Back to Basie

Some people probably think I compile lists of recording dates for sitcoms in lieu of having anything interesting to say about them. These people are entirely correct.

Nonetheless, as I’ve just had a delightful time watching the whole run on iPlayer, let’s take a look at Series 1 of Andrew Marshall’s brilliant 2point4 children.

The above are the main audience record dates for the series. Location work for the pilot was done between 10th – 12th April 1991, and location for the rest of the five episodes was done between 15th – 27th July 1991.

There are a few things to note about the above. Firstly: yes, “Leader of the Pack” was a genuine pilot, shot nearly four months before the rest of the series. This pilot was shot in the main Studio A at Pebble Mill, before the show moved down to TV Centre for the rest of the programme’s run.

As I’ve discussed before with So Haunt Me, these episodes were shot closer to TX than you might have suspected. It’s not too tight with 2point4 children, but the last episode recorded of the series, “Young at Heart”, was shot the week after the pilot first transmitted. Indeed, it’s worth noting how quickly the series was commissioned and scheduled after the pilot recording; there was no messing about. It’s almost as though TV doesn’t have to sit around on people’s desks for years while people make a decision, or something.

Pilots can be intriguing things for a certain breed of TV fan. For a start, things are often just slightly different in a pilot compared to the series proper.¹ There’s also the tempting knowledge that the initial edit of a pilot show often isn’t the version which ends up being broadcast. For the perfect example of this, see this post I wrote on Yes Minister, where the original pilot edit not only had different opening and closing credits compared to what ended up being broadcast, but also an entirely different film sequence in the middle.

The same must be true of 2point4 children, at least when it comes to the credits. We know that for sure. The broadcast version of “Leader of the Pack” contains the normal title sequence, which is made up of episode clips from the rest of Series 1:

The laws of time and space would indicate that the original, unbroadcast edit of the pilot, shot before the rest of the series, couldn’t have had that title sequence. So what did it have? A caption saying “INSERT TITLE SEQUENCE HERE”², or something rather more involved?

I have no idea. I don’t have a copy of the original edit of the pilot. Maybe it still exists somewhere; maybe it’s long gone. But there is one thing we can figure out about that original pilot edit. And the reason we can figure it out is down to some dodgy record-keeping by the BBC from the time.

I have two bits of paperwork for the pilot of 2point4 children here. The first is a list of exactly what was transmitted on BBC1 on the day the first episode of the show aired; the second is more detailed information about the episode itself. And there is a rather large discrepancy between the two.³

According to the list of what was actually broadcast on the 3rd September 1991, the programme number for “Leader of the Pack” is LLC C200R/72X. However, the attached in-depth paperwork is for LLC C200R/71X. Now isn’t the place for a detailed discussion of exactly how BBC programme numbers work.⁴ Suffice to say that the /71 and /72 refer to different edits of the programme. /71 is an earlier edit, and /72 is a later edit.

In other words: the paperwork for the pilot of 2point4 children refers to an earlier edit of the programme than was actually broadcast. Which means, even though we don’t have a copy of the earlier edit itself, we can go scouring it for clues.

And the most obvious difference between the two versions is: Howard Goodall’s excellent opening and closing music isn’t mentioned in the /71 edit paperwork at all. Instead, there is an entirely different track listed. And intriguingly, it’s a track which is still used in the programme as broadcast; just in a different capacity.

Remember the final scene of the show, with the jazz track playing in the background?

This is a piece of library music called “Mr. Basie”⁵ by Ron Aspery⁶, released by Music House in 1988 on the album Jazz Sax. Well, this track was also originally used for the opening and closing titles of the show!

Once you view the broadcast version of the episode with this idea in mind, I think you can tell that the transition between “Mr. Basie” and Howard Goodall’s theme is slightly awkward in the revised edit. Especially given that the show is usually very, very good when it comes to endings. So there’s your explanation; the ending wasn’t originally intended to have two separate pieces of music at all.

And there you have it. The original theme music to 2point4 children, before Howard Goodall got involved, and never actually broadcast. Hang on, I think this piece might have ended up vaguely interesting after all. Dammit.

1. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to examine the Porters’ staircase in detail. ↩

2. See The Day Today pilot for one of these. ↩

3. Rather large to someone who works in broadcast telly, anyway. ↩

4. If you want one, try this. ↩

5. Presumably named after William “Count” Basie, and the album The Atomic Mr. Basie. ↩

6. Formerly part of the jazz trio Back Door. For more information, see this interview with Ron. ↩

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2point4 children, best of, pilots