Fortysomething (UK series)
Encyclopedia
Fortysomething is a 2003 UK television series, starring and directed by Hugh Laurie
as Paul Slippery, a doctor facing a mid-life crisis. His wife Estelle (Anna Chancellor
) is starting a new career as a headhunter
. His three sons, Rory (Benedict Cumberbatch
), a student at the fictitious University of Reigate
, Daniel (Neil Henry) and Edwin (Joe Van Moyland
), are sex-obsessed. Meanwhile, Paul appears to hear the inner thoughts of others.
Other important characters include Paul's partner and nemesis, Dr. Ronnie Pilfrey (Peter Capaldi
), and Estelle's new employer, Gwendolen Hartley (Sheila Hancock
).
The series was written by Nigel Williams
based on his 1999 novel of the same name. The six episodes of the series were broadcast on ITV
.
Paul wakes up one morning with the apparent ability to hear other people's thoughts. He is unable to remember certain things about his life, including when was the last time he had sex and his twentieth wedding anniversary. Rory is incensed that Daniel is trying to seduce his recently estranged girlfriend, Laura. Estelle discovers that her new job disappeared during a managerial restructuring of her company and leaves a vague message on Rory's phone that leads Paul to suspect that she is a lesbian. He tries to reclaim his wife while also dealing with the death of a patient and the delivery of several fridges for Edwin.
Episode 2
Paul resolves to have sex and plans to cook an erotic dinner for Estelle. Edwin again has a large shipment delivered to the house, this time of sex toys
. Rory starts his new job at a homeless shelter
where he recognizes an old fellow cast member who played Macbeth
. Laura has moved in with Daniel just as his girlfriend, Lucy, returns from her trip to Thailand
. Lucy, who is also Laura's sister, finds Laura at the house, wearing only Daniel's shirt. She calls their father and tells him. Dr Pilfrey finds Estelle at her new job in an attempt to woo her. Paul tries to avoid a medical examination of Mr Proek's (Laura and Lucy's father) bottom by pretending to be a Dutch
doctor whenever Mr Proek calls.
Stephen Fry
appears as a fishmonger
. Hugh Laurie gives a memorable version of a Dutch
accent.
Episode 3
Laura and Lucy are now both sleeping at the Slippery house but not with Daniel. He still does not want to choose between them. Meanwhile, Rory realizes he has feelings for Lucy. Dr Pilfrey continues his fixation with Estelle and, as Estelle reveals to Paul, regularly e-mails her love letters. Edwin replies to one of the e-mails as Estelle and tells Dr Pilfrey that she is in love with him. Edwin arrives at the clinic in a suit for lunch with Paul and is mistaken by Dr Pilfrey as a National Health Service
inspector.
Episode 4
Edwin purchases a herbal aphrodisiac
containing essence of "rudeberry" and convinces Rory, Daniel, Lucy, Laura, and their cousin, Woj, to pull a con
on Paul. Paul pays Edwin for the whole bottle and laces Estelle's prawn sandwich with it. Laura reveals that she got a tattoo
of Daniel's name on her bottom and has to go to Paul's clinic when it appears to have become infected. Laura reconsiders her relationship with Daniel, and meanwhile Rory and Edwin express their disapproval to Daniel for coercing her into getting the tattoo. In order to hear Estelle's speech at a women-only meeting, Paul dons a burqa
and goes in disguise as "Yasmin".
Episode 5
Paul accidentally attends an AA
meeting. Thinking Estelle is having affairs with all of his oldest friends, Paul makes a play for his assistant, Surinder. Estelle surprises Paul with a party where his friends believe they are staging an intervention. Lucy and Laura respectively break up with Rory and Daniel. Daniel's company makes a visit to Rory's homeless shelter.
Hugh Laurie briefly plays the piano
and sings.
Episode 6
Rory and Daniel move out of the house and into their own flat. Distraught by their leaving and her relationship with Paul, Estelle moves in with her boss, Gwendolen. Hoping to find a way to get his wife back, Paul has Dr Pilfrey hypnotize
him. Dr Pilfrey is jealous of Paul's success with women so he hypnotizes Paul to cluck like a chicken whenever Paul feels attracted to a woman. Edwin and Woj begin a sexual relationship. Laura reunites with Rory, and Lucy reunites with Daniel, returning to their original relationships from the beginning of the series.
Joe Van Moyland briefly plays the guitar
and sings.
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
as Paul Slippery, a doctor facing a mid-life crisis. His wife Estelle (Anna Chancellor
Anna Chancellor
-Family:Chancellor was born in Richmond, London, England, the daughter of the Hon. Mary Alice Jolliffe and John Paget Chancellor. Through her mother's mother, Lady Perdita Rose Mary Asquith, Chancellor is the great-granddaughter of The Hon. Raymond Aquith and the great-great-granddaughter of Prime...
) is starting a new career as a headhunter
Recruiter
A recruiter is someone engaging in recruitment, or the solicitation of individuals to fill jobs or positions within a corporation, nonprofit organization, sports team, the military, etc. Recruiters may work within an organization's human resources department or on an outsourced basis...
. His three sons, Rory (Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama Hawking ; William Pitt in the historical film Amazing Grace ; the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller The Last Enemy ; Paul...
), a student at the fictitious University of Reigate
Reigate
Reigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs, and in the London commuter belt. It is one of the main constituents of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead...
, Daniel (Neil Henry) and Edwin (Joe Van Moyland
Joe Van Moyland
Joe Van Moyland is a singer, drummer and actor. He was frontman in the band Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong and has previously drummed for the Pipettes.-Acting career:...
), are sex-obsessed. Meanwhile, Paul appears to hear the inner thoughts of others.
Other important characters include Paul's partner and nemesis, Dr. Ronnie Pilfrey (Peter Capaldi
Peter Capaldi
Peter Dougan Capaldi is an Academy Award and BAFTA award winning Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film...
), and Estelle's new employer, Gwendolen Hartley (Sheila Hancock
Sheila Hancock
Sheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
).
The series was written by Nigel Williams
Nigel Williams (author)
Nigel Williams is an English novelist, screenwriter and playwright.-Biography:He was educated at Highgate School and Oriel College, Oxford, is married with three sons and lives in Putney, south-west London...
based on his 1999 novel of the same name. The six episodes of the series were broadcast on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
Episodes
Episode 1Paul wakes up one morning with the apparent ability to hear other people's thoughts. He is unable to remember certain things about his life, including when was the last time he had sex and his twentieth wedding anniversary. Rory is incensed that Daniel is trying to seduce his recently estranged girlfriend, Laura. Estelle discovers that her new job disappeared during a managerial restructuring of her company and leaves a vague message on Rory's phone that leads Paul to suspect that she is a lesbian. He tries to reclaim his wife while also dealing with the death of a patient and the delivery of several fridges for Edwin.
Episode 2
Paul resolves to have sex and plans to cook an erotic dinner for Estelle. Edwin again has a large shipment delivered to the house, this time of sex toys
Sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure. The most popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals and may be vibrating or non-vibrating...
. Rory starts his new job at a homeless shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
where he recognizes an old fellow cast member who played Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. Laura has moved in with Daniel just as his girlfriend, Lucy, returns from her trip to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Lucy, who is also Laura's sister, finds Laura at the house, wearing only Daniel's shirt. She calls their father and tells him. Dr Pilfrey finds Estelle at her new job in an attempt to woo her. Paul tries to avoid a medical examination of Mr Proek's (Laura and Lucy's father) bottom by pretending to be a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
doctor whenever Mr Proek calls.
Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
appears as a fishmonger
Fishmonger
A fishmonger is someone who sells fish and seafood...
. Hugh Laurie gives a memorable version of a Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
accent.
Episode 3
Laura and Lucy are now both sleeping at the Slippery house but not with Daniel. He still does not want to choose between them. Meanwhile, Rory realizes he has feelings for Lucy. Dr Pilfrey continues his fixation with Estelle and, as Estelle reveals to Paul, regularly e-mails her love letters. Edwin replies to one of the e-mails as Estelle and tells Dr Pilfrey that she is in love with him. Edwin arrives at the clinic in a suit for lunch with Paul and is mistaken by Dr Pilfrey as a National Health Service
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
inspector.
Episode 4
Edwin purchases a herbal aphrodisiac
Aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire. The name comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sexuality and love. Throughout history, many foods, drinks, and behaviors have had a reputation for making sex more attainable and/or pleasurable...
containing essence of "rudeberry" and convinces Rory, Daniel, Lucy, Laura, and their cousin, Woj, to pull a con
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
on Paul. Paul pays Edwin for the whole bottle and laces Estelle's prawn sandwich with it. Laura reveals that she got a tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
of Daniel's name on her bottom and has to go to Paul's clinic when it appears to have become infected. Laura reconsiders her relationship with Daniel, and meanwhile Rory and Edwin express their disapproval to Daniel for coercing her into getting the tattoo. In order to hear Estelle's speech at a women-only meeting, Paul dons a burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
and goes in disguise as "Yasmin".
Episode 5
Paul accidentally attends an AA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
meeting. Thinking Estelle is having affairs with all of his oldest friends, Paul makes a play for his assistant, Surinder. Estelle surprises Paul with a party where his friends believe they are staging an intervention. Lucy and Laura respectively break up with Rory and Daniel. Daniel's company makes a visit to Rory's homeless shelter.
Hugh Laurie briefly plays the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and sings.
Episode 6
Rory and Daniel move out of the house and into their own flat. Distraught by their leaving and her relationship with Paul, Estelle moves in with her boss, Gwendolen. Hoping to find a way to get his wife back, Paul has Dr Pilfrey hypnotize
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
him. Dr Pilfrey is jealous of Paul's success with women so he hypnotizes Paul to cluck like a chicken whenever Paul feels attracted to a woman. Edwin and Woj begin a sexual relationship. Laura reunites with Rory, and Lucy reunites with Daniel, returning to their original relationships from the beginning of the series.
Joe Van Moyland briefly plays the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and sings.