Sugartown (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Sugartown is a three-part comedy drama series for the BBC filmed in and around the seaside towns of Filey
in North Yorkshire
, and Bridlington
in the East Riding of Yorkshire
, utilising the John Bull rock factory. It is set in a fictional seaside town called Sugartown, credited as the home of rock
and still the site of the struggling Burr's rock factory.
) owns the Burr's rock factory and it trying to keep it afloat. His brother, Max Burr (Tom Ellis), has plans to redevelop Sugartown as a modern leisure resort. These plans do not include the factory.
Opposing these plans, local residents Carmen (Georgia King
) and Travis (Rob Kendrick
), hit upon Sugatown's history of dance as a possible way to restore the town's fortunes.
on Channel 4 and fell below the slot average of 2.39m (15.4% audience share) for BBC1 for the year to date. The opening episode received poor reviews from The Guardian
s Sam Wollaston who branded it "lame, tired, predictable and uninteresting"; Christopher Hooton, of the Metro, who described it as a "3-part disaster-piece" and "pretty much beyond repair"; and Paddy Shennan, in the Liverpool Echo
, who described the actors as "playing cardboard cutouts acting out a painful, pitiful pathetic and patronising plot". Writing in The Stage
, Harry Venning praised the first ten minutes before adding that the goodwill they generated "was squandered in the truly dreadful 50 minutes that followed".
Jane Murphy, for Orange, seemed to be confused by the late airing time, saying that "[s]urely this is the kind of please-everyone programme that would fit neatly into the just-past-Sunday-teatime slot."
The second episode broadcast was watched by 1.5 million instead. Once again, this failed to reach the slot average of 2.39 million, but unlike the first episode, missed the average by just under one million viewers.
Filey
Filey is a small town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the borough of Scarborough and is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on the North Sea coast. Although it started out as a fishing village, it has a large beach and is a popular tourist resort...
in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, and Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, utilising the John Bull rock factory. It is set in a fictional seaside town called Sugartown, credited as the home of rock
Rock (confectionery)
Rock is a type of hard stick-shaped boiled sugar confectionery most usually flavoured with peppermint or spearmint. It is commonly sold at tourist resorts in the UK ; in Ireland in seaside towns such as Bray and Strandhill; in Gibraltar; in Denmark in towns such as Løkken and Ebeltoft; and in...
and still the site of the struggling Burr's rock factory.
Plot
Jason Burr (Shaun DooleyShaun Dooley
Shaun Dooley is a British actor who regularly appears on television and in British Films.-Biography:Shaun Dooley was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. He studied at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester between 1992 and 1995....
) owns the Burr's rock factory and it trying to keep it afloat. His brother, Max Burr (Tom Ellis), has plans to redevelop Sugartown as a modern leisure resort. These plans do not include the factory.
Opposing these plans, local residents Carmen (Georgia King
Georgia King
-Career:King made her professional debut in Jane Eyre. She was nearly unable to play the role, however. "A week before the day she began filming, King felt stomach pains, then had her appendix rupture...
) and Travis (Rob Kendrick
Rob Kendrick
Rob Kendrick is best known as guitarist for the English band, Trapeze. Trapeze had major musical success in the 1970s and early 1980s with their hit single, "Black Cloud".The original band, Trapeze, broke up in the 80's...
), hit upon Sugatown's history of dance as a possible way to restore the town's fortunes.
Broadcast and reception
Broadcast during the 22:35 slot on BBC1, the first episode rated below average with 2.00 million viewers (13.72% audience share) in the provisional BARB overnight ratings. It was beaten in the ratings by The Lovely BonesThe Lovely Bones (film)
The Lovely Bones is a 2009 American drama film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a film adaptation of the award-winning and best-selling 2002 novel of the same name by Alice Sebold. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as Susie's parents Jack and...
on Channel 4 and fell below the slot average of 2.39m (15.4% audience share) for BBC1 for the year to date. The opening episode received poor reviews from The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Sam Wollaston who branded it "lame, tired, predictable and uninteresting"; Christopher Hooton, of the Metro, who described it as a "3-part disaster-piece" and "pretty much beyond repair"; and Paddy Shennan, in the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
, who described the actors as "playing cardboard cutouts acting out a painful, pitiful pathetic and patronising plot". Writing in The Stage
The Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
, Harry Venning praised the first ten minutes before adding that the goodwill they generated "was squandered in the truly dreadful 50 minutes that followed".
Jane Murphy, for Orange, seemed to be confused by the late airing time, saying that "[s]urely this is the kind of please-everyone programme that would fit neatly into the just-past-Sunday-teatime slot."
The second episode broadcast was watched by 1.5 million instead. Once again, this failed to reach the slot average of 2.39 million, but unlike the first episode, missed the average by just under one million viewers.