Down the Line (radio series)

Down the Line (radio series)
Down the Line

Cover of audio recording of Down the Line
Genre Spoof phone-in show
Running time 30 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Languages English
Home station BBC Radio 4
TV adaptations Bellamy's People
Hosts "Gary Bellamy" (Rhys Thomas)
Starring Amelia Bullmore, Simon Day, Felix Dexter, Charlie Higson, Lucy Montgomery, Paul Whitehouse and Rhys Thomas
Writers Charlie Higson, Paul Whitehouse
Producers Charlie Higson, Paul Whitehouse
Air dates May 2006 to 15 March 2011
No. of series 4
No. of episodes 27
Website Down the Line homepage

Down the Line is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises populist radio phone-in shows. The show is written and performed in a style of heightened realism, as was BBC Radio 4's Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge (a spoof chat show with fictional guests). Down The Line is hosted by "Gary Bellamy" (Rhys Thomas).

Down The Line was first broadcast in May 2006, and led to many complaints from listeners who apparently failed to spot it was a spoof, generating considerable publicity for the programme. It was subsequently revealed that the show is written and performed by several familiar figures in British comedy, including Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson.

Regular 'callers' include:

  • Christopher Nibbs from Pevensey Bay; a jokey character who refers to himself as 'Nibbsy' or 'The Nibbster'. Bellamy finds him amusing.
  • Khalid, who only repeats topics of the show followed by the phrase 'what is point?' and responds to any subsequent remarks by Gary with the same question. Bellamy's attitude changes towards him as the series progresses.
  • The Pearly King, a cheery cockney who talks about the 'pearly way'.
  • Humphrey Milner, an elderly gentleman who uses endless examples to illustrate his point.
  • Graham Downs, a morbidly obese man who has a sinus problem and is an archetypal loser. Often says he would "really like to get married".
  • Chuck Perry, who laughs continuously and maniacally at his own feeble jokes.
  • The military man, who responds to every topic stating that he is from a military background and that he would drive a van packed with explosives into the "issue" be it education or global warming.
  • Early D begins his calls speaking with a very 'street' sounding MLE dialect which gradually morphs to a thick barely decipherable Jamaican accent. Bellamy never seems to notice.

Recording for the third series commenced on Monday 12 November 2007 and began broadcasting on 10 January 2008.

A television spinoff on BBC Two was announced on 2 April 2009.[1] in which Gary Bellamy goes to the streets of the UK to meet 'real' people and get their opinions on a wide range of topics. The series is entitled Bellamy's People and was inspired by "all the television series of ‘famous people exploring Britain' that have been made over the last few years". The series features improvisation by the cast.[2]

Contents

Series 1

# Subject Original airdate
1 "Freedom of speech" May 2, 2006 (2006-05-02)
The episode discusses whether free speech is acceptable or not as it may offend. However, there are a large number of callers that discuss parking restrictions in their town instead. 
2 "Religion and the decline in Anglican congregations" May 9, 2006 (2006-05-09)
The episode discusses whether God is real or not and what is acceptable to say about religion. It also asks the viewers for the name of a new primary colour found by Koreans. 
3 "Animals at war" May 16, 2006 (2006-05-16)
4 "Crime" May 23, 2006 (2006-05-23)
5 "Healthy eating" May 30, 2006 (2006-05-30)
6 "Equality and why men won't go to the doctors" June 6, 2006 (2006-06-06)

Series 2

A second series started on 16 January 2007 for another 6-week run until the 20 February 2007. "Guests" this series include characters played by: Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Lucy Montgomery, Amelia Bullmore, Matt Lucas, Felix Dexter, Mark Gatiss, Catherine Tate, Arabella Weir, Robert Popper, Louis Vause, Simon Godley, Phoebe Higson, Sam Ward, Dave Cummings, and Fiona Whitehouse.

# Subject Original airdate
1 "War and Chocolate" January 16, 2007 (2007-01-16)
2 "Bullying and Property Sales" January 23, 2007 (2007-01-23)
3 "Immigration and Love" January 30, 2007 (2007-01-30)
4 "Plastic Surgery and Natural Disasters" February 6, 2007 (2007-02-06)
5 "Global Warming" February 13, 2007 (2007-02-13)
6 "Education and Ghosts" February 20, 2007 (2007-02-20)

Series 3

Series 3 of Down The Line started its run on Thursday, 10 January 2008, according to trailers broadcast in the preceding weeks. One trail referred to the show as "DTL", spoofing BBC radio's tendency to call long-running programmes by their acronyms (as in 'FOOC' - From Our Own Correspondent, "TWAO" - The World At One, etc.). "Guests" this series included characters played by: Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Lucy Montgomery, Amelia Bullmore, Simon Day and Felix Dexter.

# Subject Original airdate
1 "Liberal Agenda of Media and What shall we call a new planet?" January 10, 2008 (2008-01-10)
2 "String Theory and Popular Science Fiction" January 17, 2008 (2008-01-17)
3 "Communications and Technology" January 24, 2008 (2008-01-24)
4 "The Elderly, Consumer Rights and The Countryside" January 31, 2008 (2008-01-31)
5 "Olympics and Can we Trust the Media?" February 7, 2008 (2008-02-07)
6 "Bad Manners and Modern Liberal Parenting" July 14, 2008 (2008-07-14)

Series 4

Recording for a fourth series of Down The Line commenced in January 2011. "Guests" this series include characters played by: Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Lucy Montgomery, Amelia Bullmore, Felix Dexter, Arabella Weir, Robert Popper, Adil Ray, Rosie Cavaliero, the actor Kevin Eldon, Lee Mack, Louis Vause, Dave Cummings, and Fiona Whitehouse. The seven episode series commenced broadcast on Tuesday 15th March 2011 at 6.30pm.

# Subject Original airdate
1 "Episode One" March 15, 2011 (2011-03-15)
2 "Episode Two" March 22, 2011 (2011-03-22)
3 "Episode Three" March 29, 2011 (2011-03-29)
4 "Episode Four" April 5, 2011 (2011-04-05)
5 "Episode Five" April 12, 2011 (2011-04-12)
6 "Episode Six" April 19, 2011 (2011-04-19)
7 "Episode Seven" April 26, 2011 (2011-04-26)

One Off Editions

# Subject Original airdate
1 "Tony Blair Departure Special" June 27, 2007 (2007-06-27)
2 "Credit Crunch Special" April 21, 2009 (2009-04-21)

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Down the Line — The term Down the Line may refer to: Go Go Go (Down the Line), a song written by Roy Orbison Down the Line (radio series) Down The Line, a shooting sport Down the Line (José González song), a song by José González Down the Line (band) a Chicago… …   Wikipedia

  • Down the Line (José González song) — Down the Line Single by José González from the album In Our Nature Released September 10, 2007 (UK) February 20, 2008 (Sweden) Format CD, 7 vinyl, digital download …   Wikipedia

  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series) — Infobox Radio Show show name = The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy imagesize = 210px caption = The cover of the booklet included with the Collector s Edition CD set release of the first two Hitchhiker s radio series. format = Comic science… …   Wikipedia

  • The Search (TV series) — The Search was a seven part television show on Channel 4, which first aired in on January 7, 2007, the final episode was broadcast on February 24, 2007. The premise of the programme was that ten contestants with unique skills must solve a variety …   Wikipedia

  • The Thin Blue Line (TV series) — infobox television show name = The Thin Blue Line caption = The Complete Thin Blue Line DVD format = Sitcom runtime = 30 minutes creator = starring = Rowan Atkinson James Dreyfus Mina Anwar Serena Evans Rudolph Walker David Haig Kevin Allen Mark… …   Wikipedia

  • The Avengers (TV series) — infobox Television show name = The Avengers caption = John Steed (Patrick Macnee) and Emma Peel (Diana Rigg in the tv series.) format = Spy fi runtime = 50 minutes creator = Sydney Newman starring = Patrick Macnee Ian Hendry Honor Blackman Diana… …   Wikipedia

  • Complete list of downloadable songs for the Rock Band series — For Rock Band Track Packs, see List of Rock Band track packs. For Rock Band Network songs, see List of Rock Band Network songs. The Rock Band series of music video games supports downloadable songs for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii… …   Wikipedia

  • Fictional characters in the Southern Victory Series — The Southern Victory Series is a series of alternate history novels written by Harry Turtledove. The point of divergence involves Confederate States of America winning the American Civil War and becoming an independent nation. The series covers… …   Wikipedia

  • Characters in the Southern Victory series — The Southern Victory series or Timeline 191 is a series of novels written by Harry Turtledove. They form an alternate history of events in the United States based on the premise that the Confederates won the Civil War and became an independent… …   Wikipedia

  • The Replacements (TV series) — This article is about the TV series The Replacements. For other uses, see The Replacements. The Replacements Logo Format Animated television series …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”