The Green Green Grass - Series 1 (DVD)

...This first series aired on the BBC in September 2005 and was released on DVD in October 2006, featuring 6 episodes and the 2005 Christmas special.


==** BRIEF IDEA…==

Boycie (John Challis), his wife Marlene, (Sue Holderness), and there very dim witted teenage son Tyler, (Jack Doolan), are still living in Peckham, with Boycies second hand car dealership keeping the family as happy and wealthy as they always were.
...wrong side of the dreaded Driscoll brothers, (Roy Heather and Christopher Ryan), so fearing for his life, and the lives of his family, he decides to sell up and head off to the country, much to the annoyance of Marlene.
In a moonlight flit the three of them flee for there lives to a farm in the middle of Shropshire, hoping that the isolation will hide them from the Driscolls and the great idea of running a working farm.
Unfortunately ... more

Directors: Tony Dow and Dewi Humphreys.
Producer: Gareth Gwenlan.
Creator: John Sulliven
Writer: John Sullivan,
Stars: John Challis, Sue Holderness, Jack Doolan, David Ross, Ella Kenion, Peter Heppelthwaite, Ivan Kaye, Lisa Diveney, Alan David, June Whitfield and Samantha Sutherland.

This BBC sitcom began its life in September 2005, creating 32 episodes split into four series, 29 thirty minute episode and three 45 minute special episodes), and filmed in Oakham in Shropshire.

This first series aired on the BBC in September 2005 and was released on DVD in October 2006, featuring 6 episodes and the 2005 Christmas special.

** BRIEF IDEA…

Boycie (John Challis), his wife Marlene, (Sue Holderness), and there very dim witted teenage son Tyler, (Jack Doolan), are still living in Peckham, with Boycies second hand car dealership keeping the family as happy and wealthy as they always were.
Things are going well until Boycie gets on the wrong side of the dreaded Driscoll brothers, (Roy Heather and Christopher Ryan), so fearing for his life, and the lives of his family, he decides to sell up and head off to the country, much to the annoyance of Marlene.
In a moonlight flit the three of them flee for there lives to a farm in the middle of Shropshire, hoping that the isolation will hide them from the Driscolls and the great idea of running a working farm.
Unfortunately for Boycie he soon realises that running a successful farm has many hidden pitfalls, especially when he meets the workforce who seem to have come with the farm itself.
The workforce seem to be ‘country bumpkins’, with Elgin Sparrowhawk, (David Ross) as the farm manager, Jed, (Peter Hepplethwaite) and Bryan, (Ivan Kaye), as the labourers and Imelda Cakeworthy, (Ella Kenion) as the housekeeper.
Then there’s Llewellyn, (Alan David), the welsh madman who owns the neighbouring farm.

So, with the Boyce family now in hiding they try to live their new life the best they can, but things aren’t as simple as they hoped, especially considering Boycie’s luck and the fact that his workforce have a combined IQ lower than plankton.

** BRIEF EPISODE PLOTS…

Series one…

1) Keep on running…
With Boycie hearing that the Driscoll brothers have found out it was him that gave evidence which sent them to prison he has no option but to go into hiding, so he decides to sell his second hand car business and his house in London to start a new life in the country, much to the disgust of his wife and son.
When the family get to there new house in the Shropshire countryside they get more than they hoped for when they meet the locals, especially the hired hands for his farm.

2) A rocky start…
With Boycie, (now known as Farmer Boyce by his staff) trying to impress the locals, Marlene trying to understand her new housekeeper and Tyler trying to find somewhere to use his skateboard things at the new house seem to be baffling. But when Boycie buys a prize winning bull, named Rocky, in the hope of making money through breeding he soon realises that Rocky maybe not be up for the job in hand.

3) The country wife…
Marlene terrifies Boycie and Tyler when she announces she is going to cook them a meal.
Meanwhile, Boycie and Tyler meet their rather mad welsh neighbour, leading to a very tricky situation regarding Rocky and a broken fence.

4) Hay fever…
Boycie and Marlene are fed up with life in the country, not only because they have a bull who doesn’t much like cows, or even the fact that they have a mad Welshman as a neighbour, but they are fed up with Tyler being around the house all day everyday, so it’s time for him to enrol in the local school.
Meanwhile, Boycie has bought a heard of cows, much to Marlens disappointment.

5) Pillow talk…
With Marlene unable to sleep due to the excessive silence surrounding the farm Boycie comes up with a plan, with the help of Jed and a trip to London, unfortunately Jed gets the wrong end of the stick, much to Marlene’s horror.
Meanwhile, Tyler is enjoying his first day at school and is especially happy with his new teacher.

6) Sex and the Country…
Tyler interests in his new teacher becomes worrying for Boycie and Marlene, until Boycie discovers the truth about the teachers real feelings.
Meanwhile, the farm hands are trying to come up with ideas to get the Bull interested in the cows, unfortunately, Boycie spoils their best plan.

2005 Christmas special … One flew over the cuckoo nest…

An invite to the country club ball leads to a lot of trouble for Boycie and Marlene when they are approached by someone offering a get rich scheme, a trip to Switzerland and even a knighthood for Boycie, but, as always, things don’t quite go to plan, which may turn out quite well for the Boyce clan in the end.

** IN CONCLUSION…

For all those who remember the brilliant classic which was ‘only fools and horses’, surrounding the lives of the Trotter family and their friends, will remember two of the supporting characters, namely Boycie, with his second hand car empire and his machine-gun sounding laugh, together with his loving but very dippy wife Marlene and her desperate need to become a mother.
For those who have never heard of the Trotter trials then the Boyce clan will be something new to you.

For me, as I am a big fan of Only fools and horses, I thought this spin off featuring two of those supporting characters would be just as much fun, with the same type of dry humour and somewhat ridiculous scenarios.
Sadly, this show failed to make me laugh as much as ‘only fools’ did.

Don’t get me wrong, it is still is a funny series with some cracking laughs and some strange story lines, but for me it falls very short from the entertainment that was ’only fools’.

If this show involved only the Boyce family, living in a farmhouse, hiding from the Driscoll brothers, then it would have fell at the first hurdle, so the idea to bring in some supporting characters was a good one, especially as the characters involved really do give the series that uniqueness that it needed.
There’s their grown up son Tyler who has turned out to be a lazy slob with no hope for the future.
Mrs Imelda Cakeworthy, the so called housemaid who seems to have her job description all wrong.
Elgin Sparrowhawk, the farm manager who only just manages to remember to breath. Then there’s Jed and Bryan, the cattle man and ploughman, who would make a rocking horse look intelligent.
And finally, there’s Llewelyn, the mad Welshman who is soon infuriated by Boycie, mainly because he’s English.

As for the acting, well, this is just brilliant, with each actor bringing something new into the series, all combining to give the audience some very comical scenarios indeed.
Challis as Boycie is just as comically annoying as he was in ‘Only Fools, with his arrogant ego and glass rattling laugh, honestly believing he is a cut above everyone, especially his newly acquired farmhands.
Holderness continues to be the same doting wife to the annoying laughing one, with her ability to put him in his place, although her slight stupidity and naivety can make you feel sorry for her.
Ross, Hepplethwaite and Kaye are simply fantastic as the farm hands, pulling off the perfect dim witted country bumpkin type villagers.
As for Kenion as the very lazy housekeeper, well, she really does take this role on with perfection, somehow managing to delegate her household chores, even getting Marlene to do them for her. She comes across as being so dim witted but she seems to be a genius in manipulating others to do as she wants.
The stories are very well written with the jokes seeming to roll along at a good speed, enough to keep the audience happy anyway.

In all , a nice spin off from what was a very popular and very funny sitcom (Only fools and horses), keeping the brilliant characteristics of two of those supporting characters, (Boycie and Marlene), to bring another comical sitcom to enjoy.
If you liked Only fools and horses and you liked that form of humour then you’ll love this spin off. But even if you have never heard of the trotters, you may still like this dry, witty and comical show.

If you want to get a copy of the first series then get to www.amazon.co.uk and pick up a copy for less than £7.00, giving you over 220 minutes of humour on a two DVD set, including the Christmas special but no other extras on the discs.
 

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