127-445: Joking Apart is a BBC television sitcom written by Steven Moffat about the rise and fall of a relationship. It juxtaposes a couple, Mark ( Robert Bathurst ) and Becky ( Fiona Gillies ), who fall in love and marry, before getting separated and finally divorced. The twelve episodes, broadcast between 1993 and 1995, were directed by Bob Spiers and produced by Andre Ptaszynski for independent production company Pola Jones. The show
254-483: A television licence . As a result of the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, the BBC Television division was split, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed BBC Content . The BBC operates several television networks, television stations (although there
381-486: A Christmas party, a BBC executive expressed a wish for the ratings of a third series "to go like Everest ", indicating a steep slope with his hands. Bathurst replied, "But, Everest goes down the other side ..." The show was not recommissioned. Moffat says that he had no idea for a third series anyway, as it would have been difficult to contrive how a group of people who did not particularly like each other would get together so regularly. The scheduling problems meant that
508-479: A PDF article entitled "Joking Apart in the Studio". The release includes a companion booklet. Replay DVD was commended in reviews for the quality of the disc. DVD Times reports that " Joking Apart looks much sharper than the average television show on DVD. The colours are also much richer and have obviously been fixed throughout to present a more uniform image while the picture is bright and clear." The featurette on
635-428: A call from the producer saying, it's going out at this time. The publicity people would be alerted, then we'd get a call saying no, it's not, it's been put back. That happened six times, I think, altogether – seven reschedules in a year or so ... It was extraordinary and inexplicable, and just one of these things that happen. I mean, a lot of shows are left on people's desks and they hardly get seen, and Joking Apart
762-564: A converted wing of Alexandra Palace in London. "Ally Pally" housed two studios, various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself, which then broadcast on the VHF band. BBC television initially used two systems on alternate weeks: the 240-line Baird intermediate film system and the Marconi-EMI 405-line television system . The use of both formats made
889-590: A dark, mordant wit". William Gallagher comments that " Press Gang was pretty flawless, but Joking Apart would veer from brilliance to schoolboy humour from week to week." While the transmission of series two was being delayed by BBC 2 controller Michael Jackson , the show won the Bronze Rose of Montreux and was entered for the Emmys . The show was remade in Portugal but used a linear structure rather than
1016-539: A number of garden squares, Chelsea has several open spaces including Albert Bridge Gardens, Battersea Bridge Gardens, Chelsea Embankment Gardens, the Royal Hospital Chelsea (the grounds of which are used by the annual Chelsea Flower Show ) and Chelsea Physic Garden . In the 18th century, Chelsea Cricket Club was prominent for a time and played its home matches on what was then Chelsea Common , an area that virtually disappeared under building work in
1143-485: A population of 3,000. Even so, Chelsea remained rural and served London to the east as a market garden , a trade that continued until the 19th-century development boom which caused the final absorption of the district into the metropolis. The street crossing that was known as Little Chelsea , Park Walk, linked Fulham Road to King's Road and continued to the Thames and local ferry down Lover's Lane, renamed "Milmans Street" in
1270-466: A range of programmes intended to be eclectic and diverse (although if a programme has high audience ratings it is often eventually repositioned to BBC One). The different remit of BBC2 allowed its first controller, David Attenborough to commission the first heavyweight documentaries and documentary series such as Civilisation , The Ascent of Man and Horizon . Attenborough was later granted sabbatical leave from his job as Controller to work with
1397-470: A result, the BBC Television division is now known internally as BBC Content and "BBC Television" as an entity has ceased to exist. On 8 December 2020, Moore announced a new leadership structure for BBC Content taking effect in April 2021, which will prioritise iPlayer in order to compete with commercial streaming services. The role of Controller for BBC One, Two, and Four will be scrapped, in favour of giving
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#17327878876971524-450: A saxophone, only the chorus of the theme song accompanied the opening titles. These ran over legal imagery and a sequence of images of famous separated couples, including Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe ; Winnie and Nelson Mandela ; Princess Anne and Mark Phillips , and culminating in Mark and Becky. The closing credits featured a verse and chorus. The first part of the closing credits
1651-533: A scene where Mark jams his dressing gown in the door and is forced to hide naked in his new neighbour's flat. This sequence was Moffat's revenge for Bathurst's late arrival at the series one press launch at the Café Royal in Regent Street , London . Moffat threatened that if they ever did a second series he would write a whole episode in which Bathurst was naked. After being mistaken for a flasher , Mark
1778-431: A school sitcom. Taking Ptaszynski's advice, Moffat's new idea was about "a sitcom writer whose wife leaves him". Speaking about the autobiographical elements of the show, the writer jokes that he has to remember that his wife didn't leave him for an estate agent ; his wife was an estate agent. In 2003, Moffat told The New York Times that his "ex-wife wasn't terribly pleased about her failed marriage being presented as
1905-602: A shrine and literary museum by the Carlyle Memorial Trust, a group formed by Leslie Stephen , father of Virginia Woolf . Virginia Woolf set her 1919 novel Night and Day in Chelsea, where Mrs. Hilbery has a Cheyne Walk home. In a book, Bohemia in London by Arthur Ransome which is a partly fictional account of his early years in London, published in 1907 when he was 23, there are some fascinating, rather over-romanticised accounts of bohemian goings-on in
2032-453: A similar device, Joking Apart used less of the stand-up as the series progressed. In retrospect, Moffat regrets including the stand-up sequences. Bathurst, however, has considered refilming them as a video diary . Now with older features, he can portray a Mark Taylor reflecting on his earlier life. Both are very critical of the sequences in the DVD audio commentaries. The sequences have also drawn
2159-479: A single networked news channel, but there are opt-outs for both the domestic and international versions. The BBC's wholly owned commercial subsidiary, BBC Studios , also operates several international television channels under BBC branding: The BBC also owns the following: BBC Japan was a general entertainment channel, which operated between December 2004 and April 2006. It ceased operations after its Japanese distributor folded. Chelsea, London Chelsea
2286-563: A sitcom on BBC2 on Monday nights". In an interview with Richard Herring , Moffat says that "the sit-com actually lasted slightly longer than my marriage". Conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based on his relationship with his second wife, TV producer Sue Vertue . Moffat reused the surname 'Taylor', which is Mark's surname in Joking Apart , for Jack Davenport 's character Steve in Coupling . The pilot, directed by John Kilby ,
2413-418: A sitcom. Moffat's father had been a headteacher and Moffat himself had taught English before writing Press Gang , so his initial proposal was a programme similar to what would become Chalk , a series that eventually aired in 1997. As he was separating from his wife, Moffat was going through a difficult period and aspects of it coloured his creative output. He introduced a proxy of his wife's new partner into
2540-526: A trial basis for six months; early television sets supported both resolutions. However, the Baird system, which used a mechanical camera for filmed programming and Farnsworth image dissector cameras for live programming, proved too cumbersome and visually inferior, and ended with closedown (at 22:00) on Saturday 30 January 1937. It was advertised in Radio Times for two weeks later but the decision to end
2667-582: Is a major landmark on the Chelsea side of the confluence of Chelsea Creek and the Thames. {{{annotations}}} Chelsea also gives its name to nearby locations, such as Chelsea Harbour in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham , and Chelsea Barracks in the City of Westminster . Chelsea includes large parts of the SW3 and SW10 postal districts, and a small section of SW1. This former fashionable village
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#17327878876972794-654: Is an affluent area in West London , England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles (4 km). It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area . Chelsea historically formed a manor and parish in the Ossulstone hundred of Middlesex , which became the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea in 1900. It merged with
2921-633: Is generally very little distinction between the two terms in the UK), and related programming services in the United Kingdom. As well as being a broadcaster, the corporation also produces a large number of its own outsourcing programmes and thereby ranks as one of the world's largest television production companies. John Logie Baird set up the Baird Television Development Company in 1926; on 30 September 1929, he made
3048-427: Is now being unfaithful to Trevor. Robert and Tracy are given more stories than in the first series. Their main story arc begins in the third episode when Robert is caught by all of the main characters and his parents in a maid's outfit being spanked by a prostitute. The couple temporarily separate while Robert experiments with cross-dressing, but they are reunited by the end of the series. The fourth episode features
3175-513: Is on the Fulham Road, Chelsea, and is now a private residence. Dring the mid-1800s, Cremorne Gardens, London , was a popular pleasure gardens area established in 1845. It continued to operate until 1877. The area lay between Chelsea Harbour and the end of the King's Road. Chelsea's modern reputation as a centre of innovation and influence originated in a period during the 19th century, when
3302-430: Is punched by his neighbour's brother. When he awakens he is confronted by a man ( Kerry Shale ) in a red polo neck jumper who claims to be "his very best friend". In the fifth episode it transpires that the man, who identifies himself as Dick, is the personification of Mark's penis. The final episode begins after Becky and Michael had slept together while Becky is house sitting for Tracy and Robert, and Michael hides in
3429-399: Is quickly catching up with Bond Street as one of London's premier shopping destinations, housing a variety of high-end fashion or jewellery boutiques such as Cartier , Tiffany & Co , Dolce & Gabbana , Prada , Gucci , Harrods , Dior , Louis Vuitton , Jimmy Choo , Giorgio Armani , Yves Saint Laurent , Chanel , Valentino , Bvlgari , Gianni Versace and Graff . As well as
3556-474: Is semi-autobiographical; it was inspired by the then-recent separation of Moffat and his first wife. Some of the episodes in the first series followed a non-linear parallel structure, contrasting the rise of the relationship with the fall. Other episodes were ensemble farces , predominantly including the couple's friends Robert ( Paul Raffield ) and Tracy ( Tracie Bennett ). Paul Mark Elliott also appeared as Trevor, Becky's lover. Scheduling problems meant that
3683-668: Is served by many Transport for London bus services. Chelsea has no Underground station, but there are two stations close to its boundary; Sloane Square to the east and Gloucester Road to the north (both of these on the District and Circle lines ). In addition, to the west is the London Overground station Imperial Wharf , on the West London Line . A Chelsea railway station (later renamed Chelsea and Fulham ) previously existed on this line, located between
3810-555: Is split up into fifteen regions (such as South West and East), which exist mainly to produce local news programming, but also occasionally opt out of the network to show programmes of local importance (such as major local events). The other nations of the United Kingdom (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) have been granted more autonomy from the English network; for example, programmes are mostly introduced by local announcers, rather than by those in London. BBC One and BBC Two schedules in
3937-605: The BBC . The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom , under the terms of a royal charter , since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936. The BBC's domestic television channels have no commercial advertising and collectively they accounted for more than 30% of all UK viewing in 2013. The services are funded by
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4064-575: The BBC Studios Natural History Unit which had existed since the 1950s. This unit is now famed throughout the world for producing high quality programmes with Attenborough such as Life on Earth , The Private Life of Plants , The Blue Planet , The Life of Mammals , Planet Earth and Frozen Planet . National and regional variations also occur within the BBC One and BBC Two schedules. England's BBC One output
4191-709: The Domesday Book and records the fact that Thurstan, governor of the King's Palace during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042–1066), gave the land to the Abbot and Convent of Westminster. From at least this time, up to 1900, the Manor and Parish of Chelsea included a 144-acre (0.58 km ) exclave which is now known as Kensal Town . The exclave, which was once heavily wooded, was sometimes also known as Chelsea-in-the-Wilderness . Abbot Gervace subsequently assigned
4318-723: The First World War , St Mark's College was requisitioned by the War Office to create the 2nd London General Hospital, a facility for the Royal Army Medical Corps to treat military casualties. It merged with St John's College, Battersea, in 1923, establishing a single institution in Chelsea as the College of St Mark & St John. In 1973 it moved to Plymouth, having outgrown the Chelsea campus. The former chapel of St Mark's College, designed by Edward Blore
4445-539: The Household Division . Situated on the Westminster side of Chelsea Bridge Road, it was bought for re-development by a property group from Qatar . St Mark's College, Chelsea , was founded in 1841, based on the beliefs of The Reverend Derwent Coleridge , son of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge , its first principal: that its primary purpose was to widen the educational horizons of its students. During
4572-631: The King's Road and the Fulham Road in neighbouring Fulham, but this was closed in 1940 following World War II bomb damage and later demolished. There is a proposal to construct a Chelsea Underground station on the King's Road as part of the Crossrail 2 project (also known as the Chelsea-Hackney line ). The project, run by Transport for London , has not yet been approved or funded but
4699-501: The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington , forming the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea upon the creation of Greater London in 1965. The exclusivity of Chelsea as a result of its high property prices historically resulted in the coining of the term " Sloane Ranger " in the 1970s to describe some of its residents, and some of those of nearby areas. Chelsea is home to one of the largest communities of Americans living outside
4826-518: The Ossulstone Hundred of the county of Middlesex . The area covered by the civil parish became the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea in 1900, part of a new County of London . At that time, the exclave of Kensal Town , which had been part of Chelsea since at least the time of the 11th-century Saxon King Edward the Confessor , was removed from Chelsea and divided between the new boroughs of Kensington and Paddington (each of which
4953-673: The Press Gang episode "The Big Finish?", the character Brian Magboy ( Simon Schatzberger ). Moffat scripted unfortunate situations for the Magboy character, such as having a typewriter drop on his foot. Moffat says that the character's name was inspired by his wife's: "Magboy: Maggie's boy". During the pitch meeting at the Groucho Club , Ptaszynski realised that Moffat was talking passionately about his impending divorce and suggested that he write about that instead of his initial proposal,
5080-465: The Sky Digital platform, such as Scottish Premier League and Scottish Cup football , while on other platforms such broadcasts were not disrupted. Later, when rights contracts were renewed, this problem was resolved. The BBC Television department headed by Jana Bennett was absorbed into a new, much larger group; BBC Vision, in late 2006. The new group was part of larger restructuring within
5207-606: The 18th century and was patronised by the Georgian royalty. At Easter, great crowds would assemble on the open spaces of the Five Fields – subsequently developed as Belgravia . The Bun House would then do a great trade in hot cross buns and sold about quarter of a million on its final Good Friday in 1839. The area was also famous for its "Chelsea China" ware, though the works, the Chelsea porcelain factory – thought to be
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5334-403: The 18th century. King's Road , named for Charles II, recalls the King's private road from St James's Palace to Fulham , which was maintained until the reign of George IV . One of the more important buildings in King's Road, the former Chelsea Town Hall , popularly known as "Chelsea Old Town hall" – a fine neo-classical building – contains important frescoes . Part of the building contains
5461-436: The 1960s Swinging London period and the early 1970s. The Swinging Sixties was defined on King's Road, which runs the length of the area. The Western end of Chelsea featured boutiques Granny Takes a Trip and The Sweet Shop, the latter of which sold medieval silk velvet caftans, tabards and floor cushions, with many of the cultural cognoscenti of the time being customers, including Twiggy and many others. The "Chelsea girl"
5588-463: The 19th century. Records have survived of five matches between 1731 and 1789 which involved the Chelsea club and/or were played on the common. Chelsea Football Club is located at Stamford Bridge in neighbouring Fulham , adjacent to the border with Chelsea. As a result of Chelsea's expensive location and wealthy residents, Chelsea F.C. has the wealthiest local supporters in England. Chelsea
5715-547: The 30-line images, carried by telephone line to the medium wave transmitter at Brookmans Park , until 11 September 1935, by which time advances in the all-electronic 405-line television system made electromechanical broadcasts and systems obsolete. Following a series of test transmissions and special broadcasts that began in August 1936, the BBC Television Service officially launched on 2 November 1936 from
5842-606: The BBC announced plans to merge BBC News (for UK audiences) and BBC World News (for international audiences) as one international news network, under the name BBC News, covering news from both the UK and around the world. The merger took effect in April 2023. The BBC domestic television channels do not broadcast advertisements; they are instead funded by a television licence fee which TV viewers are required to pay annually. This includes viewers who watch real-time streams or catch up services of
5969-530: The BBC announced that from the end of May 2003 (subsequently deferred to 14 July) it intended to transmit all eight of its domestic television channels (including the 15 regional variations of BBC1) unencrypted from the Astra 2D satellite. This move was estimated to save the BBC £85 million over the next five years. While the "footprint" of the Astra 2D satellite was smaller than that of Astra 2A , from which it
6096-461: The BBC with the onset of new media outlets and technology. In 2008, the BBC began experimenting with live streaming of certain channels in the UK, and in November 2008, all standard BBC television channels were made available to watch online via BBC iPlayer . When Tony Hall became Director General in April 2013, he reverted the division to its original name of BBC Television. As Television it
6223-607: The BBC's channels online or via their mobile phone. The BBC's international television channels are funded by advertisements and subscription. These channels are also available outside the UK in neighbouring countries e.g. Belgium, the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland. For BBC News, CBBC and Cbeebies see national & international channels On 3 April 2023, the BBC merged the BBC News and BBC World News channels into
6350-421: The BBC's genre heads autonomy in commissioning programmes without the requirement for a channel controller to provide secondary approval. A team of "portfolio editors" will select from these commissions for carriage on BBC television channels and iPlayer, with iPlayer Controller Dan McGolpin will becoming Portfolio Director for iPlayer and channels. McGolpin and the genre heads will report to Moore. In July 2022,
6477-480: The BBC's service the world's first regular high-definition television service; it broadcast from Monday to Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00, and 21:00 and 22:00. The first programme broadcast – and thus the first ever, on a dedicated TV channel – was "Opening of the BBC Television Service" at 15:00. The first major outside broadcast was the coronation of George VI and Elizabeth in May 1937. The two systems were to run on
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#17327878876976604-710: The BBC. Programmes have also been imported mainly from English-speaking countries: notable—though no longer shown—examples include The Simpsons from the United States and Neighbours from Australia. Programming from countries outside the English-speaking world consisted of feature films, shown in the original language with subtitles instead of being dubbed , with dubbing only used for cartoons and children's programmes. These included programmes from Eastern Europe , including The Singing Ringing Tree from East Germany , although voice-over translation
6731-540: The Baird system was made too late for it be changed in the printed Radio Times . Initially, the station's range was officially a 40 kilometres radius of the Alexandra Palace transmitter—in practice, however, transmissions could be picked up a good deal further away, and on one occasion in 1938 were picked up by engineers at RCA in New York, who were experimenting with a British television set. The service
6858-473: The Chelsea Flower show is held annually. The former Duke of York's Barracks (built 1801–3) off King's Road is now part of Duke of York Square, a redevelopment including shops and cafes and the site of a weekly "farmers' market". The Saatchi Gallery opened in the main building in 2008. Chelsea Barracks , at the end of Lower Sloane Street, was also in use until recently, primarily by ceremonial troops of
6985-493: The Chelsea Public Library. Almost opposite stands the former Odeon Cinema , now Habitat , with its iconic façade which carries high upon it a large sculptured medallion of the now almost-forgotten William Friese-Greene , who claimed to have invented celluloid film and cameras in the 1880s before any subsequent patents. The memorials in the churchyard of Chelsea Old Church , near the river, illustrate much of
7112-649: The Fat , and BBC Northern Ireland's talk show Patrick Kielty Almost Live . During the 1980s, the BBC came under pressure to commission more programmes from independent British production companies, and following the Broadcasting Act 1990 it was legally required to source 25% of its output from such companies by the terms of the Act. This eventually led to the creation of the "WoCC" (Window of Creative Competition) for independent production companies to pitch programmes to
7239-561: The Key, and the Couple who Weren't" and reveals in its audio commentary that it is based on a situation with one of his ex-girlfriends. In the third episode, Mark arrives at Robert and Tracy's house on the wrong night for a dinner party. The couple are entertaining that night, but are instead expecting Becky and her new boyfriend Trevor. Hopeful of a reconciliation, Mark assumes that his friends are trying to smooth things over between them. They spend
7366-631: The King's Road), and saw the birth of the British punk movement. On 27 November 1974, the London unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army exploded twin bombs on Tite Street , injuring 20 people. Chelsea Manor was served by the ancient parish of Chelsea. (Such parish units were typically in place by the end of the twelfth century with their boundaries, based on those of the constituent manor or manors, rarely if ever changing. ) The manor and parish formed part of
7493-505: The Manor House; Princess Elizabeth – the future Queen Elizabeth I – resided there; and Thomas More lived more or less next door at Beaufort House . In 1609 James I established a theological college, "King James's College at Chelsey" on the site of the future Royal Hospital Chelsea , which Charles II founded in 1682. By 1694, Chelsea – always a popular location for the wealthy, and once described as "a village of palaces" – had
7620-624: The United States, with 6.53% of Chelsea residents having been born in the U.S. The word Chelsea (also formerly Chelceth , Chelchith , or Chelsey , ) originates from the Old English term for "landing place [on the river] for chalk or limestone" ( Cealc-hyð : chalk - wharf , in Anglo-Saxon ). Chelsea hosted the Synod of Chelsea in 787 AD. The first record of the Manor of Chelsea precedes
7747-475: The age of 22, and he remained there until his retirement in 1939; he was appointed Chief Librarian in 1929. In 1980, the building was purchased by Chelsea College of Art and Design . The Chelsea Society , formed in 1927, remains an active amenity society concerned with preserving and advising on changes in Chelsea's built environment. Chelsea Village and Chelsea Harbour are new developments outside of Chelsea itself. Chelsea shone again, brightly but briefly, in
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#17327878876977874-432: The amended version worked well for the character. They are both naive about sex and technology. Tracy, for example, attempts to telephone Robert to inform him that he's lost his mobile phone, and believes that she is a lesbian when she discovers her husband in women's clothing . They have a baby, who is seen or referred to occasionally. This reflects, as the writer observes, Moffat's inexperience of looking after children at
8001-405: The area became a Victorian artists' colony ( see Borough of artists below ). It became prominent once again as one of the centres of the " Swinging London " of the 1960s, when house prices were lower than in the staid Royal Borough of Kensington . Chelsea once had a reputation as London's bohemian quarter, the haunt of artists, radicals, painters and poets. Little of this seems to survive now –
8128-412: The bathroom when the latter couple return. Tracy phones a morning television phone-in show and when she realises that the show's divorce expert is hiding in her bathroom she takes on his role (with a heavy Northern accent, actually a slightly exaggerated version of Bennett's own voice) to give herself advice on the other line. Bennett says this was the hardest thing she has had to do in her career. After
8255-436: The broadcast version. Robert Bathurst has complained that, in order to save £5,000, this promised reshoot never materialised. The close ups of Bathurst were filmed in the studio for the second series, with stock footage of the club's audience reused. After the exterior shots had been filmed, the episodes were recorded at BBC Television Centre in April and May 1992 for the first series, and 12 November until 18 December 1993 for
8382-410: The character's failing marriage and are intended to show that "he thinks in punchlines , in comedy". Episodes regularly cut back to these fantasy performances, which usually open with the signature line: "My wife left me ...". Moffat felt that audiences needed to know from the start that the relationship would not survive. However, it was unclear to some viewers that the fantasy sequences were set in
8509-547: The comfortable squares off King's Road are homes to, amongst others, investment bankers and film stars. The Chelsea Arts Club continues in situ ; however, the Chelsea College of Art and Design , founded in 1895 as the Chelsea School of Art, moved from Manresa Road to Pimlico in 2005. The Chelsea Book Club, at no. 65 Cheyne Walk (Lombard Terrace), a bookshop that also presented exhibitions and lectures, held
8636-404: The downfall of his marriage with Becky, who says that she didn't sign on to become his "lawfully wedded straight man ". In one episode, Mark jokes about worrying if his virginity will heal back; Becky articulates her frustration by responding "What page is that on?" Identifying his insecurities, she points out that the "thing about someone who uses humour as a weapon, is not the sense of humour, but
8763-509: The evening trying to keep Mark and Trevor apart, each not knowing that the other is also there. Episode five makes extensive use of what Moffat labels "techno-farce", which uses technology, predominantly telephones, to facilitate the farcical situations. Moffat considers this episode the best of the show. Discussing the series as a whole, Moffat felt that the story ends after this episode. It begins when Mark attempts to return Robert's mobile phone and ends with Robert threatening to shoot Mark after
8890-581: The existing VHF 405-line television system . On 1 July 1967, BBC Two became the first television channel in Europe to broadcast regularly in colour, using the West German PAL system that was used for decades until it was gradually superseded by digital systems. ( BBC One and ITV began 625-line colour broadcasts simultaneously on 15 November 1969). Unlike other terrestrial channels, BBC Two does not have soap opera or standard news programming, but
9017-455: The fact that they need a weapon". In interviews, Bathurst has compared Steven Moffat to his character: Mark is "a man whose wife leaves him because he talks in one-liners. And Steven Moffat's wife had just left him, because he talks in one-liners." Robert Bathurst, a former Footlights president, was cast as Mark Taylor. He was performing on a live topical programme on BSB called Up Yer News . A fellow performer on that show also auditioned for
9144-599: The first exhibition of African art in London (sculpture from Ivory Coast and Congo) in 1920, and was the first bookshop to stock Joyce's Ulysses in 1922. Sold in 1928 owing to financial problems, it became the Lombard Restaurant. Its reputation stems from a period in the 19th century when it became a sort of Victorian artists' colony: painters such as James Webb , Dante Gabriel Rossetti , J. M. W. Turner , James McNeill Whistler , William Holman Hunt , and John Singer Sargent all lived and worked here. There
9271-582: The first experimental television broadcast for the BBC from its studio in Long Acre in the Covent Garden area of London via the BBC's London radio transmitter propagating an analog signal . Baird used his electromechanical system with a vertically scanned image of 30 lines, which is just enough resolution for a close-up of one person, and a bandwidth low enough to use existing radio transmitters. The simultaneous transmission of sound and pictures
9398-473: The first six episodes of Joking Apart were constructed non-sequentially, with scenes from the beginning of the relationship juxtaposed with those from the end. Moffat describes this non-linear technique as a "romantic comedy, but a romantic comedy backwards because it ends with the couple unhappy". Moffat had experimented with non-linear narrative in Press Gang , such as the episode "Monday-Tuesday". Various episodes of Coupling played with structure, such as
9525-406: The first workshop to make porcelain in England – were sold in 1769, and moved to Derby . Examples of the original Chelsea ware fetch high values. The best-known building is Chelsea Royal Hospital for old soldiers, set up by Charles II (supposedly on the suggestion of Nell Gwynne ), and opened in 1694. The beautifully proportioned building by Christopher Wren stands in extensive grounds, where
9652-421: The flashbacks. Moffat reflects that although the remake is "not as dark or ground-breaking" as the original, it is "probably more fun" because it ends happily. Both series have been released on DVD . A fan of the show, Craig Robins, bought the rights from 2Entertain , BBC Worldwide 's DVD publishing company, and released it on his own independent label , Replay DVD. Robins put up £30,000 of his own money to buy
9779-432: The flat to check on Mark after his wife's departure. The three recall the circumstances in which they had first met. After their first date, the couple go back to Becky's flat. While she is in the bathroom, he strips down to his boxer shorts and handcuffs himself to the bedpost. Unable to free himself, he is found by Robert and Tracy as they walk in on him. Moffat used a similar scenario for the Coupling episode "The Freckle,
9906-426: The fourth series episode "9½ Minutes" which showed the same events from three perspectives. All of the episodes open with Bathurst portraying Mark Taylor, a sitcom writer, apparently performing stand-up in a small comedy club . These performances are fantasy sequences, playing out in the character's mind and portraying his internal creative processes as comedic monologues; these monologues mainly employ material from
10033-469: The history of Chelsea. These include Lord and Lady Dacre (1594/1595); Lady Jane Cheyne (1698); Francis Thomas , "director of the china porcelain manufactory"; Sir Hans Sloane (1753); Thomas Shadwell , Poet Laureate (1692). The intended tomb Sir Thomas More erected for himself and his wives can also be found there, though More is not in fact buried here. In 1718, the Raw Silk Company
10160-416: The latter has slept with Tracy. The series ends with Becky and Trevor, and Robert and Tracy reconciling their relationships and Mark being left alone. The format was changed for this series, with the dual timelines and many of the flashbacks dropped for a more linear narrative. Moffat felt that the relationship had already been sufficiently established in the first series so there was little point returning to
10287-463: The main ensemble. The first episode shows the couple meeting at a funeral, marrying, and going through the honeymoon phase. The last section of the episode features a confrontation between Becky and Mark, in which the former admits that she is an adulteress before realising that all of her friends are hiding around her living room in preparation for a surprise party for her. The story continues directly into episode two, when Robert and Tracy return to
10414-524: The manor to his mother, and it passed into private ownership. By 1086 the Domesday Book records that Chelsea was in the hundred of Ossulstone in Middlesex , with Edward of Salisbury as tenant-in-chief. King Henry VIII acquired the manor of Chelsea from Lord Sandys in 1536; Chelsea Manor Street is still extant. Two of King Henry's wives , Catherine Parr and Anne of Cleves , lived in
10541-434: The modern divorce, and that the first episode was "distinctly promising". Similarly DVD Review comments that "Moffat's distillation of his marriage melting down is as precise a piece of comic writing as you're likely to find." Not all reviews were completely positive. Criticising Bathurst for being too handsome to convey the frustrations of a writer, The Daily Telegraph said that the show had "its problems but possesses
10668-476: The newly acquired Lime Grove Studios . Postwar broadcast coverage was extended to Birmingham in 1949, with the opening of the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station , and by the mid-1950s most of the country was covered, transmitting a 405-line interlaced video image on VHF . BBC TV was split into BBC1 and BBC2 in 1964, with BBC2 having a remit to provide more niche programming. The channel
10795-480: The night Becky leaves him. Tracy, as Tracie Bennett identifies, is a stereotypical Tracy—normally a dysphemism for an intellectually inadequate, usually blonde, female. However, "she's not a bimbo : she's quite clever in her own logic". Bennett jokes that she was quite offended that such a character was named Tracy. Tracy's catchphrase of "you're a silly" was originally Moffat's typographical error, which Bennett faithfully reproduced in her performance. They decided that
10922-474: The other UK nations can vary immensely from BBC One and BBC Two in England. Programmes, such as the politically fuelled Give My Head Peace (produced by BBC Northern Ireland) and the soap opera River City (produced by BBC Scotland), have been created specifically to cater for some viewers in their respective nations. BBC Scotland produces daily programmes for its Gaelic -speaking viewers, including current affairs, political and children's programming such as
11049-569: The part at what is now the Soho Theatre , then the old Soho Synagogue in Dean Street , and claimed that he would break Bathurst's legs if the latter got the job. In a 2005 interview, Bathurst recalls that the threat seemed not to be entirely jocular. Bathurst speaks very highly of Joking Apart , identifying it as a "career highlight" and the most enjoyable job he has ever done. Retrospectively, he wishes that he had "roughened up" Mark, as he
11176-416: The pilot was transmitted on 12 July 1991, the BBC were interested in a series. However, Moffat had signed on to write the third and fourth series of Press Gang as one twelve-episode block so it was not until 1992 that they produced the series. After being postponed from the autumn schedules, the first series was transmitted on Thursday evenings on BBC2 from 7 January until 11 February 1993. The second series
11303-437: The plot of their favourite episode. The cast claim that the programme has a timeless, universal appeal as there are no time-specific references apart from the typewriter and the size of the mobile telephones. Gillies says that her accountant watches it to cheer himself up, while Bathurst recalls that a friend cheered so loudly when Mark pushes avocado into Trevor's face in the third episode that he woke his son. Critical reception
11430-482: The popular Eòrpa and Dè a-nis? . BBC Wales also produces a large amount of Welsh language programming for S4C , particularly news, sport and other programmes, especially the soap opera Pobol y Cwm ('People of the Valley') briefly shown on BBC2 across the UK with subtitles in the 1990s. The UK nations also produce a number of programmes that are shown across the UK, such as BBC Scotland's comedy series Chewin'
11557-554: The production block. Recording for the first series of six episodes began on location in the first half of April 1992 and were mainly filmed in Chelsea within a short distance from the director's home. The stand-up sequences were filmed in the Café Des Artistes on London's Fulham Road , now known as the Valmont Club, and were shot for the benefit of the studio audience, with the intention of reshooting them later for
11684-603: The quarter. The American artist Pamela Colman Smith , the designer of A. E. Waite 's Tarot card pack and a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , features as "Gypsy" in the chapter "A Chelsea Evening". A central part of Chelsea's artistic and cultural life was Chelsea Public Library, originally situated in Manresa Road. Its longest-serving member of staff was Armitage Denton, who joined in 1896 at
11811-494: The rights and produced the series one disc. As a professional videotape editor, Robins was able to restore the video, and author the disc himself, using a piece of freeware to transcribe the dialogue for the subtitles. The first series was released on DVD on 29 May 2006. It contains audio commentaries on four of the episodes from Moffat, Bathurst, Gillies and Bennett. It also contains a featurette , "Fool If You Think It's Over", with retrospective interviews. The second series
11938-625: The river's route now used by the West London Line . Chelsea Football Club's Stamford Bridge home, lies just west of the Counter's Creek in Fulham, and takes its name from a bridge which carried the Fulham Road over the river. The bridge was also known as Little Chelsea Bridge. The southern Thames frontages run west from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment past Albert Bridge and Battersea Bridge to Chelsea Creek. Lots Road
12065-468: The second. Studio recording sessions were normally completed quickly; Gillies recalls "an hour and a half, tops". To a large extent, the editing occurred live during the studio recording with only tightening later. At the end of the recording on Sunday evenings Spiers would review the show before retiring to the bar, with the bulk of the work complete. Moffat contrasts this with the editing of modern sitcoms, which, he says, are edited more like film. Many of
12192-406: The series 1 set is labelled "a great little feature", with Moffat particularly praised for his contribution. DVD Times identifies "a real sense of friendship and of a real liking for this show" within the commentaries, highlighting that Moffat "sounds really happy ... for Joking Apart to have finally gotten some recognition". BBC television BBC Television is a service of
12319-504: The sharpest criticisms from reviewers. The second series followed a more linear structure, although it retained the stand-up sequences. " Fool (If You Think It's Over) ", written by Chris Rea , was used for both the opening and closing credit sequences. The original Rea version was used for the pilot's closing credits, but for the series it was performed by Kenny Craddock , who arranged the incidental music with Colin Gibson. Beginning with
12446-650: The show attracted low viewing figures. However, it scored highly on the Appreciation Index and accrued a loyal fanbase. One fan acquired the home video rights from the BBC and released both series on his own DVD label. By 1990, Moffat had written two series of Press Gang , but the programme's high cost along with organisational changes at Central cast its future in doubt. As Moffat wondered what to do next and worried about his future employment, Bob Spiers , Press Gang' s primary director, suggested that he meet with producer Andre Ptaszynski to discuss writing
12573-468: The show did not get the momentum to achieve high viewing figures. Moffat jokes that "the eight people who saw it were very happy indeed". However, as Bathurst observes, "there's an underground of people who like it". The show rated highly on the Appreciation Index , meaning that viewers thought very highly of the programme. Bathurst says that drunks on the London Underground tell him in detail
12700-506: The start. Set two months after the end of series one, Mark meets Becky in a newsagent , where he is purchasing pornographic magazines. He discovers the location of Becky and Trevor's house and breaks in using Tracy's keys. However, he is forced to hide under the bed when Becky and Trevor return home. Listening to them having sex, he becomes optimistic when he thinks that Becky is beginning to shout his name ("M..."). The name turns out to be Michael ( Tony Gardner ), Becky's solicitor, with whom she
12827-428: The time. Trevor ( Paul Mark Elliott ) is Becky's lover. His job as an estate agent regularly provokes derision from Mark. (Moffat's ex-wife was an estate agent.) He is himself cheated on in the second series, as Becky dates her solicitor Michael ( Tony Gardner ). Trevor's debut appearance is in the third episode where he and Becky go to Robert and Tracy's house for dinner, but he generally features less regularly than
12954-471: The war effort, in particular on the radar programme. The last programme transmitted was a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Mickey's Gala Premier (1933), which was followed by test transmissions; this account refuted the popular memory according to which broadcasting was suspended before the end of the cartoon. According to figures from Britain's Radio Manufacturers Association, 18,999 television sets had been manufactured from 1936 to September 1939, when production
13081-495: The writer's mind; many journalists reported that the character Mark was a stand-up comic, not a sitcom writer. In the fantasy sequences for the pilot, Bathurst was filmed against a completely black backdrop, which Moffat describes as "hell to look at". For the series, the sequences were filmed in a real club. Moffat describes this as the "wrong direction" as it became unclear that the fantasy sequences were "not real". Moffat observes that, like Seinfeld , an American sitcom that used
13208-509: Was "too designery". Becky Johnson/Taylor ( Fiona Gillies ) meets Mark at a funeral and they eventually marry. Although irritated at being his comic foil, she is capable of her own quick-witted put-downs. In episode 3, for example, she wins an impromptu one-liner contest over Mark, whose put-downs fall flat. Becky is shown as an independent woman, meeting Mark on her terms. The first series revolves around her leaving Mark for estate agent Trevor, whom she subsequently cheats on in series two. This
13335-574: Was Fiona Gillies' first major television role, having appeared in " The Hound of the Baskervilles ", a 1988 episode of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes , and the mini-series Mother Love . She was aware that some of her dialogue was based on what had been said to Moffat during his own separation. Robert and Tracy Glazebrook ( Paul Raffield and Tracie Bennett ) are their "increasingly bizarre and totally dim friends". They are initially Becky's friends, but soon befriend Mark, comforting him on
13462-468: Was a particularly large concentration of artists in the area around Cheyne Walk and Cheyne Row , where the Pre-Raphaelite movement had its heart. The artist Prunella Clough was born in Chelsea in 1919. The architect John Samuel Phene lived at No. 2 Upper Cheyne Row between 1903 and his death in 1912. He installed numerous artefacts and objets d'art around the house and gardens and it
13589-514: Was a symbol, media critic John Crosby wrote, of what "men [found] utterly captivating", flaunting a " 'life is fabulous' philosophy". Chelsea at this time was home to the Beatles and to Rolling Stones members Brian Jones , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . In the 1970s, the World's End area of King's Road was home to Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood 's boutique " SEX " (at Number 430,
13716-459: Was absorbed into London during the eighteenth century. Many notable people of 18th-century London, such as the bookseller Andrew Millar , were both married and buried in the district. King's Road is one of the district's major thoroughfares, a street which despite its continuing reputation as a shopping mecca, is now home to many of the same shops found on other British high streets , such as Gap , and McDonald's . Sloane Street and its environs
13843-621: Was achieved on 30 March 1930, by using the BBC's new twin transmitter at Brookmans Park . By late 1930, thirty minutes of morning programmes were broadcast from Monday to Friday, and thirty minutes at midnight on Tuesdays and Fridays after BBC radio went off the air. Baird's broadcasts via the BBC continued until June 1932. The BBC began its own regular television programming from the basement of Broadcasting House , London, on 22 August 1932. The studio moved to larger quarters in 16 Portland Place , London, in February 1934, and continued broadcasting
13970-493: Was bounded by rivers on three sides with Fulham Road forming part of its northern boundary with Kensington . The eastern boundary with Westminster was formed by the River Westbourne , but was adjusted to follow Chelsea Bridge Road after the river was culverted. The short western boundary with Fulham was formed by the former Counter's Creek , of which the mouth - Chelsea Creek - is the only surviving part, with
14097-511: Was certainly one of those. Meanwhile, they were making about four series of The Brittas Empire , and you thought, "Bloody Hell! Come on, surely….?" To my mind, our show was a very superior product, and it upset me that other shows, which I, personally, felt were broader and less interesting, were getting precedence. The first series was repeated in preparation for the six episodes of the second series, which began transmission on Tuesday evenings from 3 January until 7 February 1995. The second series
14224-479: Was due to launch on 20 April 1964, but this was postponed after a fire at Battersea Power Station resulted in most of west London, including Television Centre , losing power. A videotape made on the opening night was rediscovered in 2003 by a BBC technician. The launch went ahead the following night, beginning with host Denis Tuohy sarcastically blowing out a candle. BBC2 was the first British channel to use UHF and 625-line pictures, giving higher definition than
14351-476: Was established in Chelsea Park , with mulberry trees and a hothouse for raising silkworms. At its height in 1723, it supplied silk to Caroline of Ansbach , then Princess of Wales. Chelsea once had a reputation for the manufacture of Chelsea buns , made from a long strip of sweet dough tightly coiled, with currants trapped between the layers, and topped with sugar. The Chelsea Bun House sold these during
14478-576: Was filmed at Pebble Mill in Birmingham on 9–10 August 1990. It is practically identical to the first episode of the series proper; some scenes are even reused, notably the scene with Mark and Becky meeting when he accidentally turns up at a funeral. The reused footage gave rise to the first episode's shared director credit between Spiers and Kilby. The stand-up sequences were shot against a black background. Although this made it clearer that they were not "real", Moffat thought that it looked odd. The pilot
14605-434: Was filmed in late 1993. However, the controller of BBC2, Michael Jackson , had little faith in the project at the time, which, according to the writer, he now admits was wrong. Jackson felt that it was too mainstream for BBC2 and not mainstream enough for BBC1. The second series was scheduled to air from 11 June 1994, but was delayed many times. Bathurst articulates the group's frustration at the delay: Every so often, I'd get
14732-513: Was generally positive. In his overview of Moffat's celebrated Press Gang , Paul Cornell said that the writer "continues to impress" with Joking Apart . The Daily Express said that it was "flavoured with a delicious bitterness about the perfidy of women and the conscious-less nature of the male orgasm, it was plotted with the intricacy of a French farce". Another reviewer for the Express commented that "it's quite funny and an acute analysis" of
14859-423: Was halted by the war. BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at 15:00. Jasmine Bligh , one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, 'Good afternoon everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh?'. The Mickey Mouse cartoon of 1939 was repeated twenty minutes later. Alexandra Palace was the home base of the channel until the early 1950s, when the majority of production moved into
14986-535: Was known locally as the "Gingerbread Castle". It was demolished in 1924. Chelsea was also home to writers such as George Meredith , Algernon Charles Swinburne , Leigh Hunt and Thomas Carlyle . Jonathan Swift lived in Church Lane, Richard Steele and Tobias Smollett in Monmouth House. Carlyle lived for 47 years at No. 5 (now 24) Cheyne Row . After his death, the house was bought and turned into
15113-463: Was only transmitted once even though the BBC had paid to show it twice. Moffat feels that the delay damaged the series because such bad scheduling hinders returning audiences and that the two-year gap meant that it seemed as if Mark "had been banging on about this sodding divorce for an awfully long time!" After winning the Montreux award it seemed inevitable that the show would get a third series. At
15240-426: Was otherwise based on its corresponding ancient parish). The parliamentary constituency of Chelsea , which was identical to the parish, retained Kensal Town until 1918. In 1965 the area merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Kensington to form the modern London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . The parish and borough of Chelsea, which now forms the southern part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea ,
15367-429: Was previously broadcast encrypted, it meant that viewers with appropriate equipment were able to receive BBC channels "free-to-air" over much of Western Europe. Consequently, some rights concerns have needed to be resolved with programme providers such as Hollywood studios and sporting organisations, which have expressed concern about the unencrypted signal leaking out. This led to some broadcasts being made unavailable on
15494-442: Was reaching an estimated 25,000–40,000 homes before the outbreak of World War II which caused the BBC Television service to be suspended on 1 September 1939 with little warning. On 1 September 1939, the station went off the air; the government was concerned that the VHF transmissions would act as a beacon to enemy aircraft homing in on London. Also, many of the television service's technical staff and engineers would be needed for
15621-531: Was released on 17 March 2008 as a two-disc set. It contains audio commentaries on all episodes: five featuring a mix of Moffat, Bathurst, Gillies, Bennett, Raffield and Ptaszynski, with episode two featuring Spiers, and production manager Stacey Adair that concentrates on the behind-the-scenes production. The pilot from Comic Asides is also included on Disc 2, along with a complete set of Series Two scripts in Portable Document Format (PDF) and
15748-552: Was responsible for the commissioning, scheduling and broadcasting of all programming on the BBC's television channels and online, as well as producing content for broadcast. Following the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, BBC Television was split into two divisions, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios controlled by Mark Linsey and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed as BBC Content, controlled by Charlotte Moore . As
15875-402: Was transmitted on BBC2 as part of its Comic Asides series of pilot shows on 12 July 1991. Moffat had written all six episodes of the first series before recording commenced. With series two, he had written only the first four episodes by the time recording had commenced, only delivering the final episode by the first day of rehearsals. All of the location shots were filmed at the beginning of
16002-448: Was used instead of dubbing for budgetary reasons. Ceefax , the first teletext service, launched on 23 September 1974. This service allowed BBC viewers to view textual information such as the latest news on their television. CEEFAX did not make a full transition to digital television, instead being gradually replaced, from late onwards, by the new interactive BBCi service before being fully closed down on 22 October 2012. In March 2003
16129-480: Was usually over a still of the final frame , and faded to black with the line "All dressed in black." Mark Taylor ( Robert Bathurst ) is a television sitcom writer. Other than episode one, where he is shown working on a script and references to a show of his that had aired during a dinner with Robert and Tracy the night before, his work is hardly mentioned. Mark is quick-witted, and the stand-up sequences indicate that he thinks in one-liners. However, this proves to be
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