Sunshine (UK TV series)
Encyclopedia
Sunshine is a three-part comedy drama that began on 7 October 2008 on BBC1 from the co-writers of The Royle Family
and Early Doors
. These co-writers, Craig Cash
and Phil Mealey
, also appear in the series.
has always been popular with friends and others around his area but he has a gambling problem, meaning he cannot resist the temptation to bet on horse races.
Bernadette (Lisa Millett) is Bob's childhood friend who became his lover and is now the mother of their son Joe, played by actor Dominic Senior. While she has often been angered by her husband's casual gambling habits, she has always forgiven him. When Bob bets more money and the stakes are raised, he could lose everything, including the wife and son he loves.
At the end of the first episode, he bets his family's Disneyland fund on a 'dead cert' and loses it all. Bernadette kicks him out of the house, and he goes to sleep in the box room at his father
's house.
Bernadette and Joe move to a flat due to the reduced living costs - they are unable to afford a house because of Bing's absence. Joe begins to save up to buy his father a television
.
However, Bing steals this money to gamble. He returns home, and is confronted by his father. Bing reveals that he was unable to do it and returns the money. He admits that he has a gambling problem.
liked Coogan's lead performance saying "once you get used to him being a charming idiot rather than a comic genius, he's actually pretty good at it: acting, I mean." However, he was unsure of what the drama was: "I've gone from chuckling gently - maybe a bit too gently - to weeping. Not proper wailing, just sniffing a bit. And that I think is the problem, we've gone from snug comedy to gritty northern drama. Kind of - because it's neither one thing nor t'other, as they say up there." Nancy Banks-Smith
looked at the last episode for the same paper, and suggested "Bernard Hill gave a simply magnificent performance as the dying grandfather in Sunshine (BBC1), against some formidable scene-stealers.".
The Independent
noted "the writers have a good ear for inadvertent, glancing comedy" and concluded "it’s possible to believe that these people are real enough to care about, and real enough to feel some pain." in their review.
Ian Semel, the head of gambling addiction helpline Gambling Therapy, thought Sunshine was "a fantastic illustration of the archetypal problem gambler" and that he was "going to get all my counsellors to watch it."
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
and Early Doors
Early Doors
Early Doors is a BBC sitcom written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey who also appear in the series playing best friends Joe and Duffy. The setting is The Grapes, a small public house in Greater Manchester, where daily life revolves around the issues of love, loneliness and blocked urinals...
. These co-writers, Craig Cash
Craig Cash
Craig Cash is an English comedy actor, BAFTA award-winning writer and also a director.-Biography:Cash is best known for playing slightly dull and dopey working-class northern men, particularly Dave Best in the hugely successful BBC sitcom The Royle Family, which he co-wrote with Caroline Aherne...
and Phil Mealey
Phil Mealey
-Biography:Mealy co-wrote and associate-produced the BBC comedy series Early Doors with Craig Cash. Mealey also acted in the show, playing the character Duffy. Cash and Mealey won two North West Comedy Awards in 2005 for the writing and acting on the show....
, also appear in the series.
Plot
Bob 'Bing' Crosby played by actor Steve CooganSteve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
has always been popular with friends and others around his area but he has a gambling problem, meaning he cannot resist the temptation to bet on horse races.
Bernadette (Lisa Millett) is Bob's childhood friend who became his lover and is now the mother of their son Joe, played by actor Dominic Senior. While she has often been angered by her husband's casual gambling habits, she has always forgiven him. When Bob bets more money and the stakes are raised, he could lose everything, including the wife and son he loves.
At the end of the first episode, he bets his family's Disneyland fund on a 'dead cert' and loses it all. Bernadette kicks him out of the house, and he goes to sleep in the box room at his father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
's house.
Bernadette and Joe move to a flat due to the reduced living costs - they are unable to afford a house because of Bing's absence. Joe begins to save up to buy his father a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
However, Bing steals this money to gamble. He returns home, and is confronted by his father. Bing reveals that he was unable to do it and returns the money. He admits that he has a gambling problem.
Reception
Sam Wollaston reviewed the first episode for The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
liked Coogan's lead performance saying "once you get used to him being a charming idiot rather than a comic genius, he's actually pretty good at it: acting, I mean." However, he was unsure of what the drama was: "I've gone from chuckling gently - maybe a bit too gently - to weeping. Not proper wailing, just sniffing a bit. And that I think is the problem, we've gone from snug comedy to gritty northern drama. Kind of - because it's neither one thing nor t'other, as they say up there." Nancy Banks-Smith
Nancy Banks-Smith
Nancy Banks-Smith is a British television critic; she began writing for The Guardian in 1969. In 1970 she was recommended for the Order of the British Empire, which she declined.*1951- 1955: Northern Daily Telegraph, reporter...
looked at the last episode for the same paper, and suggested "Bernard Hill gave a simply magnificent performance as the dying grandfather in Sunshine (BBC1), against some formidable scene-stealers.".
The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
noted "the writers have a good ear for inadvertent, glancing comedy" and concluded "it’s possible to believe that these people are real enough to care about, and real enough to feel some pain." in their review.
Ian Semel, the head of gambling addiction helpline Gambling Therapy, thought Sunshine was "a fantastic illustration of the archetypal problem gambler" and that he was "going to get all my counsellors to watch it."