Full House (UK TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Full House
genre = Sitcom
creator = Johnnie Mortimer
Brian Cooke
starring = Christopher Strauli
Sabina Franklyn
Brian Capron
Natalie Forbes
Diana King
Joan Sanderson
theme_music_composer = Harry Stoneham
country = UK
num_seasons = 3
num_episodes = 20
runtime = 30 minutes
producer = Peter Frazer-Jones
Mark Stuart
Anthony Parker
network = Thames Television
ITV
first_aired = January 7, 1985
last_aired = November 19, 1986
imdb_id = 0166040
tv_com_id = 25049

Full House was a British sitcom that aired for three seasons from 1985 to 1986. It was the last sitcom to be jointly co-created by the sitcom writing team of Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, however, it was mainly written by Mortimer alone, with Mortimer writing 12 episodes alone, along with a further 3 with Cooke, while another veteran sitcom writer, Vince Powell, contributed another 3.

It starred Christopher Strauli, Sabina Franklyn, Brian Capron and Natalie Forbes, with Diana King, who was later replaced by Joan Sanderson.

It was made by Thames Television for the ITV network.

Plot

The show revolved aroung two young couples, the Hatfields and the McCoys. Paul Hatfield (played by Strauli) and his wife Marsha (played by Franklyn), married for three years, and up to then living with Paul's mother (played in the first two series by King and then by Sanderson in the third), finally find their ideal home. However, they are unable to meet the mortgage repayments, so they invite Murray McCoy (played by Capron) and his girlfriend Diana (played by Forbes), who are also in the same situation, to join them and move in with them, contributing to the payment of the house. In the final episode of the series, the McCoys are married, and they have a baby.

Episodes

eries One (1985)

*1.1. First Time Buyers (January 7, 1985)
*1.2. And Mother Came Too (January 14, 1985)
*1.3. Promises, Promises (January 21, 1985)
*1.4. It's Only Money (January 28, 1985)
*1.5. Little Secrets (February 4, 1985)
*1.6. Such Sweet Sorrow (February 11, 1985)

eries Two (1985)

*2.1. Baby Talk (October 16, 1985)
*2.2. Where There's A Will (October 23, 1985)
*2.3. Home Is Where The Art Is (October 30, 1985)
*2.4. It's A Steal (November 4, 1985)
*2.5. Semper Fidelis (November 13, 1985)
*2.6. TV Or Not TV (November 20, 1985)
*2.7. The Mating Game (November 27, 1985)
*2.8. May The Best Man Win (December 4, 1985)

eries Three (1986)

*3.1. It's In The Book (October 15, 1986)
*3.2. All Work And No Play (October 22, 1986)
*3.3. The Facts Of Life (October 29, 1986)
*3.4. Old Scores (November 5, 1986)
*3.5. If At First You Don't Succeed (November 12, 1986)
*3.6. And Baby Makes Six (November 19, 1986)

Trivia

In common with many other Thames sitcoms from the 1980s, the format of "Full House" was sold to the US, via the American producer Don L. Taffner, who had a close relationship with Thames and had distributed Thames programmes in the States in both format and syndication. Taffner sold the format to CBS, and his production company made a pilot entitled "No Place Like Home", starring Jack Blessing and Susan Hess as the married couple and Rick Lohman and Molly Cheek as the unmarried couple. It aired on CBS on September 6 1985, but it failed to develop into a full series.

However, the original British series did eventually air in the US in syndication, but by then the more famous American family sitcom also entitled "Full House" had premiered, so it was renamed "Mixed Doubles" in the US so as to avoid confusion.

References

*Mark Lewinsohn, "BBC Online Comedy Guide"/"Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy"
*British TV Online Resources

Links

* [http://phill.co.uk/comedy/full/"Full House" at the British TV Online Resources]