High Hopes (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = High Hopes


caption = The Cast Of High Hopes
format = Sitcom
runtime = Approximately 30 Minutes
starring = Robert Blythe Margaret John Steven Meo Oliver Wood Boyd Clack Keiron Self Di Botcher
country = WAL
network = BBC One Wales
first_aired = 1999 (Pilot Episode) Series 1 (2002) Series 2 (2003) Series 3 (2004) Series 4 (2005) 2 Special Episodes (2006) Series 5 (2007)
last_aired = Present
num_series = 5
website = http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/highhopes/sites/content/
imdb_id = 0207888
tv_com_id = 14191

"High Hopes" is a sitcom made in Wales, produced and directed by Gareth Gwenlan for BBC Wales and is set in a fictional area of the South Wales Valleys called Cwm-Pen-Ôl. It stars Margaret John as widow Elsie Hepplewhite, Robert Blythe as her son Richard Hepplewhite, Steven Meo as Hoffman and Oliver Wood (formerly Ben Evans) as Charlie. It revolves around Elsie's son Richard (known as Fagin) and his dodgy business ventures, assisted by the two boys, who attempted to rob the Hepplewhites' house in the first episode. The pilot was shown on BBC all over the UK in 1999, with slight differences to future cast and plot.

The series started in 2002 to much acclaim, and in March 2007, filming began on its fifth series.

Series 6 is to air in autumn 2008. as reported in South wales Echo on 6 Oct 08; "High Hopes will not be re-commissioned beyond 2009, a BBC spokesman confirmed.He said: “"The next series of High Hopes is due to go out this autumn. The series has not been re-commissioned for next year."”H"e added that High Hopes – currently in its fifth series – could return at a future date"."

Characters

Richard (Fagin) Hepplewhite

*Played by: Robert BlytheRichard Hepplewhite is a wannabe entrepreneur who lives with his mother in the Welsh valleys. Fresh from serving time for second-degree murder at Strangeways Prison, he is claustrophobic and agoraphobic, running his business empire from his desk at the house. He takes the boys in during the first episode. In one episode, he is briefly cured of his agoraphobia after falling over, but he still lives in fear of being "sucked off by the sky".

Elsie "Mam" Hepplewhite

*Played by: Margaret JohnElsie is Fagin's mother whose husband was captured by Japan in World War II as a prisoner of war. He died as a POW in Japan during World War 2 when Fagin was a young boy . So, she shares detriment for the Japanese with Richard, she because of her husband's death, him because of their technological advances. Her grandfather died after swallowing a silver threepence that was in his Christmas pudding, not before running down the road for one and a half miles (bearing in mind he was ninety-four!)

Dwayne Hoffman

*Played by: Steven MeoHoffman (his first name Dwayne is rarely used) is a teenage petty criminal who's best friend is Charlie. He and Charlie are apprentices to Fagin's business. Hoffman enters many scrapes, like stealing an iconic Welsh painting "Dafydd ar y Twmp" (or Dafydd and his Hump, according to Hoffman), and trying to escape the clutches of a randy policewoman!

Charlie Jenkins

*Played by: Ben Evans (2002-2006), Oliver Wood (2007)Charlie is the second teenager in the household. He seems not to be brighter than Hoffman, and once made a collage of Charlotte Church with no clothes on (or, Charlotte Church's inverted head atop a page three girl's body), and also entering a romance with a Victor (who was eventually discovered to be a girl named Victoria - to Charlie's relief).

Other characters

Other characters include Mrs. Coles, the local shopkeeper (Little Britain regular Di Botcher), PC Claude Cox (Keiron Self), a friend of the family, with a fondness of cake, plastic sex dolls and pornographic films. Also present is show co-writer Boyd Clack who plays Sergeant Ball. In another of his appearances in his own show Satellite City he played one of the main characters Gwynne.

Pilot and series comparison

The pilot and the series in general can be compared:
*In the pilot, the boys knew Fagin already, but in the series, Fagin met them and their knowledge of each other developed (quickly!)

*The whole of the UK (including Wales) saw the pilot, whereas the series was originally shown only in Wales, but was recently (2006) repeated on BBC2 Wales, which is also available to BSkyB viewers outside Wales as well.
*Different actors played Charlie and Hoffman and also PC Cox.

The series' theme tune is an instrumental version of the 1959 song High Hopes played on a Welsh harp.

The backdrop village seen on the show's credits is Fochriw.

External links

*bbc.co.uk|id=highhopes|title="High Hopes"
*imdb title|id=0207888|title=High Hopes
* [http://www.satellitecitytv.net/index.html Official Satellite City and High Hopes Website]

Reference sites

*http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/10/06/welsh-sitcom-set-to-be-axed-91466-21973708/ Welsh sitcom set to be axed. Walesonline.co.uk