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Joking Apart

TV·1993–1995·2 seasons, 12 episodes·BBC Two·Comedy·30m·Created by Steven Moffat

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Joking Apart is a BBC television sitcom written by Steven Moffat about the rise and fall of a relationship. It juxtaposes a couple, Mark and Becky, who fall in love and marry, before getting separated and finally divorced. The twelve episodes, broadcast between 1993 and 1995, were directed by Bob Spiers and produced by Andre Ptaszynski for independent production company Pola Jones. The show is semi-autobiographical; it was inspired by the then recent separation of Moffat and his first wife. Some of the episodes in the first series followed a non-linear parallel structure, contrasting the rise of the relationship with the fall. Other episodes were ensemble farces, predominantly including the couple's friends Robert and Tracy. Paul Mark Elliott also appeared as Trevor, Becky's lover.

Cast

Robert BathurstRobert BathurstMark TaylorFiona GilliesFiona GilliesBecky JohnsonTracie BennettTracie BennettTracy GlazebrookPaul RaffieldPaul RaffieldRobert Glazebrook

Episodes by season

Season016Episodes1993Aired—Season avg
  1. S01E01Episode 1January 7, 1993—Mark meets Becky for the first time at a "party", and after a whirlwind romance, they tie the knot. But Mark is oblivious as his marriage be
  2. S01E02Episode 2January 14, 1993—Robert and Tracy stay with Mark to try to help him get through his first night apart from Becky, as he reminisces about their first night to
  3. S01E03Episode 3January 21, 1993—Robert and Tracy have invited Becky and her new lover, Trevor, to dinner, but their plans go awry when Mark turns up shortly before they are
  4. S01E04Episode 4January 28, 1993—A retrospective episode in which Mark proposes to Becky four times, only to be rebuffed on each occasion. With Becky adamant she's looking f
  5. S01E05Episode 5February 4, 1993—Robert has left his mobile phone at Mark’s flat, so Mark drives round to the house to return it. But separation can make for strange bedfell
  6. S01E06Episode 6February 11, 1993—Mark has two women at his flat who both want to spend the night alone with him. When Becky turns up unexpectedly, he suspects she desires th

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

Season026Episodes1995Aired—Season avg
  1. S02E01Episode 7January 3, 1995—Mark goes into a newsagent to buy a ‘paper but finds himself inexorably drawn towards the top shelf magazines….Not the ideal circumstances,
  2. S02E02Episode 8January 10, 1995—Mark has been having fantasies about murdering Trevor and a night of heavy drinking only adds fuel to the fire. When his wife’s lover turns
  3. S02E03Episode 9January 17, 1995—Mark and Becky are talking in a pub, when Robert pops in. He seems unhappy at being spotted and acts suspiciously. Why is he so anxious to c
  4. S02E04Episode 10January 24, 1995—Mark's elderly Aunt Helen is due to visit from Australia, and is very keen to be introduced to Becky. He hasn’t dared mention the divorce, a
  5. S02E05Episode 11January 31, 1995—Mark is suffering from concussion and can't be left on his own. But who is the mysterious visitor who claims to be his 'very best friend' an
  6. S02E06Episode 12February 7, 1995—Tracy takes part in a television phone-in show about divorce....Just not how she imagined. Inevitably, Becky and Mark are soon centre-stage

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

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