Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
|
|
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a popular British comedy-drama series created by Franc Roddam and mostly written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who also wrote The Likely Lads, What Ever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Porridge.
| Contents |
Regular cast
- Noel Clarke as Wyman Norris (series 3 onward)
- Christopher Fairbank as Albert Moxey
- Tim Healy as Dennis Patterson
- Gary Holton as Wayne Norris (series 1 and 2 only)
- Jimmy Nail as Leonard "Oz" Osbourne
- Pat Roach as Brian "Bomber" Busbridge
- Timothy Spall as Barry Taylor
- Julia Tobin as Brenda Hope
- Kevin Whately as Neville Hope
Origins
Series 1
The first series, produced by Central for ITV in 1983, is the story of seven out-of work builders from various parts of England who are forced to look for work in West Germany. (The title refers to their farewells to their wives and girlfriends - "Auf Wiedersehen" being German for "Farewell", and "Pet" being a northern English term of endearment.):
- Dennis, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
- Oz, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
- Neville, a bricklayer from Newcastle upon Tyne
- Moxey, a plasterer from Liverpool
- Bomber, a bricklayer from Bristol
- Wayne, a carpenter from London
- Barry, an electrician from Birmingham
They find work on a German building site but are forced to live in a small hut that reminds them of a POW camp. The rest of the series is driven by the interactions and growing friendships between the various characters: for instance, Barry is an obsessive bore, Neville is an insecure young newlywed, Oz is aggressive and jingoistic, and Wayne is a womaniser. Dennis, being older, more experienced and generally more mature than the others, becomes the de facto leader of the group. Over the course of 13 episodes the "Magnificent Seven" enjoy lots of comic and romantic adventures, until a change in German tax laws forces them to return home.
The series was extremely well-received, with praise for the writing and acting.
Series 2
A second series of 13 episodes followed in 1986, in which the boys are reunited to help renovate a country manor house by a crooked businessman but end up falling afoul of the suspicious locals. When things become a little too hot for their new boss he flees to Spain and invites them to follow suit and redecorate his Spanish villa. Once in Spain the gang are soon mistaken for criminals themselves, and the series ends with them fleeing the Spanish police in a motor yacht, together with Barry's fiancée who had only expected a wedding at sea.
The second series was less successful because the characters were no longer under the same kind of pressure they had been in Germany. Even in Spain they were more likely to encounter expatriate Brits than foreigners who could bring out their patriotic tendencies. The series was also clouded by Gary Holton's death from a drug overdose, which meant that many of Wayne's scenes had to be omitted or shot using a double. The final episode begins with a brief tribute to Holton.
Revival
Series 3
In 2002 the show was revived, this time as a 6-part series made by Ziji Productions for BBC 1. The original writers and all of the surviving cast returned, and were joined by Noel Clarke as Wayne's son Wyman. The storyline revolves around a plan by a corrupt businessman to demolish the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge (a real-life industrial landmark) and sell it for reconstruction elsewhere. Persuading Oz to get the old gang back together, he then plans to cheat them out of their share of the profits, until a Native American from Arizona turns up to announce that he would like to buy the bridge for the benefit of his tribe's casino.
The special effects depicting the demolition of the bridge are so realistic that many people believed it was really being demolished, forcing the BBC to add a caption to the last episode reassuring them that it was still there.
Despite some initial scepticism that the reunion would not work, the show was an immediate hit.
Comic Relief Sketch
Some of the cast made an appearance on Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2003, in which they find a suitcase full of money in a Miami hotel room and assume it belongs to a drug dealer who wants to shoot them - but actually it belongs to U2, who invite them to their penthouse.
Series 4
A fourth series of 6 episodes was aired on BBC ONE from 4 January to 8 February 2004. Most of the story involves the characters working for the British Embassy in Havana, with Neville being reluctantly recruited as a spy for the British and Oz falling in love with a local ballet dancer. Despite extensive negotiations between the BBC and the Cuban Government, it was not possible to obtain permission to film in Cuba, so the series was actually shot in the Dominican Republic.
Special
A new "special" comprising two 1-hour episodes was shot in Bangkok and Chiang Mai in July - August 2004 and was broadcast on BBC 1 on 27 and 28 December. Shooting in Bangkok took place partly in the red-light district Soi Cowboy. Pat Roach, although suffering from cancer, had hoped to appear in the miniseries but in the event he was not well enough and died in July.
The story sees the remaining six working in a British Embassy somewhere in central Africa that is about to be overrun by rioters. Most of them escape uninjured, except for Oz who sustains a painful injury to the backside protecting a female staff member (with whom he is of course having an affair) from a bomb. The boys then move on to Laos and later Thailand, where Barry's Russian ex-wife (from Series 3) turns up to announce that she is carrying his child following a brief "reconciliation". Barry is then kidnapped and held by guerillas in a village in Laos. When the others follow they are also captured, but Dennis has the idea (inspired by the film The Bridge on the River Kwai) of working for the villagers to prevent the guerillas from moving them on. Eventually they are able to steal the guerilla leader's mobile phone and send a call for help. It turns out that the man who set them up to the guerillas was actually Neville's corrupt spymaster (from Series 4). Deprived of their hostages the guerillas decide to kidnap him instead.
In the final scenes Dennis, Neville and Oz ask the Embassy to give them an assignment in a nice peaceful country - and find themselves heading back to Germany once more. Following a dedication to Pat Roach, the closing credits of the final episode are accompanied by the opening theme tune from Series 1, bringing the show full circle.
Pat Roach's death was just one factor in the show's final cancellation. The cast and writers have stated that they wanted to go out on a high and not allow the show to become stale.
Episode Guide
Series 1: ITV, 1983 - 1984
- If I Were A Carpenter... - 11 November
- Who Won The War Anyway? - November 18
- The Girls They Left Behind - November 25
- Suspicion - December 2
- Home Thoughts From Abroad - December 9
- The Accused - December 16
- Private Lives - December 30
- The Fugitive - January 6
- The Alien - January 13
- Last Rites - January 20
- The Lovers - January 27
- Love And Other Four Letter Words - February 3
Series 2: ITV, 1986
- The Return of the Seven Part I - February 21
- The Return of the Seven Part II - February 28
- A Law for the Rich - March 7
- Another Country1 - March 14
- A Home from Home - March 21
- Cowboys - March 28
- No Sex Please We're Brickies - April 4
- Marjorie Doesn't Live Here Anymore - April 11
- Hasta la Vista - April 18
- Scoop - April 25
- Law and Disorder - May 2
- For Better or Worse - May 9
- Quo Vadis Pet - May 16
Series 3: BBC 1, 2002
- Bridging the Gap - April 28
- Heavy Metal - May 5
- Bridge over Troubled Water - May 12
- A Bridge Too Far - May 19
- Another Country1 - May 26
- An Inspector Calls - June 2
Series 4: BBC 1, 2004
- Britannia Waives the Rules - January 4
- Our Men in Havana - January 11
- A Gift from Fidel - January 18
- Moonlighting - January 25
- Dangerous Liasons - February 1
- The End of the Affair - February 8
Christmas Special: BBC ONE, 2004
- Au Revoir Part I - December 28
- Au Revoir Part II - December 29
1Not a typo - there were actually two episodes with the same title, although separated by a little over 16 years.
Theme Music
Opening Credits | Closing Credits |
|
| Season 1 (ITV, 1983) | That's Living Alright
(David Mackay/Ian La Frenais) Vocals by Joe Fagin |
|
| Season 2 (ITV, 1986) | Get it Right
(David Mackay/Ian La Frenais) Vocals by Joe Fagin |
Back with the Boys Again
(David Mackay/Ken Ashby) Vocals by Joe Fagin |
| Season 3 (BBC, 2002) | Why Aye Man
(Mark Knopfler) |
|
| Season 4 (BBC, 2004) | TBC
|
TBC
|
| Special (BBC, 2004) | TBC
|
Breaking Away
(David Mackay/Ian La Frenais) Vocals by Joe Fagin |