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| Mind Your Language | |
|---|---|
| Format | Comedy |
| Created by | Vince Powell |
| Starring | Barry Evans |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 42 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Stuart Allen Albert Moses |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Original run | December 30, 1977 – December 15, 1979 and 1986 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Mind Your Language is a British comedy television series, that premiered on ITV in late 1977. Produced by LWT and directed by Stuart Allen, it is set in a school for adult students in London, focusing on the English as a Foreign Language class taught by Mr. Jeremy Brown, portrayed by Barry Evans, who had to deal with a motley crew of foreigners. Three series were made by LWT between 1977-79, and the show was briefly revived in 1986 with some of the original cast.
Contents |
Premise
The series focuses on the adult students of the English as a Foreign Language class in a London school. The classes take place in the early evening, and are taught by Mr. Brown, though on occasion other individuals take over the class if he is not available. The class consists of foreigners with varying degrees of English proficiency. The humour of the show is derived from the students misunderstanding English words or terms, and plays up to the cultural stereotype of their individual nation of origin.
Season One takes place over a full school year, starting with Mr. Brown being hired by the Headmistress Miss Courtney, and ends with the students sitting for their Lower Cambridge Certificate. Season Two begins at the start of the next school year, with all ten previous students returning after having failed their exam, and two new students joining them, for a total of twelve. Season One and Two primarily took place within the classroom, but the later seasons explored settings outside of the school.
More recently the show has been criticised as being politically incorrect and even racist, but in its day the show was popular because of its light-hearted take on multiculturalism and because it gave some otherwise unrepresented minorities a television presence, albeit represented as caricatures.
Production
The show was cancelled in 1979 by Michael Grade, then LWT's Deputy Controller of Entertainment, who considered the stereotyping offensive. Nevertheless the series was sold to other countries, including Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia,Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and Singapore. It was also one of the first British TV programmes shown in South Africa after the end of the boycott by Equity. It was resurrected briefly for the export market by an independent producer in the mid 1980s. Some ITV companies didn't show any of the episodes made in 1986. Only Granada transmitted the final 13 episodes consecutively as a complete series.
Various international television shows based on the premise of Mind Your Language have followed the original series. Among them are What a Country! (US), Zaban Sambhal Ke (India), Zaban Sambhal Kai (Pakistan) and Second Chance! (Nigeria).
Recording Locations
The majority of recording sessions for the first three series took place on Tuesday evenings in Studio Two at The London Studios. The 1986 resurrected series was filmed at Uxbridge Technical College, Middlesex.
Episodes
Season 1
| Episode | Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "The First Lesson" | December 30, 1977 |
| Mr. Brown becomes the new teacher of the English as a Foreign Language class, and meets his students for the first time. | ||
| 02 | "An Inspector Calls" | January 6, 1978 |
| An education inspector arrives at the school to observe the classes, but Mr. Brown mistakes him for a new foreign student. | ||
| 03 | "A Fate Worse Than Death" | January 13, 1978 |
| Ranjeet asks Mr. Brown for help to escape an arranged marriage. | ||
| 04 | "All Through The Night" | January 20, 1978 |
| Concerned that his students' English is not improving, Mr. Brown keeps them in late after class, but they get trapped when the building is locked after hours. | ||
| 05 | "The Best Things In Life" | January 27, 1978 |
| Jamila is arrested for shoplifting due to her misunderstanding the term "free" in promotional material. Mr. Brown and his students work together to return the stolen items. | ||
| 06 | "Come Back All Is Forgiven" | February 3, 1978 |
| Ms. Courtney declares that Mr. Brown has not been performing well and threatens to dismiss him. | ||
| 07 | "The Cheating Game" | February 10, 1978 |
| The students have to sit for a mock exam. As Mr. Brown's career is on the line, the students decide to cheat in order to prove their progress. | ||
| 08 | "Better To Have Loved and Lost" | February 17, 1978 |
| Ali and Su Li announce that they're getting married, but Mr. Brown discovers that Ali is already married and plans to take Su Li as his second wife. | ||
| 09 | "Kill Or Cure" | February 24, 1978 |
| Mr. Brown falls ill, the students go visit him. | ||
| 10 | "Hello, Sailor" | March 3, 1978 |
| Juan brings his Russian sailor friend Boris to Mr. Brown's class. Boris explains that he wants to stay in England to be with his English girlfriend. | ||
| 11 | "A Point Of Honour" | March 10, 1978 |
| Danielle is harassed by Mr. Jarvis, the woodwork teacher. She tells Jarvis that she is engaged to Mr. Brown, so Jarvis challenges Mr. Brown to a fight. | ||
| 12 | "How's Your Father?" | March 17, 1978 |
| Mr. Brown, who was abandoned as a baby, comes to believe that Sidney might be his father. | ||
| 13 | "The Examination" | March 24, 1978 |
| The students sit for their Lower Cambridge Certificate exam, and Mr. Brown has a bad encounter with their examiner. | ||
Season 2
| Episode | Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | "All Present If Not Correct" | October 7, 1978 |
| In the new school year, Mr. Brown has two new students, plus ten old ones who did not pass their exam. | ||
| 15 | "Queen For A Day" | October 14, 1978 |
| It is announced that the Queen will be visiting the school, and Ms. Courtney gets overexcited about the event. | ||
| 16 | "Brief Re-encounter" | October 21, 1978 |
| Ms. Courtney is reunited with an old boyfriend whose intentions may not be pure. | ||
| 17 | "Many Happy Returns" | October 28, 1978 |
| Ranjeet has been saving up his money to visit his mother for her birthday, but Mr. Brown loses it and the class has to work to get it back. | ||
| 18 | "Don't Forget The Driver" | November 4, 1978 |
| Mr. Brown's class have a field trip, but the bus breaks down and the group is stranded in the countryside. | ||
| 19 | "A Hard Day's Night" | November 11, 1978 |
| Mr. Brown's flat is being painted and he agrees to spend the night in Giovanni and Max's apartment. | ||
| 20 | "Take Your Partners" | November 18, 1978 |
| Mr. Brown is forced by Ms. Courtney to attend a charity dance, and he has to decide who to take with him. | ||
| 21 | "After Three" | November 25, 1978 |
| The class have to prepare for the school's talent show. In the end, the class sings the Mind Your Language opening theme. | ||
Season 3
| Episode | Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | "I Belong To Glasgow" | October 27, 1979 |
| A new student from Glasgow joins the class and causes problems for the students. | ||
| 23 | "Who Loves Ya Baby?" | November 3, 1979 |
| Danielle, who is an au pair, brings her boss' baby to class. | ||
| 24 | "No Flowers By Request" | November 10, 1979 |
| Mr. Brown breaks his leg and is hospitalized. When Juan telephones the hospital, a miscommunication results in Juan thinking that Mr. Brown has died. | ||
| 25 | "Just the Job" | November 17, 1979 |
| Mr. Brown is offered a new highly paid job at another school and leaves immediately, only to learn that the offer has been withdrawn. | ||
| 26 | "Guilty Or Not Guilty?" | November 24, 1979 |
| All the students are brought to court for causing mischief in public. Ms. Courtney oversees the session, while Mr. Brown acts as their barrister. | ||
| 27 | "Repent At Leisure" | December 1, 1979 |
| Anna's au pair visa is set to expire, and the others decide that she ought to marry Mr. Brown in order to become a British citizen. | ||
| 28 | "The School Fete" | December 8, 1979 |
| The school holds a fete, and Max is held responsible for hiring a famous actor to open the events. | ||
| 29 | "What A Tangled Web" | December 15, 1979 |
| Ali suspects that his wife is having an affair. Mr. Brown follows Ali's wife and finds that she is going to Ranjeet's house. | ||
Season 4
| Episode | Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | "Never Say Die" | January 4, 1986 |
| 31 | "Too Many Cooks" | January 11, 1986 |
| 32 | "Easy Come Easy Go" | January 18, 1986 |
| 33 | "Fifty Years On" | January 25, 1986 |
| 34 | "Time And Tide" | February 1, 1986 |
| 35 | "Ghoulies And Ghosties" | February 8, 1986 |
| 36 | "Mama Mia!" | February 15, 1986 |
| 37 | "A Rash Decision" | February 22, 1986 |
| 38 | "Wedding Fever" | March 1, 1986 |
| 39 | "Everybody's Out" | March 8, 1978 |
| 40 | "Untitled" | March 22, 1986 |
| 41 | "Untitled" | April 17, 1986 |
| 42 | "Untitled" | April 24, 1986 |
Transmission details
- Series One (13) 30 December 1977-24 March 1978 · Friday 7p.m.
- Series Two (8) 7 October-25 November 1978 · Saturday mostly 6p.m.
- Series Three (8) 27 October-15 December 1979 · Saturday mostly 6.45p.m.
- Series Four (13) 4 January-15 December 1986
DVD releases
The series was released as a boxed set on Region 2 DVD in 2003, and on Region 1 DVD in 2004. However, this set excludes the Season 1 episode Kill Or Cure, the Season 2 episode Don't Forget The Driver, the Season 3 episode Guilty Or Not Guilty? and the entirety of Season 4.
An alternate boxed set was released by Network DVD in November 2007, containing the complete Seasons 1 to 3.
The remaining fourth series has yet to be released on DVD.
Cast and characters
School staff
Jeremy Brown, portrayed by Barry Evans, is the English teacher and focal point of most of the series. He is a B.A. from Oxford University. He is hired in the series pilot, in which he is warned that the previous teacher was driven insane by the students. Mr. Brown is up to the challenge, and often has to put up with the students' often literal interpretations of the English language. Despite his frustrations with the students, he grows fond of them and often goes out of his way to help them and vice versa. In the 12th episode, he told his students of how he was left on an orphanage In Jeremy Street 30 years ago and grew up without any parents, a possible reference to Evans' own childhood. He suspected that Sidney is his father after he heard that Sidney left his baby in the same orphanage.Unfortunately(or fortunately),his baby turned out to be a girl.
- Miss Dolores Courtney, portrayed by Zara Nutley, is the school's pompous and tight-fisted principal. She thinks poorly of Mr. Brown and his abilities as a teacher, and often drops in unannounced into his class to check on the students' progress. Over time she grows fond of Mr. Brown as well as his students.
- Sidney, portrayed by Tommy Godfrey (Season 1 - 3), is the caretaker of the school. He is a London Cockney who frequently speaks in slang rhyme. He becomes a father figure and friend to Mr. Brown and the male students of his class.
- Gladys, portrayed by Iris Sadler (Season 1 - 3), is the old lady in charge of the tea room at the school. She is, in contrast to Miss Courtney, affable and friendly towards Mr. Brown and the students. She takes Miss Courtney's domineering attitude in stride, and gets along well with everyone.
Minors
Jarvis, is the woodwork teacher of the school,who got into a fight with Jeremy Brown,due to "personal reasons".
Students
Giovanni Capello (in season 2 Giovanni Cupello), portrayed by George Camiller, is an Italian cook, the class's loudest student and de-facto class monitor. He is best friends with Max, who becomes his flatmate. Giovanni's main English problem is understanding metaphors and large words, though he often answers wrongly on purpose to amuse the class. When shocked or surprised, he often remarks "Santa Maria" or "Holy Ravioli", and also often says "Okey kokey" instead of "OK".
Anna Schmidt, portrayed by Jacki Harding, is a stereotypical 1970s German and an au pair. In her introduction, she refers to "German efficiency", and accordingly Anna is a hardworking student, occasionally asking legitimate questions and as the series progresses, answering Mr. Brown's questions correctly. Her main problem is mixing "V" and "W" sounds.
Chung Su-Lee, portrayed by Pik-Sen Lim (Season 1 - 3), is a secretary at the Chinese Embassy. She is never seen without her little red book of Mao, which she often quotes from. She constantly mixes up her "R"s and "L"s. Early in the series, she had a fierce ideological rivalry with Taro, her Japanese classmate, but later on the series, he often springs to defend her when a character insults her or China. One example was when on episode 22, a Scotland student insulted Su-Lee during her quotations of Chairman Mao, that was when Taro came to defend her.
Taro Nagazumi, portrayed by Robert Lee (Season 1 - 3) is a Japanese electronics representative. He has a reasonable command of English, but has a habit of adding "-o" to every word he says. Early in the series he is at odds with Su-Lee due to Japan and China's own political differences in the 1970s, but becomes a close friend of hers later on. He is never seen without his camera.
Jamila Ranjha, portrayed by Jamila Massey (Season 1 - 3), is an Indian housewife from Simla. When she first joins the class she can barely speak English, and needs Ali to translate her Urdu, but by series 3, she has become one of the better English speakers. She often calls Mr. Brown "Masterjee",and her catchphrase early in the series is "god havening".
Maximillian Papandrious, portrayed by Kevork Malikyan (Season 1 - 3), is a Greek shipping office worker, and is often paired with Giovanni. He is attracted to Danielle but as the show progresses the three became a gang of sorts. Max tends to misunderstand metaphors and large words. He also has a heavy accent, which causes him to add "H" to almost every word he says. Later, he shares his flat with Giovanni.
Juan Cervantes, portrayed by Ricardo Montez, is a Spanish bartender with an optimistic streak. Juan is always laughing at himself, confident of his answers even when they are completely wrong. Early in the series Juan speaks almost no English, and answers everything with "por favor" (please), necessitating Giovanni to translate some key terms for him. Juan's English improves as the series went on, but he remained one of the worst speakers, often speaking a mix of English and Spanish. He cares a great deal for Mr. Brown, whom he considers almost family.
- Ranjeet Singh, portrayed by Albert Moses, is a Tube worker from Punjab in India and a very devoted Sikh. He constantly argues with Ali, who is a Pakistani Muslim. He tends to mix up his general knowledge, and upon being corrected he always puts his hands together for "a thousand apologies".
Danielle Favre, portrayed by Françoise Pascal (Season 1 - 3), is an amorous French au pair who instantly grabs the attention of all men, including Mr. Brown. Her good looks often distract Giovanni and Max from their answers, while Mr. Brown is often found in seemingly incriminating positions with her. She is annoyed when Ingrid Svenson joins the class, instigating a rivalry for Mr. Brown's attention.
Ali Nadeem, portrayed by Dino Shafeek (Season 1 - 3), is one of the first students that Mr. Brown meets at the school. He is originally from Lahore, Pakistan, although he once stated he grew up in Delhi. Never seen without his Jinnah cap, he is the most vocal of the students and often literally misinterprets everything said by others. As a Pakistani Muslim he has a vocal and occasionally physical rivalry with Ranjeet, who is an Indian Sikh. By the middle of Season 2, although they continue to argue, Ali's rivalry with Ranjeet becomes less malicious, and they are on occasion able to work together without complaint. Ali's typical catch phrase is "oh blimey!", "squeeze me please!" and also "jolly good".
Ingrid Svenson, portrayed by Anna Bergman (Season 2 and 4), is a Swedish au pair who joins the class at the beginning of Season 2. She is attractive and straightforward about her attraction to Mr. Brown, sparking a rivalry between her and Danielle. Her main problem with English is word order, often getting words mixed up, such as "you for I question answer". She transfers schools at the end of Season 2, but returns in the independently produced Season 4.
Zoltán Szabó, portrayed by Gabor Vernon (Season 2), is a Hungarian student who only appears during Season 2. He has a very basic level of English and requires a phrasebook for everything. He picks up slang quickly, most of which comes from Giovanni and Juan. At the end of series 2, he goes back to Hungary. His typical catchphase is to say "Bocsánat?" [pronounced "bochanot", Hungarian word for 'Sorry', 'Excuse me'] to everything said to him in English.
- In the fourth season, Mr. Brown and Miss Courtney were still at the school, as were Anna, Giovanni, Ingrid, Juan and Ranjeet. New students included Maria Papandrious, portrayed by Jenny Lee-Wright, Michelle Dumas (Marie-Elise Grepne), Farrukh Azzam (Raj Patel), Fu Wong Chang (Vincent Wong), Sue Bond (Rita) and Harry Littlewood (Henshawe).
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