''Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill'' is a

feature length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

TV drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

, written by

Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations. ...

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 ...

produced two versions, in 1976 and 2003. The 1976 version was the first in a series of six single television plays which aired in the anthology television series ''

Red Letter Day A red letter day (sometimes hyphenated as red-letter day or called scarlet day in academia) is any day of special significance or opportunity. Its roots are in classical antiquity; for instance, important days are indicated in red in a calendar ...

''; each of which showed the events in a single, special day in someone's life. The 2003 version was a remake which was partly rewritten by Rosenthal.Maureen Paton, "Back to the write stuff", ''The Times'', 13 January 2003, p. 15.

Plot

The ''Ready When You Are, Mr McGill'' story is centred on the making of a film. A television actor-extra (Joe McGill) is finally given a line to say to camera. While filming, a collection of comical mishaps occur to create chaos on-set.

1976 version

In the 1976 adaptation Joe Black takes the lead role of Joe McGill. It aired on ITV on 11 January 1976. The story revolves around a British soldier and his relationship with a suspicious school mistress, set in 1940. McGill's line is "I've never seen that young lady in my life before, and I've lived here fifty years". Jack Shepherd plays the stressed director, and

Mark Wing-Davey Mark Wing-Davey (born 30 November 1948) is a British actor and director. He portrayed Zaphod Beeblebrox in the radio and television versions of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Early life and career The son of actor and actress Pete ...

is his assistant. This version has been released on Region 2

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

by Network, both as part of the compilation ''Jack Rosenthal at ITV'', and as part of ''Red Letter Day'' box-set.

2003 version

In the 2003 adaptation

Tom Courtenay Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Courtenay achieved prominence in the 1960s with a series of acclaimed film roles, including ''The Loneliness of ...

takes the lead role of Joe McGill. The story is centred on the making of a film starring

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

as a police officer and

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy, The Illuminatu ...

as an increasingly frustrated director. McGill's line was, "I've never seen the young man in my life before, and I've worked here forty years."

Television industry

Rosenthal said his rewrite had turned the drama into a criticism of television executives, and argued that "the industry has gone crazy and it needs a new generation to change it into something better". He also criticised television schedulers. Although completed early in 2003 the resulting film was held backSteve Pratt, "In the Picture – Left on the shelf", ''Northern Echo'', 24 April 2004, p. 11. and had not been screened by the time Rosenthal died in May 2004; it turned out to be his last work. It was first screened, not on ITV but on

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

Movies 1, in September 2004.Matthew Sweet, "The last word", ''The Independent'', 9 September 2004, pp. 6–7. Rosenthal's widow

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

claimed that TV executives were reluctant to screen the film which was "maybe too acerbic".Guy Adams, "Pandora", ''The Independent'', 30 November 2004, p. 10. In April 2005 she challenged the management of ITV to show the film as a tribute to Rosenthal, threatening to kill them if it was put in a slot outside primetime.Kathryn Spencer, Julie Carpenter and Kate Bohdanowicz, "Day & Night", ''The Express'', 25 April 2005. It was eventually shown on Boxing Day 2005 at 11:05pm.Terry Ramsey, "Pick of the day", ''Evening Standard'', 23 December 2005.

External links

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References