The Cruise (TV series)

The Cruise
Title screen
Starring	Jane McDonald
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	12 (+ 2 specials)
Production
Producer(s)	Chris Terrill Olivia Lichtenstein
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	BBC
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	1998

The Cruise is a BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary series that followed a group of staff on board the luxury cruise ship Galaxy as it sailed the Caribbean on its maiden voyage. The first episode, Let the Dream Begin, aired at 8pm on 13 January 1998.^[1] The series was highly popular, attracting 10.39 million viewers (41 per cent audience share).^[2] It made a celebrity of Jane McDonald, a cruise ship entertainer on Galaxy, who went on to have a successful career as a TV presenter.

Episodes

#	Title	Synopsis	Date
1	Let the Dream Begin	Introduction.	13 January 1998
2	Stranded in Paradise	The ship arrives in Jamaica for Christmas.[3]	14 January 1998
3	Scotty to the Rescue	New Year's Eve.[4]	20 January 1998
4	Life's a Beach	Jane and DJ Scotty climb a waterfall.[5]	21 January 1998
5	Double or Quits	Following croupiers Dale and Mary in the ship's casino.[6]	27 January 1998
6	Stormin' Norman	Passenger and professional gambler Norman has an argument with the ship's casino, while Dale and Mary go jet-skiing.[7]	28 January 1998
7	Break a Leg	Lead dancer Philip has a fall. Jane visits a medium. Dale and Mary go roller-blading to celebrate their wedding anniversary.[8]	3 February 1998
8	Dancing with Dolphins	Dancers Jake and Michele swim with dolphins.[9]	4 February 1998
9	Lights, Camera, Action	Dale and Mary go on a rafting trip. Jane gets a makeover. Michele attends a dress rehearsal.[10]	10 February 1998
10	First Night Nerves	The ship's new entertainment show opens.[11]	11 February 1998
11	Le Grand Buffet	Sean the juggler confronts 300 born-again Christians.[12]	17 February 1998
12	Teach Me Tonight	Laura marries Gary at the ship's disco.[13]	18 February 1998

Specials

Title	Synopsis	Date
The Cruise Special: Jane Ties the Knot	Jane marries her Danish boyfriend Henrik on the Caribbean island of St Thomas.[14]	10 July 1998
Jane's Cruise to the Stars	Reflecting on Jane's year in the spotlight, with previously unseen footage from The Cruise.[15]	31 December 1998

Return to... The Cruise

In August 2008, BBC Two broadcast a five-part series called Return to... The Cruise, a retrospective look at the original series, with stars of The Cruise reminiscing about life on board Galaxy, as well as highlights from the series.^[16]

References

1. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 13 January 1998". BBC Genome. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
2. Bruce Carson; Margaret Llewellyn-Jones (2000). Frames and Fictions on Television: The Politics of Identity Within Drama. Intellect Books. pp. 31–. ISBN 978-1-84150-050-8.
3. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 14 January 1998". BBC Genome.
4. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 20 January 1998". BBC Genome.
5. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 21 January 1998". BBC Genome.
6. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 27 January 1998". BBC Genome.
7. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 28 January 1998". BBC Genome.
8. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 3 February 1998". BBC Genome.
9. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 4 February 1998". BBC Genome.
10. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 10 February 1998". BBC Genome.
11. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 11 February 1998". BBC Genome.
12. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 17 February 1998". BBC Genome.
13. "The Cruise - BBC One London - 18 February 1998". BBC Genome.
14. "The Cruise Special: Jane Ties the Knot - BBC One London - 10 July 1998". BBC Genome.
15. "Jane's Cruise to the Stars - BBC One London - 31 December 1998". BBC Genome.
16. "Return to... The Cruise - BBC Two England - 11 August 2008". BBC Genome.

External links

• The Cruise (TV Series) at the Internet Movie Database
• 11-minute extract from The Cruise at BBC Online
• Television review - 21 Jan 1998 at The Independent
• Britain's Docusoaps Transfix a Nation of Flies on the Wall - 15 Nov 1998 at The New York Times
• Everyone Can Be a Star - 25 Jan 1999 at Der Spiegel
• BBC Two - Return to... The Cruise - Episode Guide at BBC Online
• Ros Goodman to appear in new BBC show - 7 Aug 2008 at The Jewish Chronicle