Green Wing


Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony – Channel 4 commissioner Caroline Leddy and producer Victoria Pile – and stars Mark Heap, Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt. It focuses on soap opera-style twists and turns in the personal lives of the characters, portrayed in sketch-like scenes and sequences in which the film is slowed down or sped up, often emphasising the body language of the characters. The show had eight writers. Two series were made by the Talkback Thames production company for Channel 4.
The series ran between 3 September 2004 and 19 May 2006. One episode, filmed with the second series, was shown as a 90-minute-long special on 4 January 2007 in the UK, but was shown earlier in Australia and Belgium on 29 December 2006. Separate from the series, a sketch was made for Comic Relief and screened on 11 March 2005. Another was performed live at The Secret Policeman's Ball on 14 October 2006. On 29 April 2024, Green Wing returned as a six-part audio series released by Audible entitled Green Wing: Resuscitated.

Synopsis

Green Wing's plot revolves around the lives of the staff of the East Hampton Hospital Trust, a fictional National Health Service hospital with staff ranging from the slightly unusual to the completely surreal.
The series begins with a new arrival, surgical registrar Caroline Todd. Caroline works alongside two other doctors: Guy Secretan, an arrogant, half-Swiss, womanising anaesthetist, and "Mac" Macartney, a suave, fashionable surgeon. Caroline soon develops feelings for both of them, though she is unsure as to which of the two she truly loves. Throughout the series, it becomes clear that Mac is her true love, but a range of misadventures prevent their relationship from flourishing. Other people Caroline meets include Martin Dear, a friendly house officer who is constantly failing his exams. He is unloved by his mother and is often bullied by Guy. Martin soon develops feelings for Caroline. There is also Angela Hunter, a seemingly perfect, but irritating, senior registrar in pediatrics. Caroline dislikes Angela, but ends up taking her in as a lodger.
Caroline's main rival for Mac's affections is Sue White, the staff liaison officer employed to listen and respond to the problems of East Hampton's staff. Sue is hostile and contemptuous towards everyone except Mac, whom she loves to the point of madness.
Alan Statham is an overbearing, stuttering and pedantic consultant radiologist. He is in a relationship with Joanna Clore, the 48-year-old head of human resources, although she despises him. Their relationship is an open secret, with student doctor Boyce often hinting at it when goading Alan. Joanna's staff include Kim Alabaster ; Naughty Rachel ; Harriet Schulenburg, an overworked mother of four trapped in an unhappy marriage; and Karen Ball, who is often bullied by Kim and Rachel.

Creation

Writers and crew

Green Wing was devised, created and produced by Victoria Pile. She was also the casting director, one of the writers, and part of the editing, filming and post-production teams. She described Green Wing as "a sketch-meets-comedy-drama-meets-soap", and a continuation of her previous show, Smack the Pony, where Green Wing's crew also worked. Unusually for a British sitcom, which typically has only one or two writers, the show had eight: Pile, her husband Robert Harley, Gary Howe, Stuart Kenworthy, Oriane Messina, Richard Preddy, Fay Rusling and James Henry.
Pile and her co-writers initially used battery packs to represent characters, moving them around on her desk to develop scenarios for the show. The decision to make the characters doctors came later. Pile recalls that she mentioned to Peter Fincham that a hospital setting would work well and that he subsequently reported that Channel 4 were enthusiastic about a hospital location, which settled the matter. Even later still, a plot was developed and wall charts were used to mark up story arcs.
The show was directed and edited by Tristram Shapeero and Dominic Brigstocke. Sketches were sped up or slowed down to create comic effect, often using body language to create humour. Editing was also used due to the amount of corpsing that occurred during the filming of the show. Tamsin Greig was said to corpse frequently, and episodes were written to minimise the contact between the characters of Caroline Todd and Alan Statham because Tamsin Greig found it difficult not to laugh when acting alongside Mark Heap. The music, which features prominently in the show, was written by Jonathan Whitehead and won him an RTS Craft & Design Award.

Production

Following her success with Smack the Pony, Channel 4 gave Pile a fairly free hand with her next project. Their only requirement was that it should have enough of a narrative thread to make it more of a sitcom than a sketch show.

The show had a half-hour pilot made in 2002 that was never aired. Scenes from the pilot were used in the first episode, "Caroline's First Day", and can be spotted due to the characters' appearance, most notably Rhind-Tutt's haircut. The pilot allowed the writers to experiment, such as using different filming techniques. In the pilot, Doon Mackichan played Joanna Clore and was meant to play her in the original series, but left when she became pregnant.
Although each script was fully written, the actors were allowed to improvise their own jokes, frequently adding to what had already been written. Workshops were often used to allow actors to improvise their own material. One example of improvised material was Stephen Mangan's idea of Guy falling in love with Caroline. The show's crew also make appearances in the show as extras. For example, Pile's former assistant Phil Secretan appears at the end of a scene in the first episode. Henry appears in the background during Martin's exam in the episode, "Tests".
The filming was done at two hospitals, the Northwick Park Hospital in Middlesex and the North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke. This presented a problem because the show had to work around the real-life hospitals, with their actual doctors, patients and emergency situations. In one scene in the final episode in series one, Guy was hitting squash balls behind him, and nearly hit a patient. However, some scenes, such as those in Sue's and Alan's offices, were filmed in a studio. The pub in series two is filmed at the Foundation Beefeater in Fulwell, South West London.
Green Wing's title is said to have come from a small plastic green man with wings that was in executive producer Peter Fincham's top pocket, and fell on Pile's desk. Fincham claimed it was not his, so Pile kept it. This plastic man appears at the end of the credits on every show.

Unused storylines

Some plot lines written for Green Wing were never used. Unused storylines included Alan having an 80-year-old wife and step-grandchildren as old as him, and Guy suffering from impotence. Pile originally wanted the show to cover the entire hospital, not just doctors, but porters, car park attendants and kitchen staff. However, she decided that they had enough material with the eight main doctors and human resources workers.
Two endings were created for the special. The alternative ending is included on the DVD release of Green Wing, along with deleted scenes from the episode. The alternative ending was planned to be used if a third series was going to be commissioned, as this ending was much more ambiguous. Green Wing's cast preferred the alternative ending, but after some debate, it was not shown.

Series summaries

Series 1

The thirteen main characters appear in all nine episodes of the first series. Amongst the recurring guest characters, Lyndon, Oliver, Lady Emily "Emmy" Lewis Westbrook, Liam, Cordelia Denby, and Charles Robertson all appear. However, Charles is credited as "Chief Executive" in the episode that he appears. Guest actors who appear in this series include John Oliver, Stephen Merchant, Kevin Eldon and Rosie Cavaliero. Other than Harley, other Green Wing writers make cameos. These include Fay Rusling, Gary Howe, Oriane Messina and Henry James.

Comic Relief sketch (2005)

Mac fends off Sue's advances by saying he will only allow her to touch his arse if she can raise £10,000 for Comic Relief. Sue asks Martin, Joanna, Guy, and Alan for the money, which she eventually manages to raise, but Mac runs off before she can get hold of him.

Series 2

Most of the regular cast appear in all episodes. The only exception is the character of Dr. Angela Hunter, who appears in the first three episodes and then leaves the hospital. Among the recurring guest characters are Dr. Holly Hawkes, Lyndon Jones, Oliver, The Neurosurgeon, Jake Leaf and Charles Robertson. However, the character of Charles is credited as "CEO" in the episodes in which he appears. Guest actors who appear in this series include Nick Frost, Peter McDonald, Big Mick and Rosie Cavaliero. Apart from Harley, other Green Wing writers make cameo performances in the show, including Fay Rusling and Oriane Messina.

Secret Policeman's Ball sketch (2006)

A sketch was performed for Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball, with performances from Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Michelle Gomez. Mangan and Rhind-Tutt appeared in two sketches.
When the announcer at the ball asks if there is a doctor in the house, Mac puts his hand up, to Caroline's embarrassment. Things get more embarrassing when Guy also volunteers, and asks why Caroline is sitting next to Mac when she is Guy's fiancée. An unconscious patient lies on an operating table. Guy touches her breasts, takes pictures of her naked body under the blanket, and kisses her. Caroline alleges that the patient is transgender, which repels Guy. Sue White then appears in a tutu, claiming that the patient is stalking Mac, and repeating the assertion that the patient is transgender.