Barbara (TV series)

2022-10-15T21:14:33Z

2A02:C7E:4EFD:D00:E5B3:4788:C36E:91D2:

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Barbaratitle.jpg
| genre = [[Situation comedy|Sitcom]]
| creator = [[Mark Bussell]] [[Rob Clark (screenwriter)|Rob Clark]] [[Ramsay Gilderdale]] [[Graham Mark Walker]]
| starring = [[Gwen Taylor]] [[Sam Kelly]] [[Benedict Sandiford]] [[Sherrie Hewson]] [[Elizabeth Carling]] [[Mark Benton]] [[Madge Hindle]] John Arthur [[Jean Alexander]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| language = English
| num_series = 3
| num_episodes = 29
| location = [[King's Meadow Campus|Carlton Studios]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk/the-rest-of-the-uk-today/ex-itv-regional-studios/ |title=Ex-ITV Regional Studios |publisher=TV Studio History |accessdate=1 August 2021}}</ref>
| runtime = 25 minutes
| company = [[ITV Central|Central]] (1995) [[Carlton Television]] (1999–2003)
| distributor = [[ITV Studios]]
| network = [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1995|7|10|df=yes}}
| last_aired = {{end date|2003|4|4|df=yes}}
}}

'''''Barbara''''' is a [[Television in the United Kingdom|British]] [[sitcom]] starring [[Gwen Taylor]] in the title role. A pilot was broadcast in 1995 by [[ITV Central|Central Television]], and three series were then televised on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] from 1999 to 2003 by [[Carlton Television]]. It was filmed at [[King's Meadow Campus|Carlton Studios]] in [[Nottingham]] in front of a [[live studio audience]]. The majority of location scenes for the series were filmed in various suburbs of [[Nottingham]], including [[Mapperley]] and [[West Bridgford]], with other scenes filmed around [[Nottinghamshire]] and [[Derbyshire]].

==Plot==
Barbara Liversidge is a no-nonsense, outspoken, nosey, middle-aged [[General practitioner|doctor's]] [[receptionist]] with a sharp tongue. She has been married to her husband Ted, a mild-mannered [[taxicab|taxi driver]], for 40 years. Barbara is by far the dominant figure in the relationship, but Ted does occasionally stand up to her. The pair live in [[Pudsey]], [[Leeds]], [[West Yorkshire]] with their twenty-something son Neil, who drifts between jobs and a succession of short-term relationships. Their daughter, the long-suffering Linda, is married to Martin Pond, a TV presenter who has his own slot on the local news, ''Pond Life'', which generally involves him making a fool of himself. Jean is Barbara's appearance-obsessed sister (Barbara once claims she's had so much plastic surgery that "she literally doesn't know her arse from her elbow") who marries the simpering Phil. Barbara's colleague at the doctor's surgery, Doreen, often regales Barbara with tales of the bizarre situations she and her never-seen husband Clive find themselves in.

Much of the humour revolves around Barbara's tactlessness and her family's fear of getting on the wrong side of her. While the family often complain about her, they usually find they struggle to manage when Barbara doesn't take charge. Although the show initially appears to have a very traditional sitcom setting, surreal humour is frequently used, such as Barbara baking a cake that looks like [[Judi Dench]] and a [[taxidermist]] friend of Ted's stuffing and mounting his dead wife. There were also some more drama-based plots, such as Linda's discovery she can't have any more children after the birth of her son George. In a particularly dark development, the final episode ("Who Shot Barbara?") ends with an unseen assailant shooting Barbara from behind - a cliffhanger which is never resolved.

==Cast==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Pilot===
*[[Gwen Taylor]] - Barbara Liversage
*[[Sam Kelly]] - Ted Liversage
*[[Shirley Anne Field]] - Jean
*[[Caroline Milmoe]] - Linda Benson
*Glen Davies - Martin Benson
*[[Madge Hindle]] - Doreen
*Ben Robinson - Baby
{{col-break}}

===Series===
*[[Gwen Taylor]] - Barbara Liversidge
*[[Sam Kelly]] - Ted Liversidge
*[[Benedict Sandiford]] - Neil Liversidge
*[[Sherrie Hewson]] - Jean Nesbitt
*[[Elizabeth Carling]] - Linda Pond
*[[Mark Benton]] - Martin Pond
*[[Madge Hindle]] - Doreen
*John Arthur - Phil
*[[Jean Alexander]] - Queenie Liversidge
{{col-end}}

==Series Overview==

*Pilot: 10 July 1995 (1 Episode)
*Series 1: 27 June 1999 to 1 August 1999 (6 Episodes)
*Series 2: 24 November 2000 to 24 June 2001 (10 Episodes)
*Series 3: 23 April 2002 to 4 April 2003 (12 Episodes)

==Episodes==

===Pilot (1995)===
*"Job" (10 July 1995)

===Series 1 (1999)===
All Sunday, 8 pm, [[ITV1|ITV]] except ''Scattering'', shown at 7 pm
#"Birthday" (27 June 1999) Ratings: 9.8m
#"Rivals" (4 July 1999) Ratings 8.21m
#"Amour" (11 July 1999) Ratings: 7.44m
#"Friends" (18 July 1999) Ratings: 6.4m
#"Coffee" (25 July 1999) Ratings: 7.18m
#"Scattering" (1 August 1999) Ratings: 5.02m

===Series 2 (2000-01)===
#"Kids" (24 November 2000) Ratings: 7.55m
#"Massage" (1 December 2000) Ratings: N/A
#"Mum" (8 December 2000) Ratings: 8.70m
#"Christening" (15 December 2000) Ratings: 7.56m
#"Tyres" (22 December 2000) Ratings: 6.89m
#"Fox" (24 December 2000) Ratings: 7.59m
#"Sisters" (23 March 2001) Ratings: 5.80m
#"Mate" (30 March 2001) Ratings: N/A
#"Wedding" (6 April 2001) Ratings: 5.97m
#"Sheep" (24 June 2001) Ratings: N/A

===Series 3 (2002-03)===
The twelve episodes making up Series Three were recorded as a complete series in 2001, but were split into two separate series upon broadcast - six airing in 2002 and the remaining six airing in 2003. The 2002 episodes were shown Tuesdays at 8.30 pm, apart from "Flood" which was shown at 8.00 pm and "Valentine" which was shown on a Saturday at 7.45 pm. All 2003 episodes were shown Sundays at 7.00 pm; with the exception of the last 2 episodes on Fridays at 8.30 pm due to the ITV News coverage of the Iraq war. The Series Three DVD release contains the full twelve episodes.<ref>[http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AVV278240 BBFC Entry for Series Three DVD Release]</ref>
#"Queenie" (23 April 2002) Ratings: 6.97m
#"Flood" (7 May 2002) Ratings: 5.4m
#"Valentine" (11 May 2002) Ratings: 4.8m
#"Crime" (14 May 2002) Ratings: 6.74m
#"Weekend" (21 May 2002) Ratings: 4.7m
#"Baby" (28 May 2002) Ratings: 4.97m
#"Honeymoon" (23 February 2003) Ratings: 5.34m
#"Neighbours" (2 March 2003) Ratings: 5.42m
#"Guy Fawkes" (9 March 2003) Ratings: 5.94m
#"Kirsty" (16 March 2003) Ratings: 5.02m
#"Cottage" (28 March 2003)
#"Who Shot Barbara?" (4 April 2003)

== Filming locations ==
The majority of location scenes for the series were filmed in various suburbs of Nottingham, including Mapperley and West Bridgford. The exterior location for the Liversidge house is located on Sandford Road in Mapperley, whilst the exterior used for Barbara's workplace is the West Oak Surgery on nearby Westdale Lane.

Martin's news studio is the exterior of Carlton's Lenton Lane studios.

==Release==
''Barbara'' was first shown as a [[television pilot|pilot]] within the ''[[Comedy Firsts]]'' series on 10 July 1995. Four years later, on 27 June 1999 the first of three series was presented, with some of the cast and names of the characters being changed from when the programme first appeared. Unusually for an English sitcom, ''Barbara'' was written by a team of writers; Mark Bussell, Rob Clark, [[Ramsay Gilderdale]], Graham Mark Walker and Justin Sbresni.

== Reception ==
Initial reactions to the pilot were lukewarm. While ''[[The Guardian]]'' described Taylor as 'ever-watchable', it felt there was too much focus on character at the expense of plot, summing up 'whether or not there's a series in here remains to be seen'.<ref>''The Guardian''; 8 July 1995, page B70</ref> Critics remained ambivalent as ''Barbara'' progressed to full series; previewing the second series opener in ''The Guardian'', Jonathan Wright felt the show had become 'an enjoyable slice of mainstream sitcom',<ref>''The Guardian''; 24 November 2000, page 20</ref> but Charlie Catchpole in ''[[Daily Mirror|The Mirror]]'' felt Taylor and Kelly were both 'sadly wasted', remarking '[[Carlton Television]] say ''Barbara'' is ITV's most popular comedy for five years. I believe them. It's not exactly a crowded field, is it?'.<ref>Catchpole, Charlie. 'Lonely at the Top for Babs', ''The Mirror''; 28 November 2000, page 13</ref> However, every episode of the 1999 and 2002 series was in ITV's top 30 weekly ratings as compiled by [[BARB]] and audience figures frequently averaged around 5-7 million viewers, 17 of the episodes winning their slots, meaning they were the most watched shows at the time of broadcast.

The [[Independent Television Commission]]'s annual report for 2001 labelled ''Barbara'' 'a rare exception' to the otherwise unimpressive 'commitment to comedy shown by ITV', as represented by shows such as ''Sam's Game'' and ''[[Babes in the Wood (TV series)|Babes in the Wood]]''.<ref>''The Guardian''; 29 April 2002, page 9</ref>

== DVD releases ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! DVD !! Release date
|-
| The Complete Series 1 || 13 September 2010
|-
| The Complete Series 2 || 17 January 2011
|-
| The Complete Series 3 || 23 May 2011
|-
| The Complete Series 1 - 3 Box Set || 24 October 2011
|}


==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0187623|title=Barbara}}
*{{British Comedy Guide|tv|barbara|Barbara}}
*{{epguides|Barbara|Barbara}}
*[http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/barbara/index.html ''Barbara''] at British TV Comedy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbara (Tv Series)}}
[[Category:1995 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:2003 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1990s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:2000s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:English-language television shows]]
[[Category:ITV sitcoms]]
[[Category:Carlton Television]]
[[Category:Television shows filmed in Nottinghamshire]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Leeds]]
[[Category:Television series by ITV Studios]]
[[Category:Television shows produced by Central Independent Television]]

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Barbara (TV series)