Dear John
Genre	Situation comedy
Written by	John Sullivan
Starring	Ralph Bates Belinda Lang Peter Denyer Peter Blake
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	14
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC
Original run	1986 (1986) – 1987 (1987)

Dear John is a British sitcom, written by John Sullivan. Fourteen episodes and one "special" were broadcast in 1986-7.

This sitcom's title referred to letters sent by girls to their boyfriends breaking off the relationship, known as "Dear John" letters. In the opening episode, John discovers his wife is leaving him for a friend, and he is forced to find lodgings. In desperation, he attends the 1-2-1 Singles Club and finds the other members mostly social misfits.

Contents 1 Major characters 2 Minor characters 3 Title Music 4 VHS & DVD 5 External links

[edit] Major characters

John Lacey (Ralph Bates) John is a secondary school teacher whose wife leaves him for his best friend, Mike. He is thrown out of his home and has to continue paying the mortgage while living in a bedsit. Although John's wife is manipulative and John the victim, he admits he neglected his wife emotionally. He feels cut off from his son, to whom he has access only on Sundays. They end up at the zoo because it's the only place open, his son saying they've seen one penguin so many times that the first time they came "he was an egg". John's problems come from inability or unwillingness to confront someone or from being too nice - situations rebound in unexpected ways.

Kate (Belinda Lang) - A "frigid" woman with three failed marriages. She spars with Kirk, whose lust for her becomes a theme. She ends up in bed with John although it is suggested there was no sex as they were both drunk. Eventually she goes to Greece with her new boyfriend (to the chagrin of Kirk) only to reappear in the final episode.

Ralph (Peter Denyer) - A misfit who married a Polish immigrant who left him as soon as she got a British passport. He has a close friendship with Kirk even though Kirk holds him in disdain. He often gives Kirk a lift home on his motorcycle combination. In series two, Ralphy (as Kirk calls him) surprises everyone by becoming Dazzlin' Darren the Night Club DJ. Unfortunately his microphone patter is not as glitzy as his name.

Kirk St Moritz / Eric Morris (Peter Blake) - Dressed in the style of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, crass, chauvinist and tactless Kirk (who claims to be a spy) is shown at the end of series one to be a fictional personality created by someone called Eric who, though mid-thirties, lives in squalor with an overbearing mother who call him Big Ears. His room is filled with toy guns and The A-Team posters. The long, rambling and often preposterous anecdotes of Kirk about his "experiences" seducing nuns and the Vietnam War are contrast with our knowledge that Eric is likely a virgin and has done next to nothing.

Eric claims to John in private that Kirk represents all he aspires to and also that he has other personas - suggesting Eric has become a persona he presents to his mother, just as Kirk is the persona he presents to the 1-2-1 Club - while Kirk explains Eric in public as an undercover version of Kirk and his mother as his controller in disguise.

In the final episode, Eric is returning with Kirk's dry-cleaned outfit when he sees his friends about to be beaten by Hells Angels. In a homage to Superman films, he retreats into the pub toilet and (after the Superman theme is played) emerges as Kirk. Kirk beats the Hells Angels up.

Eric has a fascination with "Tiger" Kate, whom he insults and who insults him back, although he claims that under the surface he is "kind of fond of her" and tries to get John to organise a date for him.

Constable James (Rob Bedding) A 'bent copper' from the local vice squad who is mistakenly attending the wrong help group. He believes it is a group of vice squad evidence enthusiasts who enjoy sharing their love of 'specialist' videos and 'specialist' clothing and accessories. A running gag occurs each week when James reaches into his satchel and produces an item he has pilfered from evidence in a case to share with the other members of the group much to their collective disgust. Usually James tries to flog these items on to members of the group who clearly have no need for them and when they refuse he is reduced to clumsily stuffing the items back into his 'bag of tricks'.

Louise (Rachel Bell) The leader of the group divorced her husband because of his fetishistic tendencies and remains obsessed with other people's sex lives - this may be her reason for organising the group and certainly the cause of her catchphrase "Were there any sexual problems?"

Mrs Arnott (Jean Challis) Quiet, hat-wearing Mrs Arnott (who has depression) sits at the back dressed in dowdy, functional clothing occasionally chipping in with unexpected comments such as that her husband used to make her play hoopla with ring doughnuts. Eventually she leaves to look after her daughter's children when her daughter goes to work in Africa for VSO.

Mrs Lemenski (Irene Prador) An older Polish woman who occupies the bedsit next to John's and catches him in humiliating circumstances such as hitting his head on the wall in frustration. She refers to him as "you loony person" or "fruitcake person". She reveals herself to be a lonely woman who lost her husband in the Second World War.

Ken (Terence Edmond) Ken is John's work colleague who, in contrast to John's desire to have a loyal partner, desires to spread his oats and has nothing but envy for what he imagines is John's new life of sexual freedom. He and his wife have children whose upkeep and company he finds a drain. It is insinuated that she forces him to have a vasectomy.

Wendy (Wendy Alnutt) John's sexually manipulative and bossy ex-wife.

Sylvia (Lucinda Curtis) A late addition, Sylvia was a nervous woman with an irritating laugh who divorced her husband because of his transvestism.

[edit] Minor characters

Toby Lacey (William Bates) Ralph Bates' real-life son portrays his screen son, Toby.

Maggie (Sue Holderness) Ken's wife.

Ricky Fortune (Kevin Lloyd) One-hit-wonder in Iceland, Ricky Fortune joins only to be mocked by Kirk for his anonymity, and leaves.

Mrs. Morris (Sheila Manahan) Kirk/Eric's overbearing Irish mother

Mike Taylor (Darren Traynor) Wendy's live-in lover.

It was re-made for the U.S. market.

[edit] Title Music

The title music was composed by John Sullivan, who was also writer of the series. The theme tune was arranged by Ronnie Hazlehurst who was a composer for many BBC sitcoms. Joan Baxter provided the vocals to the song.

[edit] VHS & DVD

Dear John appeared on video in 1998, three cassettes with both series and the Christmas special, under Playback Entertainment. There are no plans to release a DVD.

[edit] External links

• Dear John at the BBC Comedy Guide
• Dear John at the Internet Movie Database