Vivian Wright
Encyclopedia
Vivian "Jaws" Wright was a fictional character in the Sky One
drama series Dream Team
in Series 7 and immediately became one of the maddest, strangest and most popular characters in the show.
, could not afford a new goal keeper. However, Harchester manager Stuart Naysmith
came up with a solution - Sign Vivian Wright, a talented goalkeeper currently not playing for anyone. The problem? No-one really wanted to play with Viv following an incident in the middle of a game where Viv bit the nose of an opposing player.
As a result of the massive debts, the Dragon's Lair was closed, an emotional plea not only from the staff, players and fans of Harchester United, but other Premier League clubs, allowed Harchester to remain open - So long as they qualified for the UEFA Cup
or higher at the end of the season. Added incentive for the players, was that they would only receive payment for the rest of the season if the club achieved this. At the same time, news arose of an Arabian Sheikh
interested in buying the club, but only if the value was reduced and Henry Leslie was appointed player manager.
However, the scandal threw another obstacle in the team's path - club captain Marcel Sabatier was accidentally killed by hitmen, attempting to kill Stuart. After the autopsy revealed that Marcel had overdosed on a painkiller Stuart had taken at the start of the season, the guilt ridden coach told the Police about the match fixing, and they subsequently told the FA & UEFA.
Whilst Viv & his team mates managed to get a place in the UEFA Champions League
& keep the club open, owner Dean Boyle & former agent Jeff Stein made an emotional plea to UEFA.
As the players celebrated their success, they received the news - due to this being the second match fixing scandal in 2 years at the club, Harchester were relegated to the Championship as punishment. However, they remained in the Champions League. Viv & many of his team mates demanded they were released from their contracts upon hearing this, but were then told they would only get the money owed if they played in the Champions League the following season, prompting the players to stay & fight to get back into the Premier League the next year.
, who Viv cornered with a shotgun. Fearing for his life, Ryan blamed Clyde Connelly
- who had recently committed suicide as a result of manager Don Barker's
persistent bullying - saying that the reason Clyde committed suicide is because Viv had learned of the affair & was afraid of what he would do to him. Upon his arrival in the teams changing room for the first game after Clyde's death, Viv told his teammates that Clyde had slept with his wife. Unbeknownst to Viv, most of the other players knew that it was Ryan who had actually slept with Chelsea.
Chelsea's infidelity & leaving him, added to Viv's frustrations at being unable to gain some retribution on the man he blamed for his wife leaving him, made the already mentally unstable Wright even more deranged, to the point he believed Chelsea had returned to him, despite Lee Presley
(who was living with Viv at the time) never seeing her. It eventually took psychologist Naomi Wyatt to cure him. Viv stopped seeing "Chelsea", but instead began to believe he could see into the future.
Regardless of Viv being the manager instead of Fletcher, Harchester still lost to Arsenal.
in Don Barker's car, which contained the body of the missing Karl Fletcher
, who had been murdered by Barker. Viv phoned Ryan and convinced him to return, saying that they'd sort out their issues later, and that the team was more important. Although Ryan did attempt to return, the police found Fletch's body in the boot of the car & took him in for questioning.
As Viv was about to give his team talk after a less than stellar first half, he was called out of the changing rooms, and told the news about Fletcher. Deciding not to depress his team & likely destroy their chances of getting back into the Premier Leqgue by giving them the news about Fletcher's death, Viv asked club captain Henry Leslie to give a rousing speech which inspired his team to victory, returning them to the Premier League.
Everybody on the coach died in the explosion (except Naysmith, Leslie, Sullivan, Fenton, Viv and Tyson), whilst several people who weren't on the coach but were nearby were also caught in the explosion. Though Naysmith, Leslie, Sullivan,Fenton and Tyson did survive. Viv was never found.
It had been speculated that Viv would return at some point to deal with "unfinished business" at the club possibly hinting at Ares involvement in later series. However, the series has now ended. Ironically, the spiritual incarnation of the very man whose fate sealed Viv's own, Karl Fletcher, was the last image the show closed out on.
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
drama series Dream Team
Dream Team (TV series)
Dream Team is a British television series produced by Hewland International which aired on Sky1 and Sky3 from 1997 to 2007; it chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Harchester United Football Club....
in Series 7 and immediately became one of the maddest, strangest and most popular characters in the show.
Joining Harchester United
Following the death of former first choice goalkeeper Jamie Parker at the end of the previous season, Harchester were having goalkeeper troubles, and due to the vast amount of money loaned out from various sources that was spent on striker Luke DavenportLuke Davenport
Luke Davenport is a fictional association football player who appeared on the British drama Dream Team, about the equally fictitious Harchester United. He is played by Neil Newbon....
, could not afford a new goal keeper. However, Harchester manager Stuart Naysmith
Stuart Naysmith
Stuart Naysmith was a fictional footballer on Sky One's television drama Dream Team. He was a central defender and manager for Harchester United...
came up with a solution - Sign Vivian Wright, a talented goalkeeper currently not playing for anyone. The problem? No-one really wanted to play with Viv following an incident in the middle of a game where Viv bit the nose of an opposing player.
As a result of the massive debts, the Dragon's Lair was closed, an emotional plea not only from the staff, players and fans of Harchester United, but other Premier League clubs, allowed Harchester to remain open - So long as they qualified for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
or higher at the end of the season. Added incentive for the players, was that they would only receive payment for the rest of the season if the club achieved this. At the same time, news arose of an Arabian Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
interested in buying the club, but only if the value was reduced and Henry Leslie was appointed player manager.
Match Fixing Scandal
This led to Stuart Naysmith, Pilar Hernandez & the current owners coming up with a match fixing plot to lower the club's value. Stuart played with the already unstable Viv's head, leading him. However, the Sheik passed on the club, and they were left in danger of missing out on a UEFA Cup place. Viv's unwitting role in the scandal led to him having mental counselling on orders of wife Chelsea as he grew more unstable as time went on.However, the scandal threw another obstacle in the team's path - club captain Marcel Sabatier was accidentally killed by hitmen, attempting to kill Stuart. After the autopsy revealed that Marcel had overdosed on a painkiller Stuart had taken at the start of the season, the guilt ridden coach told the Police about the match fixing, and they subsequently told the FA & UEFA.
Whilst Viv & his team mates managed to get a place in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
& keep the club open, owner Dean Boyle & former agent Jeff Stein made an emotional plea to UEFA.
As the players celebrated their success, they received the news - due to this being the second match fixing scandal in 2 years at the club, Harchester were relegated to the Championship as punishment. However, they remained in the Champions League. Viv & many of his team mates demanded they were released from their contracts upon hearing this, but were then told they would only get the money owed if they played in the Champions League the following season, prompting the players to stay & fight to get back into the Premier League the next year.
Increasing Insanity
Chelsea left him after having an affair with Ryan NaysmithRyan Naysmith
Ryan Naysmith was a character in the Sky One football drama Dream Team from 2002-2006. He played on the left wing and was the son of Stuart Naysmith and godson of Harchester legend Henry Leslie. He joined Harchester United after being released from Birmingham City due to committing arson...
, who Viv cornered with a shotgun. Fearing for his life, Ryan blamed Clyde Connelly
Clyde Connelly
Clyde Connely was a character in the fictional series Dream Team, played by Timothy Smith.Clyde was an attacking midfielder, who came into the Harchester United first team through the reserves and youth academy...
- who had recently committed suicide as a result of manager Don Barker's
Don Barker
Don Barker is a fictional character in the series Dream Team, played by Jon Morrison.Don Barker had a reputation of being a hard-nosed, tough manager, renowned for making teams achieve promotion in the lower leagues...
persistent bullying - saying that the reason Clyde committed suicide is because Viv had learned of the affair & was afraid of what he would do to him. Upon his arrival in the teams changing room for the first game after Clyde's death, Viv told his teammates that Clyde had slept with his wife. Unbeknownst to Viv, most of the other players knew that it was Ryan who had actually slept with Chelsea.
Chelsea's infidelity & leaving him, added to Viv's frustrations at being unable to gain some retribution on the man he blamed for his wife leaving him, made the already mentally unstable Wright even more deranged, to the point he believed Chelsea had returned to him, despite Lee Presley
Lee Presley
Lee Presley was a fictional footballer for Harchester United on the television show Dream Team. His predominant position was a striker.-Playing career:...
(who was living with Viv at the time) never seeing her. It eventually took psychologist Naomi Wyatt to cure him. Viv stopped seeing "Chelsea", but instead began to believe he could see into the future.
Manager
Following the departure of Don Barker, team mate Karl Fletcher attempted to gain the position. However, Viv who had "seen" that if Fletch were to become manager that the team would lose a vital game against Arsenal, but if he became manager they would win, also lobbied for the role. Due to everyone believing that Viv was now mentally stable, he was given the position due to his "improvement".Regardless of Viv being the manager instead of Fletcher, Harchester still lost to Arsenal.
Bittersweet Promotion
Viv led Harchester to the Championship playoffs, where they faced West Ham United in the final. Coincidentally, Viv's predecessor, Don Barker, was now Director of Football at West Ham. Prior to the game, Viv found out the truth about Naysmith's infidelity with his wife, causing a petrified Naysmith to flee the Millennium StadiumMillennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Don Barker's car, which contained the body of the missing Karl Fletcher
Karl Fletcher
Karl Fletcher was a character in the Sky One drama Dream Team played by Terry Kiely. He is the only character to have appeared in every series of the show until the death of the character in the 2004-05 series, at which point he has appeared in a flashback, and most recently, a ghost.Fletcher has...
, who had been murdered by Barker. Viv phoned Ryan and convinced him to return, saying that they'd sort out their issues later, and that the team was more important. Although Ryan did attempt to return, the police found Fletch's body in the boot of the car & took him in for questioning.
As Viv was about to give his team talk after a less than stellar first half, he was called out of the changing rooms, and told the news about Fletcher. Deciding not to depress his team & likely destroy their chances of getting back into the Premier Leqgue by giving them the news about Fletcher's death, Viv asked club captain Henry Leslie to give a rousing speech which inspired his team to victory, returning them to the Premier League.
Death
Viv didn't have a chance to confront Ryan afterwards, as the team bus was blown up by deranged ex-boss Barker who decided he'd rather die than face the consequences of his murder of Fletch, and drove his car, containing Fletch's body, into the Harchester coach. Viv was not on the coach, but was in close proximity to it when the incident occurred.Everybody on the coach died in the explosion (except Naysmith, Leslie, Sullivan, Fenton, Viv and Tyson), whilst several people who weren't on the coach but were nearby were also caught in the explosion. Though Naysmith, Leslie, Sullivan,Fenton and Tyson did survive. Viv was never found.
It had been speculated that Viv would return at some point to deal with "unfinished business" at the club possibly hinting at Ares involvement in later series. However, the series has now ended. Ironically, the spiritual incarnation of the very man whose fate sealed Viv's own, Karl Fletcher, was the last image the show closed out on.
Statistics
Viv appeared in Dream Team between episode 15 (series 7) to episode 32 (season 8). Despite his short time at Harchester, he was involved in several key storylines.External links
- Vivian 'Jaws' Wright at Harchester.net