Crackanory
Crackanory is a storytelling television series aimed at adults and inspired by the popular children's series Jackanory. It is broadcast on the UKTV channel Dave. Each episode features tales narrated by contemporary comedians and actors, containing a mix of live-action, original music and animation, all read from the same oversized chair, in a set consistent and reflective of the story.[1] The first series attracted widespread critical acclaim and over half a million viewers to Dave.[2] There are a number of reoccurring themes through the series, with the fictional company Tripec Plastics, the town of Specsham, and "fat Nicola from accounts" being frequently referenced.
| Crackanory | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Directed by | Richie Pengelley |
| Composer | Waen Shepherd |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Arn Widdowson |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Tiger Aspect Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Dave |
| Original release | 13 November 2013 – 9 February 2017 |
First series
Episode 1
- Jack Dee "Bitter Tweet" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Sally Phillips "What Peebee Did Next" by Toby Davies
Episode 2
- Rebecca Front "Fakespeare" by Toby Davies
- Kevin Eldon "What Do You Say?" by Kevin Eldon
Episode 3
- Harry Enfield "The Teacup Has Landed" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Sarah Solemani "Pleasure Drone" by Ali Crockatt and David Scott
Episode 4
- Sharon Horgan "The Translator" by Laurence Rickard
- Charlie Higson "The Road to Hell" by Jeremy Dyson
Episode 5
- Richard Hammond "Becoming Zoe" by Simon Judd and Alex Carter
- Jessica Hynes "My Former Self" by Holly Walsh
Episode 6
- Hugh Dennis "Head In the Clouds" by Jason Cook
- Stephen Mangan "The Newsreader" by Jane Bussmann and Naisola Grimwood
Live action actors in the series included Alex Macqueen, Cariad Lloyd, Katherine Jakeways, James Bachman, Martha Howe-Douglas, Nick Mohammed, Vera Filatova, Cassie and Connie Powney
Second series
A second series was broadcast in 2014 and featured comedian Rik Mayall, who had recorded a story prior to his death. (He had performed George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl on the original Jackanory.) Channel boss Steve North called it a "complete privilege" to work with Mayall.[3]
Episode 1
- Vic Reeves "In Space No-one Can Hear You Clean" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Rik Mayall "The Weatherman" by Tony Way[4]
Episode 2
- Ben Miller "Man's Best Friend" by Alexander Kirk
- Sue Perkins[5] "Return to Sender" by Melissa Bubnic
Episode 3
- David Mitchell "The Surprise" by Toby Davies
- Katherine Parkinson "The Crisis Plan" by Holly Walsh
Episode 4
- Johnny Vegas "Self Storage" by Alexander Kirk
- Meera Syal "The Obituary Writer" by Katherine Jakeways, original story by David Crow and Oliver Maltman
Episode 5
- Warwick Davis "The Untangler" by Toby Davies
- Emilia Fox "Murder He Wrote" by Nico Tatarowicz
Episode 6
- Simon Callow "Let Me Be the Judge" by Kevin Eldon
- Ruby Wax "I'm Still Here" by Ali Crockatt and David Scott
Live action actors in the second series included Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Rosie Cavaliero, Michael Fish, Alice Lowe, Elis James, Victoria Wicks, Lucy Montgomery, Dominic Coleman, Tom Meeten and Sara Pascoe.
Third series
The third series, commissioned by UKTV, was broadcast in December 2015 and was sponsored by the Amazon-owned digital audio service Audible.[6] The guest story readers for the six-part series included Christopher Lloyd, known for his roles in long-running sitcom Taxi and as Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy.[7]
Episode 1
- Paul Whitehouse "Uncivil War" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Carrie Fisher "Dread and Breakfast" by Nico Tatarowicz
Episode 2
- Catherine Tate "The Catchment Area" by Holly Walsh
- Richard Ayoade "The Frogbeast of Pontfidd" by Toby Davies
Episode 3
- Jimmy Carr "The Zombie That Roared" by Alexander Kirk
- Christopher Lloyd "Di Sat Nav" by Melissa Bubnic
Episode 4
- Robbie Coltrane "The Last Laugh" by Toby Davies
- Sarah Millican "Abbatnoir" by Dafydd James
Episode 5
- Morgana Robinson "The Truth About Suz" by Edward Easton and Kiri Pritchard-McLean
- Greg Davies "The Vexed Message" by Tony Way
Episode 6
- Simon Bird "Unlucky for Sam" by Kevin Eldon
- Tamsin Greig "Bob's House" by Holly Walsh
Live action actors in the third series included Janine Duvitski, Amy Hoggart, Ray Panthaki, Kerry Howard, Alice Lowe, Martha Howe-Douglas, Marcia Warren, Kerry Godliman and Steve Oram.
Fourth series
The fourth series, also commissioned by UKTV, was broadcast in January and February 2017. Each eight half-hour episode was contained one, not two stories, unlike in previous series. UKTV commissioning executive Tanya Qureshi stated that, "We are thrilled to be bringing back the award-winning Crackanory for a fourth time on Dave. It has become one of our landmark brands and the ambitions of the show continue to grow with each new series. We’re hugely excited to see the storytelling format evolve into a single narrative per episode, and to reveal the talented narrators who will be taking a seat in the iconic Crackanory chair."[8]
Episode 1
- Dara Ó Briain "A Close Slave" by Tony Way
Episode 2
- Sheridan Smith "Living with a Lie" by Nico Tatarowicz
Episode 3
- Bob Mortimer "The Despot of Tea" by Arnold Widdowson
Episode 4
- Anna Friel "The Survivor" by Alexander Kirk
Episode 5
- Mel Giedroyc "Proxy Lady" by Katherine Jakeways
Episode 6
- Doc Brown, "Devil's Haircut" by Sarah Morgan
Episode 7
- Mackenzie Crook, "The Disappearance" by Toby Davies
Episode 8
- Miriam Margolyes, "Pickled" by Kevin Eldon
Live action actors in the fourth series include Moya Brady, Tom Bennett, Neil Bell, Matthew Steer, Sophia Di Martino and David Gant
References
- ^ Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Crackanory : Reviews 2013 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ "Crackanory gets second series from UKTV". 4 March 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Guide, British Comedy (1 July 2014). "Crackanory Series 2 line-up revealed". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "Rik Mayall's episode of Crackanory to air on Dave next month". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "Sue Perkins ices the Crackanory cake with a Bake-Off in-joke". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "UKTV teams up with Audible for third series of Crackanory - News - UKTV Corporate Site". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Guide, British Comedy (25 July 2015). "Christopher Lloyd joins Crackanory Series 3". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Crackanory gets a fourth series : News 2016 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help)
External links
- Crackanory at IMDb
- Crackanory at The British Comedy Guide Series and Episodes
- Harry Enfield returns with a twisted spin on Jackanory storytelling classic
- Website