Three Men in a Boat (TV Series)
Encyclopedia
Three Men in a Boat is a television comedy/documentary series produced by Liberty Bell Productions for BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

 starring Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....

, Rory McGrath
Rory McGrath
Patrick Rory McGrath is an English comedian and writer. He is best known for roles in Who Dares Wins, Chelmsford 123, Three Men in a Boat and its successors. He was also a regular panellist on They Think It's All Over....

 and Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...

, first shown in January 2006. In this first rendition, the three participants rowed in a replica wooden skiff
Skiff
The term skiff is used for a number of essentially unrelated styles of small boat. The word is related to ship and has a complicated etymology: "skiff" comes from the Middle English skif, which derives from the Old French esquif, which in turn derives from the Old Italian schifo, which is itself of...

 from Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...

 to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

.

The BBC have since gone on to commission and air Three Men in Another Boat, Three Men in More Than One Boat, Three Men go to Ireland, Three Men go to Scotland; and Three Men go to Venice, broadcast in January 2008, 2009, 2009/2010, 2010 and 2011 respectively. Every series, bar the first has featured the music from the Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)
Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy-adventure films directed by Gore Verbinski and Rob Marshall , written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...

. In late October, 2011, a production team was shooting in Provincetown, Massachusetts, America's oldest art colony, at the tip of Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...

.

Three Men in a Boat

Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....

, Rory McGrath
Rory McGrath
Patrick Rory McGrath is an English comedian and writer. He is best known for roles in Who Dares Wins, Chelmsford 123, Three Men in a Boat and its successors. He was also a regular panellist on They Think It's All Over....

 and Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...

 take to the river Thames in their original recreation of the novel.

Embarking their wooden skiff
Skiff
The term skiff is used for a number of essentially unrelated styles of small boat. The word is related to ship and has a complicated etymology: "skiff" comes from the Middle English skif, which derives from the Old French esquif, which in turn derives from the Old Italian schifo, which is itself of...

, a replica of that described in the original novel, the trio take it in turns to row and to steer the skiff along the Thames, from Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...

 to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 making numerous halts along the way. This series heavily utilised the soundtrack from the film Amélie.

Three Men in Another Boat

In their second adventure Griff Rhys Jones, Dara O'Briain and Rory McGrath are sailing from Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name...

 to the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

 in Undina, the classic yacht owned by Jones. Dara and Rory never having never sailed before, it is down to Griff to teach them how to sail in preparation for a race against Undina's sister yacht. This series heavily utilised the soundtrack from the film Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (film)
Apollo 13 is a 1995 American drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris. The screenplay by William Broyles, Jr...

and the film Chocolat.

Three Men in More Than One Boat

In their third trip, the trio attempt to get from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

 to the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...

 using several boats. The soundtrack from the Harry Potter
Harry Potter (film series)
The Harry Potter film series is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by the British author J. K. Rowling...

 films was used in these episodes.

Episode 1

First broadcast on Thursday 1 January 2009 at 20:00 - 3.70 million viewers

Dara, Rory and Griff get their hands on a variety of vessels in the county of 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...

. Starting in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

 they are making their way to the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...

. They are hampered however by Rory's lack of knowledge with regards to boats leading to begging, borrowing, stealing and hitchhiking on numerous vessels along the south coast. Along the way they crash into a harbour, find themselves aboard a round the world racing yacht, play their part in the Lobster repopulation and take part in an amateur production of the Pirates of Penzance.

Episode 2

First broadcast on Monday 5 January 2009 at 21:00 - 3.22 million viewers

Dara manages to hitch a lift with a tug and learns to respect the power of the sea. Back on land Griff explores the tin mine in Redruth, Rory's home town where he pays a visit to his place of birth. As the winds pick up the trio struggle to find a ship capable of carrying them through the force eight gale lying between them, the Scilly Isles and their final destination - the Bishop Rock Lighthouse.

Three Men go to Ireland

The fourth outing sees Dara, Griff and Rory take to the rivers
Rivers of Ireland
The longest river in Ireland is the The longest river in [[Ireland]] is the The longest river in [[Ireland]] is the [[River Shannon, 386 km . The river develops into three lakes along its course, [[Lough Allen]], [[Lough Ree]] and [[Lough Derg |Lough Derg]]. Of these, Lough Derg is the...

 and canals
Canals of Ireland
*Boyne Navigation*Broharris Canal*Coalisland Canal *Dukart's Canal*Grand Canal*Lacy's Canal*Lagan Canal*Lecarrow Canal*Newry Canal*Royal Canal*Shannon-Erne Waterway*Strabane Canal*Ulster Canal...

 of Ireland, starting in Dublin and making their way to Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

. The soundtrack from the Harry Potter
Harry Potter (film series)
The Harry Potter film series is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by the British author J. K. Rowling...

 films was used again in these episodes.

Episode 1

First broadcast on Wednesday 30 December 2009 at 21:00 - 3.69 million viewers

Starting in Dublin the three make their way along the Grand Canal on board the last original Irish Guinness barge, hampered by the 80 year old boats lack of speed, difficult engine and the canal locks that the trio have to endure. The Royal Canal is therefore tackled using a car with a difference, namely that it can float. Dara, Rory and Griff are met in Mullingar
Mullingar
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...

 by a street parade before making their way to see the greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...

 Snip Nua
Snip Nua
Snip Nua was a racing greyhound who featured in the BBC television show Three Men go to Ireland.-Biography:Born in the spring of 2008, Snip Nua was a racing greyhound who became famous because she featured in the BBC television show Three men go to Ireland, which was broadcast over the Christmas...

 race.

Episode 2

First broadcast on Friday 1 January 2010 at 20:00 - 3.32 million viewers

Griff, Rory and Dara begin sailing down the Shannon, stopping along the way at Ireland's most haunted castle. From here they make their way through Ardnacrusha
Ardnacrusha
Ardnacrusha power plant is a hydroelectric power station which was originally referred to as The Shannon Scheme. It is located near Ardnacrusha within County Clare approximately from the Limerick border. It is Ireland's largest river hydroelectric scheme and is operated on a purpose built canal...

, the largest lock in Europe. In Limerick, Griff and Dara sample power boat racing, Rory hosts a poetry festival for nothing but Limerick (the first Limerick Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

 Competition). The journey ends on the Aran Islands
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...

 where the trio take a Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

 hooker to the fort of Dun Aengus
Dún Aengus
Dún Aonghasa is the most famous of several prehistoric forts on the Aran Islands, of County Galway, Ireland. It is located on Inishmore at the edge of an approximately 100 metre high cliff....

.

Three Men go to Scotland

Filming took place and was completed in late 2010 for a fifth series, which sees the trio make their way to Scotland. In episode 2, Irish comedian Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish stand-up comedian, voice over artist and actor. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on various television panel games...

 makes a short appearance being given a lift by the boys as he continues to climb the Munro
Munro
A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...

s. This was broadcast in the post-Christmas period, 2010.

Three Men go to Venice

Starting on BBC2 at 21:00 on Tuesday 21 June 2011, two parts. The 'Three Men' go to Venice.
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