Three Up, Two Down

Not to be confused with the 1979 BBC sitcom Two Up, Two Down.
Three Up, Two Down
Genre Sitcom
Starring Michael Elphick
Angela Thorne
Lysette Anthony
Ray Burdis
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 4
No. of episodes 25
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Release
Original network BBC1
Original release 15 April 1985 (1985-04-15) –
18 June 1989 (1989-06-18)

Three Up, Two Down is a British sitcom starring Michael Elphick and Angela Thorne that ran from 1985 to 1989. It was written by Richard Ommanney.

Cast

Plot

Nick and Angie have just had a baby, and to help them financially they decide to rent out the basement. Both Nick's father, Sam Tyler, and Angie's mother, Daphne Trenchard, want the basement apartment and the only solution is to share. Sam is a Cockney, while Daphne is Cheltenham-bred and has not forgiven her daughter for marrying Nick, a 'common' photographer. Both Sam and Daphne are widowed, and stubborn. There is mutual contempt between Nick and Daphne: however, Angie is fond of Sam and is forever trying, against all the odds, to keep the peace between him and Daphne. The situation is exacerbated, from Series Two onwards, by the presence of Sam's gloomy and pessimistic zoo-keeper friend Wilf Perkins, who ends up sharing Sam's room, much to Daphne's icy displeasure. Further complications arise through Daphne's brief romance with a neighbour, the suave and crooked Major Giles Bradshaw, who is eventually sent to prison for acts of theft and fraud.

The comedy came from the clashes between Sam and Daphne, and the eventual romance that develops between them. The next-door neighbour, Rhonda, was a catalyst for bringing them together.

Episodes

Series One (1985)

  1. Your Place Or Mine? (15 April 85)
  2. Widower's Mite (22 April 85)
  3. Ill Wind From Cheltenham (29 April 85)
  4. Epping's Not Far (6 May 85)
  5. Just Desserts (13 May 85)
  6. Two Down, One To Go (20 May 85)

Series Two (1986)

  1. Major Inconvenience (7 April 86)
  2. Sweet And Sour (14 April 86)
  3. Arrivals And Departures (21 April 86)
  4. It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (28 April 86)
  5. Winner Takes All (5 May 86)
  6. Ill Met By Candlelight (12 May 86)

Series Three (1987)

  1. Four's A Crowd (6 September 87)
  2. One Flew Over The Perimeter Fence (13 September 87)
  3. Truth And Consequences (20 September 87)
  4. Mirror Mirror On The Wall (27 September 87)
  5. Jailhouse Shock (4 October 87)
  6. Come Sail With Me (11 October 87)
  7. Life And Death (18 October 87)

Series Four (1989)

  1. Passionfruit (14 May 89)
  2. On The Radio (21 May 89)
  3. Omelettes And Optimism (28 May 89)
  4. Golf (4 June 89)
  5. The Driving Test (11 June 89)
  6. Cheltenham (18 June 89)

American adaptation

The pilot for an American adaptation of Three Up, Two Down, titled 5 Up, 2 Down, aired on 5 June 1991 on CBS, but was not picked up as a series. Nick and Angie were played by Jeffrey D. Sams and Jackie Mari Roberts, and Angie had given birth to triplets. Sam and Daphne were played by Cleavon Little and Emily Yancy.

DVD releases

The first two series of Three Up, Two Down were released in a box set by Universal Pictures Video on 17 May 2004. Series 3 & 4 are still to be released.

References

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