''Fish'' is a British television drama series first broadcast on BBC One in 2000. It features Paul McGann as the title character, alongside Jemma Redgrave and

Mick Ford Mick Ford (born 1 August 1952) is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his portrayal of intellectual convict Archer in the cinema version of ''Scum (film), Scum''. Early life and education Ford was born on 1 August 19 ...

. It was created by

Stephen Tredre Stephen Ralph Tredre (17 July 1963 – 8 December 1997) was an English actor and writer. The son of a doctor, he was born in London and educated at Epsom College, appearing as the lead role in a school production of ''Hamlet.'' Tredre also wrot ...

, written by Tredre and Matthew Bardsley, and co-produced by the BBC and Principal Pictures.

Premise

Jonathan "Fish" Vishnevski (McGann) is an employment lawyer who specialises in

industrial tribunal Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, redu ...

s. His wife has left him and gone abroad, leaving him to look after their young son, Simon (Jack Stanley). In court, he often comes up against lawyer Joanna Morgan (Redgrave), who becomes his love interest. His friend Trevor (Ford) is an amateur philosopher who owns a mobile burger bar. Additional characters include Ivan Vishnevski ( Philip Voss), Harold Cornice ( Stephen Moore), Sarah Cornice ( Jill Baker) and Jess Taylor ( Daniela Denby-Ashe).

Creation and production

The series was inspired by the brother of producer Miriam Segal and conceived by

in 1994, who took up screenwriting due to illness. After obtaining funding from Principal Pictures, Segal approached

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

and then the BBC with the programme, who both turned it down. It was then offered to the BBC's regional drama department, BBC Birmingham, and the series was commissioned. After reorganisation within the BBC, the series was announced in 1999 by the corporation's drama head, Mal Young. The first episode was written by Tredre before his death in 1997, with the rest of the series completed by Matthew Bardsley. The series was filmed in London and cost £3 million. Redgrave's marriage to lawyer

Tim Owen Timothy Francis Owen (born 29 October 1955) is a former Australian politician and a former deputy commander of the Australian Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the elector ...

did not put her off taking the role of lawyer Joanna Morgan, telling Rob Driscoll for the ''

Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a s ...

'': "I've been dying to play a lawyer for the longest time, precisely because I know that world quite well now. I'm just worried if people spot mistakes, after all this seemingly reliable research!" Also speaking ahead of the first broadcast, McGann described his character as having "depth" and said of the "intelligent" writing: "It will really engage people. They'll find themselves strangely intrigued. This is the sort of television we should be making, television that makes you think."

Episode list

Reception

In his review for '' The Herald'', David Belcher found the first episode "a bizarre, overly-complex TV hybrid", categorising it as "so-wrong-it's-only-right-to-watch-aghast-and-snicker". Tony Purnell in '' The Mirror'' wasn't 'hooked', and Frances Grant in '' The New Zealand Herald'' said that "Fish doesn't yet seem to be an interesting enough character to single-handedly carry a series", with the review concluding with a quote from the series: "You lot in suits – you're very bland."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0244903, title=Fish BBC television dramas 2000s British drama television series 2000s British legal television series 2000 British television series debuts 2000 British television series endings English-language television shows