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Citizen Smith
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Citizen Smith was a British television sitcom. The show was written by John Sullivan, who went on later to write Only Fools and Horses. The show ran from 3rd November 1977 to 31 December 1980. The Pilot was transmitted on 12th April 1977.
Citizen Smith starred Robert Lindsay as "Wolfie" Smith, a young Marxist urban revolutionary living in Tooting, South London, who is attempting to emulate his hero Che Guevara. Wolfie is the self-proclaimed leader of the Tooting Popular Front (in reality a small bunch of his friends) the goals of which are "Power to the People" and "Freedom for Tooting".
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Encyclopedia
Citizen Smith was a British television sitcom. The show was written by John Sullivan, who went on later to write Only Fools and Horses. The show ran from 3rd November 1977 to 31 December 1980. The Pilot was transmitted on 12th April 1977.
Citizen Smith starred Robert Lindsay as "Wolfie" Smith, a young Marxist urban revolutionary living in Tooting, South London, who is attempting to emulate his hero Che Guevara. Wolfie is the self-proclaimed leader of the Tooting Popular Front (in reality a small bunch of his friends) the goals of which are "Power to the People" and "Freedom for Tooting". In reality, he is an unemployed dreamer and petty criminal whose plans fall through due to laziness and disorganisation.
Cast
- Robert Lindsay – Wolfie Smith
- Mike Grady – Ken Mills
- Cheryl Hall – Shirley Johnson(Series 1 & 2 - 1979 Special)
- Hilda Braid – Florence Johnson (Shirley’s Mum)
- Artro Morris – Charles Johnson (Shirley’s Dad) (Pilot Episode)
- Peter Vaughan – Charles Johnson (Shirley’s Dad) (Series 1 & 2 - 1979 Special)
- Tony Steedman – Charles Johnson (Shirley’s Dad) (Series 3 – 1980 Christmas Special)
- Tony Millan – Tucker
- George Sweeney – Speed
- Stephen Greif – Harry Fenning (Series 1–3)
- David Garfield – Ronnie Lynch (Series 4 & 1980 Christmas Special)
- Susie Baker - Mandy Lynch (Series 4 & 1980 Christmas Special)
- Anna Nygh - Desiree (Speed's girlfriend) (Series 1 & 2)
History
John Sullivan became a scenery shifter at the BBC because of his desire to write a sitcom idea he had called 'Citizen Smith', fearing rejection if he sent the idea in, he decided it would be better to get a job, any job, at the BBC, learn more about the business and then meet some one who may actually take notice of his as yet unwritten script. After he approached producer Dennis Main Wilson, the first Citizen Smith script was written, Main Wilson loved the script and saw the potential for a series and it was put in to production almost immediately as a Pilot for Comedy Special (a showcase for new talent which had succeeded Comedy Playhouse). The pilot was a success, and four series and a Christmas special were produced between 1977 and 1980.
The Pilot episode has been credited as being called 'Roof over My Head' this is untrue. In fact 'A Roof Over My Head' was a pilot, also successful, broadcast the week before the Citizen Smith pilot on 5th April 1977,it starred Brian Rix and Lynda Baron and was written by Barry Took based on the book 'The Art of Course' by Michael Green and was about the trials and tribulations of buying a new home, this pilot led to one series, with the same title, of 7 episodes in August/September 1977. How the title became attached to the Citizen Smith pilot is unknown.
Plot
Series 1
From episode three, 'Abide with Me', Wolfie lives, with his religious friend Ken, in a flat in the house of his girlfriend's family - Shirley (Played by Cheryl Hall, then Lindsay's wife), her kindly but vague mother, Florence who mistakenly calls Wolfie "Foxy" and her authoritarian and conservative father, Charlie who disapproves of Smith's lifestyle and refers to him as a "flaming yeti." Shirley considers herself engaged to Wolfie on account of a fake crocodile tooth necklace he gave her.
Other regular characters in the series were the other Urban Guerrillas, Tucker, married to the ever pregnant but never seen June and Speed the TPF's Warlord and his girlfriend Desiree, and local gangster Harry Fenning. Wolfie and the TPF frequented Harry's pub 'The Vigilanty' and were at times menaced by Harry's hired muscle Floyd and Cyril, referred to by Florence as Mr Fennings foster children.
The end title theme was written by John Sullivan and sung by Robert Lindsay and is called 'The Glorious Day'. Series one consisted of eight episodes.
Series 2
The opening titles of each episode of series 1 & 2 always began in the same way with Wolfie emerging from Tooting Broadway tube station, then with a shot of Wolfie kicking a can across a bridge until he is in close up, accompanied by a stirring rendition of the socialist anthem the Red Flag. And always ended with him shouting "Power to the People" in a comedic context, for example, waking a sleeping baby and then being belted around the head by its irate mother, or causing various vehicles, including a milk float to crash, exit Wolfie sheepishly. This was altered from Series 3, in place of the shots of Wolfie on the bridge, the other cast members were now credited individually, thier names were accompanied with an onscreen clip of them, rather than just the list of names that had been used before, and the reactions to Wolfie's shout were dropped entirely. Series 4 had an entirely new title sequence which began with Tucker's van driving past Tooting Broadway Tube Station with 'The Revolution is Back' painted on it, the rest of the credits were backed by clips from the last episode of series three 'The Glorious Day' and now we only hear Wolfie's shout. Series two consisted of six episodes, however due to industrial action at the BBC on 22nd December 1978, one episode(Spanish Fly)had to be rescheduled as a Special in August 1979.
Series 3
The Glorious Day, which Wolfie had always been plotting, came at the end of the third series, in an episode of the same name, in which the Tooting Popular Front 'liberate' a Scorpion tank and use it to invade the Houses of Parliament, only to find the place empty due to the Parliamentary recess. This episode also came as a joy to all those who loathe garden gnomes. After stealing the Scorpion tank from a firing range, Smith hides it in a friend's garage. Whilst away, one of the family, curious as to the purpose of this huge vehicle parked amongst the garden tools, climbs down inside and accidentally steps on the fire button. The result is that their neat garden is raked with high-calibre heavy-machine-gun fire, and the spectacular, slow motion annihilation of the 30 or so garden gnomes scattered about it. (this episode also includes a new song from John Sullivan/sung by Robert Lindsay - "We are the TPF, We are the People.") Series three consisted of seven episodes.
Series 4
The series began with Wolfie and co being pardoned, a brief flirtation at being pop stars on the back of their 'fame' ended in disaster. While the TPF have been away a new gangster Ronnie Lynch has userped Fenning's position in Tooting including his old pub. Wolfie hates him more than he did Fenning and after various run ins with Lynch the series was concluded in the penultimate episode, with Wolfie fleeing Tooting to escape Ronnie Lynch after Lynch had caught Wolfie in his wife, Mandy's bedroom, closing with a shot mirroring the opening credits, of Wolfie entering Tooting Broadway Underground Station. However, one further episode, with Wolfie and Ken on holiday abroad, was shown as the 1980 Christmas Special. Series four consisted of seven episodes and a Christmas Special, in which Wolfie and Ken attempt to visit Shirley in Rimini for the festive period.
Episodes
Main article: See List of Citizen Smith episodes
The first episode aired on 12 April 1977. This episode was a pilot. Over the next four years a further four series and a Christmas Special would be aired. This would total thirty episodes. The last episode aired on 31 December 1980. There is a mythical episode called 'Right to Work' which appears in some inaccurate episode guides, the episode 'Working Class Hero' opens with Wolfie involved in a Right to Work protest, this is where the confusion arises from.
The entire series was repeated on BBC One in 1992/1993. The series has also been re-run on satellite channels UKGold/UKTV Drama,and is currently running on G.O.L.D. Though one episode has never been repeated - 'A Christmas Story' from 1977. All the episodes have been released on DVD in either the first or second boxset. John Sullivan wrote all of the episodes and all episodes starred Robert Lindsay as Wolfie.
DVD release
Playback has released two DVD volumes of Citizen Smith each with two series. Series one and two were released in 2003 (this did include the Pilot.) followed by series three and four in 2003. However due to contractual reasons some soundtrack re-edits have been made to replace Beatles music tracks with stock music in a few episodes. Only two episodes have actually been edited, 'Changes' - Tucker & Wolfie miming to the Beatles tracks 'Till There Was You'(and Tuckers line "I think they like us.") and 'Help!' have been cut from the Tucker serenading June scene, and 'Prisoners' a short scene of Wolfie singing along to the Beatles track 'She Loves You', which comes inbetween the shot of Speed throwing stones at Wolfie's window and the shot of the window breaking, has also been cut.
On screen episode titles have been added to the DVD versions of The Pilot & series 1-3, the episode titles on series 4 and Christmas special 1980 are however original.
Cinema Club have bought the rights to the series and are re-releasing all four series in a complete collection boxed set by 2010.
| DVD | Release date |
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| The Complete Series 1 & 2 (3 discs) | 3 March 2003 | | The Complete Series 3 & 4 (3 discs) | 2 June 2003 |
External links
- at British TV Resources
- Citizen Smith fan site
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