Kurt at 17:03, 4 August 2024

2024-08-04T17:03:53Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:03, 4 August 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~{{short description\|British television series}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=May 2014}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=May 2014}}~~
	{{Infobox television		{{Infobox television
	\| image = Agony_title_screen.jpg		\| image = Agony_title_screen.jpg

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2024-08-04T16:53:38Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 11:53, 4 August 2024
(No difference)

en>DuncanHill: /* top */ wl

2024-05-01T21:55:14Z

top: wl

New page

{{short description|British television series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Agony_title_screen.jpg
| caption = ''Agony'' main title screen featuring Maureen Lipman as Jane Lucas
| genre = [[Sitcom]]
| runtime = 30 minutes
| creator = {{Plainlist|
* Len Richmond
* [[Anna Raeburn]]
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Maureen Lipman]]
* [[Simon Williams (actor)|Simon Williams]]
* [[Maria Charles]]
* [[Peter Blake (actor)|Peter Blake]]
* [[Jeremy Bulloch]]
* [[Peter Denyer]]
* [[Diana Weston]]
* [[Jan Holden]]
* [[Bill Nighy]]
}}
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| company = [[London Weekend Television]]
| network = [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| first_aired = {{Start date|1979|03|11|df=yes}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1981|03|01|df=yes}}
| num_series = 3
| num_episodes = 20
}}
'''''Agony''''' is a British [[sitcom]] that aired on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] from 1979 to 1981. Made by [[London Weekend Television]], it stars [[Maureen Lipman]] as Jane Lucas who has a successful career as an [[agony aunt]] but whose own personal life is a shambles. It was created by Len Richmond and real-life agony aunt [[Anna Raeburn]], both of whom wrote all of the first series. The second and third series were written by Stan Hey and [[Andrew Nickolds]].

''Agony'' was the first British sitcom to portray a gay couple as non-camp, witty, intelligent and happy people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Agony, LWT |url=http://www.britishclassiccomedy.co.uk/2013/04/maureen-lipman-in-agony/ |work=Summary of the Series featuring the Episode |publisher=British Classic Comedy |accessdate=22 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417044021/http://www.britishclassiccomedy.co.uk/2013/04/maureen-lipman-in-agony/ |archive-date=17 April 2013 }}</ref>

==Cast==
*[[Maureen Lipman]] - Jane Lucas
*[[Simon Williams (actor)|Simon Williams]] - Laurence Lucas
*[[Maria Charles]] - Bea Fisher
*[[Peter Blake (actor)|Peter Blake]] - Andy Evol
*[[Jeremy Bulloch]] - Rob
*[[Peter Denyer]] - Michael
*[[Diana Weston]] - Val Dunn
*[[Jan Holden]] - Diana
*[[Robert Gillespie]] - Mr. Mince ''(Series 1)''
*Robert Austin - Junior Truscombe ''(series 2 and 3)''
*[[Bill Nighy]] - Vincent Fish ''(series 2)''
*Josephine Welcome - Indira Patel ''(Series 2)''

==Premise==
Jane Lucas is an agony aunt, who is highly successful in her career working at radio call-in show (for ''Happening Radio 242'') in [[London]] and writing the "Dear Jane" advice column for ''Person'' magazine, but whose own marriage and personal life is a complete disaster. Her Jewish mother, Bea, interferes in all aspects of her life, and her [[gentile]] psychiatrist husband Laurence is unreliable and emotionally inept during the course of their on/off relationship. Jane's friends and colleagues include her assistant Val, her boss Diana, and her gay neighbours Rob and Michael, all of whom come to her with problems of their own. Meanwhile, Jane has to contend with the constant advances of oversexed, smarmy radio disc jockey Andy Evol and the equally libidinous Vincent Fish.

Although a sitcom, ''Agony'' often included subjects in its storylines that were considered [[taboo]] at the time such as drug use, racism, and homosexuality, and often included darker, more dramatic storylines such as Jane being held hostage by a crazed maniac, the suicide of one of her friends, and the abduction of her newborn baby.

==Reception==
Writing in ''[[The Guardian]]'', television critic [[Nancy Banks-Smith]] praised the series, describing it as "a wide-awake, wise-cracking comedy with a cracking good comedienne in Maureen Lipman" and that "the one-liners are one a second, fast and fresh and funny."<ref>{{cite news |title= Television: Agony|author= Nancy Banks-Smith |newspaper= The Guardian |date= 12 March 1979}}</ref>

==Episodes==

===Series One (1979)===
#"Help" (11 March 1979)
#"An Unmarried Couple" (18 March 1979)
#"Conjugal Wrongs" (25 March 1979)
#"Wedlock, Deadlock" (8 April 1979)
#"Forever and Never" (15 April 1979)
#"Too Much Agony, Too Little Ecstasy" (29 April 1979)

===Series Two (1980)===
#"Back to Reality" (13 April 1980)
#"Working Girls" (20 April 1980)
#"Coming Out... and Going In Again?" (27 April 1980)
#"Television Can Damage Your Health" (4 May 1980)
#"Problem Parents" (11 May 1980)
#"Second Time Around" (18 May 1980)
#"A Woman Alone" (25 May 1980)

===Series Three (1981)===
#"From Here to Maternity" (18 January 1981)
#"Arrivals and Departures" (25 January 1981)
#"Hospital Romances" (1 February 1981)
#"Communications Breakdown" (8 February 1981)
#"Holy Wars" (15 February 1981)
#"Lucas v Lucas" (22 February 1981)
#"Rings Off Their Fingers" (1 March 1981)

==''Agony Again''==
{{Main|Agony Again}}
''Agony'' was revived in 1995, this time on the [[BBC]] as ''Agony Again''; produced by the BBC after ITV turned it down; the revived version had originally been pitched to [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]], but was felt to have enough potential to again be a television production. In addition, ''Agony'' was remade for [[United States|American]] television under the name ''[[The Lucie Arnaz Show]]'', with Len Richmond as the writer. This ran for six episodes on [[CBS]] in 1985 and starred [[Lucie Arnaz]].

==DVD releases==
All three series of ''Agony'', including a 3-disc set of the complete series, have been released on DVD in the UK (Region 2) by Network DVD.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! DVD !! Release date
|-
| The Complete Series 1 || 5 November 2007
|-
| The Complete Series 2 || 25 April 2008
|-
| The Complete Series 3 || 17 August 2009
|-
| The Complete Series 1 to 3 Box set || 5 October 2009
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[[Mark Lewisohn]], "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061206005544/https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/a/agony_7770130.shtml Archived BBC Comedy Guide page] @ [[Wayback Machine]]
*{{IMDb title|0078559|Agony}}
*{{British Comedy Guide|sitcom|agony|Agony}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agony (TV series)}}
[[Category:1979 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1981 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1970s LGBT-related sitcoms]]
[[Category:1970s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:1970s British LGBT-related television series]]
[[Category:1980s British LGBT-related television series]]
[[Category:1980s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:1980s LGBT-related sitcoms]]
[[Category:British LGBT-related sitcoms]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]
[[Category:ITV sitcoms]]
[[Category:Kidnapping in television]]
[[Category:London Weekend Television shows]]
[[Category:Television shows about suicide]]
[[Category:Television series about Jews and Judaism]]
[[Category:Television series about radio]]
[[Category:Television shows set in London]]

Agony (TV series) - Revision history

Kurt at 17:03, 4 August 2024

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>DuncanHill: /* top */ wl