The Sofa of Time
Encyclopedia
The Sofa of Time was a BBC Radio 4
comedy drama written by and starring Nick Frost
and Matt King
. It was first broadcast in 2002.
Milford (King) and Parker (Frost) get sacked from their jobs in a soft furnishings factory in Crouch End
. As they are clearing out their lockers, they fall into the magical world of Gravia. Frost described Gravia as an "Tolkien-esque
world with supermarkets and banks".
There they meet Marmite the Dwarf, (Mark Heap
), who believes that Milford is "the chosen one", who has come at last to save the people from the evil emperor warlock Raamen Bod, (Peter Serafinowicz
), who plans to find the Sofa of Time, the most magical and powerful item of furniture in the entire universe, and use it for evil purposes.
The series featured Spaced
regulars Mark Heap, Julia Deakin
, Peter Serafinowicz
, and Simon Pegg
as well as Kevin Eldon, Daisy Jones and Joseph Marcell
. The series was produced by Mario Stylianides, for Talkback
.
The BBC offered King and Frost a second series, but they declined as King had moved back to Australia. The series has never been made commercially available.
In March 2009 BBC Radio 7 repeated the entire series over six consecutive nights.
's score for Franco Zeffirelli
's Jesus of Nazareth
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy drama written by and starring Nick Frost
Nick Frost
Nicholas John "Nick" Frost is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is best known for his work with Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg in the role of Mike Watt in the television comedy Spaced, as well as the film characters Ed in Shaun of the Dead, PC/Sgt...
and Matt King
Matt King (comedian)
Matt King is an English actor, writer of BBC sitcom Whites and comedian. He is known for his role as self-absorbed musician Super Hans in the British sitcom Peep Show....
. It was first broadcast in 2002.
Milford (King) and Parker (Frost) get sacked from their jobs in a soft furnishings factory in Crouch End
Crouch End
Crouch End is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Haringey.- Location :Crouch End is in a valley between Harringay to the east, Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green to the north, Finsbury Park and Archway to the south and Highgate to the west...
. As they are clearing out their lockers, they fall into the magical world of Gravia. Frost described Gravia as an "Tolkien-esque
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
world with supermarkets and banks".
There they meet Marmite the Dwarf, (Mark Heap
Mark Heap
Mark Heap is an English actor. He began his acting career in the 1980s as a member of the Medieval Players, a touring company performing medieval and early modern theatre, and featuring stilt-walking, juggling and puppetry...
), who believes that Milford is "the chosen one", who has come at last to save the people from the evil emperor warlock Raamen Bod, (Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School...
), who plans to find the Sofa of Time, the most magical and powerful item of furniture in the entire universe, and use it for evil purposes.
The series featured Spaced
Spaced
Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...
regulars Mark Heap, Julia Deakin
Julia Deakin
-Work:On television, Deakin played Stella Tulley in Side by Side and Marsha, the ageing but lovely divorcée landlady, in the British sitcom Spaced ....
, Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School...
, and Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
as well as Kevin Eldon, Daisy Jones and Joseph Marcell
Joseph Marcell
Joseph Marcell is a St. Lucian-born British actor, best known for his work as Geoffrey the English butler on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.-Early life and career:...
. The series was produced by Mario Stylianides, for Talkback
Talkback Productions
Talkback Productions was formed in 1981 by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones. The company is one of the UK’s leading production companies and part of the RTL Group, a major European broadcast and content company....
.
The BBC offered King and Frost a second series, but they declined as King had moved back to Australia. The series has never been made commercially available.
In March 2009 BBC Radio 7 repeated the entire series over six consecutive nights.
Episode list
| Episode | Title | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | There's a World in My Locker | 24 October 2002 |
| 2 | Where The Brave Go Shopping | 31 October 2002 |
| 3 | And the Hackett March On... | 7 November 2002 |
| 4 | Captain Chapel and the Crabs | 14 November 2002 |
| 5 | Night of the Sexicle | 21 November 2002 |
| 6 | Here Comes Bod | 28 November 2002 |
- Some sources (e.g. epguides.com) also list the alternative title A Lovely Day in Tangleton for episode two.
- For the 2009 repeat, BBC Radio 7 listed episode one as There's Gravy in My Locker.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack borrowed heavily from Maurice JarreMaurice Jarre
Maurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor.Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores, and is particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films since Lawrence of Arabia...
's score for Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
's Jesus of Nazareth