prunella ScalesPrunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
- Kate Starling - Edward de SouzaEdward de SouzaEdward James de Souza is a British character actor and graduate of RADA with ethnic Portuguese Indian and English origins.-Early life:...
- Miles - Ronald HinesRonald HinesRonald Hines is a British television actor.He has had a lengthy career, but possibly his best known role was as the husband in three of the four series of Not in Front of the Children...
- Peter (series 1) - Christine FinnChristine FinnChristine Finn was a British actress, known primarily for her work for the Thunderbirds television series of the 1960s, and the 1958–59 television serial Quatermass and the Pit...
- Norah (series 1) - Dorothy BlackDorothy BlackDorothy Black was an actress, born in Johannesburg. Educated at St Andrew's School in Johannesburg and also the Central School of Speech and Drama in London....
- Kate's mother - Diana KingDiana King (actress)Diana King was an English television actress who had a career on British television from 1939 to 1986. She was sometimes credited as Diane King, and was born in Buckinghamshire....
- George's mother - Geoffrey SumnerGeoffrey SumnerGeoffrey Sumner was a British actor. As well as appearing in a number of films, he was also a commentator for British Movietone News.-Selected filmography:* Too Many Husbands * - narrator* Helter Skelter...
- George's father
Background
When Richard Waring was writing Marriage Lines, he had Richard Briers in mind, having previously worked with him on Brothers in LawBrothers in Law
Brothers in Law is a 1955 comedy book by Henry Cecil, himself a County Court judge, about Roger Thursby — a young barrister — experiencing his first year in chambers.-Television and Film:...
. Graeme Muir, the producer of Marriage Lines had also worked on Brothers in Law. In early episodes, Marriage Lines was subtitled A Quizzical Look at the Early Days of Married Life.
Plot
George and Kate Starling are a newly-married couple, and the comedy came from many ordinary domestic situations. George was a junior clerk in an office and wanted the pubPublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
camaraderie of the single men in his office, while Kate gets increasingly frustrated by her domestic duties. In the third series, Kate gives birth to a daughter Helen. The last episode of the fourth series, Goodbye George - Goodbye Kate, showed the couple going to live in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
because of George's jobs. This was meant to be the last episode, however a fifth series was commissioned. The Starlings' returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
as Kate was pregnant again, and gave birth in the final episode.
Episodes
All episodes were 25 minutes, except the fifth series when the episodes were 30 minutes long. Many of the original 43 episodes are still known to be missing from television archives.Series One (1963)
- The Threshold (16 Aug 63)
- Trial Separation (23 Aug 63)
- The Bed (30 Aug 63)
- The Parting (6 Sep 63)
- Four-Part Harmony (13 Sep 63)
- The Old Flame (20 Sep 63)
- The Good Neighbours (27 Sep 63)
- Party Mood (4 Oct 63)
- The Anniversary (11 Oct 63)
- The Old Place (18 Oct 63)
Christmas Special (1963)
- Short Special as part of Christmas Night with the StarsChristmas Night with the StarsChristmas Night with the Stars was a variety television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 and also in 1994. The show featured the top stars of the BBC as they appeared in short versions of their programmes, typically five to ten minutes long. The show was voted 24th...
(25 Dec 63)
Series Two (1964)
- The Job (22 May 64)
- The Loan (29 May 64)
- Among Our Souvenirs (5 Jun 64)
- The Move (12 Jun 64)
- The Convention (19 Jun 64)
- Happy Birthday (26 Jun 64)
- Celebration Night (28 Jun 64)
- The Patient (5 Jul 64)
- The Martyr (12 Jul 64)
- Holiday Attractions (19 Jul 64)
- Financial Consideration (26 Jul 64)
- The Divorce (2 Aug 64)
- A Nice Surprise (9 Aug 64)
Christmas Special (1964)
- Short Special as part of Christmas Night with the StarsChristmas Night with the StarsChristmas Night with the Stars was a variety television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 and also in 1994. The show featured the top stars of the BBC as they appeared in short versions of their programmes, typically five to ten minutes long. The show was voted 24th...
(25 Dec 64)
Series Three (1965)
- The Cuckoo (5 Jan 65)
- The Waiting Game (12 Jan 65)
- And Baby Makes Three (19 Jan 65)
- Nest of Starlings (26 Jan 65)
- The Ladies' Man (2 Feb 65)
- The Homecoming (9 Feb 65)
- Night of Nostalgia (16 Feb 65)
Series Four (1965)
- What's in a Name (22 Aug 65)
- The Dinner (29 Aug 65)
- Serenade in Two Flats (5 Sep 65)
- Tropical Magic (12 Sep 65)
- Migration of Starlings (19 Sep 65)
- Goodbye George - Goodbye Kate (26 Sep 65)
Series Five (1966)
- The New Start (22 Apr 66)
- Back to the Beginning (29 Apr 66)
- Home Market (6 May 66)
- Big Business (13 May 66)
- Alarums and Excursions (20 May 66)
- First House (27 May 66)
- And Then There Were Five (3 Jun 66)