The Old Guys
Encyclopedia
The Old Guys is a British comedy television series that revolves around two aging housemates: Tom Finnan (Roger Lloyd-Pack) and Roy Bowden (Clive Swift
). The pair live across the street from Sally (Jane Asher
), whom they both find attractive. Tom moved in with Roy after Roy's wife Penny deserted him. Baby boomer
Tom has little in life but his daughter Amber (Katherine Parkinson), who is dating Steve (Justin Edwards). Roy is a suburban pensioner
who believes that he is one of the country's leading intellectuals. It premiered on 31 January 2009 on BBC One
, and aired on Saturday evenings.
The show concluded its second series on 13 August 2010. The first and second series are currently being repeated on GOLD, and in the United States on PBS Saturday nights, while in Australia the second series airs on ABC1.
It is yet to be confirmed whether the show will be confirmed a third series for 2012 , but a final 60 minute special has been confirmed for 2013.
, and is written by Jesse Armstrong
, Simon Blackwell
and Sam Bain
. The show was commissioned by Lucy Lumsden, BBC
Controller of Comedy Commissioning in 2008. It is recorded at BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow
.
In 2005, while in the early stages of development, a script for The Old Guys was used for a BBC Three
competition, The Last Laugh, aimed at encouraging young writers. Along with seven other scripts for potential sitcoms, the first 13 scenes were published, and entrants invited to write the remainder.
's distinctive song "I'm Happy" , which can be found on his 1967 Ludo album. Series 1 used the original recording of the song, whilst Series 2 used a version performed by Lloyd-Pack and Swift.
as part of their late - night broadcasting schedules.
on 28 June 2010. The two series are also available to buy on iTunes
.
Clive Swift
Clive Walter Swift is an English character comedy actor and songwriter. He is best known for his role as character Richard Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances. He is less known for his role as character Roy in the British television series The Old Guys...
). The pair live across the street from Sally (Jane Asher
Jane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
), whom they both find attractive. Tom moved in with Roy after Roy's wife Penny deserted him. Baby boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
Tom has little in life but his daughter Amber (Katherine Parkinson), who is dating Steve (Justin Edwards). Roy is a suburban pensioner
Pensioner
In common parlance, a pensioner is a person who has retired, and now collects a pension. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom and Australia where someone of pensionable age may also be referred to as an 'old age pensioner', or OAP. In the United States, the term retiree is more...
who believes that he is one of the country's leading intellectuals. It premiered on 31 January 2009 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, and aired on Saturday evenings.
The show concluded its second series on 13 August 2010. The first and second series are currently being repeated on GOLD, and in the United States on PBS Saturday nights, while in Australia the second series airs on ABC1.
It is yet to be confirmed whether the show will be confirmed a third series for 2012 , but a final 60 minute special has been confirmed for 2013.
Production
The sitcom is produced by BBC ScotlandBBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
, and is written by Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong
Jesse Armstrong is one of the co-creators of Channel 4's Peep Show, along with Sam Bain. He also co-wrote the BBC Four comedy The Thick of It and was one of the writers on series 1 and 2 of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound and the BBC Two sketch show That Mitchell and Webb...
, Simon Blackwell
Simon Blackwell
Simon Blackwell is a British comedy writer. He is best known for his collaborations with Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, and thus has written and co-written scripts for The Thick of It, In The Loop, The Old Guys, Have I Got News For You?, Four Lions and Peep Show amongst others.-External links:*...
and Sam Bain
Sam Bain
Sam Bain is one of the co-creators of Channel 4's Peep Show, which won a BAFTA for best Situation Comedy in 2008. He was also one of the writers of two series of the BBC Radio 4 sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound and the BBC Two sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look...
. The show was commissioned by Lucy Lumsden, BBC
BBC
The 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...
Controller of Comedy Commissioning in 2008. It is recorded at BBC Pacific Quay in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
In 2005, while in the early stages of development, a script for The Old Guys was used for a 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...
competition, The Last Laugh, aimed at encouraging young writers. Along with seven other scripts for potential sitcoms, the first 13 scenes were published, and entrants invited to write the remainder.
Characters
- Roger Lloyd-Pack as Tom
- Clive SwiftClive SwiftClive Walter Swift is an English character comedy actor and songwriter. He is best known for his role as character Richard Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances. He is less known for his role as character Roy in the British television series The Old Guys...
as Roy - Jane AsherJane AsherJane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
as Sally - Katherine ParkinsonKatherine ParkinsonLaura Katherine Parkinson is an English actress and comedian who is known for playing the part of Jen Barber in the Channel 4 comedy series The IT Crowd...
as Amber - Justin EdwardsJustin EdwardsJustin Edwards is an English actor and writer.Born in Hampshire, Justin studied at Manchester University, before training at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. He was a member of sketch trio The Consultants, alongside Neil Edmond and James Rawlings...
as Steve
Title music
For its theme tune the series has used Ivor CutlerIvor Cutler
Ivor Cutler was a Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw's programme...
's distinctive song "I'm Happy" , which can be found on his 1967 Ludo album. Series 1 used the original recording of the song, whilst Series 2 used a version performed by Lloyd-Pack and Swift.
Episodes
The Old Guys has so far run for twelve episodes over two series. All episodes are thirty minutes. The first series aired at around 9:30pm every Saturday. The first episode gained 4.95 million viewers, an audience share of 22.5%. The second episode slumped slightly with 3.75m (17.2%) viewers. The second series began on 9 July 2010 and ended on 13 August 2010. It is yet unknown whether a third series will be commissioned for 2012 but a final 60 minute special has been confirmed for 2013. Both series of the show are currently being repeated on GOLDGOLD
GOLD may refer to:* GOLD, an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level * GOLD is an open source BNF parser* GOLD, Gathered or linked data, in the staging tables of a data warehouse...
as part of their late - night broadcasting schedules.
Reception
The Old Guys has received mixed reviews. On The Box stated, "Aside from sporting the worst theme tune to accompany a sitcom in living memory, The Old Guys is a horrid confection of cheap BBC comedy and an ill-conceived, poorly handled premise." Whereas The Mirror commented, "Moved to a new home on Friday nights, where it's much-needed, the second series of The Old Guys feels as comfortable as a pair of slippers."DVD release
The first series of The Old Guys was released on Region 2 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on 28 June 2010. The two series are also available to buy on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.