List of Joking Apart episodes

This is a list of television episodes from the British television sitcom "Joking Apart". Broadcast on BBC2, "Joking Apart" is about the rise and fall of a relationship, juxtaposing a couple, Mark (Robert Bathurst) and Becky (Fiona Gillies), who meet and fall in love before getting separated and finally divorced. The series was written by Steven Moffat, directed by Bob Spiers and produced by Andre Ptaszynski for independent production company Pola Jones.

The show is semi-autobiographical, being inspired by the then-recent separation of Moffat and his first wife. [cite news |first=Adam |last=Sternbergh |title= Selling Your Sex Life |work=New York Times |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03EFD61538F934A3575AC0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 |date=2003-09-07 |accessdate=2008-04-01] cite web |first=Graham |last=Kibble-White |title="Fool If You Think It's Over" |work=Off the Telly |url=http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/comedy/jokingapart.htm |date=May 2006 |accessdate=2006-12-22] Some of the first series followed a non-linear dual structure, contrasting the rise of the relationship with the separation. Other episodes were ensemble farces, predominantly including the couple's friends Robert (Paul Raffield) and Tracy (Tracie Bennett). Paul-Mark Elliott also appeared as Trevor, Becky's lover.

Although the show attracted a low audience because of scheduling problems, scored highly on the Appreciation Index and it accrued a loyal fanbase. One fan acquired the rights from the BBC and released it on his own DVD label.cite news |first=Shane |last=Jarvis |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/05/08/bvjoke08.xml |publisher=The Telegraph |title=Farce that rose from the grave |date=2006-05-08 |accessdate=2007-03-01] The first series was released in May 2006, and the second on 17 March 2008.

eries

eries 2

The format was changed for this series, with the dual timelines and much of the flashbacks dropped for a more linear narrative. Moffat felt that the relationship had already been sufficiently established in the first series so there was little point going back to the start.cite web |title=In Conversation: Steven Moffat, Part 3 |work=jokingapart.co.uk |url=http://www.jokingapart.co.uk/in_conversation/steven_moffat_p3.htm |accessdate=2007-04-03]

Robert and Tracy are given more stories than in the first series.cite web |first=Charles |last=Packer |title=Joking Apart: The Complete Second Series |work=Sci-fi Online |url=http://www.sci-fi-online.com/2008_reviews/dvd/08-03-17_jokingapart2.htm |accessdate=2008-03-30] Their main story arc begins in the third episode when Robert is caught by all of the main characters and his parents in a maid's outfit being spanked by a prostitute.cite episode |title=Series 2, Episode 3 |series=Joking Apart |credits=wr. Steven Moffat, dir. Bob Spiers |network=BBC 2 |airdate=1995-01-17 |season=2 |number=3] The couple temporarily separate while Robert experiments with cross-dressing, but they are reunited by the end of the series.

References

External links

* [http://www.jokingapart.co.uk/ Joking Apart] Unofficial Site, with episode guides and extended interviews with Moffat and Bathurst
*imdb title|id=0106041|title=Joking Apart