Family (2003 TV series)

Family
Genre Crime drama
Created by Tim Vaughan
Roger Smith
Jamie Foreman
Starring Martin Kemp
Jamie Foreman
David Calder
Simone Lahbib
Camille Coduri
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Tim Vaughan
Producer(s) Rebecca Edwards
Running time 60 mins (w/advertisements)
Release
Original network ITV
Original release 29 September – 12 November 2003

Family is an ITV crime drama series, first broadcast on 29 September 2003, starring Martin Kemp and Jamie Foreman as the protagonists, Joey and Dave Cutler. Based on a crime family operating in London's east-end, Family only lasted one series before being axed by the broadcaster. A DVD of the complete series was released on March 30, 2009.

Plot

Family follows a family of London gangsters headed by Ted Cutler (David Calder). One of his sons, Joey (Martin Kemp), is happily married with two children and tries to keep 'business' separate from home life, while the other son, Dave (Jamie Foreman) is a loose cannon with a nasty temper who has just returned from America, where he fled following a family rift. Only Joey sees a way out by running a high class restaurant - but this venture is not without violence.[1]

Production

Jamie Foreman devised and co-wrote the show alongside scriptwriters Tim Vaughan and Roger Smith. Nick Elliott, controller of ITV drama, said of the series;

"Jamie plays the loopy brother, while Martin is like Al Pacino's character in the Godfather, desperately wanting to be straight but going along with the dodgy stuff. There will also be this father figure. It's a contemporary London gangster show and it will have a lot of authenticity. There'll be a contrast between Martin living a normal suburban lifestyle, then going to meetings to discuss rubbing someone out and being involved in rackets and organised crime. He's got a wife and a daughter who takes cello lessons, who don't know about the other life he leads."

Elliott commissioned the six-part series alongside Granada South drama controller, Michele Buck.[2]

Reception

Family was well received by critics and media buyers, who welcomed it as part of a "quality-based offensive" in ITV's autumn schedule. But after a respectable start with 6.1 million viewers watching on September 29, the programme lost nearly two million viewers, drawing only 4.3 million in the same slot four weeks later. Although there were only two more episodes to be aired, Nigel Pickard, Head of ITV's programming, ditched the show from its prime time slot and consigned it instead to a graveyard slot on Wednesdays.[3]

Cast

[4]

Episode list

Episodes five and six were bumped from the primetime slot of 9pm on Mondays to 11:30pm on Wednesdays due to poor ratings. This meant that the episode previously scheduled for 27 October 2003 was replaced with a re-run of Airline.[5]

# Title Directed by Written by Original air date UK viewers
(millions)[6]
1TBADavid DruryRoger Smith & Tim Vaughan29 September 20036.35m
The Cutler family are working on expanding their protection racket empire to include a classy restaurant, but patriarch Ted is taken by surprise when estranged son Dave suddenly returns from America after a 10-year absence, keen to build bridges and make up for lost time. Ted's younger son Joey is immediately suspicious of his sibling's reappearance, and his concerns are heightened when it becomes clear his long-lost brother is quick to resort to violence—a weakness which has tragic consequences and puts the family in a very precarious position.
2TBADavid DruryRoger Smith & Tim Vaughan6 October 20035.26m
Joey has been told to raise 6,000 pounds before his daughter gets married—or he'll leave her wedding reception in a box.
3TBADavid DruryRoger Smith & Tim Vaughan13 October 20035.05m
4TBADavid DruryRoger Smith & Tim Vaughan20 October 2003Under 4.59m
5TBADavid DruryRoger Smith & Tim Vaughan5 November 2003Under 4.47m
6TBADavid DruryRoger Smith & Tim Vaughan12 November 2003Under 4.90m

References

External links

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