Mulberry

[Vicar]

I loved this series.

This is where I first saw Geraldine McEwan. She played Miss Farnaby in "Mulberry" ... now I can't wait to watch her in everything. :wink:

http://www.bbcprograms.com/pbs/catalog/mulberry/thumbs/t0002mulb.jpg

Geraldine McEwan as Miss Farnaby

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The Vicar

[Vicar]

Scene from Mulberry (with Karl Howman as Mulberry)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/images/80/mulberry_1.jpg

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The Vicar

[Pamela]

Nice series that-I only caught the last few of them when they were on the telly-but I'm keen to see reruns.

[sonosun]

I enjoyed watching Mulberry even though It has a lot of subtle humor.

[Vicar]

I enjoyed watching Mulberry even though It has a lot of subtle humor.

:?

"even though" ??

[Vicar]

Nice series that-I only caught the last few of them when they were on the telly-but I'm keen to see reruns.

:lol:
Me too, Pamela! I'm so ready for the reruns...especially since this weekend is the final show in the Miss Marple Mystery! series.
:cry:

[Vicar]

FYI?
Mulberry
http://www.bbcprograms.com/pbs/catalog/mulberry/thumbs/t0003mulb.jpg
UK, BBC, 1992
Starring: Karl Howman, Geraldine McEwan

An offbeat fantasy sitcom starring Karl Howman as the mysterious Mulberry, a man who appears at the household of a cantankerous spinster, Miss Farnaby, and inveigles himself on to the staff as her manservant. Her other staff are Bert and Alice Finch, who have served her since they were children, but a sullen disregard has developed between mistress and servants, Miss Farnaby viewing them as lazy, inefficient and untrustworthy, the Finches viewing her as bitter and twisted.

Mulberry's arrival brings a jolt of freshness to the place and he gradually begins to bring Miss Farnaby out of herself and repair the broken relationship that exists. He seems to dote on his wealthy employer and his concern and natural charm wears down her harsh exterior.

But Mulberry is not all he seems; in fact, he is an apprentice Grim Reaper who has come to the house to escort Miss Farnaby to the next world. A sentimental streak causes him to dedicate himself to making her last days on Earth happy; thus he has taken the position as servant to put his plans into motion. This sensitivity is viewed with scorn by Mulberry's father, a fully fledged Grim Reaper who sees no such need to pander to human emotions. He appears to Mulberry as a mysterious stranger ('The Stranger') in a black hat and dark clothes, constantly urging him to get on with the job and attempting to prise him away from the Farnaby estate. In one episode, Mulberry's sympathetic nature is championed by Springtime (Sylvia Sims), Mulberry's mother, who materialises as an elegant lady. She buys Mulberry more time to spend with his employer.

Launched a year after the final episode of Brush Strokes - with the same star, writers and producer -
Mulberry was an intriguing show, a brave attempt at stretching the sitcom genre. The scenes between Howman and McEwan were winningly underplayed (although the rather more obvious sitcom style of the Finches seemed at odds with the overall subtlety of the piece).


Cast
Karl Howman - Mulberry
Geraldine McEwan - Miss Farnaby
Tony Selby - Bert Finch
Lill Roughley - Alice Finch
John Bennett - The Stranger

Crew
John Esmonde - Writer
Bob Larbey - Writer
John B Hobbs - Director
Clive Grainger - Director (2)
John B Hobbs - Producer

Transmission Details
Number of episodes: 13 Length: 30 mins
Series One (6) 24 Feb-30 Mar 1992 ? Series Two (7) 8 Apr-25 May 1993 ?

[Vicar]

:?: Did you know?

The Three most popular questions are:
Can I buy the videos?? Answer: NO!

How does the series end? IT DOESN'T ! -the series was cancelled.?

Why was it cancelled? -answer is further down this page.
?
?
BBC-TV 1992-1993
13 EPISODES
"Mulberry is one of those simple, direct programmes that never condescended to the viewer or to?the subject at hand. It was one of the?most evocative programmes I have ever witnessed. It pursued ideas far beyond its deceptively simple presentation."

This is a very unusual comedy. Very quiet and QUITE delightful.

Filmed near Bournemouth, in the south of England, on a private estate.

British character actor JOHN BENNETT died on 11th April, 2005, aged 75; born May 8, 1928.
?
Theme Song
Some say they touch the sky
Some say they see the wind.
A whisper of spring is near.
Can you hear it say
These are mulberry days ?
?
Some say they'll understand
Some hold an open hand
A shimmer of moonlit haze
Can you hear it say
These are Mulberry Days
These are Mulberry Days ?


PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: JOHN B. HOBBS, CLIVE GRAINGER*
MUSIC: CHRIS ADONI AND CHRIS NICOLAIDES**
MUSIC ARRANGED: STEVE PARR

According to Clive Grainger*, there was to be a third season and a conclusion planned.?

From Chris Nicolaides**
? As a joke, and not expecting to find a match, I typed my name into a search engine?and found your web site! I'm Chris Nicolaides and am one of the composers responsible for the Mulberry score. It's very nice to find people that appreciate what I believed to be a really lovely series, that sadly did not get finished. John Hobbs, the producer/director was ready to go on the 3rd series when a memo arrived on his desk, so he told me, from one of the new BBC directors, saying Re: Mulberry, this is not my cup of tea! What an amazing way to axe a successful series. In fact, many people were asking the BBC if there was a recording of the music available, and so we wrote a full length version of the song, hoping we could get Michael Crawford to sing it, as the original concept was for a theatrical voice (Karl sings the TV version, you probably realize that!). We were planning to release the record with? the 3rd series but sadly never got that far.
? ------------------------------
~SEASON ONE~

EPISODE ONE
?
The mysterious Mulberry arrives at Farnaby Manor to take the just-vacated position of companion to the reclusive Miss Farnaby, who has shut herself away from the world and happiness. His first task is to persuade Miss Farnaby to let go of the past, and allow her grand-nephew to have a cherished rocking horse from her own childhood.

EPISODE TWO
Mulberry tries to break the tradition of misery on Guy Fawkes Night at Farnaby Manor, where Bert and Alice are obliged to prepare fireworks and refreshments for Miss Farnaby alone.

EPISODE THREE
Miss Farnaby's domineering sister Adele pays a visit, and organizes a team to complete in a village trivia contest against Miss Farnaby and her staff.

EPISODE FOUR
Miss Farnaby's particularly bad temper has everyone out of sorts, so Mulberry decides she needs a trip to Paris to relax.

EPISODE FIVE:
A revitalized Miss Farnaby plans a dinner party that doesn't go quite as expected.

EPISODE SIX
Mulberry decides to leave Farnaby Manor rather than finish the job set for him by his father.

~ SEASON TWO ~

EPISODE SEVEN:
Miss Farnaby challenges Bert to bring a hyacinth into bloom for a local competition, and Mulberry receives word that he must leave Miss Farnaby earlier than anticipated. Mulberry's Mother appears in this episode.

EPISODE EIGHT
Mulberry has a tragic accident while helping Miss Farnaby fulfill a promise made to her late cousin.
Mulberry " dies".?

EPISODE NINE
Miss Farnaby tries to match make between Mulberry and her favorite niece, Jocelyn. Bert forgets his wedding anniversary.

EPISODE TEN
Mulberry risks exposure when Miss Farnaby joins a village drawing class, and volunteers him as a model. Alice objects to Bert's part time job.?

An irate Miss Farnaby expresses her displeasure at being asked to leave a football match- her first in 40 years.
??
EPISODE ELEVEN
Miss Farnaby surprises Mulberry by driving herself to the library, and by inviting a gentleman to dine with her.

EPISODE TWELVE
As Miss Farnaby plans a musical evening, she and Mulberry notice a change in Alice.

EPISODE THIRTEEN
Miss Farnaby receives an unexpected visit from both her sisters, who seem unusually concerned with the well-being of Bert, Alice and the Manor.
?
MULBERRY IS NOT AVAILABLE ON VIDEO TAPE. BBC HAS NO PLANS TO RELEASE IT AT THIS TIME.

[Assistant 134]

My PBS station just starting showing this yesterday. I watched it. It will take some getting use to.

[Vicar]

My PBS station just starting showing this yesterday. I watched it. It will take some getting use to.


It can grow on you, Rach.

After my grown daughter and I had watched it seperately a time or two, we talked about seeing it in one of our many phone conversations. The first thing we BOTH said was that the lady of the house ~ Miss Farnaby, played by Geraldine McEwan, looks/is EXACTLY like my precious Mom ...even that little twinkle in her eye. Needless to say we loved the show immediately! :)

We were estatic when the Agatha Christi's Miss Marple mini series began because she plays Miss Marple.

Mulberry just started here again too ~ once a week. For some reason they did not start with the first show. (PBS just NEVER asks me how I would do it! :roll:)

[Assistant 134]

Mulberry just started here again too ~ once a week.

It's played twice a week here. Two episodes back to back on Tuesdays.

[LadyAppleby]

Geraldine McEwan fans might also enjoy watching her play the role of Emmeline "Lucia" Lucas in the Mapp & Lucia series based on the lovely novels by E.F. Benson.

With Prunella Scales as Miss Mapp and the incomparable Nigel Hawthorne as Georgie Pillson.

http://epguides.com/MappandLucia/cast.jpg

[Goldie]

Thanks Vicar, for the post describing the series. I have never heard of this. After reading about it, I'm not too keen on it.. maybe if it were playing here I might be able to get into it, but just reading about it doesn't make me want to see it.. :shrug:

[dazzlestar14]

I just hate it when shows only produce 10-15 episodes! Especially when you start to love them. AYBS?A! is a good example of this. It would have been excellent if they had continued the series on like AYBS?

[mrmooney]

It's a shame this episode was cancelled. The better episodes, IMO, are the later episodes with the second "Alice." I could never get used to the first actress.

[spoonme]

I remember this show - it was hyped sooo much as Karl had just come off of Brush Strokes and me and my dad tuned in as we loved Brush Strokes but neither of us liked it at the time. Would be interesting to see it again though.

[Pamela]

On dvd :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EMG91S/qid=1140942735/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-0654017-7815917?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130 Region one, June this year :)

[Assistant 134]

On dvd :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EMG91S/qid=1140942735/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-0654017-7815917?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130 Region one, June this year :)

That's right, Pamela. The Complete Series of Mulberry will be released on DVD June 13, 2006.