"The Green Green Grass" (2005) TV series 2005-????

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Creator:

John Sullivan

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

9 September 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Shifty car salesman Boycie and his wife Marlene leave their council estate in Peckham, London to start a new life in a rambling farmhouse in Shropshire.

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Spin Off | Farm | Husband Wife Relationship

Cast

John Challis	...	Boycie (32 episodes, 2005-2009)
Sue Holderness	...	Marlene (32 episodes, 2005-2009)
David Ross	...	Elgin (31 episodes, 2005-2009)
Jack Doolan	...	Tyler (30 episodes, 2005-2009)
Ivan Kaye	...	Bryan (30 episodes, 2005-2009)
Ella Kenion	...	Mrs. Cakeworthy (30 episodes, 2005-2009)
Peter Heppelthwaite	...	Jed (30 episodes, 2005-2009)
Alan David	...	Llewellyn (16 episodes, 2005-2009)
Lisa Diveney	...	Beth (15 episodes, 2005-2007)
Nigel Harrison	...	Ray (13 episodes, 2006-2009)

Runtime:

30 min (20 episodes) | 40 min (1 episode) | 45 min (1 episode) | 50 min (1 episode)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:PG (15 episodes)

Filming Locations:

Shropshire, England, UK

Company:

Shazam Productions

Trivia:

The outdoor scenes of the farm house and surrounding fields are filmed at the real-life home of John Challis.

Movie Connections:

Spin off from "Only Fools and Horses" (1981)

Soundtrack:

The Green Green Grass

Could be a hit with Only Fools veterans and newcomers

As a massive Only Fools and Horses fan, I began watching the first episode of John Sullivan's new sitcom with a certain degree of trepidation. My fear was that my fondness for OF&H would be ruined by a cheap, quickly knocked out spin-off featuring the classic comedy creations that are Boycie and Marlene. However, I was almost completely wrong. I think that a true Only Fools fan would find it impossible not to laugh at this fish-out-of-water caper, even if it is Boycie just doing almost exactly what he did in OF&H (slagging off Marlene, being tight, and just being quite nasty). Just this time it's got a new, nicer setting. Another of my worries was that Sullivan would just milk Only Fools for all its worth, by name dropping the entire population of Peckham. Wrong again, he didn't do this. Del-Boy was mentioned once or twice and there was a cameo from Paul Barber (Denzil), but apart from that there was no real mentions of any core Only Fools characters. For anyone walking around saying things such as "The Only Fools And Horses Cash Cow Has Been Well Milked" clearly hasn't got a clue what they're talking about. Although this comedy series isn't exactly a fresh concept, it is very entertaining indeed. To summarise, I think that the legend that is John Sullivan is on top form, and the rest of the series should hopefully be a joy to watch.