credits

[amy2005]

I remember discussing the credits with a friend, and we set ourselves a mission to figure out if there was any pattern or significance for the order that the cast were shown. It resulted in us creating a spreadsheet with each cast member listed for every episode. (I know, we need to find something better to with our lives! :lol: )

Anyway, there does seem to be a theme or two that runs through the show, but it doesn't always make complete sense.

Just thought I'd share this with people in case anyone else was as curious as we were! :)

[Lucas The Tucas]

AMY,

This was brought up years ago.

And there is no logical reason for the way the credits change. :shrug:

[BasilBJr]

AMY,

This was brought up years ago.

And there is no logical reason for the way the credits change. :shrug:




True enough. Another example is the first nurse Patricia Astley never spoke and was never credited, while the driver Goddard only spoke once when he was a maintenance man, but was credited more than once.

[One-Legged Tapdancer]

The billing order is a pet topic of mine, but it never seems to stimulate a lot of interest, so I try not to bring it up much. There are so many things about the arrangement that seem odd.

For the first several series, Mollie and Trevor trade places as being first-billed without much regard as to who was actually more prominent in the episode. A lot of times Frank Thornton seems more prominent than both of them, but always gets billed third.
In the pilot, Arthur Brough gets billed above John Inman, which suggests Grainger was intended to be more important on the show than he ended up being...but more likely, Mr. Humphries ended up being more popular than originally expected.
During the later Lucas years, it's John and Mollie who alternate for top-billing, Captain Peacock usually comes after them, leaving Mr. Lucas "like the bottom bun on a triple hamburger" in 4th place. (Although on a couple of occasions, and for no apparent reason, Trevor is third-billed and Frank is fourth.) During the Tebbs era, Wendy gets billed fifth and James Hayter comes next, essentially taking the same spot in the credits Grainger had. But, Alife Bass gets billed above Wendy Richard in all his episodes (I remember reading that he wanted an even more prominent role on the show, and the producers wouldn't go for it).
After Mr. Lucas leaves, any new cast members are billed after Arthur English, which doesn't seem fair no matter what you think of Mike Berry, Milo Sperber, et al. The sales staff seem like they should always come first, to be followed by occasional visitors like Harman and Rumbold. Only in The Pop Star does Mike Berry get billed above Harman.

[Greg WibblyWobbly]

Order of billing goes towards the amount of spoken words if I'm not mistaken.