Not Going Out
| Not Going Out | |
|---|---|
| File:Not Going Out.jpg Title screen of Not Going Out. | |
| Directed by | Paul Kerensa Nick Wood |
| Starring | see below |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 22 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 30 minutes |
| Production company | Avalon Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 6 October, 2006 – present |
| Related | |
| Miranda The Sketch Show | |
Not Going Out is a British television Comedy that has aired on BBC One since 2006. Starring Lee Mack, Megan Dodds, Tim Vine and Sally Bretton, it is written by Mack, Andrew Collins, Paul Kerensa, Simon Evans and Peter Tilbury. Three series and two Christmas Specials have so far aired.[1]
It was originally cancelled by the BBC in early 2009 despite good ratings.[2] However, the BBC revisited the decision in December 2009 and renewed the show for a fourth series, to air in late 2010.[3]
Plot
Series One (2006)
Lee, unambitious and unmotivated, goes from one job to another, living off the good graces of his Californian landlady Kate, with whom he shares a flat in London. It is not long before they find that their friendship is changing into something more. The situation is somewhat complicated by the fact that Lee's best friend Tim, an accountant from Henley, is Kate's ex-boyfriend - and he wants to repair his relationship with Kate. Lee is torn between pursuing his growing feelings for Kate and remaining loyal to his increasingly paranoid friend. Catherine Tate played Kate in the pilot episode.
Series Two (2007)
Kate has gone back to America leaving Lee with a flat neither Tim nor he can afford to keep. Tim's sister Lucy, a head hunter recently back from ten years abroad, buys the flat and becomes the new landlady and flatmate to Lee.[4] Tim also hires a cleaner, Barbara, to clean the flat. In "Gay", the series' second episode, 51-year-old Guy first appears and he soon becomes Lucy's boyfriend. Lee, now an ice-cream seller, later appears to fall for Lucy. In the last episode Tim and Lee are convinced Guy is a gangster and has been smuggling diamonds but it turns out that he was having a diamond engagement ring made for Lucy planning to propose on a romantic holiday. Lee leaves the airport thinking Lucy has said yes to Guy but she returns saying that she was too young to get married and that she had split up with Guy. There was also a Christmas Special in 2007 which introduced Tim and Lucy's parents for the first time.
Series Three (2009)
The third series sees Lee trying to pursue Lucy, usually egged on by Barbara he invariably ends up making things worse for himself. We also witness Lucy questioning her sexuality, which shocks Lee. Tim's girlfriend Daisy also becomes more of a fixture in series three. In the last episode Lucy is about to marry Pavlov the mechanic so he can stay in the country however she realises that she's made a mistake and Lee gets Barbara to marry Pavlov instead, the last scene is of them driving off together for their honeymoon in India. Barbara is seen back in the flat, wanting to go off with Lee's dad, Frank, who is seen in the last episode, which was broadcast as a Christmas Special on the 23rd December 2009
Series Four (2010)
A fourth series is due to be filmed in late 2010.
Main/Recurring Cast
| Actor/Actress | Character | Occupation | Notes | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Mack | Lee | Ice Cream Man | Lucy's lodger | Series 1 - present |
| Tim Vine | Tim Adams | Corporate Accountant | Lee's best friend | |
| Miranda Hart | Barbara | Self-employed cleaner | Cleaner | Series 2 - present |
| Sally Bretton | Lucy Adams | Headhunter | Tim's sister | |
| Katy Wix | Daisy | Hair dresser | Tim's girlfriend | |
| Simon Dutton | Guy | Businessman | Lucy's boyfriend | Series 2 (recurring) |
| Timothy West | Geoffrey Adams | Retired | Tim & Lucy's parents | Series 2 - present (recurring) |
| Deborah Grant | Wendy Adams | Unknown | ||
| Megan Dodds | Kate | Book publisher | Tim's ex-girlfriend | Series 1 (star role) |
Guest cast
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Main Crew
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Series Producers:
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Series Writers:
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Sound Department:
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Production
The majority of an episode is shot on set in front of a live audience at Teddington Studios. There are two main sets, one being the flat and the other being the bar that Lee and Tim frequent. Outdoor shots and real indoor location shots have also been used on occasion.
The show is filmed in HDTV although unlike other BBC HD sitcoms it is not simulcast on BBC HD, but shown on BBC HD 30 Minutes after the BBC One airing.
A lot of the humour is based on wordplay and double entendres delivered in a deadpan manner. This is the comedy style Lee Mack and Tim Vine have used both in stand-up and in The Sketch Show, to the extent that an occasional one-liner from their solo performances is slipped in. This is mostly one sided with Kate typically being the victim of the joke. Sight gags are also frequently used.
In the first series, episodes would be written by Mack and Andrew Collins, with members of the cast credited for additional material. Series 2 saw Simon Evans and Paul Kerensa join the writing team. It was Mack and Collins's job to write most of the episode's material with Evans and Kerensa 'gagging' them up. Series 3 saw the writing team expand considerably with writers such as Darin Henry, Daniel Peak and Simon Dean contributing to the main episodes (all co-written with Mack) and the "gag writing" team was expanded from two members to almost as much as eight members (excluding main writers) on a single episode.
In the original pilot of the series, which has not been aired, the part of Kate was played by Catherine Tate.
Lee Mack announced during one his recent stand up gigs that Not Going Out would indeed be back for a fourth series, to the delight of many fans. [5]
Title sequence
The first series featured Tim, Lee and Kate doing an unusual dance in a haze of blue lights holding lighted signs reading "NOT", "GOING", and "OUT". At the end of the sequence, Lee and Tim stood holding their signs and Kate sat down on hers. The lights on Lee's sign then went out.
The second series was quite similar, although with the departure of Kate, her place was taken by new character Lucy. The title sequence ended with Lucy standing next to Lee and Tim holding her sign up. An addition to the title sequence was that when Lee's sign went out, you could actually hear the electricity going. Barbara then comes in holding a plug and says, "Sorry." This title sequence stayed the same for Series 3.
The title sequence for the Christmas special was similar to the one for Series 2 and 3, the only differences being that Lee, Tim, Lucy and Barbara are all in Christmas hats at the end, and Barbara says, "Happy Christmas," and bursts out laughing instead of her usual, "Sorry."
The theme music features a male singer singing a catchy song in a Frank Sinatra-like tone. The lyrics are:
We're not going out Not staying in Just haning around with my head in a spin But there is no need to scream and shout We're not going out We are not going out
DVD releases
| Series | Discs | Year | Ep # | Release Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 2 | Region 4 | |||||
| Complete Series 1 | 1 | 2006 | 6 | 22 October 2007 | 13 May 2009 | |
| Complete Series 2 | 2 | 2007 | 8 | 2 February 2009 | 9 December 2009 [6] | |
| Complete Series 3 | 2 | 2009 | 8 | TBA | TBA | |
| Complete Series 1 & 2 | 3 | 2006 & 2007 | 14 | 2 February 2009 | TBA | |
References
- ^ "News - Not Going Out will be back for another series". British Sitcom =26 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-03.
{{cite news}}: Check|url=value (help); Unknown parameter|datewww.sitcom.co.uk/news/news.php?story=ignored (help) - ^ "Andrew Collins' Blog- No longer going out". Andrew Collins 30 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
- ^ "Not Going Out is back from the dead". The British Comedy Guide. 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ^ "You Ask Us". Radio Times. 4 August 2007.
- ^ "Lee Mack at the Gulbenkian, Canterbury". Times Online. 2009-12-14. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- ^ Region 4, on pre order
External links
- Not Going Out at BBC Online
- Not Going Out at IMDb
- Template:Tv.com
- Not Going Out at the British Comedy Guide