Still Game

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Still Game
Victor McDade (left) and Jack Jarvis
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Greg Hemphill Ford Kiernan
Developed by	Greg Hemphill Ford Kiernan
Directed by	Michael Hines
Starring	Greg Hemphill Ford Kiernan Paul Riley Jane McCarry Mark Cox Sanjeev Kohli
Theme music composer	Cuban Boys
Country of origin	Scotland
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	44 as of December 2007 ( List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Greg Hemphill Ford Kiernan
Producer(s)	The Comedy Unit Colin Gilbert Michael Hines Ewan Angus
Location(s)	Glasgow, Scotland
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two (originally BBC One Scotland)
Original run	September 1, 2002 – present
Chronology
Related shows	Chewin' the Fat
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Still Game is a Scottish sitcom, produced by The Comedy Unit with the BBC, and created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who also play the lead characters. Since its debut on September 1, 2002, Still Game has shown forty four episodes, including Christmas and Hogmanay specials.

The title refers to two Glaswegian pensioners, named Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade, and is set in the fictional Glasgow district of Craiglang. The show was broadcast first on BBC One Scotland, as were series 2 and 3. Prior to its fourth series, Still Game received a UK-wide broadcast on BBC Two. The move has cemented the show's popular appeal across the UK, gaining critical acclaim and higher ratings than its neighbouring programmes on BBC Two Comedy Zone.

History

Still Game started as a stage play, featuring three characters: Jack Jarvis, Victor McDade, and Winston Ingram. Due to a broken lift, the three men are stranded in Victor's flat, and discuss a variety of subjects ranging from death to sex. The stage play toured Scotland, England, Ireland and Canada before returning to Glasgow, where it was filmed and released on video and DVD.

A small number of revisions accompanied Still Game's transition from stage to television. Gavin Mitchell, who originally played Winston (and was replaced with Paul Riley for later performances), plays the part of Boabby the Barman in the series; and later characters, such as Tam Mullen and Isa Drennan, both mentioned briefly in the play, are fleshed out into supporting characters.

In 1998, Jack and Victor appeared in a number of skits in the tongue-in-cheek documentary about Scottish pop music called Och Around the Clock. In these there are shown to be watching while sitting in Victor's flat. As with the Muppet characters of Statler and Waldorf, their skits centred on the duo's disparaging comments about the performers.

The characters reappeared in Kiernan and Hemphill's sketch show Chewin' the Fat. Nearly every episode of Chewin' The Fat featured Jack, Victor, Tam and Winston, with minor differences from their counterparts in the series. By the time Still Game became show in its own right, Winston's physical appearance had changed significantly, but was still played by Paul Riley. As the show has evolved, supporting characters like Winston, Isa and the local shopkeeper, Navid Harrid have attained greater centrality to storylines.

Even though they started the first series, Jack and Victor made their final appearance on Chewin' the Fat in the 2002 Hogmanay Special.

Still Game's sixth series ended on August 23, 2007 on BBC Two. A Christmas Special was aired on BBC One Scotland on 23 December at 10:15 pm. It was aired to the rest of the UK on BBC Two on 28 December at 10:50 pm. There was also a Hogmanay special called "Hootenanny" aired on BBC One Scotland, later aired to the rest of the UK on 2 January 2008.

Cast

Characters & Cast

• Ford Kiernan as Jack Jarvis
• Greg Hemphill as Victor McDade
• Paul Riley as Winston Ingram
• Mark Cox as Tam Mullen
• Jane McCarry as Isa Drennan
• Sanjeev Kohli as Navid Harrid
• Gavin Mitchell as Boabby
• James Martin as Eric
• Lynne McCallum as Peggy McCalpine
• Jake D'Arcy as Pete
• Paul Young as Shug
• Sandy Nelson as Chris the Postie
• Kate Donnelly as Francess Mullen
• Matt Costello as Stevie
• Jamie Quinn as Fergie
• John Buick as Joe
• Marj Hogarth as Fiona (Jacks Daughter)
• Ronnie Letham as Harry (D)
• Stevie Allen as Manky Frankie
• Maureen Carr as Edith
• Grant Thomson as Charlie
• Johnny Irving as Wullie MacIntosh
• Rab Affleck as Mick

Characters Wrote By: Thomas Milliken

Guest stars

• Sylvester McCoy as Archie, a recluse in the episode "Oot".
• Billy Boyd as a young man in the train station in the episode "Faimly".
• Celia Imrie as Mrs Begg, a woman who worked as Winston's home help in the episode "Wummin'".
• Tom Urie as Martin, who argued with his mother over Snowball cakes in the episode "Brief".
• Clive Russell played the part of "Big Innes", an old friend of Jack and Victor's who helps to sort out the local hooligans as a favour to them. He featured in the episode "Big Yin".
• Brian Pettifer as Bert Finlay, a depressed widower in the episode "Wummin'".
• Robbie Coltrane as Davie, a disturbed Dial-A-Bus driver in the episode "Dial-A-Bus".
• John McCririck as himself in the episode "Drama", appearing on Winston's television.
• Bill Torrance as himself, presenting a mock-up edition of BBC Scotland's long-running gardening programme The Beechgrove Garden. This featured in the episode "Hard Nuts".
• Dorothy Paul as Molly Drummond, Frances' sister who develops a crush on Tam. She appeared in the series five finale "Saucy".
• Eileen McCallum as Barbara, a charity shop worker with whom Jack develops a relationship in the episode "Courtin'".
• Jim Watt as himself in the episode "Seconds Out".
• Michelle McManus appears in "Seconds Out" as herself.
• Lorraine Kelly appears in "One In, One Out" as herself.
• Producer/director Michael Hines made a cameo appearance in the episode "One In, One Out" as the director of the baby food advert which featured Tam and Frances.
• Gordon McCorkell as Joe, Winston's grandson who is training for a boxing match in "Flittin'".
• Gabriel Quigley as the news reporter documenting the incident of Navid's shop being crashed into by Vince's van in "Scran".
• Dave Anderson as the choirmaster in the 2007 Christmas special "Plum Number".

Filming locations

Although Still Game is set in the fictional Craiglang area of Glasgow, the Maryhill district of the city is one of the most common filming locations. The shops featured in the series can be found in the Townhead area of Glasgow. The Forth and Clyde Canal and its locks are used in background shots, as are the high-rise tower blocks, including the one in which Jack and Victor live called "Osprey Heights". For the first three series of the show, a real pub ("The Gimlet") in Ruchill was used to film the exterior shots of the pub Jenny's, previously The Clansman. However, between series three and four, the owner of the pub tore the building down, causing the fourth series production team to build an exterior in a set in Dumbarton, the same lot where River City is filmed. Scene interiors (Jack and Victor's flats, hallways and the interior of Navid's shop are specially constructed sets, built within a warehouse complex, now a Maryhill industrial estate (and called Craigmont Studios).

Finport, as mentioned and seen in the fifth series, was actually filmed on location in Largs and Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, both of which were once popular seaside resorts with Glaswegians. The shots of the promenade and the sea wall is that of Saltcoats' harbour area. The café that Jack and Victor walk past is The Melbourne Café in Saltcoats. The pub scene is set in the Royal Oak pub in Largs, while the bed and breakfast, where Jack and Victor stay the night in, is located in the north end of Largs promenade. In the scene where Jack and Victor arrive on the bus from the right in Finport this actually leads from the sea, there is no road there. In the scene where Jack and Victor find Winston, a wide panning shot reveals the famous Nardini ice-cream building and the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry to Millport.

Series summaries

For the show's first three series, the broadcast of Still Game was limited to BBC One Scotland. The show was then moved to BBC Two for the fourth series and shown throughout the UK. On December 28, 2005, Still Game's first Christmas special was shown on BBC One, the first national broadcast of the show on the channel. A fifth series of the show started filming in February 2006 and was shown the following June on BBC Two. As of 2006, series three had not been shown nationally, and only five episodes from the first two series were shown on national BBC Two from 17 January to 14 February 2004.

In the first three series, the episode titles were all Scots language words that were related to the episode. Starting from season four, the episodes were titled using standard English so that general audiences could understand them.

The events of Still Game take place in a floating timeline where the characters remain the same age from series to series. One of the most prominent examples of this is that Victor reveals that he is 74 years old in Scran, an episode of the second series, but it is not until the fifth series (Smoke On The Water) that he celebrates his 75th birthday.

Series 1 (2002)

Flittin' - Jack escapes his neighbours from hell to relocate to a flat near Victor. Meanwhile, Winston trains his grandson for a boxing match.

Faimly - Victor is awaiting a visit from his son John, who now lives in Johannesburg. But When he leaves a message on Victor's answering machine part of it is blocked out by the sound of a horn, Jack and Victor set out to discover what it says and when he is due to arrive. Meanwhile Winston gets injured in a fight with Peggy over who gets the Gigot Chops.

Cauld - Shows the residents of Craiglang experiencing one of the coldest winters in years but are helped, in the end, by Winston who gives them a sly solution to their problem. Victor, however, wants nothing to do with this solution.

Courtin' - Jack develops a crush on Barbara, the woman from the charity shop, leaving Victor feeling left out due to his friend's new romance. Meanwhile Winston gets barred from the Clansman and tries to find new places to drink.

Waddin' - It's the wedding of the year and both Jack and Victor still haven't received an invite; they decide to do something about it. Meanwhile Wullie MacIntosh appears to have passed away and Winston plans to rake through his house to find something that will get him an invite.

Scones - Jack and Victor are tired of their friend Tam Mullen being lucky all the time and attempt to win a competition involving scones. This leads to them creating jingles of their own, complete with their own humour. Meanwhile Winston is having problems with the DSS and has his money stopped. Isa's estranged husband, Harry also returns.

Series 2 (2003)

Gairden - The residents of Craiglang are being terrorised by the local hooligans ( Neds) but the pensioners have had enough and decide to make their own haven they can escape to. Meanwhile Jack and Victor check on old Ronnie who has been recently committed to the sanatorium for dancing in George Square in his underwear.

Wummin' - sees Jack and Victor trying to help their friend Bert Findley after the loss of his wife. Winston is also having troubles with a suspicious home help (guest star Celia Imrie).

Doacters - Jack and Victor are experimenting with a new " yankee pill" to try and make them feel young again. Meanwhile both Tam and Winston are smitten with the new librarian, Frances.

Brief - Victor buys a new car, hoping it will give him the freedom he always wanted but it ends up that he is the one being taken for a ride. Meanwhile Winston tries his hardest to encourage Tam not to be tight-fisted.

Tappin' - There is a money lender in Craiglang and everyone starts borrowing when Isa thinks Jack and Victor are lending when in fact their are spending some extra money they had saved. Meanwhile Tam and Winston are at Craiglang's golf course only to get their game interfered by the Neds.

Scran - Navid's Brother has died and he chooses Jack and Victor to run the shop while he's away. Winston however decides to set up catering in Navid's shop, much to the dismay of the local snack van owner who Winston has a grudge against.

Shooglies - Jack and Victor celebrate their sixtieth year as friends and decide to have a day out in which they encounter a face from the past.

Buntin' - Craiglang is suspicious about the local alcoholic (Pete the Jakey) acquiring a job at the council's new "facility", Jack and Victor decide to follow him to find the truth of the rumours. Meanwhile Navid, Winston and Shug are on a hunt for bin-raiding fox.

Dug - Jack makes arrangements to visit his daughter, Fiona in Canada. Asked to come, Victor initially refuses but in the end, goes with his friend on the holiday. Meanwhile Winston ends up having to pretend to be Isa's "Pumpkin" to see off her estranged husband Harry.

Series 3 (2004)

Hoaliday - Jack and Victor arrive in Canada to visit Fiona. Just like in Scotland, the two get up to more mischief than the usual pensioners. Meanwhile back home, Winston tries to avoid Isa's gossip while still getting fed by her as he continues seeing her even though Harry has left.

Swottin' - Jack and Victor are back home and on the hunt for more adventures; in this case, enrolling in a night class for first-aid. They intend to use this new knowledge to win the Clansman quiz.

Cairds - The pensioners of Craiglang attempt to win back a crippled man's electric scooter from Tam. Meanwhile Winston wins time and time again at the bookies.

Big Yin - Guest stars Clive Russell as Jack and Victor's old friend, "Big Innes". He hopes to rid the town of hooligans; that is, if he can stay away from Midori long enough. Winston also has troubles of his own when he joins the staff of "Food-Fare".

Oot - A recluse ( Sylvester McCoy) is tempted out of his home due to it being demolished. Scared by the inventions over the years, Jack and Victor try to encourage him into a new world. Meanwhile Winston plans to build a telly.

Aff - Isa is told by a psychic in the pub that she will be ran over by a silver car. Terrified at the notion, the episode follows her struggle with destiny. Winston also has his own problems with his sore leg caused by years of smoking, this encourages Jack to give up his pipe. Meanwhile Victor gets a surprise visit from his son John when he fakes illness.

Series 4 (2005)

Kill Wullie - Jack and Victor's friend, Wullie, is dating a younger woman. Rumours abound in Craiglang that his mistress is trying to bump him off. Meanwhile Winston struggles with his new leg and a young hooligan is conning pensioners out of money.

Wireless - Jack and Victor take up the job of the local hospital's radio station, from Tam who is away on holiday, gaining quite a fanbase in the process. Navid also ends up in hospital with a very personal problem.

Dial-A-Bus - Jack and Victor are set on a crazed bus journey driven by Davie (guest star Robbie Coltrane). Meanwhile Tam decides to tag along while Navid goes to get stock and Bobby decides to leave The Clansman to do some cycling. Winston takes advantage of Bobby's absence by pretending to be the real owner of The Clansman.

Ring - Tam decides to marry Frances, his sweetheart from the second series. As always in Craiglang, things never go to plan. Meanwhile Navid's shop is part of a big business take-over.

Hatch - Jack has got Sky Digital TV, Victor hasn't, they solve this problem by getting a "hatch" put in between their rooms so that they can both watch. But things go terribly wrong when Isa suspects them to be gay.

Who's The Daddy? - Jack, Victor and Winston fear they may have fathered a child in their teenage years, but they are unsure who it may be. The child in question is also part of the plan to pull down The Clansman.

Christmas special (2005)

Cold Turkey - Jack and Victor fear for their Christmas dinner after being nasty to Isa and Winston gets to grips with his turkey. Meanwhile Frances gives Tam a ton of Christmas cards for him to deliver.

Series 5 (2006)

Drama - Jack and Victor visit a whisky distillery. Winston also faces an old rival.

A Fresh Lick - The pensioners put on their decorator's overalls to redesign Isa's flat. In their usual style, the two have trouble adjusting to the job at hand. Meanwhile a video is discovered featuring Bobby and some scantily clad women.

Smoke On The Water - Jack and Victor sail in celebration of Victor's 75th birthday. The two decide, along with Winston, to take a sail down the local river.

Hard Nuts - Boaby the Barman has a chance to be on television. Unbeknown to him at first, the programme is "Blighty's Hardest Boozers".

All The Best - A sad farewell to Winston as he leaves Craiglang for the seaside resort of Finport. Meanwhile Jack and Victor are chauffeurs for the day.

Saucy - Dorothy Paul in a guest role as Tam's sister-in-law, Molly, whom he develops a crush on. Meanwhile, Jack and Victor arrange to visit Winston in Finport but when they arrive, they see his life isn't all it's said to be.

Hogmanay special (2006)

The Party - On December 31, 2006, a Hogmanay special of Still Game aired on BBC One Scotland - the show's first Scotland-only broadcast since Series 3. This was the first year that a Hogmanay special of Still Game was shown, as in previous years only Chewin' The Fat have been shown; the producers have now stopped working on Chewin' The Fat. The plot, which is similar to the previous stage play (see History) in which Jack, Victor and Winston (also Isa in this version) are stuck in the Osprey Heights lift on their way to a Hogmanay party. The episode, called "The Party", involved flashbacks to Hogmanay 1975. Jack and Victor's wives, Jean and Betty, respectively, appeared in the episode.

The episode aired the next day on 1 January 2007 on BBC Two for UK viewers outside Scotland.

Series 6 (2007)

Series 6 of Still Game started on July 12, 2007 on BBC Two. Shooting locations included the Tunnock's factory in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire and at the Par's Foods factory Glasgow, in episode 6 "recipe" (note incorrect episode order). One of the show's characters was killed off, which was revealed to be Isa's husband Harry in episode 1. The series had cameo appearances by Lorraine Kelly, Michelle McManus and boxing champion Jim Watt. Although the series was originally planned for six episodes (like the previous two), it was revealed that another episode had been added, bringing the count up to seven.

When questioned about any further series (after the sixth), creator Ford Kiernan said he believed there was at least "three more series" worth of ideas for the show and that they are "not finished with Jack and Victor's story by a long shot".

Hot Seat - Craiglang is in the grip of a hot spell. Jack and Victor have found the perfect place to relax in the park on the ultimate bench. Unfortunately, Tam and Winston have the same idea. Isa receives news about her ex husband Harry that changes her life.

Fly Society - Jack and Victor get a taste of how the other half live when they are mistaken for two socialites by a couple of rich widows. But the gang from Craiglang are not happy at missing out.

Lights Out - Craiglang is plunged into eternal darkness when the sub station goes on the blink. Our vulnerable pensioners are to take radical measures to protect themselves from the night crawlers.

Seconds Out - Boabby the barman and Stevie the bookie vie for the attention of the new pizza girl. Jack and Victor are hell bent on getting a free pizza now that their old pal Winston works there.

Hyper - Navid's business is suffering at the hands of the corporate giant Hyperdeals and his regular customers loyalty is being put to the test. Meanwhile, Tam is going through some bizarre changes. The drinks are on him.

Recipe - Jack and Victor discover Pete the Jakey was the inventor of The famous Beefy bake and seek recompense on his behalf. Tam and Frances are having marital problems. Who can offer counsel, Navid?

One In One Out - Tam and Frances enjoy fame and fortune with their new addition but it means baby sitting stints for Jack and Victor which is proving a bit of a strain.

Note: The British Sitcom Guide have plot synopses on their site. They are also reporting a 2007 Christmas special has been filmed. The BBC website for Still Game now also lists the episodes, with realplayer previews.

Christmas (2007)

Plum Number - Jack and Victor join the choir, Winston gets a job as a lollipop man and Bobby gets a puggy with a jackpot of £1000 and Jack, Victor, Eric, Tam and Shug try to get the jackpot.

Hogmanay (2007)

There was a Hogmanay special aired on Hogmanay at 11:15pm on BBC One Scotland. It was broadcast to the rest of the UK on BBC Two on 2 January 2008 at 10 pm.

Hootenanny - Jack, Victor, Winston and Tam decide to spend their Hogmanay in a cottage on the remote island of Tighnahulish. Their celebrations are short-lived though when Jack and Victor manage to upset the island's few residents. Meanwhile, in Craiglang, Navid's wife Meena has gone on holiday to India, leaving Navid to enjoy a brief taste of single life.

Critical response

Referring to the fifth series' finale, the Daily Record heralded for Still Game to be added to the ranks of the "greatest sitcoms ever". They called the episode "classic comedy" and said it was " a perfect mix of empathetic friendship, laugh-out-loud gags, real feeling in the acting and genuine warmth and chemistry between the characters". The Daily Record also revealed Still Game was trouncing rivals The Catherine Tate Show and Steve Coogan's Saxondale with 300,000 and 700,000 more viewers respectively. Creator and star Ford Kiernan said of the ratings: "I am absolutely delighted. The figures have gradually increased - episode after episode."

Still Game was criticised for its "reliance on expletives" by Teddy Jamieson, television critic for The Herald. He also commented that the sitcom "paints [Scotland] in broad strokes", through its use of stereotypes. TV Today praised the show for being "refreshing" in the age of dying sitcoms. It said the show was funny in a "straight down the line way". Still Game has attracted interest from known screen legends, such as Sean Connery (who even requested a role in the show). Actor Bill Nighy is also reported to be a fan, calling upon the distinct Glaswegian accent for a role. The show has won awards in both the 2004 and 2005 BAFTA Scotland awards and was named as the winner in the Best Broadcast category at the 2004 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards.

In 2006, Still Game was once again nominated for a BAFTA Scotland award for the "Most Popular Television" category. Other contenders included Rebus and Taggart. Paul Riley, who plays Winston, was also awarded for his role in the show.

Trivia

• Just before the fifth series started filming, a pest control team had to be called in to the Maryhill studio set when it was discovered that rats had infested Navid's shop and were eating their way through the stock. The alarm was raised after Jane McCarry (Isa) found a dead rat on the set, due to the close proximity of the Forth & Clyde Canal
• The first 5 series were made by the Comedy Unit production company who also made Chewin' the Fat and Rab C. Nesbitt, but after the Comedy Unit was sold, Greg and Ford decided to leave and go independent.
• In the episode "A Fresh Lick", Navid is distracted with the videotape in the back of the shop. The customer he is meant to be serving eventually says she will go to "Kohli's". This is a nod to Sanjeev Kohli, who plays the part of Navid. "Kohli's" is again mentioned in "Hot Seat".
• Scotland's under-nineteen football team were noted to have watched Still Game before going on to win against the Czech Republic in the 2006 European Under-19 Football Championship.