The Lovers | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Jack Rosenthal |
Written by |
Jack Rosenthal Geoffrey Lancashire |
Directed by |
Jack Rosenthal Les Chatfield |
Starring |
Paula Wilcox Richard Beckinsale Robin Nedwell Joan Scott |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company(s) | Granada Television |
Release | |
Original network | ITV |
Original release | 27 October 1970 | – 18 November 1971
The Lovers is a British television sitcom by Jack Rosenthal, starring Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox as a courting couple, Geoffrey and Beryl. It was made between 1970 and 1971 by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was also given a repeat run on Channel 4 in 1996. The hook for the show was the mismatch between the two, particularly in the area of sex (which Beryl referred to as "Percy Filth"). Beryl was a slightly dizzy character with a penchant for pet names such as "Geoffrey bobbles bonbon", while Geoffrey, though dreamy, was somewhat rough around the edges, and obsessed with taking Beryl to bed. A typical exchange between them might consist of the following:
The series ran for 13 episodes over one year. Like several other British sitcoms of the time, it was used as the basis for a movie in 1972 which also featured Beckinsale, Wilcox and Scott, together with Susan Littler, Rosalind Ayres and John Comer (as Geoffrey's dad).
In one episode Geoffrey plays with the word "misled", pronouncing it as "mizzled", and meaning something more like confused than deluded. This one word provided much of the humour in the show, including the last line when, talking to a companion in a pub who is complaining about his bad luck, he says "You must have been mizzled."
The Complete Series of The Lovers was released by Network in 2007.