Paul Merton: The Series
| Paul Merton: The Series | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Paul Merton John Irwin Robert Harley |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 6x30 minutes 6x35 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 25 September 1991 – 8 October 1993 |
Paul Merton: The Series is a British sketch show that aired on Channel 4 from 1991 to 1993. The main star was Paul Merton, who co-wrote it along with John Irwin. It is not currently available on DVD but every episode is available for viewing free via Channel 4 service 4od.
Cast
- Paul Merton - Various
- John Irwin - Various
- Robert Harley - Various
Merton, Irwin and Harley were the main cast, however, each episode featured guest stars including Siobhan Hayes, Chris Lang, Ben Miller, Neil Mullarkey and Caroline Quentin, who was Merton's wife at the time.
Plot
The only regularly recurring scene in Paul Merton: The Series was Merton behind a counter at a railway station's newspaper kiosk. He would serve the odd customer, but would mainly talk about a usually random subject (essentially the equivalent of a stand-up routine), often finishing with his catchphrase "Innit marvellous?". The only other sketch appearing more than once was Paul Merton's Golden Years of Hollywood, where Merton played the presenter of a documentary about a fictional Hollywood cast or crew member. Some sketches were filmed in a studio while some were filmed on location.
Episodes
Series One (1991)
- Episode One (25 September 1991)
- Episode Two (2 October 1991)
- Episode Three (9 October 1991)
- Episode Four (16 October 1991)
- Episode Five (23 October 1991)
- Episode Six (30 October 1991)
Series Two (1993)
- Episode One (3 September 1993)
- Episode Two (10 September 1993)
- Episode Three (17 September 1993)
- Episode Four (24 September 1993)
- Episode Five (1 October 1993)
- Episode Six (8 October 1993)
Each episode in the first series was 30 minutes long, including adverts, while the second series episodes were 35 minutes including adverts.
References
- Mark Lewisohn, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003