List of Joking Apart episodes

Writer Steven Moffat, and actors Fiona Gillies and Robert Bathurst recording the DVD audio commentary for the first series in January 2006

Joking Apart is a BBC Television sitcom. The show was produced by Andre Ptaszynski for the independent production company Pola Jones and screened on BBC Two. All twelve episodes from the two series were written by Steven Moffat and directed by Bob Spiers. The pilot was transmitted as part of its Comic Asides series of pilot shows on 12 July 1991. The first episode of the series was transmitted on 7 January 1993, and the final transmitted on 7 February 1995.[1]

The show is about the rise and fall of a relationship, juxtaposing a couple, Mark (Robert Bathurst) and Becky (Fiona Gillies), who meet and fall in love before getting separated and finally divorced. The show is semi-autobiographical; it was inspired by the then-recent separation of Moffat and his first wife.[2][3] Some of the first series followed a non-linear dual structure, contrasting the rise of the relationship with the separation. Other episodes were ensemble farces, predominantly including the couple's friends Robert (Paul Raffield) and Tracy (Tracie Bennett). Paul Mark Elliott also appeared as Trevor, Becky's lover.

Scheduling problems led to low viewing figures. However, it scored highly on the Appreciation Index and accrued a loyal fanbase. One fan acquired the home video rights from the BBC and released both series on his own DVD label.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference inlay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Sternbergh, Adam (7 September 2003). "Selling Your Sex Life". New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  3. ^ Kibble-White, Graham (May 2006). "Fool If You Think It's Over". Off the Telly. Archived from the original on 3 July 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2006.
  4. ^ Jarvis, Shane (8 May 2006). "Farce that rose from the grave". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2016.