Butterflies (1978–1983)

Ria, a happily married suburban housewife, reaches the age where she feels as if life is passing her by. Being taken for granted by her butterfly collecting dentist husband doesn't help. So... See full summary »

Stars:

Wendy Craig, Geoffrey Palmer, Bruce Montague

1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Wendy Craig	...	Ria (28 episodes, 1978-1983)
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Ben (28 episodes, 1978-1983)
Bruce Montague	...	Leonard (28 episodes, 1978-1983)
Nicholas Lyndhurst	...	Adam (28 episodes, 1978-1983)
Andrew Hall	...	Russell (28 episodes, 1978-1983)
Joyce Windsor	...	Ruby (26 episodes, 1978-1983)
Michael Ripper	...	Thomas (19 episodes, 1978-1983)

Storyline

Ria, a happily married suburban housewife, reaches the age where she feels as if life is passing her by. Being taken for granted by her butterfly collecting dentist husband doesn't help. So, when the opportunity for an affair comes up she tries to decide whether she loves her husband enough to be faithful to him.

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Plot Keywords:

affair | animal in title | sitcom

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Perhosia

Filming Locations:

Bournside Road, Up Hatherley, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (28 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Ria Parkinson: You never were very romantic, were you.

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Connections

Followed by Butterflies Reunion Special (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Adagio in G minor"
Written by Tomaso Albinoni

User Reviews

enjoyed a "cult" of its own?

Once you read through all the viewers' comments, you can see that "Butterflies" had a devoted crop of followers who found this show fresh, gentle, involving and - funny. Even today I think back fondly for that show. I watched each week, and I was so grateful for each of these wonderful characters. Geoffrey Palmer was remarkable in playing what I would think a difficult role (makes me think of the husband's part in "Iris," or a couple of the husbands in "Enchanted April"). Ria's character was of course the center, and I appreciated her situation - even sympathized with her, for I was in her kind of spot when I got hooked on the series.

"Butterflies" showed real people making sense of their lives. I loved it!