7.6 /10 1 Votes
No. of episodes 6 Running time 30 minutes Final episode date 21 December 1989 Number of episodes 6 | 7.6/10 IMDb No. of series 1 First episode date 16 November 1989 Network BBC One | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Victoria WoodJulie WaltersCelia ImrieLill RoughleyAnne ReidMeg JohnsonSusie BlakeJim BroadbentPatricia HodgeJoan SimsJane Horrocks Cast Similar Victoria Wood As Seen On, Victoria Wood's All Day Brea, Wood and Walters, Victoria Wood with All the Tri, Acorn Antiques | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Victoria wood episode 2 the library better quality
Victoria Wood was a series of six one-off situation comedies written by and starring Victoria Wood in 1989, who took a break from sketches, two years after her very successful and award winning series Victoria Wood As Seen On TV. Wood appeared as "Victoria" ("Miss Wood" in episode one), a fictionalised version of herself, in all six episodes - in The Library it was said that she "worked in TV" and in Over To Pam characters appeared to recognise her celebrity (although two confused her with Dawn French) and in the final episode, Staying In, she was taken to a party to perform as a comedian and was expected to go through her stand-up 'routine'. Her character often broke the 'fourth wall' of TV and spoke directly to the camera, but not in every episode.
Contents
- Victoria wood episode 2 the library better quality
- Victoria wood episode 1 mens sana in thingummy doodah health farm better quality
- Reception
- Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah
- VHS
- DVD
- References
Bored with the sketch format and with a yearning to recapture previous success as a playwright, Wood came up with six individual sitcoms as a compromise. She admitted to finding the writing difficult. Though Wood was written as the central character, other lead parts were written with specific actresses in mind, like Julie Walters and Una Stubbs. "I want people to like me and the people who play my friends, and not everybody else" she said. Screenonline says of the shows "Modest in ambition and scale but rich in wit and acuity, the six playlets showcase Wood's eye for human foibles and her distinctively eccentric characters.".
While the 1992 and 1993 VHS releases of the series were titled Victoria Wood, the 2007 DVD release was called Victoria Wood Presents.
Victoria wood episode 1 mens sana in thingummy doodah health farm better quality
Reception
The series was met with a mixed critical reception initially. The series started out with an impressive 13 million viewers tuning in, but by the next week had dropped to 11 million. Wood regretted the decision not to record it in front of a studio audience and described the filming as a "boring, diabolical and awful" experience. The Daily Express described the show as 'tiresome stuff' and the Daily Mirror said her targets were predictable and snobbish. Wood took some blame for the disappointing reaction saying "It wasn't well written by me as it could have been, and I shouldn't have been in all the sketches".
Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah
In 1991, the scripts of all six shows were published by Methuen as Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah – And other nuggets of homely fun. The book is dedicated to "All the old bags in Equity, most of whom were in the series". The book contains an exclusive introduction by Victoria Wood about what it's like to make a TV programme.
Once the Writer has finished writing, she takes the 'scripts' to the BBC where a seventeen-year-old Secretary spills coffee on them and leaves them behind the photocopier. When the Secretary leaves the BBC to become a full-time sunbather it can sometimes be a jolly long time before those 'scripts' come to light! And sometimes when they do they have been hidden for such a long time they have become 'dated' and 'unrealistic'. But fortunately, the BBC will still make them into 'programmes'.
Publisher: MethuenYear: 1991Original Price: £4.99ISBN №: 0-7493-0818-4Availability: Out of printVHS
Victoria Wood - Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah (with The Library and Over to Pam)
Label: BBC VideoRelease Date: 1992Catalogue №: BBCV 4843Availability: DeletedRunning time: 85 minutes. BBFC "PG" certificate.
Victoria Wood - We'd Quite Like to Apologise (with Val de Ree (Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha) and Staying In)
Label: BBC VideoRelease Date: 1993Catalogue №: BBCV 4844Availability: DeletedRunning time: 80 minutes. BBFC "PG" certificate.
DVD
Victoria Wood Presents
Label: 2|Entertain (Classic TV)Release Date: 2007Catalogue №: CCTV 30608Availability: Out now; also available as Disc C in 7-disc set Victoria Wood Collection (BBCDVD 3311), released in 2010Running time: 163 minutes. BBFC "PG" certificate.