Marion and Geoff is a BBC television

BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

 mockumentary

Mockumentary

A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...

, produced by Baby Cow Productions

Baby Cow Productions

Baby Cow Productions Ltd is a UK comedy television production company established in 1999 by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal based in London and Manchester. It has since diversified into radio, animation and film. In 2008, BBC Worldwide bought a 25% stake in the company...

 and screened on 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...

 in 2000, with a second series following in 2003. The series starred Rob Brydon

Rob Brydon

Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...

 as Keith Barret, a naïve taxicab

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

 driver going through a messy divorce from his wife, Marion, who, though he failed to realise it, had had a long-standing affair with her work colleague, Geoff. Each episode was presented as a monologue

Monologue

In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...

, filmed by a fixed camera in the confines of his cab.

The series were written

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 by Brydon and Hugo Blick

Hugo Blick

Hugo Blick is an English writer, producer, director and occasional actor. As a writer he co-created, produced and directed the TV comedies Marion and Geoff with Rob Brydon, Operation Good Guys in which he also appeared as 'Smiler' McCarthy and wrote and created the noir thriller The Shadow Line...

, and produced

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

 and directed

Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...

 by Blick. The associate producer was Steve Coogan

Steve Coogan

Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...

.

The script is written in such a way that the viewer can pick up on clues that Keith has not himself deciphered. Numerous references are made to one of "his" children not resembling him very strongly, an obvious hint that one of the children he loves so dearly is not his own, but in fact Geoff's. Keith also gives clues in the first series about his wife's activities - the viewer knows about Marion's affair long before he works it out himself.

Keith's character is affectionately portrayed as a harmless simpleton and draws a great deal of sympathy as the series progresses. He is in denial about his divorce, and somehow always manages to look on the positive side of even the most depressing situation. Although he doesn't realise it, his life revolves around Marion and her new partner Geoff, and his love for his "little smashers" (his children). Despite all of his faults, Keith is a very honest and very kind man.

Series 1

Series 1 consists of 10 episodes all around 9 minutes long. It was first transmitted in 2000. The series was later repeated, with the original segments combined into 30-minute episodes. (Episode 7, "The Monkeys", was not included in this format).

1. "The Presents"
2. "The Gun"
3. "The Tunnel"
4. "The Homecoming"
5. "The Phone"
6. "The Second Hottest Day"
7. "The Monkeys"
8. "The Birthday"
9. "The Divorce"
10. "The Girlfriend"

Series 2

Series 2 consists of 6 episodes all 30 minutes long. It was first transmitted in 2003.

1. "The Services"
2. "The Boys"
3. "The Wife"
4. "The Husband"
5. "Geoff"
6. "Keith"

Other Keith Barret appearances

• Comic Relief Special - a 2001 special 8-minute episode for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day.
• A Small Summer Party - a 2001 50-minute special based around Keith's initial discovery of Marion and Geoff's affair, and thus a prequel
  Prequel
  A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
  
   to the series proper, although produced between the first and second runs. (This was the first time we saw Geoff's and Marion's characters on-screen, played by Steve Coogan
  Steve Coogan
  Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
  
   and Tracy-Ann Oberman
  Tracy-Ann Oberman
  Tracy-Ann Oberman is an English television, theatre and radio actress, known for her role as Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera Eastenders...
  
   respectively).
• The Keith Barret Show
  The Keith Barret Show
  The Keith Barret Show is a spoof BBC chat show hosted by Keith Barret who interviews celebrity couples in the hope of finding the secret to a successful marriage . It was devised by Paul Duddridge and co written with Rob Brydon...
  
  - a 2004 spoof chat/debate show tackling the subject of relationships, hosted by "Keith Barret", who interviewed a different celebrity couple on each show.