Astronauts

Astronauts was a British sitcom that aired on ITV in 1981. It was written by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, two of The Goodies. Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who wrote Porridge, were script editors. It was made for the ITV network by ATV, which became Central midway through the production run.

Cast

• Christopher Godwin - Commander Malcolm Mattocks
• Carmen Du Sautoy - Dr. Gentian Foster
• Barrie Rutter - Technical Officer David Ackroyd
• Bruce Boa - Beadle

Plot

The three primary characters are sent into outer space to occupy a space station for six months. They take with them a dog, a collection of white mice and some insects. The dog, Bimbo, had previously appeared in The Goodies. The astronauts' names are Malcolm Mattocks, Gentian Foster and David Ackroyd, whilst the astronauts' contact at Mission Control is Beadle, an American. The humour was primarily based on the claustrophobic conditions of the two-room "sky lab" and the consequent tensions.

Episodes

Series 1 (1981)

1. Episode One (26 October 1981)
2. Episode Two (2 November 1981)
3. Episode Three (9 November 1981)
4. "Absence Makes The Heart" (16 November 1981)
5. "We Are Not Alone" (23 November 1981)
6. "One Week To Go" (30 November 1981)
7. "Going Home" (7 December 1981)

Series 2 (1983)

1. Episode 1 (19 July 1983)
2. Episode 2 (26 July 1983)
3. Episode 3 (2 August 1983)
4. Episode 4 (9 August 1983)
5. Episode 5 (16 August 1983)
6. Episode 6 (23 August 1983)

American version

On 11 August 1982, CBS showed a pilot for an American adaptation called The Astronauts, but no series developed. It starred Granville Van Dusen as Mattocks, Brianne Leary as Foster, Bruce Davison as Ackroyd and McLean Stevenson as Beadle.

DVD Release

The Complete Series of The Astronauts will be released on 9 July 2012.

References

• Mark Lewisohn, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
• BBC TV Comedy Guide for Astronauts

External links

• Astronauts at the Internet Movie Database
• Astronauts at the British Comedy Guide