Dad
Genre	Comedy
Starring	George Cole Kevin McNally Julia Hills Toby Ross-Bryant
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	13
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC
Picture format	4:3
Original run	25 September 1997 – 21 December 1999
Status	Ended

Dad is a BBC1 sitcom that ran for 13 episodes (each 30 minutes long) over two series and a Christmas special. Described by the BBC as a 'generation-gap comedy', it starred George Cole as Brian Hook, Kevin McNally as his son Alan Hook, and Toby Ross-Bryant as his (Alan's) son Vincent Hook and Julia Hills as his (Alan's) wife Beryl Hook. Written by Andrew Marshall, the title of each episode was pun on the word 'Dad'.

Most of the episodes involved Alan Hook getting frustrated by situations brought upon him by his father and son. For example, in 'Dadmestic', Vincent's mother allows him to host a house-party, leaving Alan with no alternative but to spend the evening at his father's house. In the episode 'Habadadery', Brian comes down with a bout of illness, meaning that Alan has to look after him. Brian then takes Alan to 'Mr Nigel's shop', where Alan's middle-aged style crisis goes from bad to worse as he purchases an extremely bold Hawaiian shirt.

[edit] Episodes

Series One comprised six episodes and was first aired from 25 September to 30 October, 1997 on Thursdays at 8.30pm. The episodes were entitled (in order of their airing): 'Dadism'; 'Dadmestic'; 'Dadcipline'; 'Habadadery'; 'Dadcoholic', and 'Holidad'.

Series Two also comprised six episodes and was first aired from 11 January to 15 February 1999, but this time on Mondays at 8.30pm. The episodes were entitled (in order of their airing): 'Transcendadtal'; 'Dadmocracy'; 'Reprodadtion'; 'Securidad'; 'Dad's Arsenal' and 'Dad Calm'.

The final episode was a Christmas special that aired on 21 December 1999, this time a Tuesday, at 8.30pm. It broke with the tradition of punning on 'Dad' for the title, and was named 'Nemesis', although Andrew Marshall later revealed that the original title "Feliz Navidad" was nixed by the BBC, feeling it too obscure.

The show received less critical acclaim than the similar BBC family sitcom 2 Point 4 Children, also written by Andrew Marshall. It is not available on DVD or VHS.

[edit] External links

• Dad at the BBC Comedy Guide
• Dad at the British Comedy Guide
• Dad at TV.com
• Dad at Phill.co.uk

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