The Lakes (TV series)

The Lakes

Principal filming location: Inn on the Lake Hotel
Created by Jimmy McGovern
Starring John Simm
Emma Cunniffe
Mary Jo Randle
Paul Copley
Robert Pugh
Elizabeth Bennett
Nicholas Day
Kaye Wragg
Charles Dale
Clare Holman
Kevin Doyle
Annabelle Apsion
Matt Bardock
Amanda Mealing
Barbara Wilshere
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 14
Production
Running time 90-minute (series 1, episode 1)
50 mins (series 1, episodes 2–4)
40 mins (series 2)
Production company(s) Company Pictures
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release 1997 – 1999

The Lakes is the title of a television drama series in the United Kingdom, made by the BBC and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The Lakes brought writer Jimmy McGovern and actor John Simm a great deal of critical praise in 1997. Following a particularly dry period for British TV drama, the show's realistic characters and their painfully honest decisions hit audiences hard. Simm plays Danny Kavanagh; a twenty-something trapped in a life of compulsive gambling, theft, and being on the dole in Liverpool. On a whim he heads north to the Lake District. He expects to find countryside quiet where he might explore his hidden poetical leanings, but gets caught up in a community like any other. Lies, temptation and tragedy beset every household just as much as the big city. As time races by, Danny's link to the Lakes becomes an exercise in torment when he is suspected after the accidental deaths of three schoolgirls. Stoking the flames of a series of secondary explosions in waiting are a pair of affairs, one adulterous, the other complicated by religion.

In the far longer sequel series that came two years later, these back-stories would come to the fore. The series explores a Hitchcockian murder scenario, with series two expressing more black humour that was obvious in series one. The second series received very mixed reviews, with most critics saying it had left realism for high melodrama and contrived plots. Critics said that McGovern's lower level of participation in the writing about his characters and situations, resulted in deviations from their consistency from the first series.

The series was principally filmed in and around Patterdale and The Ullswater Hotel, Glenridding. The lake is Ullswater. Both series were released as a four-disc set in 2003. The first episode has additional commentaries by John Simm and David Blair. The Lakes is rated R16 in New Zealand for offensive language and scenes of a sexual nature.

Overview

The core of both series is the relationship between Danny Kavanagh (John Simm) and Lucy Archer (Kaye Wragg). In Series One, Danny is a compulsive gambler and philanderer, who escapes from the dole queues in Liverpool to live in the Lake District. After he meets and marries local girl Emma Quinlan, they move back to Liverpool. Emma finally returns home because of Danny's gambling. He follows her, gets a job looking after a rowing boat concession, and starts to patch up his relationship with Emma, who now has a daughter.

Danny rejects unsubtle advances from the attention-seeking Lucy Archer, who determines to gain revenge. When three schoolgirls are drowned in a boating accident while Danny is on the phone to the bookies, Lucy lies to implicate him. Danny is unwilling to tell the truth, as he has promised to stop gambling. The community looks for someone to blame, and Lucy is exposed as a liar in the subsequent inquest. Phone call records provide Danny with an alibi. In series two, Lucy is raped by three locals. Only Danny, enduring the claustrophobic hostility of the Quinlan family home, can testify as a witness, putting him at odds with the village, his wife and her family.

Reception

The series was critically acclaimed when first broadcast. It caused controversy because of its hard-hitting portrayal of an immoral British sub-culture, and scenes of sex and violence. The Lakes was the springboard for the British TV drama careers of many of the cast.

Cast

The Kavanaghs

The Quinlans

The Archers

The Hotel staff

The Thwaites

The Fishers

The Kilbrides

Others

Episode list

Series 1 (1997)

Episode Title Written by Directed by Viewers
(millions)[1]
Original airdate
1"Compulsion over Greed"Jimmy McGovernDavid BlairTBA14 September 1997

Danny Kavanagh, a compulsive gambler and lout, looking to start afresh, arrives in a small village in the Lake District and manages to get a job at a local hotel, working under tyrannical, sex-mad chef Gary Alcock. However, it's not long before he's taken a shine to local girl Emma, and after a series of short rendezvous, Emma discovers she is pregnant. Danny is subsequently sacked from his job, having become a pariah. Danny, however, soon manages to find another job, hiring out boats on the local lake to tourists. However, when Danny abandons his work station to phone in a bet, a tragic accident occurs, leaving three young girls lives' hanging in the balance.

This episode was 90-minutes long.
2"Scapegoat"Jimmy McGovernDavid BlairTBA21 September 1997
Danny finds himself playing the scapegoat when the local villagers hold him responsible for the tragic accident which resulted in the deaths of three young schoolgirls. Despite his efforts, Danny finds he has nobody to talk to and soon realises that he is running out of friends. But is a much sinister work at force? And can Danny prove that his neglect of duty may not be have been the only factor in the girls' deaths?
3"What Lies Behind"Jimmy McGovernDavid BlairTBA28 September 1997
As Danny continues to get closer to the truth behind the tragedy, the funerals of the three victims take place. But just as he is about to make a significant breakthrough, Danny's campaign is blighted when Lucy Archer decides to unleash a tirade of lies which threatens to tarnish what is left of his reputation. Meanwhile, Bernie Quinlan’s passion for Father Matthew continues to grow.
4"Time Waits for No Man"Jimmy McGovernDavid BlairTBA5 October 1997
The inquest into the tragic accident gets underway, but as Danny prepares to stand in the dock and give evidence, his relationship with Emma begins to feel the strain. Meanwhile, Lucy Archer's campaign to smear Danny's plight to uncover the truth grinds to a significant halt when she is caught in a compromising position with Gary "Chef" Alcock. Meanwhile, the passion between Bernie and Father Matthew boils over.

Series 2 (1999)

Episode Title Written by Directed by Viewers
(millions)
Original airdate
1"Outcast"Jimmy McGovernBill Anderson7.26m10 January 1999
Danny is contemplating suicide after being made to feel an outcast after admitting to his wife Emma that he had been gambling again. John Fisher can no longer cope with his wife's affairs and he bludgeons her to death in the bath.
2"Forbidden Passion"Jimmy McGovernBill Anderson7.33m17 January 1999
The forbidden passion between Father Matthew and married parishioner Bernie Quinlan is about to erupt. Parr is struggling to summon up the courage to dispose of his wife's body when his sister-in-law Beverly turns up.
3"Grown Man Responsibilities"Joe AinsworthBill Anderson7.05m24 January 1999
With flies buzzing round the boot of his car, John is finding it harder to hide his wife's murder from her flirtatious sister. Danny is trying to be a responsible father, but he also wants some fun. Bernie is still troubled by her conscience. Dr Kilbride is called to school to treat a pupil where her former lesbian lover Jo Jo is the new teacher.
4"Besotted"Joe AinsworthSallie Aprahamian7.43m31 January 1999
Beverly is still besotted by John and helps him to destroy all the evidence of Simone's murder. Lucy plays with fire when she joins the local lads for a game of pool. Jo Jo wants to restart her relationship with Dr Kilbride.
5"Attack of Conscience"Joe AinsworthSallie Aprahamian7.00m7 February 1999
Lucy has to decide whether to report her rape by Billy, Ged and Peter, fearing that her previous lies about Danny's involvement in the drownings could count against her. Danny tells Emma that her mother is not as saintly as she tries to make out.
6"The Truth Will Out"Julie RutterfordSallie AprahamianTBA14 February 1999
Bernie discovers she is pregnant with Father Matthew's baby. Danny tells Lucy that he knows she was raped. Sergeant Slater's dog Syndrome uncovers something interesting in the lake.
7"Revenge Best Served Cold"William GaminaraDavid Moore6.80m21 February 1999
John Parr gets his revenge against Chef by kidnapping his son, while the police start to piece together the facts about Simone's murder. Danny is thrown out by the Quinlans when he tells them he will be a witness on behalf of Lucy Archer, against Pete Quinlan and his two co-defendants. Mrs Archer is upset about the backlash that has resulted from her daughter's allegations. Bernie tells Father Matthew about her pregnancy.
8"Advice"Jimmy McGovernDavid Moore6.79m28 February 1999
Father Matthew and Bernie visit the Bishop (Anthony Newley) for advice on how to deal with the unwanted baby. Sergeant Slater tries to get the truth out of John. Danny and Lucy talk about their true feelings for each other.
9"Fury"William GaminaraRoberto BanguraTBA7 March 1999
Lucy takes to the stand in court to give her account of the night she was raped. Her evidence reveals to Emma that Danny has been telling her the truth. Peter reacts with fury when he learns of Bernie's affair. Beverly pays a visit to John in jail.
10"Judgement Day"Joe AinsworthRoberto BanguraTBA14 March 1999
Bernie must choose between Peter and Father Matthew. Danny tries to save his marriage to Emma, in light of Lucy's announcement in court. The audience is also led to believe that, eventually, Chef's 'judgement day' arrives as, he waits in a hotel room, whilst tied to a bed.

References

External links

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