Massive (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Massive is a sitcom broadcast on digital channel BBC Three
. It is set in Manchester
and stars Ralf Little
and Carl Rice
as Danny and Shay, who leave their office jobs to set up a record label
when Danny inherits £
10,000 following the death of his grandmother.
The series began airing on BBC Three
on 14 September 2008.
The programme was produced by Jim Poyser and directed by David Kerr
.
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
. It is set in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and stars Ralf Little
Ralf Little
Ralf Alistair J. B. Little is an English actor, writer and semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He is best known for playing Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in the first six series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.-Early life and work...
and Carl Rice
Carl Rice
Carl Rice is a British actor.Carl is a veteran on British TV and first appeared on screen at the age of eight in a 1980s advert for milk. The advert famously proclaimed "Accrington Stanley! Who are they?"Following this he appeared in 15 other adverts...
as Danny and Shay, who leave their office jobs to set up a record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
when Danny inherits £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
10,000 following the death of his grandmother.
The series began airing on BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
on 14 September 2008.
Characters
- Danny: (Ralf LittleRalf LittleRalf Alistair J. B. Little is an English actor, writer and semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He is best known for playing Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in the first six series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.-Early life and work...
), best friend to Shay, it is his money that allows them to set up Shady Music. He gets on well with Shay although on many occasions has many disagreements with him about his style of music. He has also found himself in an unwanted relationship with Tina. Danny drives an Austin AllegroAustin AllegroThe Austin Allegro is a small family car manufactured by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent...
. - Shay Finnegan: (Carl RiceCarl RiceCarl Rice is a British actor.Carl is a veteran on British TV and first appeared on screen at the age of eight in a 1980s advert for milk. The advert famously proclaimed "Accrington Stanley! Who are they?"Following this he appeared in 15 other adverts...
), real name Seamus. Son of Tony and Lorraine, he is the first of his family to find gainful employment. He also has unusual interests in music, mainly from an interest in "The Lamps" and trying to resurrect old music styles. He does not like HearKittyKitty but soon grows fond of them as they become more successful. - Lou: (Christine BottomleyChristine BottomleyChristine Bottomley is a British actress.She is best known for her regular roles as Melanie in the BBC comedy series Early Doors and Susie Ward in Heartbeat.-Life and career:...
), local music critic. - Tony Finnegan: (Johnny VegasJohnny VegasJohnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
), petty thief, father of Shay. - Lorraine Finnegan: (Lorraine CheshireLorraine CheshireLorraine Cheshire is a British actress from Wythenshawe, Manchester.Date of birth: 4 September 1958 -Credits:*Massive 2008*Life on Mars 2007*Tittybangbang 2006*Early Doors 2003*Mrs Meitlemeihr 2002...
), mother of Shay, she is fond of drinking alcohol, especially Strongbow cider. - Nancy: (Joanne KingJoanne KingJoanne King is an Irish actress. She is best known for her roles as Cyd on the BBC1s Casualty and as Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford in the Showtime 2007 - 2010 series The Tudors.-Private life:...
), young lady who works in the cafe, a friend of Danny's. - Swing: (Joel Fry), geeky friend of Danny and Shay, he DJs in his spare time. Works in an electrical store and lives with his mother.
- Tina: (Beverly Rudd), one half of HearKittyKitty. Sister to Marie and at pains to tell everyone she meets that she is not adopted. She likes drinking LambriniLambriniLambrini is a brand of light perry, created by Wallasey born John Halewood and is manufactured in Liverpool by Halewood International Limited. It has been marketed under the slogan, "Lambrini girls just wanna have fun," and currently dominates the commercial light perry market.-Products:Lambrini is...
perryPerryPerry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears. Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, particularly in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou.In more recent years, commercial...
and has a love interest with Danny. - Marie: (Faye McKeever), the other half of HearKittyKitty. She likes eating pies. She and her sister both work in Superb'Uns, a baker's shop.
- Manny Westside: (Paul KayePaul KayePaul Kaye is an English comedian and actor. He achieved notoriety in 1995 portraying the character of Dennis Pennis, a shock interviewer on The Sunday Show...
), recovering cocaine addict, record producer and DJ.
The programme was produced by Jim Poyser and directed by David Kerr
David Kerr
David Kerr is a politician from Northern Ireland who is the Chairman of the UK-wide Third Way, a liberal nationalist party which advocates direct democracy along the lines of Switzerland...
.
Episode list
- Danny and Shay start a new clerical job as filing clerks. They quit to set up the record label when Danny learns that he has inherited £10,000 from his grandmother. Lou suggests that they hold a Battle of the BandsBattle of the BandsBattle of Bands is a contest in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a prize in addition to bragging rights. Traditionally, battles of...
competition to find an act to sign to the label. They rent a run down warehouse next to the Manchester Ship CanalManchester Ship CanalThe Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
as an office and Shay's father Tony helps them to furnish the premises with stolen furniture on the understanding that he and Shay's mother Lorraine can appear at the Battle of the Bands. The pair audition local artists for the competition, the event takes place and HearKittyKitty (Tina and Marie) are the winners. - With HearKittyKitty signed to the label, Danny and Shay recruit producer Manny Westside to mix and produce the single, a cover of the Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
hit I'm Coming OutI'm Coming Out"I'm Coming Out" is a hit single released by Motown singer Diana Ross in 1980, written and produced by Chic members Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers for her album diana .-Background:...
. Tony has asked Shay to look after a bag belonging to local hard man Big Stu and Shay hides it above the high cistern of the toilet cubicle at the recording studio hired for the recording session. Manny, who it transpires has recently returned from a drug rehabilitation retreat in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, finds the bag which contains packages of cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. He takes a large amount of the drug and produces a tune that the others describe as "a car crash". Shay has to buy cocaine to replace that taken by Manny. Danny becomes romantically involved with Tina. Swing takes Nancy from the coffee shop on a disastrous date. Manny manages to produce a polished version of I'm Coming Out. - Danny and Shay hear the HearKittyKitty single being played on BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. After an A&RA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
man from a rival label attempts to poach the group, the girls demand that Danny and Shay make a music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
to go with their single. They hire a video camera and with Lou's help are allowed to use a BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
studio overnight. They find that the studio is set up for the filming of MastermindMastermind (TV series)Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...
and that they are not allowed to remove the scenery or props, including the famous black chair. Luckily Tina and Marie love the video that is made and the kitschKitschKitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
album cover designed by Shay.