Oh, Doctor Beeching!

''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' is a British television sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove, and produced for the BBC. After a pilot for the programme was broadcast on 14 August 1995, full production was green-lighted, with the sitcom running for two series from 8 July 1996 to 28 September 1997. The series focuses on the lives of the staff who run the fictional station of Hatley on a rural branch line who find themselves looking for the means to keep their station open in the wake of news that Dr. Richard Beeching has promoted plans for the closing of many branch lines and their respective stations.

Filming of the sitcom included exterior shots taken at Arley railway station on the Severn Valley Railway. The series was the last of three comedies that Croft co-wrote to feature many of the same actors from his previous works of '' Hi-de-Hi!'' and '' You Rang, M'Lord?'', and the last full series sitcom for him to create. Despite good initial viewing figures, the show was axed after two series following extensive problems competing with other programming on the BBC.

Production

Following his work on '' You Rang, M'Lord?'', David Croft severed his ties with the BBC in 1993 over criticism that their treatment of his work, including the lack of repeats for his shows, particularly the first series, which the producer felt was needed to build up its audience. After producing a pilot for a new comedy on ITV, Croft was invited back to the BBC with a promise to allow him to produce a new pilot for the network, providing him with the idea of focusing his script on the lives of railway staff at a rural station during the 1960s. Agreeing to this, the writer was partnered up with Richard Spendlove, who had extensive history with the railways and helped to produce the script for the pilot, rather than with his previous creative collaborators.

The pilot proved a success when aired in 1995, leading the BBC to commission the sitcom for two series; although broadcast of the sitcom was delayed until 1996. Filming for both the pilot and the series relied on exterior shots filmed at Arley railway station, taking advantage of the preservation work of the Severn Valley Railway for both the location and a LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0, No 46521, which resided on the line; the locomotive was later sold on to the Great Central Railway and loaned to other railways after the series had concluded. The cost of using the line and the locomotive had a notable impact on the show's budget, effectively requiring the BBC to provide it with more money than other programming during its production.

Much of the cast who took part in the series were recruited from Croft's previous work on both '' Hi-de-Hi!'' and '' You Rang, M'Lord?'', with guest appearances from a number of Croft's other works with his former partner Jimmy Perry; Spendlove himself also made several appearances in the programme.

Premise

''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' focuses on the small fictional branch line railway station of Hatley, which has been disorganised since the retirement of its previous station master. Jack Skinner, the station's porter, does what he can to keep the station operational as its acting station master, alongside his family, friends and colleagues, including: May, his wife, who runs the buffet; Gloria, the Skinners' daughter, who volunteers when not teaching lessons; Harry Lambert, who serves as the local signalman; Ethel Schumann, an eccentric and easily flustered booking clerk; Wilfred, Ethel's somewhat dimwitted son, who serves as the station dogsbody; and Vera Plumtree, a local volunteer whose husband worked on the railway. In addition, the station often provides a respite for a regular train crew consisting of engine driver Arnold Thomas, his inexperienced fireman Ralph (who is training to be a driver himself), and flirtatious train guard Percy, whom Ethel is besotted with at times.

By 1963, the station is deemed in need of improvement, so the railway line's owners decide to send in a new station master in the form of Cecil Parkin, a stern, but keen man who wishes to bring the station up to standards. However, his arrival presents a dilemma for May, who had a romantic fling with him while dating Jack, before the couple's marriage, and that she has no idea that Parkin still loves her even after they parted ways around the time of the Second World War. From the first episode, after Parkin arrives, the station staff receive news of a story printed in the papers in which Dr. Richard Beeching has written a report to the British government recommending the closure of branch lines and rural stations, with Parkin deciding to do whatever he can to prove the station and the line can run efficiently (while secretly having meetings with May), despite Jack disliking his presence and ideas.

Main cast

Cecil R. Parkin ( Jeffrey Holland) ''Stationmaster'' – the new stationmaster at Hatley who appears midway through the first episode. He is a perfectionist and is determined to make the station the best on the line. On the surface, he seems refined, but it turns out that he knows the station's buffet manager because they had a passionate affair, which was going on behind her boyfriend (later husband) Jack Skinner's back. He still has lecherous thoughts about her and in several episodes he tries his best to get her to leave Jack. The station staff react to him in different ways – most are tolerant of him, but Jack and Harry, the signalman, take an intense dislike to him, which only slightly mellows as the series goes on.

Jack Skinner (Paul Shane) ''Head Porter and Deputy Stationmaster'' – He is deeply in love with his beautiful wife, May, but gets very jealous whenever she comes into close contact with other men, especially Cecil. He heartily dislikes Cecil and shows it. He is an ex-soldier with a limp from a wound he supposedly received during the war – only in Episode 9 we learn that his leg was wounded when he was thrown out of a pub and the landlord's wife slammed the door on his foot, not during a battle, although Ethel changed the story to him jumping on a German tank to shove a land mine down it and a big German trapped his foot in the door.

Ethel Schumann (Su Pollard) ''Ticket Clerk'' – She is scatter-brained and sometimes muddles her words. She often gets frustrated with Jack for his jealousy of May. She is also a flirt – she has a son from her marriage to a now deceased American soldier named Earl, whom she frequently refers to in the earlier episodes. She is desperate for another boyfriend and frequently makes advances to the station's guard, Percy, who appreciates her advances, but seems more interested in the regular commuter, Amy. She is the only one who knows of Cecil and May's war-time fling once May tells her.

Harry Lambert (Stephen Lewis) '' Signalman'' – He is eternally miserable, with Stephen Lewis portraying the character very much like "Blakey" in '' On the Buses''. He never smiles and often sees the down side of things, never being seen happy. He hates his job, often calling the trains "ruddy". Because trains come through Hatley only a few times a day, he operates numerous sidelines from his box: growing vegetables, mending bikes and clocks, rearing farm animals (pigs, turkeys and chickens) for the staff's dinners, giving haircuts and taking bets. They are all illegal, yet all the staff, including Gloria, know about them, are customers and keep their mouths shut. Cecil does not know, as he would make it stop. There is a recurring gag, where Harry will say, "if they poke their noses around, they will get the flat end o' my tongue", that person comes and he starts sucking up to them. He often resists Vera's advances.

May Skinner (née Blanchflower) (Julia Deakin) ''Buffet Manageress'' – She had a passionate affair with Cecil Parkin before she married Jack, which ended when Cecil was called up to serve in the Army. She appears to genuinely love Jack, but she seems to still have buried feelings for Cecil. She frequently resists Cecil's advances, but occasionally relents, even letting him kiss her in Episode 10, but states that it must never happen again. In early episodes it is hinted that Cecil is the father of her daughter, Gloria, but this is proved to be false in Episode 11. The character of May was played by Sherrie Hewson in the original pilot episode shown in August 1995. Because of her role in Coronation Street, Hewson was unable to continue with the role of May in the series proper, so the character was recast to Julia Deakin. When the pilot episode was repeated as the first episode of the first series in July 1996, Hewson's scenes as May were reshot with Deakin in the role.

Vera Plumtree ( Barbara New) ''Cleaner'' – She helps the staff by cleaning their homes and washing linen for them. She has a lot in common with Ethel: she muddles her words and frequently talks about her unnamed late husband, who was an engine driver. She is fond of Harry, but he is not interested in her.

Wilfred Schumann (Paul Aspden, credited as Paul Aspen) ''Porter'' – Ethel's son. Most of the time he comes across as extremely stupid. He is often verbally abused and hit around the head by Jack. Wilfred joins the Army in one episode so as to allow Ethel to elope with her new American airmen boyfriend, but she ends the relationship. Wilfred was born in 1946, making him 17.

Gloria Skinner (Lindsay Grimshaw) – Jack and May's daughter. A rebellious teenager, very fond of short skirts and the company of older men. Jack is over-protective and will let no man in the station take Gloria out. Gloria was born in February 1945, making her 18.

Percy (Terry John) ''Guard'' – the main station flirt. He flirts with every woman he comes into contact with, except Vera. But he seems to prefer Amy above others: he takes her out on several dates during the series, often leaving Ethel in the lurch. We learn in Episode 14 that he keeps promising to take Ethel out, but never does.

Arnold Thomas ( Ivor Roberts) ''Train Driver'' – An older train-driver. He is the star of the penultimate episode, where he goes to great lengths to make sure he is not sacked. He has a wife called Jessica, who appears to be forgetful. He alludes to her in almost every episode, but she only appears briefly in an uncredited role in Episode 13. The actress was Ivor Roberts' real life wife also.

Ralph (Perry Benson) '' Fireman and Trainee Driver'' – Works with Arnold – the two often engage in comic banter. Ralph can be as daft as Wilfred and is slow at learning to drive – but he drives the train perfectly in the final episode. One episode centres around him – in Episode 14 he threatens to go on strike. It is also revealed that he has a crush on Gloria.

Amy (Tara Daniels), best school friend of Gloria's, she appears in most of the episodes. She is often the object of Percy's desires.

Mr Orkindale ( Richard Spendlove) '' District Inspector'' – Senior to Parkin, calls staff by Christian names and fancies May. Dislikes Mr Parkin as much as everyone else and in Episode 17 cheats him out of a place on the bowls club outing just so he can have a few extra drinks.

Guest appearances

Other actors who had previously collaborated with David Croft made guest appearances in the series. Former '' Hi-de-Hi!'' regular Felix Bowness made a number of appearances as relief train guard Bernie Bleasdale. Windsor Davies appeared in the final episode as the mayor of Clumberfield, when the station staff re-enacted the station's opening for its 100th anniversary. James Pertwee, son of the actor Bill Pertwee, made an appearance as a photographer in this final episode also. Sally Grace appeared in Episode 7 as Mr Parkin's fiancée, Edna. Hugh Lloyd made an appearance in one episode as a chauffeur.

Title and music

The title was a reference to the 1892 music hall song and 1937 Will Hay film ''Oh, Mr Porter!'' and a modified version was sung as the end titles by actress Su Pollard:

:Oh, Dr Beeching what have you done?
:There once were lots of trains to catch, but soon there will be none,
:I'll have to buy a bike, 'cos I can't afford a car,
:Oh, Dr Beeching what a naughty man you are!

Episodes

Series overview

Pilot (1995)

Series 1 (1996)

Series 2 (1997)

Cancellation

The pilot for ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' proved popular when it was aired on 14 August 1995, far greater than comedy pilots created in the 1990s. When the first series was aired, it continued to hold favorable ratings, but by the second series, viewing figures dropped. When the programme was axed, blame was placed on the BBC, in regards to two areas.

Internal politics at the broadcaster meant that many of David Croft's allies had gone by the time the second series had begun, leaving him little hope of keeping the show going as the broadcaster began to question the cost of production for each episode. In addition, ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' received no repeats of its first series as had happened before, and the scheduling of the second series was effectively complicated - although a hiatus was provided for live coverage of the 1997 Athletics World Championship in Athens on 3 and 10 August, the decision to allow another programme to air before the series resumed, coupled with the sudden death of Diana, Princess of Wales that same month, meant the series lost viewers by the time episodes continued in September.

Home media releases

The first series was released on VHS and DVD in 2004, while the second series on DVD only, in 2005. The packaging of the first series misleadingly stated that it "included the pilot"; in reality, it contained the revised first episode and not the original version of the pilot. Edits are made to certain episodes because of copyright music issues.

A complete box set containing both series and all 19 episodes (also including the original pilot) was made available, distributed by Acorn Media UK in 2009. It was later discontinued, but it was made available again in 2017.

References

External links

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{{David Croft

1990s British sitcoms
1995 British television series debuts
1997 British television series endings
BBC television sitcoms
Television series created by David Croft (TV producer)
Television series about rail transport
Television series set in 1963
British English-language television shows