Wild West is a situation comedy

Situation comedy

A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...

 screened from October 2002 until 2004 (12 episodes) starring Dawn French and Catherine Tate

Catherine Tate

Catherine Tate is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards...

. It was described as a dark comedy from the pen of Simon Nye

Simon Nye

Simon Nye is an English comic television writer, best known for creating the hit sitcom Men Behaving Badly, writing all of the four ITV Panto, co-writing the 2006 film Flushed Away, co-writing Reggie Perrin and creating the latest adaption of William Brown in the Just William CBBC...

 and was filmed on location in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

. Set in the hamlet of St Gweep, Wild West observes the strange goings-on in the local Cornish

Cornish people

The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...

 community. Shop owners Mary Trewednack and her life-partner Angela are the main focus but there are many other characters in this sitcom.

The first series of the sitcom was scheduled to appear on prime-time BBC1 where its eccentricities met with a poor critical and popular response, but a second series was commissioned and both series have received retrospective praise.

Most of the sitcom was filmed in the village of Portloe

Portloe

Portloe is a small village in Cornwall, United Kingdom situated on the Roseland Peninsula east of Veryan. Portloe currently harbours two full time working fishing vessels, the Jasmine and Katy Lil, both of which fish for crab and lobster in Veryan and Gerrans Bay, along with a fleet of smaller...

 in Cornwall.

Plot

The action centre's around Angela (Tate) and Mary (French), a lesbian couple who run the local town store and post office. Though self-avowed lesbians, halfway through the first series Mary comments that the only reason they are a couple is because they were the only two people in town who weren't already in a relationship when they met. Some plots of first series episodes revolve around both of them pursuing romances with men and the jealousy the other partner experiences; by the second series, all mentions of a lesbian relationship are completely dropped, including a recurring gag during the opening credits that showed them in bed together. This is resolved in the final episode of the show.

Mary and Angela are friends with the village locals, including Holly (Duff/Weaver), owner of the local witchcraft centre; Harry (Mylan,) a young local hippy; Old Jake (Bradley,) who runs the local boat tour; Jeff (Foley), a swinger and sexual deviant who owns the local pub with his deaf wife Daphne; and PC Alan Allen (Wright), the somewhat bumbling policeman who becomes Mary's major romantic interest in series 2.

Each episode centers on a new situation that has come into the lives of the characters and how they deal with it, generally with a focus on the different ways in which Mary and Angela meddle in everyone's lives.

Series One

Ep.	Title	Airdate	Overview
1	One Home Good, Two Homes Bad	22 October 2002	Huge bags of Tupperware Tupperware Tupperware is the name of a home products line that includes preparation, storage, containment, and serving products for the kitchen and home, which were first introduced to the public in 1946....  from a shipwreck wash up on the beach in St Gweep and the locals are whipped into a scavenging frenzy, meanwhile Harry decides to lead a campaign against people who buy up property in the town for use as holiday homes.
2	Fear of Bungee	29 October 2002	A local bungee jump is set up temporarily in the town and the locals are wary, Angela is determined to jump - although with her "lucky charm". Mary takes on the task of handling vandalism in the town.
3	Swingers	5 November 2002	The whole town is aware of Jeff's secret swingers parties at the pub, Mary decides to go along to one, Angela sends the police in to perform a raid.
4	Tin, Tin, Tin	19 November 2002	Angela finds herself elected "power cut czar" by PC Alan when the towns electricity supply is cut off for several days. Jake has the only generator and charges exorbitant prices for batteries, use of televisions, computers and showers. Mary successfully plays matchmaker with Holly and Harry, but then must work to split them up.
5	A Problem Shared Is A Problem Doubled	26 November 2002	Mary gets her hands on a body piercing kit and proceeds to offer piercings to anyone and everyone - even though it did not come with any instructions. Angela is reminded of the day she had to run at school in her underwear, when her former headmistress shows up in St Gweep.
6	Un, Deu, Tri, Figo, Quiggly	3 December 2002	Holly embarks on a mission to raise awareness and knowledge of the Cornish language Cornish language Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate... while a Londoner seduces Angela and wants to take her back to the city.

Series Two

Ep.	Title	Airdate	Overview
1	The Exploding Car	12 March 2004	A trio of roughhousing teens are terrorizing the locals, and as a result their car is found to have been burnt to a crisp. PC Alan investigates while Mary sets her sights on him romantically.
2	Magical Horses	19 March 2004	Three beautiful white horses seemingly appear from nowhere on the local beach; Old Jake is given custody of them while PC Alan tries to locate their proper owner. Mary concocts a story about the horses for the local press that brings tourists into town.
3	Angela Learns to Drive	26 March 2004	Angela's father, from whom she desperately seeks approval, is arriving into town. She's promised to give him a driving tour: just one problem - she doesn't know how to drive. The locals attempt to teach her in just 10 days. Meanwhile the romance between PC Alan and Mary heats up as they try to find a place to consummate their relationship.
4	Cornish Flu	2 April 2004	Everyone in town (except Angela and Mary) comes down with a serious illness. The timing couldn't be worse as it's holiday season and money-spending tourists are coming in droves. The duo decide to try to take over everyone's duties, including running the bar, witchcraft centre and boat tour. In the meantime Mary tries to squeeze in one last lovemaking session with PC Alan before he leaves on vacation.
5	The Film Crew	9 April 2004	A television crew comes in to film a movie, and the locals get into an uproar about the stereotypical depiction of Cornish people (all the while living up to them). Mary attempts to bully her way into getting Angela a part in the film. Meanwhile Old Jake is in for a surprise when a daughter he never knew he had arrives in town.
6	Holly Loses Faith in Witchcraft	13 April 2004	Holly begins to feel depressed and lonely over being single, and witchcraft doesn't seem to help. Meanwhile Mary and Angela realize they've been running the store together for 15 years. However Mary is worried because Angela, desperate to be in a relationship, has taken in a new boyfriend who is using her.

External links

• Portloe