The "Green Wing Special" is the final episode of the British sitcom '' Green Wing''. It was first broadcast in Australia and Belgium on 29 December 2006. It was aired on 4 January 2007 in the United Kingdom. The episode is sometimes billed as a Christmas special, although the episode contains nothing Christmas related. The special is 90 minutes long, around twice the length of a normal episode.
The special continues the plot from the end of the
second series
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
engaged
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
Alan Statham
''Green Wing'' is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the Sketch comedy, sketch show ''Smack the Pony'' – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and ...
(
Mark Heap
Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including, ''Brass Eye'', ''Big Train'', ''Spaced'', ''Jam (TV series), Jam'', ''Green Wing'', ''Friday Night Dinner'', ''Upstart ...
) and Joanna Clore ( Pippa Haywood) fleeing from the police after they murdered Joanna's cousin, and Karen Ball (
Lucinda Raikes
Lucinda Mary J Raikes (born 14 April 1971 in Cambridge) is an English actress, most noted for playing Karen Ball in the sitcom ''Green Wing'' and Angela Heaney in ''The Thick of It'' and its spin off film '' In the Loop''. She has also appeared i ...
) having a dramatic change of personality after she fell out of a window. While this was the final episode of ''Green Wing'', an alternative ending was produced in case a third series was written. There was an argument between the cast and the writers about which ending should have been used. The special received mixed reviews from both critics and fans.
Plot
The episode begins at a funeral, attended by Guy, Caroline, Boyce ( Oliver Chris), Martin Dear ( Karl Theobald) and Sue White ( Michelle Gomez). References made in the episode lead the viewer to believe that it is Mac's funeral, but then a giant picture of Angela Hunter (
Sarah Alexander
Sarah Alexander (''née'' Smith; 3 January 1971) is an English actress. She has appeared in British series including ''Armstrong and Miller'', ''Smack the Pony'', ''Coupling'', ''The Worst Week of My Life'', ''Green Wing'', ''Marley's Ghosts'' ...
), who left the hospital in series two, appears. The cause of her death is not fully explained, although comments made by the characters indicate she died in a hunting accident with a moose. The plot then splits between three groups of characters.
Caroline, Guy and Mac
Mac returns to work after a month's leave. When Caroline meets him, she implies that she is engaged to Guy. Mac and Guy are then drunk in a bar, where Mac tells Guy he is going to die in a couple of weeks and makes Guy promise he will not tell Caroline. However, Guy tells Martin, who then complains to him about his selfishness. Caroline walks in and overhears the argument. Meanwhile, Mac suggests to Sue that she find someone else to love. Caroline confronts Mac about marrying her. Mac defends himself by saying it would be better for her to marry Guy because he will live longer. Guy later decides to do the right thing, and tells Mac to propose to Caroline because they love each other. Caroline and Mac therefore become engaged and later marry. The majority of the core cast attend the wedding. At the wedding, Sue is seen with a new boyfriend. The special ends with Caroline floating away into the sky holding a mass of
helium balloon
A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent t ...
s.
Alan and Joanna
After being rescued by Martin while they were teetering over the edge of a cliff in a stolen campervan, Alan and Joanna are on the run, believing the police are after them for the murder of Joanna's cousin. They go to a garage to get the van checked for faults, but, as they leave, Joanna accidentally runs over the mechanic by putting the van in the wrong gear and reversing into him. They then try to rob a corner shop and Joanna tells Alan to sit on the shopkeeper to restrain her, but this causes Alan to accidentally suffocate her. Back at the hospital, Boyce begins to miss Alan after discovering his replacement is worse than him. Boyce's plotline with Alan is concluded when Alan telephones him to say goodbye, almost confirming the strange love they have for each other, but instead telling him (in code) that he is "flying west".
Later, Alan and Joanna are stopped by a policeman on suspicion of stealing the campervan. Joanna gets her peanut butter sandwich and smears it in the policeman's face. Alan and Joanna have an argument about the minute odds of the policeman having a peanut allergy and going into anaphylaxis, while in the background this is actually happening. They then carry the body of the policeman into the van. Soon, having run out of food and petrol, Alan changes the engine to run on alcohol and fermented excrement. The plan is of no use, however, as the van explodes. They soon reach the beach and Joanna gives Alan three options: give themselves up, swim the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
to Spain, or commit suicide. As Alan is not keen on the Spanish, they choose the third option and are last seen walking naked into the sea, presumably to their deaths–– although the alternate ending shows them hanging on to a buoy some time later.
Admin girls
Having fallen out of a window, Karen walks into the office dressed smartly and feistier. However, she has lost a hand and her nose whistles when she has an orgasm. When the girls realise that Joanna is not there to control them they start going wild. They start off by doing mild things such as swapping desks and tipping up litter, then become wilder by interviewing people and asking people to pull their trousers down. Slowly, the scene turns into a " Lord of the Flies" situation. They soon begin to argue and
Harriet Schulenburg
''Green Wing'' is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the Sketch comedy, sketch show ''Smack the Pony'' – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and ...
(
Olivia Colman
Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. Known for her comedic and dramatic roles in film and television, she has received various accolades, including an Academy A ...
) decides to become the new Joanna. Martin is captured by Naughty Rachel ( Katie Lyons), Kim Alabaster ( Sally Bretton) and Karen, chanting "Kill the doctor" at him. Martin calls for his mummy (Joanna), but when Harriet comes out into the office she proclaims she is the "new mummy in town", and he is dragged into the office. However, Martin somehow manages to escape by means unknown.
Production
The production on the special was similar to that of the other episodes, with the hospital scenes being shot in the usual locations (the Northwick Park Hospital in
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
and the
North Hampshire Hospital
Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital (BNHH) is a 450-bed National Health Service (NHS) hospital in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England run by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It employs around 2,800 staff. Each year it has around 47,00 ...
in
Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
). The script was written by the usual eight-person team led by
Victoria Pile
Victoria Pile, also known as Vicky Pile, is a British comedy writer, director and producer, most noted as the creator of two Channel 4 comedy programmes, the sketch show ''Smack the Pony'' and the sitcom ''Green Wing''. She began her career writi ...
, and produced and directed by the same people who recorded all the previous episodes. The special was recorded at the same time as the second series. The exterior scenes were harder to shoot. In the beginning funeral scene, one of the mourners is Alan Yentob, who had been filming an episode of the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
documentary series ''
Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
''. Stephen Mangan said that Martin's mime during the funeral was one of his favourite moments in ''Green Wing''. The opening titles of the episode differ from the others as it does not use the normal theme tune, "Last Week", (as it is named in the original television soundtrack) and instead uses the track, "Camel".
There were some improvised scenes. These included a scene in the beginning of the episode where Alan and Joanna are in a middle of a field and the scene begins with a
low-angle shot
In cinematography, a low-angle shot, is a shot from a camera angle positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up.humping" Joanna, the scene suddenly becomes a
crane shot
Crane or cranes may refer to:
Common meanings
* Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird
* Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting
** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads
People and fictional characters
* Crane (surname) ...
. This is because the crew at the time had a crane camera after they had finished filming the final scenes in series 2 where Alan, Joanna and Martin are teetering over the edge of a cliff in the stolen camper van. The camper van scenes were the hardest to shoot, especially the scene where the van explodes, as this had to be done in one take. Another problem was the smell of the van, which Pippa Haywood said, "smelt of old dogs." The van also suffered other problems such as bits of the steering wheel and gear stick coming off. Julian Rhind-Tutt commented that the scene where Alan and Boyce talk together for the last time was one of the most moving scenes in the whole of ''Green Wing''. The wedding was shot at Hall of
Bayham Abbey
Bayham Old Abbey is an English Heritage property, located near Lamberhurst, Kent, England. Founded c. 1207 through a combination of the failing Premonstratensian monasteries of Otham and Brockley, Bayham functioned as an abbey until its dissolut ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, where the crew had difficulty filming due to bad weather. The show also features a guest appearance from
Jeremy Sheffield
Jeremy Sheffield (born 17 March 1966) is an English actor and former ballet dancer. He is most noted for his roles in '' Holby City'', ''Murder in Suburbia'' and ''Hollyoaks'' on television, as well as in the films '' Creep'' and ''The Wedding D ...
near the end of the episode as Sue's new boyfriend.
The DVD of the special was released on 8 January, four days after its premiere in the UK. Features include the alternate ending, a "Behind the Scenes" featurette, 20 minutes of deleted scenes and commentary from many of the main cast, which includes commentary from some foreign relatives of Michelle Gomez who had not seen the show before. Three extra deleted scenes from the special were later released in "The Definitive Collection" DVD boxset.
Alternative ending
An
alternative ending
An alternate ending (or alternative ending) is an ending of a story that was considered, or even written or produced, but ultimately discarded in favour of another resolution. Generally, alternative endings are considered to have no bearing on t ...
was made for the special, which was never broadcast, but was put as an extra on the DVD. In this version of the ending, when Mac sees Caroline floating away, he runs down the stairs and out of the castle to save her. Caroline begins to descend, and both Mac and Guy grab hold of one her legs to bring her down, but instead they are lifted into the air with her. While the three fly away, Caroline exclaims "We're all going to die!", to which Mac quite sternly says "Caroline, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," opening the possibility that Mac is not going to die. Meanwhile, Alan and Joanna, after walking into the sea, are last seen hanging onto a
buoy
A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
Types
Navigational buoys
* Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...
waiting to drown. They are still talking while waiting for the ocean to drown them.
This ending was the favourite amongst the actors. Mangan said that the alternative ending was the best moment in the whole of ''Green Wing''. However, the alternative ending was rejected and the writers favoured the ending that was eventually broadcast. It is believed that the alternative ending would have been broadcast if a third series was being made, as that ending was much more ambiguous, since Alan and Joanna are still seen alive and Mac tells Caroline that he still has something to say. In fact, for the recording of the DVD commentary, they were watching the special with the alternative ending, indicating that the decision to switch endings was made sometime between recording of the commentary and broadcast. Speaking on the commentary, Rhind-Tutt says that he was glad that after much discussion they chose the ending "they all wanted", with "the three of them flying off together", however, this was not the version that was eventually broadcast.
Reception
When the special was first broadcast, it was watched by 1.7 million viewers, 11% of the total audience. However, these ratings are poor compared to other programmes. For example, an episode of ''
Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
'' shown the previous night attracted 2.8 million viewers. Responses from critics were mixed. Matt Baylis said, "Like a homegrown '' ER'' on laughing gas, this show will be sorely missed," and Ian Johns said, "It was like a Richard Curtis romcom, albeit one force-fed magic mushrooms." In ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Sam Wollaston wrote that it was one of the funniest shows on British television, alongside the satirical sitcom '' The Thick of It'', saying, "''The Thick of It'' is clever-funny, ''Green Wing'' is mad-funny." Wollaston opined that while the dramatic elements of the show, such as Mac's death, were good, Alan and Joanna's storyline was most entertaining. "Mark Heap and Pippa Haywood, who play them, have been the shining lights in an already glittering show. They, and it, will be sorely missed," he said. David Butcher in the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' wrote that, "''Green Wing's'' sublime comic acting and a vein of shrieking madness in the writing make it very hard to beat."
Paul Whitelaw, however, attacked both the series and the special, saying, "This final instalment was typically awful, more so considering its length." Fans of the show thought that while the special was good, it was not the greatest episode of ''Green Wing'' made. Some thought the special concentrated too much on the drama instead of the comedy. Some were confused by the final ending and others complained about the lack of appearances made by Sue White.
Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...