Crackanory
| Crackanory | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Directed by | Richie Pengelley |
| Composer(s) | Waen Shepherd |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Arn Widdowson |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Tiger Aspect Productions |
| Distributor | Endemol UK |
| Release | |
| Original network | Dave |
| Original release | 13 November 2013 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Crackanory is a storytelling television series aimed at adults, inspired by the popular children's series Jackanory. Each episode features two 15-minute tales narrated by contemporary comedians and actors, containing a mix of live action, original music and animation, all read from the same oversized chair, in a set consistent and reflective of the story.[1] The first series attracted widespread critical acclaim and over half a million viewers to Dave.[2]
A second series was broadcast in 2014, and featured comedian Rik Mayall, who recorded a story just before his death. Channel boss Steve North was quoted as saying that it was a "complete privilege" to work with Mayall.[3]
The third series, commissioned by UKTV was broadcast in December 2015 and was sponsored by the Amazon-owned digital audio service Audible.[4] The guest story readers for the six-part series included Christopher Lloyd, known for his roles in long-running sitcom Taxi and as Doc Brown in the Back To The Future trilogy.[5]
The fourth series also commissioned by UKTV will be broadcast in December 2016. Each of the eight half-hour programmes will be dedicated to just one tale, rather than the two of previous seasons, with eight new storytellers, Sheridan Smith, Dara O Briain, Doc Brown, Anna Friel, Mackenzie Crook, Miriam Margolyes, Bob Mortimer and Mel Giedroyc.
First series
- Episode 1
- Jack Dee "Bitter Tweet" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Sally Phillips "What Peebee Did Next" by Toby Davies
- Episode 2
- Rebecca Front "Fakespeare" by Toby Davies
- Kevin Eldon "What Do You Say?" by Kevin Eldon
- Episode 3
- Harry Enfield "The Teacup Has Landed" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Sarah Solemani "Pleasure Drone" by Ali Crockatt and David Scott
- Episode 4
- Sharon Horgan "The Translator" by Laurence Rickard
- Charlie Higson "The Road To Hell" by Jeremy Dyson
- Episode 5
- Richard Hammond "Becoming Zoe" by Simon Judd and Alex Carter
- Jessica Hynes "My Former Self" by Holly Walsh
- Episode 6
- Hugh Dennis "Head In The Clouds" by Jason Cook
- Stephen Mangan "The Newsreader" by Jane Bussmann and Naisola Grimwood
Live action actors in the series include Alex MacQueen, Cariad Lloyd, Katherine Jakeways, James Bachman, Martha Howe-Douglas, Nick Mohammed, Vera Filatova, Cassie and Connie Powney
Second series
- Episode 1
- Vic Reeves "In Space No-one Can Hear You Clean" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Rik Mayall "The Weatherman" by Tony Way[6]
- Episode 2
- Ben Miller "Man's Best Friend" by Alexander Kirk
- Sue Perkins[7] "Return to Sender" by Melissa Bubnic
- Episode 3
- David Mitchell "The Surprise" by Toby Davies
- Katherine Parkinson "The Crisis Plan" by Holly Walsh
- Episode 4
- Johnny Vegas "Self Storage" by Alexander Kirk
- Meera Syal "The Obituary Writer" by Katherine Jakeways, original story by David Crow and Oliver Maltman
- Episode 5
- Warwick Davis "The Untangler" by Toby Davies
- Emilia Fox "Murder He Wrote" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Episode 6
- Simon Callow "Let Me Be the Judge" by Kevin Eldon
- Ruby Wax "I'm Still Here" by Ali Crockatt and David Scott
Live action actors in the second series include Simon Farnaby, Rosie Cavaliero, Michael Fish, Alice Lowe, Elis James, Victoria Wicks, Lucy Montgomery, Dominic Coleman, Tom Meeten and Sara Pascoe.
Third series
- Episode 1
- Paul Whitehouse "Uncivil War" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Carrie Fisher "Dread and Breakfast" by Nico Tatarowicz
- Episode 2
- Catherine Tate "The Catchment Area" by Holly Walsh
- Richard Ayoade "The Frogbeast of Pontfidd" by Toby Davies
- Episode 3
- Jimmy Carr "The Zombie That Roared" by Alexander Kirk
- Christopher Lloyd "DI Sat Nav" by Melissa Bubnic
- Episode 4
- Robbie Coltrane "The Last Laugh" by Toby Davies
- Sarah Millican "Abbatnoir" by Dafydd James
- Episode 5
- Morgana Robinson "The Truth About Suz" by Edward Easton and Kiri Pritchard-McLean
- Greg Davies "The Vexed Message" by Tony Way
- Episode 6
- Simon Bird "Unlucky for Sam" by Kevin Eldon
- Tamsin Greig "Bob's House" by Holly Walsh
Live action actors in the third series include Janine Duvitski, Amy Hoggart, Perry Fitzpatrick, Ray Panthaki, Kerry Howard, Alice Lowe, Gareth Tunley, Martha Howe-Douglas, Marcia Warren, Kerry Godliman and Steve Oram.
Forth series
UKTV commissioning executive Tanya Qureshi added: ‘We are thrilled to be bringing back the award-winning Crackanory for a fourth time on Dave. It has become one of our landmark brands and the ambitions of the show continue to grow with each new series. We’re hugely excited to see the storytelling format evolve into a single narrative per episode, and to reveal the talented narrators who will be taking a seat in the iconic Crackanory chair.’ [8]
References
- ↑ Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Crackanory : Reviews 2013 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ "Crackanory gets second series from UKTV". 4 March 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ Guide, British Comedy (1 July 2014). "Crackanory Series 2 line-up revealed". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ "UKTV teams up with Audible for third series of Crackanory - News - UKTV Corporate Site". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ Guide, British Comedy (25 July 2015). "Christopher Lloyd joins Crackanory Series 3". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ "Rik Mayall's episode of Crackanory to air on Dave next month". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ "Sue Perkins ices the Crackanory cake with a Bake-Off in-joke". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ The Dave TV channel has ordered a fourth series of Crackanory - with longer stories than before.
External links
- Crackanory at the Internet Movie Database
- Crackanory at The British Comedy Guide Series and Episodes
- Harry Enfield returns with twisted spin on Jackanory storytelling classic