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Victoria Wood (1989 TV series)
Encyclopedia
Victoria Wood was a series of six one-off situation comedies written by and starring Victoria Wood
in 1989, who took a break from sketches, two years after her very successful and award winning series Victoria Wood As Seen On TV
. Wood appeared as "Victoria" in all six episodes and "Miss Wood" in episode 1, but it was not always made clear if she was playing herself. In The Library it was said that she "worked in TV" and in Over To Pam characters appeared to recognise her celebrity, although two confused her with Dawn French. In the final episode, Staying In, she was taken to a party to perform as a comedienne and was expected to go through her stand-up 'routine'. Her character often broke the 'fourth wall' of TV and spoke directly to the camera, but not in every episode.
Bored with the sketch format and with a yearning to recapture previous success as a playwright, Wood came up with six individual sitcoms as a compromise. She admitted to finding the writing difficult. Though Wood was written as the central character, other lead parts were written with specific actresses in mind, like Julie Walters
and Una Stubbs
. "I want people to like me and the people who play my friends, and not everybody else" she said. Screenonline says of the shows "Modest in ambition and scale but rich in wit and acuity, the six playlets showcase Wood's eye for human foibles and her distinctively eccentric characters.".
described the show as 'tiresome stuff' and the Daily Mirror said her targets were predictable and snobbish. Wood took some blame for the disappointing reaction saying "It wasn't well written by me as it could have been, and I shouldn't have been in all the sketches".
Featuring Julie Walters, Lill Roughley, Liza Tarbuck, Meg Johnson, Anne Reid, Georgia Allen, Selina Cadell & Peter Martin.
Featuring Anne Reid, Carol MacReady, Richard Kane & Philip Lowrie.
Featuring Julie Walters, Lill Roughley, Kay Adshead, Meg Johnson, Julia St. John, Hugh Lloyd, Margery Mason and Shirley Cain.
Featuring Julie Walters, Lill Roughley, Celia Imrie, Susie Blake, Una Stubbs, Jane Horrocks, Philip Lowrie, Peter Martin & the voice of Duncan Preston.
Featuring Celia Imrie, Joan Sims, Michael Nightingale, Avril Angers & Sian Thomas.
Featuring Celia Imrie, Lill Roughley, Susie Blake, Patricia Hodge, Jim Broadbent, Deborah Grant, Phyllis Calvert, John Nettleton, Roger Brierley and Richard Linton.
In 1991, the scripts of all six shows were published by Methuen as "Mens Sana In Thingummy Doodah - And other nuggets of homely fun". The book is dedicated to "All the old bags in Equity, most of whom were in the series". The book contains an exclusive introduction by Wood about what it's like to make a TV programme.
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
in 1989, who took a break from sketches, two years after her very successful and award winning series Victoria Wood As Seen On TV
Victoria Wood As Seen On TV
Victoria Wood As Seen On TV was a British comedy sketch series starring comedienne Victoria Wood, with Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge...
. Wood appeared as "Victoria" in all six episodes and "Miss Wood" in episode 1, but it was not always made clear if she was playing herself. In The Library it was said that she "worked in TV" and in Over To Pam characters appeared to recognise her celebrity, although two confused her with Dawn French. In the final episode, Staying In, she was taken to a party to perform as a comedienne and was expected to go through her stand-up 'routine'. Her character often broke the 'fourth wall' of TV and spoke directly to the camera, but not in every episode.
Bored with the sketch format and with a yearning to recapture previous success as a playwright, Wood came up with six individual sitcoms as a compromise. She admitted to finding the writing difficult. Though Wood was written as the central character, other lead parts were written with specific actresses in mind, like Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
and Una Stubbs
Una Stubbs
Una Stubbs is an English actress and former dancer who has appeared extensively on British television and in the theatre, and less frequently in films. She is particularly known for her roles in the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part and Aunt Sally in the children's series Worzel Gummidge.-Film and...
. "I want people to like me and the people who play my friends, and not everybody else" she said. Screenonline says of the shows "Modest in ambition and scale but rich in wit and acuity, the six playlets showcase Wood's eye for human foibles and her distinctively eccentric characters.".
Reception
The series was met with a mixed critical reception initially. The series started out with an impressive 13 million viewers tuning in, but by the next week had dropped to 11 million. Wood regretted the decision not to record it in front of a studio audience and described the filming as a "boring, diabolical and awful" experience. The Daily ExpressDaily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
described the show as 'tiresome stuff' and the Daily Mirror said her targets were predictable and snobbish. Wood took some blame for the disappointing reaction saying "It wasn't well written by me as it could have been, and I shouldn't have been in all the sketches".
Episode guide
- Show 1 - Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah
- Transmitted 16 November 1989
- Victoria attends a health farm.
Featuring Julie Walters, Lill Roughley, Liza Tarbuck, Meg Johnson, Anne Reid, Georgia Allen, Selina Cadell & Peter Martin.
- Show 2 - The Library
- Transmitted 23 November 1989
- Victoria helps her friend Sheila (Anne ReidAnne ReidAnne Reid, MBE is a BAFTA Award-nominated English film and television actress from Newcastle upon Tyne, best known for her roles as Valerie Tatlock in Coronation Street and Jean in dinnerladies....
) who uses the services of a dating agency.
Featuring Anne Reid, Carol MacReady, Richard Kane & Philip Lowrie.
- Show 3 - Over to Pam
- Transmitted 30 November 1989
- Victoria chums her hairdressing friend (Kay AdsheadKay AdsheadKay Adshead is a British actress, poet, and playwright. Her television credits include Christine in the BBC television series Dinnerladies, Barbara Fletcher in Family Affairs, Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights, Victoria Wood As Seen On TV, Crime Traveller, Mother's Ruin, and One Foot in The...
) to a daytime TV interview on 'Live With Pam'. But the snobbish host Pam Cunard (Julie WaltersJulie WaltersJulie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
) gets her comeuppance when a working class teenage girl guests.
Featuring Julie Walters, Lill Roughley, Kay Adshead, Meg Johnson, Julia St. John, Hugh Lloyd, Margery Mason and Shirley Cain.
- Show 4 - We'd Quite Like to Apologise
- Transmitted 7 December 1989
- Victoria hangs around an airport passenger lounge waiting with her fellow passengers for their plane to arrive.
Featuring Julie Walters, Lill Roughley, Celia Imrie, Susie Blake, Una Stubbs, Jane Horrocks, Philip Lowrie, Peter Martin & the voice of Duncan Preston.
- Show 5 - Val de Ree (Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha)
- Transmitted 14 December 1989
- Victoria and Jackie (Celia ImrieCelia ImrieCelia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...
) go on a walking holiday across the moors.
Featuring Celia Imrie, Joan Sims, Michael Nightingale, Avril Angers & Sian Thomas.
- Show 6 - Staying In
- Transmitted 21 December 1989
- Victoria wants to stay in, but her stuck up friend drags her along to a posh London dinner party.
Featuring Celia Imrie, Lill Roughley, Susie Blake, Patricia Hodge, Jim Broadbent, Deborah Grant, Phyllis Calvert, John Nettleton, Roger Brierley and Richard Linton.
Victoria Wood Presents
The series was released on DVD under the title 'Victoria Wood Presents' (Product Ref: cctv30608) on 21 May 2007. It has gained a PG Certificate.Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah