Seven of One
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| Seven of One | |
|---|---|
 "Open All Hours" and "Porridge" were the two successful pilots from the Seven of One series. | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Ronnie Barker |
| Starring | Ronnie Barker |
| Composer | Max Harris |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Producers | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | BBC |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC2 |
| Release | 25 March – 6 May 1973 |
Seven of One, stylised as 7 of 1,[1] is a British sitcom anthology series that aired on BBC2 in 1973.[1] Starring Ronnie Barker, Seven of One is a series of seven separate 30-minute episodes that would serve as possible pilots for sitcoms.[1] Originally it was to be called Six of One, which Barker planned to follow up with another series called And Half a Dozen of the Other.[1] This was a BBC equivalent of a similar showcase for London Weekend Television called Six Dates with Barker created in 1971.
In addition to Barker, Seven of One also featured Roy Castle, Bill Maynard, Talfryn Thomas, Prunella Scales, Glynn Edwards, Joan Sims, Keith Chegwin, Leslie Dwyer, Robin Parkinson, Sam Kelly, Christopher Biggins, Richard O'Callaghan, Yootha Joyce, David Jason, and Avis Bunnage in supporting roles.[1] The series was released on BBC DVD in 2005.
Episodes
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Successful pilots
[edit]Whilst most of the pilots were not developed any further, "Prisoner and Escort" was chosen to be developed into a series and became Porridge (1974–1977),[1] which also led to a spin-off series called Going Straight in 1978, a feature film adaptation of Porridge in 1979, and many years later a sequel sitcom Porridge (2016–2017).
"Open All Hours" was later developed into a sitcom of the same name, Open All Hours (1976, 1981–1982, 1985),[1] and many years later a sequel sitcom named Still Open All Hours (2013–2019). Additionally, "My Old Man" also led to a sitcom of the same name, My Old Man (1974–1975), which was made by Yorkshire Television and shown nationally on ITV, but not including Barker and instead featuring an entirely new cast led by Clive Dunn.[1]
Ronnie Barker's favourite of the seven pilots was "I'll Fly You for a Quid", which he initially chose to do as a series, before being convinced by the BBC that it would be harder to do a full series of scripts about Evan Owen in a Welsh gambling community compared to Norman Stanley Fletcher in the prison setting of "Prisoner and Escort".
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Seven of One at Nostalgia Central
- Seven of One at IMDb
- 1973 British television series debuts
- 1973 British television series endings
- 1970s British sitcoms
- 1970s British comedy television series
- Television pilots not picked up as a series
- BBC television sitcoms
- BBC anthology television shows
- 1970s British anthology television series
- British English-language television shows