Deep Trouble
Encyclopedia
Deep Trouble is a BBC
radio
comedy
series, written by and starring Jim Field Smith
and Ben Willbond
, which first aired on BBC Radio 4 in October 2005.
It takes place in the year 2012, aboard HMS Goliath, a Royal Navy
stealth nuclear submarine
, and follows the trials and tribulations of the submarine's chaotic crew, underneath their inept commanding officer, Captain Paul Wade (played by Jim Field Smith
) and his officers Lieutenant Trainor, Weapons Officer (played by Ben Willbond
), Commander Alison Fairbanks, second-in-command (played by Katherine Jakeways
). The series has also included a fourth regular character - in season one only this was Petty Officer Lucy Radcliffe (played by Miranda Raison
) and in season two this was Alice Barry, Computer and Weapons Expert (played by Alice Lowe
).
The series parodies several features of the submarine genre established by The Hunt for Red October
and Crimson Tide
and as such it's announcer is a version of Tom Clancy
.
Series One started on Thursday 20 October 2005, and the series contains four episodes in total: "Startled Deer", "Special Relationship", "Prize Hamper", and "Crispy Duck".
Series Two started on Thursday 24 May 2007.
Writing for the Times
, Chris Campling compared the programme favourably to the famous Naval radio sitcom The Navy Lark
and called Deep Trouble "hilarious". It was also selected as a 'Pick of the Day' by Phil Daoust of the Guardian
on 24 May 2007.
The series was produced and directed by David Tyler
at Pozzitive Television
for BBC Radio 4
.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
series, written by and starring Jim Field Smith
Jim Field Smith
Jim Field Smith is a British film director, comedy writer, and actor.-Background:Field Smith attended Wellington College, Berkshire, England from 1992 to 1997, and then went on to the University of Birmingham, from where he graduated in 2001...
and Ben Willbond
Ben Willbond
Ben Willbond is an English comedian and actor with credits on television, radio and film, including from 2005-2007 Deep Trouble on BBC Radio 4 with actor and writer Jim Field Smith. He was formerly part of the comedy duo "Ben & Arn", who won "Best Newcomer" at the Perrier Award in 1999...
, which first aired on BBC Radio 4 in October 2005.
It takes place in the year 2012, aboard HMS Goliath, a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
stealth nuclear submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, and follows the trials and tribulations of the submarine's chaotic crew, underneath their inept commanding officer, Captain Paul Wade (played by Jim Field Smith
Jim Field Smith
Jim Field Smith is a British film director, comedy writer, and actor.-Background:Field Smith attended Wellington College, Berkshire, England from 1992 to 1997, and then went on to the University of Birmingham, from where he graduated in 2001...
) and his officers Lieutenant Trainor, Weapons Officer (played by Ben Willbond
Ben Willbond
Ben Willbond is an English comedian and actor with credits on television, radio and film, including from 2005-2007 Deep Trouble on BBC Radio 4 with actor and writer Jim Field Smith. He was formerly part of the comedy duo "Ben & Arn", who won "Best Newcomer" at the Perrier Award in 1999...
), Commander Alison Fairbanks, second-in-command (played by Katherine Jakeways
Katherine Jakeways
Katherine Jakeways is a British comedian, actor and writer. Her television appearances include Extras, all 3 series of BBC1's The Armstrong and Miller Show and Miranda. She is also notable as one of the regular cast in the radio series Deep Trouble and Look Away Now and plays Mrs Pepys in Radio...
). The series has also included a fourth regular character - in season one only this was Petty Officer Lucy Radcliffe (played by Miranda Raison
Miranda Raison
-Early life:Born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, her father Nick Raison is a jazz pianist and artist, while her mother Caroline read the news for Anglia Television. She has two brothers and two sisters: Ed , Rosie, Sam and May. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, and her father remarried...
) and in season two this was Alice Barry, Computer and Weapons Expert (played by Alice Lowe
Alice Lowe
Alice Lowe is an English actress and writer mainly in comedy, from the English Midlands.Lowe attended a comprehensive school and graduated from Cambridge University. She began her career co-devising and performing in surreal experimental theatre shows such as City Haunts, Snowbound and Progress In...
).
The series parodies several features of the submarine genre established by The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October (film)
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
and Crimson Tide
Crimson Tide (film)
The film has uncredited additional writing by Quentin Tarantino, much of it being the pop-culture reference-laden dialogue.The U.S. Navy objected to many of the elements in the script — particularly the aspect of mutiny on board a U.S. naval vessel — and as such, the film was produced...
and as such it's announcer is a version of Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
.
Series One started on Thursday 20 October 2005, and the series contains four episodes in total: "Startled Deer", "Special Relationship", "Prize Hamper", and "Crispy Duck".
Series Two started on Thursday 24 May 2007.
Writing for the Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Chris Campling compared the programme favourably to the famous Naval radio sitcom The Navy Lark
The Navy Lark
The Navy Lark was a radio sit-com about life aboard a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS Troutbridge, based in HMNB Portsmouth, though in series 1 and 2 the ship and crew were stationed offshore at an unnamed location known simply as "The Island." In series 2 this island was revealed to be...
and called Deep Trouble "hilarious". It was also selected as a 'Pick of the Day' by Phil Daoust of the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on 24 May 2007.
The series was produced and directed by 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....
at Pozzitive Television
Pozzitive Television
Pozzitive Television is a production company formed by producers Geoff Posner and David Tyler in 1992. Between them, they have produced and directed comedy shows in the UK including Spitting Image, Coogan's Run, Not The Nine O'Clock News, French & Saunders, Harry Enfield and Chums, dinnerladies,...
for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
.
Cast
- Katy BrandKaty BrandKaty Brand is an English actress, comedian and writer known for her ITV2 series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show and for Comedy Lab Slap on Channel 4....
- Jim Field SmithJim Field SmithJim Field Smith is a British film director, comedy writer, and actor.-Background:Field Smith attended Wellington College, Berkshire, England from 1992 to 1997, and then went on to the University of Birmingham, from where he graduated in 2001...
- Wade - Steve FurstSteve FurstSteven Larry Furst is a comedian, actor and writer. Furst says his father told him that he arrived as an immigrant from Hungary with "nothing but a violin under my arm"...
- Boris Isarov
- Katherine JakewaysKatherine JakewaysKatherine Jakeways is a British comedian, actor and writer. Her television appearances include Extras, all 3 series of BBC1's The Armstrong and Miller Show and Miranda. She is also notable as one of the regular cast in the radio series Deep Trouble and Look Away Now and plays Mrs Pepys in Radio...
- Fairbanks - Rufus JonesRufus Jones (actor)Rufus Jones is an English actor, comedian and writer.Rufus is a member of the five-man British comedy sketch group the Dutch Elm Conservatoire. The group were nominated for the prestigious Perrier award at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe....
- Miranda RaisonMiranda Raison-Early life:Born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, her father Nick Raison is a jazz pianist and artist, while her mother Caroline read the news for Anglia Television. She has two brothers and two sisters: Ed , Rosie, Sam and May. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, and her father remarried...
- Radcliffe (series 1 only) - Jonathan Ryland - narrator
- Kerry ShaleKerry ShaleKerry Shale is a UK-based actor, writer and voice-over artist. He is married to Suzanne Shale, a former Oxford University law don, now a specialist in the field of medical ethics.-Theatre:...
- Renton SkinnerRenton SkinnerDaniel "Dan" Renton Skinner is a British actor and comedy writer, working in stage, film and television. Renton is a member of the popular British five-man sketch troupe Dutch Elm Conservatoire...
- Gareth Tunley
- Ben WillbondBen WillbondBen Willbond is an English comedian and actor with credits on television, radio and film, including from 2005-2007 Deep Trouble on BBC Radio 4 with actor and writer Jim Field Smith. He was formerly part of the comedy duo "Ben & Arn", who won "Best Newcomer" at the Perrier Award in 1999...
- Trainor - Alice LoweAlice LoweAlice Lowe is an English actress and writer mainly in comedy, from the English Midlands.Lowe attended a comprehensive school and graduated from Cambridge University. She began her career co-devising and performing in surreal experimental theatre shows such as City Haunts, Snowbound and Progress In...
- Barry (series 2 only)