Hay Fever (The Green Green Grass)

"Hay Fever"
The Green Green Grass episode
The 300 cows
Episode no.Series 1
Episode 4
Directed byTony Dow
Written byJohn Sullivan
Editing byChris Wadsworth
Production code1:4 (4)
Original air date30 September 2005 (2005-09-30)
Running time30 Minutes
Episode chronology
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"The Country Wife"
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"Pillow Talk"
The Green Green Grass (series 1)
List of episodes

"Hay Fever" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, The Green Green Grass. It was first screened on 30 September 2005, as the fourth episode of the first series.[1] It was written by The Green Green Grass and Only Fools and Horses series creator John Sullivan and directed by Tony Dow.

Synopsis

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As Boycie and Marlene are only just dealing with the fact they have a gay bull and a miserable Welsh next door neighbour, they can't be doing with Tyler around the house all day and all night either. So they think it's time he started at his new school, to his total disgust. Meanwhile, Elgin orders a herd of cows as 'Farmer Boyce' instructed. But Marlene insists they buy only six cows and she is extremely annoyed when she arrives home and finds three hundred cows on the farm.

Episode cast

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Actor Role
John Challis Boycie
Sue Holderness Marlene
Jack Doolan Tyler
David Ross Elgin
Ivan Kaye Bryan
Ella Kenion Mrs Cakeworthy
Peter Heppelthwaite Jed
Alan David Llewellyn
Robert Putt Publican

Production, broadcast and reception

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Writing

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This episode was written by John Sullivan, writer of Only Fools and Horses. The whole of the first series was written entirely by John Sullivan.

Broadcast

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During its original airing, the episode had a viewing audience of 6.33 million, in the 8:30pm timeslot it was shown. This is the same audiences that sitcoms such as My Family attract.

This episode has since been re-run on BBC One, BBC HD and Gold. The show received one of the highest ratings of the week making it into the top thirty.

DVD release

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The UK DVD release was released on 23 October 2006. The release includes the 2005 Christmas Special, a short special entitled 'Grass Roots' and a short documentary on 'Rocky'.

Continuity

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  • Tyler starts at his new school to retake his GCSEs, a reference back to his rushed original taking of the exams is made.
  • Boycie purchases three hundred cows to Marlene's disgust, making reference to the events of the previous episode.
  • The Boyce family are still trying to deal with the fact that they have a gay bull, making reference to the previous episode.

Cast notes

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  • This episode marks the second and final appearance of the Publican as played by Robert Putt.
  • This episode marks the second appearance of Llewellyn as played by Alan David.

Notes

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  • This episode marks the third in a story arc spanning several series in the form of the gay bull joke.

When Ged and Brian release Rocky into the field with the cows, they're in the field with him. However, they're then seen approaching the gate outside the field whilst Rocky is in the field.

References

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  1. ^ "The Green Green Grass: Season 1, Episode 4 – Hay Fever". IMDb. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
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