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Absolutely (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Absolutely is a popular United Kingdom
television comedy sketch show shown on Channel 4
between 1989 and 1993.
The cast and crew were mainly Scottish
; the principal writers and performers were Moray Hunter
, Jack Docherty
, Peter Baikie
, Gordon Kennedy
(all of whom had performed together as The Bodgers for many years), Morwenna Banks
and John Sparkes
(Welsh
). It was directed by Phil Chilvers, Alan Nixon, Alistair Clark, and Graham C Williams. The show's producers were Alan Nixon, and David Tyler
The show finished in 1993. Gordon Kennedy had been appointed as the host of the brand new National Lottery
show, and it was decided that the time was right for the remainder of the team to pursue individual projects and mutually agreeing that the show had probably run its course..
In 1993, the characters of Don and George had their own series Mr. Don and Mr. George
, which ran for six episodes.
In 1995, a pilot was shown on BBC2 for a series called "Mac", a sitcom based around MacGlashan and his long-suffering brother Finley (played by Gordon Kennedy). Finley ran a small shop selling the sort of stereotypical Scottish kitsch for tourists that inflamed Mac's senses, his assistant Aileen (played by Elaine Collins of City Lights
) acted as Mac's love interest, while Nick Hancock played his Londoner love rival Van Webster.
All four series of Absolutely were released as a boxset entitled Absolutely Everything on 5 May 2008.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television comedy sketch show shown on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
between 1989 and 1993.
The cast and crew were mainly Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; the principal writers and performers were Moray Hunter
Moray Hunter
Moray Hunter is a Scottish comedian, writer and performer. He is perhaps most famous for his roles in the Channel 4 sketch show, Absolutely. Alongside Jack Docherty he played one half of the eccentric double-act, Don and George, in Absolutely and later in the spin-off series, Mr. Don and Mr. George...
, Jack Docherty
Jack Docherty
Jack Docherty is a Scottish writer, actor, presenter and producer.-Early career:He first performed at the 1980 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the comedy sketch group The Bodgers which he formed with George Watson's College schoolfriends Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and Pete Baikie. They performed...
, Peter Baikie
Peter Baikie
Peter Baikie is a Scottish comedian and composer most famous for appearing in the British comedy sketch-show Absolutely. Baikie composed the theme music and provided comedy songs for the show...
, Gordon Kennedy
Gordon Kennedy (actor)
Gordon Kennedy is a Scottish actor. Kennedy grew up in Tranent, East Lothian, and attended George Watson's College in Edinburgh...
(all of whom had performed together as The Bodgers for many years), Morwenna Banks
Morwenna Banks
Morwenna Banks is a British comedy actress, writer and producer.Banks is perhaps best known in the UK as a cast member of the British Channel 4 comedy series Absolutely, where her best-known character was a schoolgirl who sat on the edge of a desk.She appeared as the Keeper of the Rules in the...
and John Sparkes
John Sparkes
John Sparkes is a Welsh comedian born in Swansea and is more commonly known on Welsh television as Barry Welsh, in the award-winning series Barry Welsh is Coming....
(Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
). It was directed by Phil Chilvers, Alan Nixon, Alistair Clark, and Graham C Williams. The show's producers were Alan Nixon, and David Tyler
David Tyler (UK)
David Tyler is a British television and radio comedy producer, executive producer and director. He is also the co-founder of the independent production company Pozzitive Television, which he set up in 1992 with Geoff Posner....
Recurring characters
- Stoneybridge Town Council (played by the entire cast) were the council of the fictional small Scottish town of Stoneybridge. Originally meant to be a one-off mocking the plague of promotional videos and adverts done by many British towns during the 1980s and 1990s, the characters proved so popular that they snowballed into a regular parody of small town and village councils run by the parochial minded with jarring grandiose aspirations for themselves and the people they are trying to serve (for example, bidding to host the Olympic GamesOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
). The council all had the same attributes, in that they all had nasal-sounding voices, and all the men had moustaches. Over the course of series, the characters developed, in particular Bruce (Kennedy), leader of the council, who would often try and manipulate things towards his own favour. Although in the series the town was described as being near the Yetts of MuckhartMuckhartMuckhart commonly refers to two small villages in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, Pool of Muckhart and Yetts o' Muckhart. Muckhart is one of the Hillfoots Villages, situated on the A91 around 3 miles north-east of Dollar...
(and later twinned with it), the pictures of "Stoneybridge" used in the series came from the village of BreichBreichBreich is a small village lying in the western part of West Lothian in Scotland. It lies on the A71, the Edinburgh to Ayrshire road, which also goes to the large town of Livingston 7 miles to the east...
, near West Calder in West Lothian, its town clock from TranentTranentTranent is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is close to the A1 road and approximately east of Edinburgh. It is one of the oldest towns in East Lothian, and built on a gentle slope, about 300 feet above sea level.Population of the town is 9,917....
in East Lothian. The "Stoney Bridge" itself is actually within the Edinburgh suburb of WarristonWarristonWarriston is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is north-east of the Royal Botanic Garden. The name derives from Warriston House a local mansion house, now demolished....
, on the Warriston Road.
- Frank Hovis (played by Sparkes) is a character described as a club host, who first appeared in series three. Hovis first appeared in the Absolutely sketch show, which he self-titled as "On the Lavatory (once replaced by 'The Lavatory Express') with Frank Hovis". These were set in an unpleasant toiletToiletA toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
cubicle with no toilet paper, where Frank would draw upon his own personal experiences in a slurred north eastern English accent, usually involving toilet humour. Outside of Absolutely, Hovis has featured in his own panel-game entitled Pub Quiz. Still as rude and filthy as ever, Hovis hosted Pub Quiz inside various pubs around the UK, while having a drink himself. Hovis later inspired Sparkes to create the character of Gwyn, another drunkard with a twitch, though Gwyn was less rude than his predecessor. Hovis' crass attitude was later applied to Mr. Ffff, another character on Barry Welsh is ComingBarry Welsh is ComingBarry Welsh is Coming was a sketch show produced by Absolutely Productions for HTV Wales. The programme was first broadcast at 10:40pm on Friday 6 September 1996 and originally ran for 6 series with some episodes later broadcast on the Paramount Comedy Channel. The main star was John Sparkes, who...
.
- McGlashan (played by Docherty) was an extreme Scottish nationalistScottish independenceScottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
and playwright, who frequently espoused anglophobiaAnglophobiaAnglophobia means hatred or fear of England or the English people. The term is sometimes used more loosely for general Anti-British sentiment...
. Introduced into the show in series two, he would often write plays or be given jobs by his campCamp (style)Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
agent McMinn (Kennedy), but his hatred of the English would always take over (typical example: a play featuring someone travelling back in time to kill Geoff HurstGeoff HurstSir Geoffrey Charles Hurst MBE is a retired England footballer best remembered for his years with West Ham. He made his mark in World Cup history as the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. His three goals came in the 1966 final for England in their 4–2 win over West...
in 1965), leading in McGlashan's work never to get off the ground. McGlashan was based on a man Docherty met in a pub in SohoSohoSoho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
. McMinn was based on a camp television producer. In one sketch he cycles to the Scotland-England border, steps across and shouts "Poofs!", before cycling away in disgust. One of the only facts known about his personal life is that he is a supporter of the Edinburgh football team Hibernian F.C.Hibernian F.C.Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
, as is his portrayer Docherty. This is alluded to in two sketches; once when he rants that a position should be created in the UK Government for an 'All Round Good Guy' which should be awarded to the "Hibs player Mickey WeirMickey WeirMickey Weir is a Scottish former association football player, who played mainly for Hibernian as a winger. He was part of the Hibernian side that won the 1991 Scottish League Cup....
", and also when he reads the news and takes a moment to celebrate a Hibernian victory over their great city rivalsEdinburgh derbyThe Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any football match played between Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian , the two professional clubs based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The two clubs have a fierce rivalry that dates back to the clubs being founded in the mid-1870s, which...
, Heart of Midlothian FC.
- Calum Gilhooley (played by Hunter) is introduced as the most boring man in the world. He talks endlessly about his anorakAnorakAn anorak or parka is a type of heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur or fake fur, so as to protect the face from a combination of freezing temperatures and wind...
("it has pockets, which is good, 'cos you can keep things in them, and they open and close") and Honda motorbikes. Docherty, usually playing himself, would often express his horror of Calum, up to the point that he once ran to the end of the Earth to avoid him, constantly being chased by Calum along the way. While booking a plane ticket over the phone, he spells his last name as beginning "G for Gnome".
- Denzil and Gwynedd (played by Sparkes and Banks) sketches were centred around ethnic jokeEthnic jokeAn ethnic joke is a humorous remark relating to an ethnic, racial or cultural group, often referring to a stereotype of the group in question for its punchline....
s, and mockery of the Welsh languageWelsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
. Both had an interest in DIY, but without the skill to match - in the spirit of Kenny Everett'sKenny EverettKenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
Reginald Prescott - and who later reappeared post-Absolutely in Barry Welsh is ComingBarry Welsh is ComingBarry Welsh is Coming was a sketch show produced by Absolutely Productions for HTV Wales. The programme was first broadcast at 10:40pm on Friday 6 September 1996 and originally ran for 6 series with some episodes later broadcast on the Paramount Comedy Channel. The main star was John Sparkes, who...
. Some of their sketches had Welsh subtitles, and were supposed to satirise the perceived low production standards of Celtic language programming. The two characters spoke with exaggerated Welsh accents, and spoke cod-Welsh. Both looked dishevelled with rotting teeth, and would wear such strange items as "chicken skin slippers", insulting one another as "AberystwythAberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
features", and declaring "what in SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
am going on here!". In one moment, Denzil fights his brother for the love of Gwynedd in "Welsh Unarmed Hitting". Denzil would also frequent Clwb Sboncyn for "a nice pint of cheese water".
- The Little Girl (played by Banks) was a character developed to be more accessible than some of the darker characters like Frank Hovis. The Little Girl would always sit on a very large table of desk (to make Banks look small) and would go on to describe a topic such as death, dentists or the government in an overexcited bluster. The sketches often ended with her exclaiming, "It is, it's true!"
- The Nice Family (played by the entire cast) was a mockery of middle classMiddle classThe middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
life, in particular fathers. None of the members of the Family are named are instead referred to by their titles of "Father" (Docherty), "Mother" (normally Kennedy with his back always to the audience, cleaning), "Eldest son" (Sparkes), "Daughter" (Banks), "First twin" (Baikie) and "Second twin" (Hunter). The Father was the dominating figure of the family, with everyone else looking exactly like him, wearing beige jumpers, white collar shirts, brown ties, brown slacks (except the women who wear brown skirts) and black shoes. Father would instruct the children about certain matters and what was and was not "The done thing". Anyone not obeying him would be severely punished. However, he himself was not above misbehaving, with one sketch featuring Father in fetish clothingFetish fashionFetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of atype of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative. These styles are not usually worn by the majority of people on any regular basis. They are usually made of materials such as leather, latex or synthetic rubber or plastic,...
.
- George and Donald McDiarmid (played by Docherty and Hunter) were a surreal duo who would appear in almost every episode. George McDiarmid was dressed in a black pinstripe suit and tie, while Don McDiarmid (no relation) was dressed in tweed, a bow tie, and an unusual pair of glasses with one lens at a right angle. George would often find Don annoying in some manner, but other than that none of the sketches had a uniform style and would differ depending on who wrote them. The two characters would go on to get their own sit-com Mr Don & Mr George.
- Peter and Jennifer Wells (played by Docherty and Banks) were a couple introduced in series two, who were keen to support charities, but often let their own prejudices get in the way. For example, they object giving aid to an orphan in Africa because he is "Not black enough". Of all the characters in the show, these were the most politically incorrectPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
and allowed the cast to include humour which could be considered offensive.
- Bert Bastard (played by Sparkes) was an old man normally walking with a Zimmer FrameWalker (tool)A walker or walking frame is a tool for disabled or elderly people who need additional support to maintain balance or stability while walking...
, who was very rude. He would often swear, saying "Arse", "Bastard", "Bugger" and "Quim", commented that he was rude to women and in one scene shoplifts. Bert is very feeble and not able to perform many day-to-day tasks such as cooking and eating. The character was based on Sparkes's own experiences of working in social services.
- The Musical Sections featured in every episode, but by series two Baikie developed a character of a smug piano man - Mr Muzak. The character was meant to be a parody of characters from other comedy shows such as Richard StilgoeRichard StilgoeRichard Henry Simpson Stilgoe OBE is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician. He is noted for clever wordplay as much as for his music....
from A Kick Up the EightiesA Kick Up the EightiesA Kick Up the Eighties was a 1981-1984 BBC Scotland sketch show starring Robbie Coltrane, Tracey Ullman, Richard Stilgoe, Miriam Margolyes, Rik Mayall, Ron Bain and Roger Sloman....
. The piano player would often be used to link sketches together by playing his piano across the set. Another regular musical character was created in series four - The Laughing Man who had the habit of laughing at not very amusing bumper stickers and signs.
- Gwyn (played by Sparkes) is a Welshman who would often give monologues to camera. Gwyn suffered from a constant nervous twitch which resulted in his body shaking all over the place and whistling while he talked. The character was first performed by Sparkes when he performed stand-up comedyStand-up comedyStand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
before Absolutely. Gwyn reappeared in Sparkes' post-Absolutely series, Barry Welsh is ComingBarry Welsh is ComingBarry Welsh is Coming was a sketch show produced by Absolutely Productions for HTV Wales. The programme was first broadcast at 10:40pm on Friday 6 September 1996 and originally ran for 6 series with some episodes later broadcast on the Paramount Comedy Channel. The main star was John Sparkes, who...
.
History
Absolutely ran for four seasons, with a total of 28 episodes:- Series 1: Six episodes transmitted between 23 May 1989 and 27 June 1989
- Series 2: Eight episodes transmitted between 22 August 1990 and 10 October 1990
- Series 3: Eight episodes transmitted between 17 May 1991 and 5 July 1991
- Series 4: Six episodes transmitted between 22 January 1993 and 26 February 1993
The show finished in 1993. Gordon Kennedy had been appointed as the host of the brand new National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
show, and it was decided that the time was right for the remainder of the team to pursue individual projects and mutually agreeing that the show had probably run its course..
In 1993, the characters of Don and George had their own series Mr. Don and Mr. George
Mr. Don and Mr. George
Mr Don & Mr George was a Channel 4 sitcom, featuring two characters from the Scottish comedy sketch show Absolutely. Moray Hunter and Jack Docherty played two unrelated characters who happened to share a surname . Hunter and Docherty wrote the series and it was made by their production company,...
, which ran for six episodes.
In 1995, a pilot was shown on BBC2 for a series called "Mac", a sitcom based around MacGlashan and his long-suffering brother Finley (played by Gordon Kennedy). Finley ran a small shop selling the sort of stereotypical Scottish kitsch for tourists that inflamed Mac's senses, his assistant Aileen (played by Elaine Collins of City Lights
City Lights (TV series)
City Lights is a Scottish television sitcom made by BBC Scotland and set in Glasgow. It ran from 1985 to 1991 and was written by Bob Black...
) acted as Mac's love interest, while Nick Hancock played his Londoner love rival Van Webster.
All four series of Absolutely were released as a boxset entitled Absolutely Everything on 5 May 2008.