Green Wing Special
The Green Wing Special is the final episode of the British sitcom Green Wing. It was first broadcast in Australia and Belgium on the 29 December 2006. It was aired on the 4 January 2007 in Britain.[1] Whilst the episode is sometimes billed as a Christmas special, the episode contains nothing Christmas related. The special is 90 minutes long, around twice the length of a normal episode.
The Special continues the plot from the end of the second series of Green Wing, which ended with Caroline Todd becoming engaged to Guy Secretan, Dr "Mac" Macartney learning that he was going to die, Alan Statham and Joanna Clore fleeing from the police after they murdered Joanna's cousin, and Karen Ball having a dramatic change of personality after she fell out of a window.[2]
Whilst this was the final episode of Green Wing, two alternative endings were produced in case a third series was written. There was some argument between the cast and the writers about which ending should have been used. The special received mixed views from both critics and fans.[1]
Plot
The episode begins at a funeral, which Guy, Caroline, Boyce, Martin Dear and Sue White are in attendance. References made in the episode lead the viewer to first believe that it is Mac's funeral, but the viewer is then presented with a giant picture of Angela Hunter, who left the hospital in series two.[3] The plot then splits between three groups of characters.[4]
Caroline, Guy and Mac
Mac returns to work, after a month's leave off. When Caroline meets him she implies that she is engaged to Guy. Mac and Guy are then drunk in a bar, where Mac tells Guy he is going to die in a couple of weeks and makes Guy promise he will not tell Caroline. However, Guy tells Martin. Martin then complains to Guy about his selfishness. However, Caroline walks in and overhears. Meanwhile, Mac suggests to Sue that she find someone else to love.[4]
Caroline confronts Mac about not wanting marry her. Mac defends himself by saying it would be better for her to marry Guy because he will live longer. Guy later decides to do the right thing, and tells Mac to propose to Caroline, because they love each other. Caroline and Mac therefore become engaged, and later marry. After the wedding, Sue is seen with a new boyfriend. The special ends with Caroline floating away into the sky, holding a bunch of helium balloons.[4]
Alan and Joanna
After being rescued by Martin whilst they were teetering over the edge of a cliff in a stolen campervan, Alan and Joanna are on the run, believing the police are after them for the murder of Joanna's cousin.[2] Soon, they have to go to a garage, to get the van checked for faults. Whilst leaving, Joanna accidentally runs over the mechanic by putting the van in the wrong gear and reversing into him. They then try to rob a corner shop, and Joanna tells Alan to sit on the shopkeeper to restrain her, but this causes Alan to accidentally suffocate her. Back at the hospital, Boyce begins to miss Alan after his replacement is even meaner than Alan. Boyce's plotline with Alan is concluded when Alan telephones him to say goodbye, almost confirming the strange love they have for each other, but instead telling him (in code) that he is "Flying west".[4]
Later, Alan and Joanna are stopped by a policeman on suspicion of stealing the campervan. Joanna gets her peanut-butter sandwich, and smears it in the policeman's face. Alan and Joanna have an argument about the minute odds of the policeman having a peanut allergy and going into a fit, while in the background, this is actually happening. They then carry the body of the policeman into the van. Soon, having run out of food and petrol, Alan changes the engine to run on alcohol and fermented excrement. The plan is of no use however, as the van explodes. They soon reach the beach and Joanna gives Alan three options: Give themselves up, swim the Channel to Spain, or commit suicide. Alan, who is not keen on the Spanish, chooses the third option, and they are last seen walking naked into the sea, presumably to their deaths.[4]
Admin girls
Having fallen out of a window,[2] Karen walks in, dressed smartly and feistier. However, she has lost a hand and her nose whistles when she has an orgasm. When the girls realise there is no Joanna to control them, they start going wild. They start off by doing mild things, such as swapping desks and tipping up litter, and then become wilder by interviewing people and asking people to pull their trousers down.[4]
Soon, they start becoming wilder, slowly turning into a "Lord of the Flies" situation. They soon there are arguments and Harriet Schulenburg decides to become the new Joanna. Martin gets captured by Naughty Rachel, Kim Alabaster and Karen, chanting "Kill the doctor" at him. Martin calls for his mummy (Joanna), when Harriet comes out, proclaims she is the "new mummy in town", and he is dragged into the office. However, Martin somehow manages to escape by means unknown.[4]
Alternative ending
An alternative ending was made for the special which was never broadcast, but was put as an extra on the DVD.
Plot
When Mac goes to fetch Caroline's slice of wedding cake, Caroline begins to fly away. When Mac returns and sees what is happening, Mac runs down the stairs, and out of the castle to save her. Caroline begins to descend, and both Mac and Guy grab hold of one her legs to bring her down, but instead, they are lifted into the air as well, along with Caroline. Whilst the three fly away, Caroline exclaims "We're all going to die!", to which Mac quite sternly says "Caroline, there's something I've been meaning to tell you", opening the possibility that Mac is not going to die.[5]
Alan and Joanna, after walking into the sea, are last seen hanging onto a buoy, waiting to drown. They are still talking and waiting for the ocean to drown them.[5]
Rejection of alternative ending
This ending was the favourite amongst the actors. Mangan said that the alternative ending was the best moment in the whole of Green Wing. However, the writers favoured the ending that was broadcast. Eventually, the alternative ending was rejected. It is believed that the alternative ending would have been broadcast if a third series was being made, as this ending was much more ambiguous, since Alan and Joanna are still seen alive, and Mac tells Caroline that he still has something to say.[5]
Production
The production on the special was similar to that of the other episodes, with the hospital scenes being shot in the usual locations (the Northwick Park Hospital in Middlesex and the North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke). The exterior scenes are however more notable and were harder to shoot. In the beginning funeral scene, one of the mourners was Alan Yentob, who had been filming an episode for the BBC One documentary series Imagine.[6][5] The beginning of the episode differs from the others, as it does not use the normal theme tune, "Next Week", (as it is named in the original television soundtrack) and instead uses the track, "Camel".
There were some improvised scenes. Most notable was a scene in the beginning of the episode where Alan and Joanna are in a middle of a field, and the scene begins with a low-angle shot. Later, when Alan is "humping" Joanna, the scene suddenly becomes a crane shot. This is because the crew at the time had a crane camera after they had finished filming the final scenes in series 2 where Alan, Joanna and Martin are teetering over the edge of a cliff in the stolen camper van. The camper van scenes were the hardest scenes to shoot. The hardest was the scene where the van exploded, as this had to be done in one take. Another problem was the smell of the van, which Pippa Haywood said, "smelt of old dogs." The van was also suffered other problems such as bits of the steering wheel and gear stick coming off.Julian Rhind-Tutt commented that the scene where Alan and Boyce talk together for the last time was one of the most moving scenes in the whole of Green Wing. The wedding was shot at Hall of Bayham Abbey in Kent, where the crew had difficulty filming due to bad weather.[5]
Reception
When the special was first broadcast, it was watched by 1.7 million viewers, 11% of the total audience. Whilst this is not bad for a Channel 4 programme, other shows have had better ratings. An episode of Desperate Housewives shown the previous night attracted 2.8 million viewers.[1]
The views of critics was mainly positive. Matt Baylis said, "Like a homegrown ER on laughing gas, this show will be sorely missed," and Ian Johns said, "It was like a Richard Curtis romcom, albeit one force-fed magic mushrooms."[1] However, there was some criticism. Paul Whitelaw attacked both the series and the special saying, "This final installment was typically awful, more so considering its length."[1]
Fans of the show thought that whilst the special was good, it was not the greatest episode of Green Wing made. Some thought the special concentrate too much on the drama instead of the comedy. Some were confused by the final ending, and other complained about the lack of appearances made by Sue White.[1]
DVD release
The DVD was released on the 8th of January, four days after its premiere on UK TV. Features include the alternate ending, a "Behind the Scenes" featurette, 20 minutes of deleted scenes and commentary with many of the main cast, which includes commentary from some foreign relatives of Michelle Gomez who had not seen the show.[7]
Cast
With the exception of the main characters, the following people make appearances.
- Charles Robertson - Robert Harley
- Vicar - Richard Freeman
- Garage Attendant - Cavan Clerkin
- Jonny - Spencer McLaren
- Replacement Radiologist - Simon Kunz
- Shopkeeper - Yvonne D'Alpra
- Traffic Cop - Derren Litten
- With Thanks - Jeremy Sheffield
References
- ^ a b c d e f Boosey, Mark (2007-01-23). "Green Wing News". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- ^ a b c "Series 2, Episode 8". Green Wing. Season 2. Episode 8. 2006-05-19.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Series 2, Episode 3". Green Wing. Season 2. Episode 3. 2006-04-14.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g "Special". Green Wing. 2007-01-04. Cite error: The named reference "Special" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c d e Green Wing Special (DVD). TalkbackThames. 2007-01-08.
- ^ "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Studio". Imagine. Season 7. Episode 3. 2006-01-31.
{{cite episode}}: Text "Imagine" ignored (help) - ^ Boosey, Mark (2007-01-23). "Green Wing Merchandise". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
External links
