Green Wing (series 2)

The following is a list of episodes from the second series of Green Wing. Green Wing is a surreal sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital, starring Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt. Each episode was written by a team of eight writers, namely Victoria Pile (also the producer), Robert Harley, Gary Howe, Stuart Kenworthy, Oriane Messina, Richard Preddy, Fay Rusling and James Henry. Tristram Shapeero and Dominic Brigstocke directed all the episodes together.[1] The second series consists of eight episodes broadcast between 31 March and 19 May 2006 on Channel 4. A DVD of the series was released on 2 October 2006.[2]

Green Wing
Series 2
DVD cover
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes8
Release
Original networkChannel 4
Original release31 March (2006-03-31) –
19 May 2006 (2006-05-19)
Series chronology

The second series continues the plot from the first, which ended with Dr. Caroline Todd (Greig) and Dr. "Mac" Macartney (Rhind-Tutt) falling in love, and he, Dr. Guy Secretan (Mangan) and Dr. Martin Dear (Karl Theobald) teetering over the edge of a cliff in a stolen ambulance after Guy has a nervous breakdown.[3] The second series starts with Mac in a coma and Guy having to perform community service as punishment for stealing the ambulance. When Mac awakes from his coma, it is discovered that he has amnesia, meaning that he has no memory of his relationship with Caroline. As Caroline tries to make him remember, Mac's former girlfriend Holly Hawkes (Sally Phillips) returns to the hospital, claiming that he is the father of her son. Elsewhere in the hospital, Dr. Alan Statham (Mark Heap) and Joanna Clore (Pippa Haywood) become paranoid after they accidentally murder Joanna's dwarf cousin.[4]

Cast

Most of the regular cast appear in all episodes. The only exception is the character of Dr. Angela Hunter (played by Sarah Alexander), who appears in the first three episodes and then leaves the hospital. Among the recurring guest characters are Dr. Holly Hawkes, Lyndon Jones (played by Paterson Joseph), Oliver (Ken Charles), The Neurosurgeon (Pip Torrens), Jake Leaf (Darren Boyd) and Charles Robertson (Harley). However, the character of Charles is credited as "CEO" in the episodes in which he appears.[5][6] Guest actors who appear in this series include Nick Frost, Peter McDonald, Big Mick and Rosie Cavaliero. Apart from Harley, other Green Wing writers make cameo performances in the show, including Fay Rusling and Oriane Messina.[7]

Reception

Critics considered the second series worse than series one. In particular, the first episode of the series was seen as poor. Cathy Pryor in The Independent on Sunday wrote of the episode:

"Sadly, though, since I'm something of a fan, I have to report that the first episode of the second series is, disappointingly, rather flat. To be fair, there were a couple of laugh-out-loud moments—Dr Statham banging his head and falling down being one of them—but the whole didn't quite gel. Or should that be coagulate? I'll stop making bad jokes now since I'm still not as funny as anyone in the show. But I sincerely hope that the opener is a one-off and not a sign that Green Wing is going down the pan."[8]

A. A. Gill was also highly critical of the episode in The Sunday Times:

"Within two minutes, Green Wing had destroyed itself, lost its assured grip on the cliff of comedy and tumbled into the abyss of embarrassing overacting, formless gurning and pointless repetition. What had once looked Dada-ishly brilliant now looked like stoned improv from a show-off's drama school. The lack of plot and coherent narrative that previously had been a blessed freedom was revealed to be a formless free-for-all, brilliant performances as silly mannerisms. Nothing I've seen this year has disappointed me as sharply as the second series of Green Wing."[9]

Chris Riley for the Daily Telegraph gave a more mixed review of the series, writing that it was "so far proving oddly impenetrable—particularly given how, first time around, it consistently demonstrated what a firm grasp it had on when to cut loose, and when to deliver more conventional laughs. But there's still enough delirious madness going on to ensure that diehard fans won't be giving up hope just yet."[10]

The Observer was more positive, saying that Green Wing was one of the top ten television programmes of 2006.[11] Broadcast magazine voted Green Wing the joint-second best comedy series in 2006, alongside the sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look, which also stars some Green Wing actors such as Olivia Colman (Harriet Schulenburg) and Paterson Joseph. They described the series as "fresh, subversive, and surreal."[12]

Although the second series was heavily advertised, the first episode of the series was watched by 1.8 million people (8% of the audience). The first episode of the first series, "Caroline's First Day", attracted 2.2 million (11%) in comparison.[13] The second episode attracted the same ratings as the previous episode,[14] while the last episode was watched by 2 million viewers (11% of the audience).[15] The second series was also nominated for two Royal Television Society awards; for "Best Production Design—Entertainment & Non Drama Productions" and "Best Tape & Film Editing—Entertainment & Situation Comedy", but failed to win.[16]

Episodes
No.TitleOriginal air date
10"Episode 1"31 March 2006 (2006-03-31)
Mac has been in a coma for eight weeks after the accident in the ambulance. He is constantly being visited by other members of staff, amongst them Sue White. During one visit, Sue steals some of Mac's semen by masturbating him and uses it to impregnate herself. Guy has been temporarily suspended from work, but continues to irritate everyone at the hospital. Mac eventually wakes up, but is suffering from amnesia, resulting in him forgetting his relationship with Caroline. Elsewhere, Alan and Joanna's affair has hit problems after she slept with Guy, so Alan tries to trick her into opening a "present", which turns out to be a box full of flies.[4][17]
11"Episode 2"7 April 2006 (2006-04-07)
Caroline continues to cope with Mac's loss of memory. Guy returns to work, but no longer has a driving licence. Alan tries to cope without sex, while trying to pretend to Joanna that he is having sex in an attempt to make her jealous. Mac, who was planning to move to Sheffield for a better job at another hospital, discovers that Sue told the Sheffield hospital that he was dead and that his new job opportunity has gone.[4][17]
12"Episode 3"14 April 2006 (2006-04-14)
A documentary crew have come to film at East Hampton. Caroline becomes jealous when she learns that Angela is to star in the show. Sue becomes jealous of Joanna after she learns that Joanna is in charge of the programme. Angela is then offered a job working on television in Canada. Martin tells Sue that a drunken Guy gave him a videotape of Guy and Joanna having sex. Sue then steals the tape and blackmails Guy and Joanna, telling Joanna that she must put her in charge of the documentary instead. Angela visits Sue to leave the hospital for Canada but Sue orders her and Guy to break up the relationship between Caroline and Mac. However, Mac discovers what is going on and takes the tape off Sue. Everything returns to normal, except the absence of Angela who manages to get her television job.[4][17]
13"Episode 4"21 April 2006 (2006-04-21)
With Angela gone, a new paediatrics registrar is needed at the hospital. However, Caroline and Mac are shocked to discover that the new registrar is Mac's former girlfriend Holly. Mac also has problems with Alan trying to get his unused parking space for his new car. Guy is looking for new accommodation while doing his community service. Joanna becomes increasingly worried about having to wear glasses. Harriet tells Lyndon that her son Robbie has been excluded from school for a week for urinating over a statue of the Virgin Mary and that her husband Ian is thinking of leaving her. In an attempt to earn some money, Martin becomes a nude model for the hospital painting class, but regrets it when he finds out Sue is one of the students. Guy manages to become Caroline's new lodger.[4][17]
14"Episode 5"28 April 2006 (2006-04-28)
While at first it appears that Caroline and Mac's relationship is going well, Mac discovers that Holly never aborted the baby they had and that their four-year-old son, named Mackenzie, is very much alive. Alan decides to enter politics, but his campaigning fails to work. Joanna is still trying to get Lyndon to fall in love with her, but it appears that he is falling in love with Harriet. Martin meets a prostitute and inadvertently becomes her pimp, which leads Karen to dump him. After Caroline discovers that Mac's son is alive, she and Guy play poker. When Caroline loses, she is forced to kiss Guy as payment, but enjoys the experience.[4][17]
15"Episode 6"5 May 2006 (2006-05-05)
Caroline decides it is best for Mac to be with Holly and goes out on a date with the hospital complementary therapist, Jake Leaf. Guy becomes envious when he learns about the date and stabs Jake in the head with a Swiss Army Knife. Later, Caroline calls Mac's answering machine to tell him she thinks they made a mistake in ending their relationship. However Holly deletes the message. Alan is unusually happy due to getting 100% of the 7 votes cast in a radiology caption competition web site. Joanna becomes so sick of Alan being happy that she recruits her dwarf cousin to scare him, by painting him green, screaming and jumping from behind Alan's desk. However, Alan is so scared that he batters the dwarf to death with a stuffed heron. Martin finds out his real father's name is Donald Twat, but fails to meet up with him due to Joanna's meddling. Harriet decides to dump Lyndon because she feels guilty about their brief affair.[4][17]
16"Episode 7"12 May 2006 (2006-05-12)
Guy is becoming even more besotted with Caroline, even getting a tattoo of a Friesian (cow) because he thinks this is her favourite thing, having misheard her when she said 'freesia' (a flowering plant). Alan and Joanna become increasingly worried and paranoid about the murder of her cousin. Martin manages to win £10,000 on a scratch card, but only gets £3,000 after making an unwise deal with the newsagent. Sue discovers that Mackenzie is not Mac's son. This seems to leave the door open for Caroline again, who dumps Jake. However, Sue throws Caroline and Mac's relationship into chaos by telling everyone that she is pregnant with Mac's child.[4][17]
17"Episode 8"19 May 2006 (2006-05-19)
Joanna and Alan are still paranoid over the murder, but when Alan hears that the police are treating the death as suicide, they start to think they can get away with anything. However, when police arrive at the hospital, they decide to escape with Boyce's help. Martin, Guy and Mac decide to propose marriage to Caroline. She rejects Martin, says "Maybe" to Guy, and says yes to Mac before he actually asks the question, which in the end he never does. Harriet's husband, Ian, learns of her relationship with Lyndon and kicks her out of the house. Mac receives news from the neurologist that he is actually dying. Alan and Joanna escape the hospital by stealing a mobile home. However, Martin follows them and falls asleep in the back. When he wakes up, Alan is in such a state of shock that he eventually loses control of the van, and ends up teetering over the same cliff edge that Martin was on at the end of the first series. Caroline learns that someone wants to meet her at the train station. Believing that it is Mac, she arrives at the station to find Guy. He proposes again and Caroline agrees to marry him.[4][17]

References
  1. "Green Wing: Overview". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  2. "Green Wing Series 2 (2006)". Listal.com. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  3. Watson, Sam. "Green Wing: Series 1 Synopsis". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  4. Watson, Sam. "Green Wing: Series 2 Synopsis". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  5. "Episode 2". Green Wing. Season 2. Episode 2. 7 April 2006.
  6. "Episode 8". Green Wing. Season 2. Episode 8. 19 May 2006.
  7. "Green Wing Writers". British Sitcom Guide. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  8. Pryor, Cathy (26 March 2006). "TV CHOICE: Join the green revolution". Find Articles, originally The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  9. Gill, A. A. (2 April 2006). "Television: AA Gill: Doctor! It's a sickly shade of green". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  10. Riley, Chris; Horsford, Simon; Warman, Matt; Gibbs, Tessa; Reynolds, Gillian (7 April 2006). "Today's TV & Radio choices". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  11. French, Philip; Flett, Kathryn; Cumming, Laura; Empire, Kitty; Clapp, Susannah; Holden, Anthony; Bayley, Stephen; Sawyer, Miranda (24 December 2006). "Critics' Review of 2006". The Observer. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  12. "Comedy". Broadcast. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  13. Tryhorn, Chris (3 April 2006). "Green Wing needs viewer injection". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  14. Plunkett, John (7 April 2006). "Mike Baldwin seen off by 12m". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  15. Plunkett, John (22 May 2006). "Big Brother recovers from ratings dip". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  16. "Craft and Design - Nominations 2005/2006". Royal Television Society. 21 November 2006. Archived from the original on 15 August 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  17. "Green Wing: Series 2". Channel 4. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
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