Oxbridge Blues
1984 British TV series or programme
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Oxbridge Blues is a 1984 British television series, produced and broadcast in the UK by the BBC. It is an anthology of seven approximately 75-minute television plays by Frederic Raphael, most of which focus on relationships of one kind or another. Most of the plays except one take place in England; "He'll See You Now" takes place in the U.S., and "Sleeps Six" takes place in England and France. The series was broadcast in the U.S. on A&E in 1986 and on PBS in 1988.[1] In Australia, the series was broadcast on ABC in 1987.[2]
| Oxbridge Blues | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Frederic Raphael |
| Theme music composer | Richard Holmes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Producer | James Cellan Jones |
| Cinematography | John Hooper |
| Running time | 75 minutes |
| Production company | BBC |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC2 |
| Release | 14 November – 19 December 1984 |
The series won the 1987 CableACE Award for Best Dramatic Series. The eponymous first teleplay in the series, "Oxbridge Blues", was nominated for a BAFTA television award for Best Single Drama, and other individual episodes garnered several other awards and nominations.[3]
The seven plays were adapted by the novelist Frederic Raphael from the short stories from his own collections Sleeps Six and other stories (1979)[4] and Oxbridge Blues and other stories (1980).[5] He described the television series as "mostly kind of chamber pieces – modest dramas about love and sex and honour and marriage".[1] Raphael directed one episode, James Cellan Jones directed four, and Richard Stroud directed two. Each episode of Oxbridge Blues is a separate and unrelated story, with different characters in each.
In December 1984, the BBC published the seven scripts together in book form, entitled Oxbridge Blues and Other Plays for Television.[6]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Oxbridge Blues" | James Cellan Jones | 14 November 1984 | |
|
Two rival brothers (Ian Charleson, Malcolm Stoddard) find their fame and fortune is dramatically altered when one (Stoddard) becomes a best-selling sex novelist. | ||||
| 2 | "That Was Tory" | Richard Stroud | 21 November 1984 | |
|
Old passions and new jealousies provoke an odd coupling between a married man (John Bird) and the wife of his good friend (Carol Royle). | ||||
| 3 | "Similar Triangles" | James Cellan Jones | 28 November 1984 | |
|
The thrill is gone for two adulterous lovers (Malcolm Stoddard, Kate Fahy) when the spouse of one dies. | ||||
| 4 | "He'll See You Now" | Frederic Raphael | 28 November 1984 | |
|
A neurotic actress (Susan Sarandon) is tempted into a more intimate relationship with her analyst (Barry Dennen). | ||||
| 5 | "The Muse" | Richard Stroud | 5 December 1984 | |
|
A wimpish cartoonist (David Suchet) takes on the rough-'n-tumble personality traits of his most popular character. | ||||
| 6 | "Cheap Day" | James Cellan Jones | 12 December 1984 | |
|
A chance meeting with a handsome stranger (Norman Rodway) tempts a happily married woman (Ciaran Madden) into testing the waters of infidelity. | ||||
| 7 | "Sleeps Six" | James Cellan Jones | 19 December 1984 | |
|
An idyllic holiday in the South of France turns into an ordeal for a film producer (Ben Kingsley) and his loving wife (Diane Keen) when his aristocratic agent (Jeremy Child) turns up. | ||||
Main cast
- Ian Charleson as Victor Geary ("Oxbridge Blues")
- Rosalyn Landor as Wendy ("Oxbridge Blues")
- Amanda Redman as Maxine ("Oxbridge Blues")
- Michael Elphick as Curly Bonaventura ("Oxbridge Blues")
- Malcolm Stoddard as Philip Geary ("Oxbridge Blues"); Michael ("Similar Triangles")
- Kate Fahy as Eileen ("Similar Triangles"); Lizzie ("Cheap Day")
- Ciaran Madden as Laura ("Cheap Day"); Rachel ("Similar Triangles")
- Norman Rodway as Alec ("Cheap Day"); Narrator ("Similar Triangles")
- Geoffrey Palmer as Fred ("Cheap Day")
- Christopher Good as James ("Cheap Day")
- Ben Kingsley as Geoff Craven ("Sleeps Six")
- Diane Keen as Sherry Craven ("Sleeps Six")
- Jeremy Child as Philip Witham ("Sleeps Six")
- Jackie Smith-Wood as Lady Jane Witham ("Sleeps Six")
- Susan Sarandon as Natalie ("He'll See You Now")
- Barry Dennen as Dr. Stein ("He'll See You Now")
- David Suchet as Colin ("The Muse")
- Frances Tomelty as Angela Lane ("The Muse")
- Carol Royle as Tory ("That Was Tory"); Ellen ("The Muse")
- John Bird as Clive ("That Was Tory")
- Joanna Lumley as GiGi ("That Was Tory")
Music
The series theme music was composed by Richard Holmes, and sung by the English group Cantabile.
Awards and nominations
- The series won the 1987 CableACE Award for Best Dramatic Series.[3]
- The first episode, "Oxbridge Blues", was nominated for a BAFTA television award for Best Single Drama.[3][7]
- Susan Sarandon won the 1987 CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic Series for her performance in the episode "He'll See You Now".[3]
- Frederic Raphael won the 1987 CableACE Award for Best Writing a Dramatic Series, for episode "Sleeps Six".[3]
- Ben Kingsley was nominated for a CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series for his performance in the episode "Sleeps Six".[3]
See also
- Cambridge Blue – Sports award
- Cambridge Blue (colour) – Colour commonly used by sports teams from the University of Cambridge
- Oxford Blue – Sports award
- Oxford Blue (colour) – Shade of blue used by Oxford University