Full House (UK TV series)
Encyclopedia
Full House is a British
sitcom which aired for three series from 1985 to 1986. It was the last sitcom to be jointly co-created by the sitcom writing team of Johnnie Mortimer
and Brian Cooke
, however, it was mainly written by Mortimer alone, with Mortimer writing 12 episodes alone, along with a further 3 with Cooke, while another veteran sitcom writer, Vince Powell
, contributed another 3.
It starred Christopher Strauli
, Sabina Franklyn
, Brian Capron
and Natalie Forbes, with Diana King
, who was later replaced by Joan Sanderson
.
It was made by Thames Television
for the ITV
network.
of Full House was sold to the US
, via the American producer Don L. Taffner, who had a close relationship with Thames and had distributed Thames programmes in the States in both format and syndication. Taffner sold the format to CBS
, and his production company made a pilot entitled No Place Like Home, starring Jack Blessing
and Susan Hess as the married couple and Rick Lohman and Molly Cheek
as the unmarried couple. It aired on CBS on September 6, 1985, but it failed to develop into a full series.
However, the original British series did eventually air in the US in syndication, but by then the more famous American family sitcom also entitled Full House
had premiered, so it was renamed Mixed Doubles in the US so as to avoid confusion.
The surnames of the couples are a nod to the real-life Hatfield and McCoy families
, who engaged in a long-running blood feud in the 1800s.
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...
sitcom which aired for three series from 1985 to 1986. It was the last sitcom to be jointly co-created by the sitcom writing team of Johnnie Mortimer
Johnnie Mortimer
Johnnie Mortimer was a British scriptwriter for television.He started out as a cartoonist, which brought him into contact with his writing partner Brian Cooke...
and Brian Cooke
Brian Cooke
Brian Cooke is a British comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer wrote scripts for and devised many of the top TV sitcoms of the 1970s, including Man About the House, George and Mildred and Robin's Nest...
, however, it was mainly written by Mortimer alone, with Mortimer writing 12 episodes alone, along with a further 3 with Cooke, while another veteran sitcom writer, Vince Powell
Vince Powell
Vince Powell was a British television writer.Powell was born as Vincent Smith to Roman Catholic parents in Miles Platting, Manchester. When he was five, his mother died; two years later, his father remarried...
, contributed another 3.
It starred Christopher Strauli
Christopher Strauli
Christopher Strauli is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is probably most famous for appearing as Norman Binns in the British sitcom Only When I Laugh, alongside James Bolam, Peter Bowles, Richard Wilson and Derrick Branche.-Early life and education:He was born in Harpenden,...
, Sabina Franklyn
Sabina Franklyn
Sabina Franklyn is an English actress, and the daughter of William Franklyn and Margo Johns.Franklyn attended the independent Queen's Gate School and acted on stage with repertory theatres before her television appearances....
, Brian Capron
Brian Capron
Brian Capron, born 11 February 1947 at Eye in Suffolk, is a British actor, who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . His father was an Algerian pilot, of French descent, who died in a plane crash before Brian was born....
and Natalie Forbes, with Diana King
Diana King (actress)
Diana King was an English television actress who had a career on British television from 1939 to 1986. She was sometimes credited as Diane King, and was born in Buckinghamshire....
, who was later replaced by Joan Sanderson
Joan Sanderson
Joan Sanderson was an English television and stage actress. During a long career she invariably played dragonish dowagers, stuck-up spinsters and suburban matrons.-Theatre:...
.
It was made by Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
for the 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...
network.
Plot
The show revolved aroung two young couples, the Hatfields and the McCoys. Paul Hatfield (played by Strauli) and his wife Marsha (played by Franklyn), married for three years, and up to then living with Paul's mother (played in the first two series by King and then by Sanderson in the third), finally find their ideal home. However, they are unable to meet the mortgage repayments, so they invite Murray McCoy (played by Capron) and his girlfriend Diana (played by Forbes), who are also in the same situation, to join them and move in with them, contributing to the payment of the house. In the final episode of the series, the McCoys are married, and they have a baby.Series One (1985)
- 1.1. First Time Buyers (7 January 1985)
- 1.2. And Mother Came Too (14 January 1985)
- 1.3. Promises, Promises (21 January 1985)
- 1.4. It's Only Money (28 January 1985)
- 1.5. Little Secrets (4 February 1985)
- 1.6. Such Sweet Sorrow (11 February 1985)
Series Two (1985)
- 2.1. Baby Talk (16 October 1985)
- 2.2. Where There's A Will (23 October 1985)
- 2.3. Home Is Where The Art Is (30 October 1985)
- 2.4. It's A Steal (4 November 1985)
- 2.5. Semper Fidelis (13 November 1985)
- 2.6. TV Or Not TV (20 November 1985)
- 2.7. The Mating Game (27 November 1985)
- 2.8. May The Best Man Win (4 December 1985)
Series Three (1986)
- 3.1. It's In The Book (15 October 1986)
- 3.2. All Work And No Play (22 October 1986)
- 3.3. The Facts Of Life (29 October 1986)
- 3.4. Old Scores (5 November 1986)
- 3.5. If At First You Don't Succeed (12 November 1986)
- 3.6. And Baby Makes Six (19 November 1986)
Trivia
In common with many other Thames sitcoms from the 1980s, the formatTV program format
A TV format describes the overall concept, premise and branding of a copyrighted television program.The format is licensed by TV networks, so that they may produce a version of the show tailored to their nationality and audience. Formats are a major part of the international television market...
of Full House was sold to the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, via the American producer Don L. Taffner, who had a close relationship with Thames and had distributed Thames programmes in the States in both format and syndication. Taffner sold the format to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and his production company made a pilot entitled No Place Like Home, starring Jack Blessing
Jack Blessing
Jack Blessing is an American actor.-Career:Blessing is best known for playing Jack Powers in George Lopez, MacGillicudy in Moonlighting, Mr. Donner in The Naked Truth, and for making various appearances in television and film.-Filmography:...
and Susan Hess as the married couple and Rick Lohman and Molly Cheek
Molly Cheek
Molly Cheek is an American actress who played the mother of main character Jim Levenstein in the 1999 film American Pie. She also played Garry's best friend on the television show It's Garry Shandling's Show....
as the unmarried couple. It aired on CBS on September 6, 1985, but it failed to develop into a full series.
However, the original British series did eventually air in the US in syndication, but by then the more famous American family sitcom also entitled Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
had premiered, so it was renamed Mixed Doubles in the US so as to avoid confusion.
The surnames of the couples are a nod to the real-life Hatfield and McCoy families
Hatfield-McCoy feud
The Hatfield–McCoy feud involved two families of the West Virginia–Kentucky back country along the Tug Fork, off the Big Sandy River. The Hatfields of West Virginia were led by William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield while the McCoys of Kentucky under the leadership of Randolph "Ole Ran'l" McCoy....
, who engaged in a long-running blood feud in the 1800s.