Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends
Encyclopedia
Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends is a BBC Radio 4
comedy series written by and starring Kay Stonham
and Simon Greenall
. It revolves around the mundane
lives of Robin and Wendy Mayfield who live on an anonymous estate
in Stevenage
. Robin tends to be self-centred
, demanding and controlling
in his relationships. Wendy, however, always seems to see the positive side
of any situation, and, while often frustrated, copes with Robin admirably. Both Robin and Wendy have relatively meaningless bureaucratic jobs. Robin manages shipping and receiving for a warehouse, and Wendy works in local government.
To their disappointment (mainly Wendy's), they find themselves unable to have children
. Consequently, their considerable energies are channeled into building and maintaining Mayfield, the model village
in their garage
. Robin drives a decrepit Triumph Herald
, claiming it to be a "classic British car". Wendy becomes pregnant in the penultimate episode of Series 3, due to an affair with a patient at the hospital where Robin lies in a coma after an accident at work. The arrival of the baby is a major element in Series 4.
Their next-door neighbours Derek and Maureen also have no children, although Derek has children from a previous marriage. Before suffering burnout and a breakdown, Derek was a legend among salesmen. Now he is usually undergoing treatment with one or more drugs to address his psychological problems, which often trigger erratic behavior when he takes too much or too little. Maureen tends to be involved in the latest get-rich-quick scheme
, although none of them turn out to be too successful. To make matters worse, she dumped her previous husband for Derek, and openly regrets having done so.
Each episode focuses on one particular event or activity and details the usually absurd outcome
brought about by the group. The humour
is gentle, yet the storylines encourage sympathy
for the characters.
The first series was broadcast on BBC Radio 4
in 2001. Four series, a total of 18 episodes, have been broadcast up to the end of 2005. Early episodes were co-written by Kay Stonham
, who also plays Wendy, and Simon Greenall
who played Robin. In the third and fourth series Robin was played by Brian Capron
and Kay Stonham was the sole credited writer.
The show is repeated from time to time on BBC Radio 4 Extra and occasionally on 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...
comedy series written by and starring Kay Stonham
Kay Stonham
Kay Stonham is a British actress and writer. She was a member of the regular cast of Jasper Carrott's BBC TV comedy sketch show Carrott's Lib in 1982. She graduated from Rose Bruford College in 1977. She co-created and co-wrote series one and two of the BBC Radio 4 series Robin and Wendy's Wet...
and Simon Greenall
Simon Greenall
Simon Greenall is a British actor, writer and voice artist from Longtown in Cumbria. He has appeared in a wide variety of roles in television, film, radio and the theatre, and is probably best known for his role as Michael in the TV series I'm Alan Partridge and as the voice of headmaster Iqbal in...
. It revolves around the mundane
Mundane
In subcultural and fictional uses, a mundane is a person who does not belong to a particular group, according to the members of that group; the implication is that such persons, lacking imagination, are concerned solely with the mundane: the quotidian and ordinary...
lives of Robin and Wendy Mayfield who live on an anonymous estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
in Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
. Robin tends to be self-centred
Egocentrism
Egocentrism is a personality trait which has the characteristic of regarding oneself and one's own opinions or interests as most important or valid...
, demanding and controlling
Control freak
In psychology-related slang, control freak is a derogatory term for a person who attempts to dictate how everything around them is done — "a control freak. Scared to let us have differences"...
in his relationships. Wendy, however, always seems to see the positive side
Optimism
The Oxford English Dictionary defines optimism as having "hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view." The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning "best." Being optimistic, in the typical sense...
of any situation, and, while often frustrated, copes with Robin admirably. Both Robin and Wendy have relatively meaningless bureaucratic jobs. Robin manages shipping and receiving for a warehouse, and Wendy works in local government.
To their disappointment (mainly Wendy's), they find themselves unable to have children
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
. Consequently, their considerable energies are channeled into building and maintaining Mayfield, the model village
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
in their garage
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
. Robin drives a decrepit Triumph Herald
Triumph Herald
The Triumph Herald was a small two-door car introduced in 1959 by the Standard-Triumph Company of Coventry. Body design was by the Italian stylist Michelotti and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, van, and estate models....
, claiming it to be a "classic British car". Wendy becomes pregnant in the penultimate episode of Series 3, due to an affair with a patient at the hospital where Robin lies in a coma after an accident at work. The arrival of the baby is a major element in Series 4.
Their next-door neighbours Derek and Maureen also have no children, although Derek has children from a previous marriage. Before suffering burnout and a breakdown, Derek was a legend among salesmen. Now he is usually undergoing treatment with one or more drugs to address his psychological problems, which often trigger erratic behavior when he takes too much or too little. Maureen tends to be involved in the latest get-rich-quick scheme
Get-rich-quick scheme
A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to acquire high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 1900s....
, although none of them turn out to be too successful. To make matters worse, she dumped her previous husband for Derek, and openly regrets having done so.
Each episode focuses on one particular event or activity and details the usually absurd outcome
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
brought about by the group. The humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
is gentle, yet the storylines encourage sympathy
Sympathy
Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. Also known as empathic concern, it is the feeling of compassion or concern for another, the wish to see them better off or happier. Although empathy and sympathy are often used...
for the characters.
The first series was broadcast on 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...
in 2001. Four series, a total of 18 episodes, have been broadcast up to the end of 2005. Early episodes were co-written by Kay Stonham
Kay Stonham
Kay Stonham is a British actress and writer. She was a member of the regular cast of Jasper Carrott's BBC TV comedy sketch show Carrott's Lib in 1982. She graduated from Rose Bruford College in 1977. She co-created and co-wrote series one and two of the BBC Radio 4 series Robin and Wendy's Wet...
, who also plays Wendy, and Simon Greenall
Simon Greenall
Simon Greenall is a British actor, writer and voice artist from Longtown in Cumbria. He has appeared in a wide variety of roles in television, film, radio and the theatre, and is probably best known for his role as Michael in the TV series I'm Alan Partridge and as the voice of headmaster Iqbal in...
who played Robin. In the third and fourth series Robin was played by 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 Kay Stonham was the sole credited writer.
The show is repeated from time to time on BBC Radio 4 Extra and occasionally on 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...
.
Episode list
| Series | Episode | Title | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | The Heinrich Manoeuvre | 28 December 2001 |
| 2 | A Fete Fête Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,... Worse Than Death Death Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury.... |
4 January 2002 | |
| 3 | A Cavalier Cavalier Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration... Attitude |
11 January 2002 | |
| 4 | Police, Camera, Amphibian Amphibian Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods... |
18 January 2002 | |
| 2 | 1 | Them and Us | 16 May 2003 |
| 2 | Take the High Road The Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond", or simply "Loch Lomond" for short, is a well-known traditional Scottish song . It was first published in 1841 in Vocal Melodies of Scotland.... |
23 May 2003 | |
| 3 | Entertaining Mr Stone Entertaining Mr Sloane Entertaining Mr Sloane is a play by the English playwright Joe Orton. It was first produced in London at the New Arts Theatre on 6 May 1964 and transferred to the West End's Wyndham's Theatre on 29 June 1964.-Plot summary:Act 1... |
30 May 2003 | |
| 4 | Lassie Lassie Lassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six... Go Home |
6 June 2003 | |
| 5 | A Green Unpleasant Land And did those feet in ancient time "And did those feet in ancient time" is a short poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date on the title page of 1804 for Milton is probably when the plates were begun, but the poem was printed c. 1808... |
13 June 2003 | |
| 6 | About Some Boys About a Boy About a Boy is a 1998 novel by British writer Nick Hornby. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 2002.-Plot summary:The novel is about Will Freeman, a 36-year-old bachelor, and Marcus, an introverted, bullied 12-year-old who lives alone with his suicidal mother, Fiona... |
20 June 2003 | |
| 3 | 1 | Alka Alka-Seltzer Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever first marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company. It was developed by Treneer in Elkhart Indiana. Alka-Seltzer is marketed for relief of minor aches, pains, inflammation, fever, headache, heartburn, sour stomach, indigestion, and hangovers,... Salsa Salsa music Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music... |
25 June 2004 |
| 2 | Dream Dream Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious... Genie Genie Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that... |
2 July 2004 | |
| 3 | Arrivederci Coma Coma In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as... |
9 July 2004 | |
| 4 | Anniversary Anniversary An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event... Waltz Waltz The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim... |
16 July 2004 | |
| 4 | 1 | Autumn Autumn Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier.... Crocus Crocus Crocus is a genus in the iris family comprising about 80 species of perennials growing from corms. Many are cultivated for their flowers appearing in autumn, winter, or spring... |
22 July 2005 |
| 2 | Congratulations, It's a Hob Nob HobNob Hobnob is a brand name of biscuit made from rolled oats and jumbo oats, similar to a flapjack/digestive biscuit hybrid. They are mainly sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In Italy they are now marketed as a variety of Digestive, having previously been known as Suncrok.-History:The recipe was... |
29 July 2005 | |
| 3 | Baby Love Baby Love "Baby Love" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland ,... |
5 August 2005 | |
| 4 | Ground Control to Major Derek Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song written and performed by David Bowie and released as a music single in 1969. It is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut; its title alludes to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, released the previous year. The lyrics have also been seen to lampoon the failed... |
12 August 2005 | |