Genre Sitcom | Directed by Douglas Mackinnon | |
Created by Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp Written by Gregor Sharp & Simon Carlyle Starring Ford Kiernan
Karen Dunbar
Gavin Mitchell
Kathleen McDermott Theme music composer Ford Kiernan
Dave Murricane | ||
Happy Hollidays is a Scottish television situation comedy, created and written by Simon Carlyle and Gregor Sharp, and broadcast by BBC Scotland. One series of the comedy was commissioned by BBC Scotland and the show is produced by Effingee Productions.
Contents
The series stars Ford Kiernan as Colin Holliday, who is the owner of the titular Happy Hollidays, a fictitious caravan site in Scotland, Karen Dunbar as cabaret singer Joyce Mullen and Gavin Mitchell as rival caravan site owner Mike Bryan, with a supporting cast portraying the various staff on the two caravan sites and the guests staying at the site. The series follows Colin Holliday running the caravan site, dealing with his guests, who he sees as a source of revenue and little else, and trying to outwit Mike Bryan, his arch enemy.
Cast
Episodes
- "The Visit": In the opening of the new series, Mr. Holliday has opened his own caravan-park in Ayrshire. The episode follows Mr. Holliday's old rival, Mike, comes for an inspection.
- "Tycoon": A rich man comes to the caravan park in order to invest his money within the park, and Mr. Holliday has his eye on the money. Meanwhile, Joyce flogs everything that she owns on eBay.
- "Bombs Away": Mr. Holliday, Dean, Debbie and Mike get trapped in an old World War II bomb shelter, with live bombs. Meanwhile Joyce gets offered a movie role in a new period drama.
- "Mike the Poacher": Mike starts to spend time with Joyce and she ends up leaving Happy Hollidays to come work and live in Mike's caravan park, U-tow-pia and Debbi wants to start her singing career at Happy Hollidays.
- "Donkey": When the farmer who owns the land between Colin and Mike's sites dies, they each embark on a charm offensive with his daughter. Meanwhile, Joyce tries to give up smoking, and Dean and Debbi are concerned about the future of Pets' Corner's resident donkey. Lorraine McIntosh guest stars.
- "Wedding Bells": Colin and Mike vie to become the new chairman of the caravan site owners' organisation. Joyce, meanwhile, devises a secret money making scheme that brings her temporarily closer to Colin while Debbi hears the sound of wedding bells.
Reception
The series received negative reviews. Writing for The Sun, John Smeaton wrote "Happy Hollidays gave me arse-ache. I could see every pun coming a mile off in the new series about a caravan park starring Ford Kiernan - and not one of them was funny. There hasn't been a decent BBC comedy since the Still Game crew all fell out. The follow-ups Dear Green Place and now Happy Hollidays have been lame, to say the least. Ford, pal, please. It's time to kiss and make up with Greg Hemphill - you're simply not funny without him."