"Heartbeat" (1992) TV series 1992-????

Directors:

Martin Curry
Philippa Langdale

Writers:

Patrick Harbinson (writer)
Stephen Leather (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

Release Date:

10 April 1992 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy | Crime

Plot:

A British police constable and his doctor wife, weary of the turmoil in contemporary London, decide to move and work in a quiet village where life is livelier than they anticipated.

Plot Keywords:

Village | Doctor | Police | Countryside | 1960s

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

William Simons	...	PC Alf Ventress / ... (355 episodes, 1992-2009)
Derek Fowlds	...	Oscar Blaketon / ... (342 episodes, 1992-2009)
Tricia Penrose	...	Gina Ward / ... (338 episodes, 1993-2009)
Mark Jordon	...	PC Phil Bellamy / ... (324 episodes, 1992-2007)
David Lonsdale	...	David Stockwell / ... (259 episodes, 1993-2009)
Peter Benson	...	Bernard 'Bernie' Scripps / ... (234 episodes, 1995-2009)
Bill Maynard	...	Claude Jeremiah Greengrass (155 episodes, 1992-2000)

Also Known As:

Classic Heartbeat (UK) (rerun title)

Runtime:

50 min (274 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Askwith, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

Yorkshire Television (YTV)

Trivia:

The reason none of Nicholas Rhea's original stories were adapted for this series was because some of the real Greengrass's activities were rather bizarre, and because one of his reminiscences was a near duplication of a James Herriot story (the one about the dog who was put to sleep because he was thought to have been attacking sheep, only to be proven innocent after the fact when the real culprit was shot to death somewhat later, after he had died).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Cult of...: All Creatures Great and Small (#2.1)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Heartbeat

The end is nigh and I wouldn't be so surprised

By the time I issued these comments, it had been announced that the popular series would gather dust on a shelf and so the end is nigh and I wouldn't be all that surprised. In part, the decision to axe the series was made due to its sinking popularity and much had been said about Heartbeat throughout its production run spanning 1.5 decades that I have long thought to myself "How much longer can it linger"? With the same plots, it has to be said that most viewers around the box were becoming increasingly tired and frustrated and its now simply lacking the original on what was once a more gentle-natured series. Even so, its becoming increasingly violent and depressing with lack of ideas and bad story lines. Even Lovejoy's Ian McShane once commented about Heartbeat being a soap and who would try to get him wrong nowadays with its gradual fall from grace in the TV guides and critics choice.