I'd rather watch an OFAH spin off that explores the Denzil character. I'd call it "On The Road" or something like that and it would follow Denzil's life as van driver. He would experience many funny adventures including illegal immigrants (ok, stolen idea from "Strangers On the Shore"), his cargo consisting of hooky gear or livestock (maybe a lion?) and strange romances with dodgy women.
But anyway it's all epidemic now (as Del Boy would say) cause John Sullivan is dead. And it wouldn't be ok if the writers would destroy Sullivans legacy even further...let's face it, many plots and jokes of TGGG weren't up to Sullivan's usual standards.

Quote: Gordon Bennett @ August 26 2012, 3:59 PM BST

But I liked the theme tune...

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Who doesn't like Tom Jones?

Quote: garyd @ August 28 2012, 1:34 PM BST

Who doesn't like Tom Jones?

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Don't try pulling my leg you won't succeed!

Sorry, where's this bizarre notion come from that John Sullivan didn't write the series? He penned 18 of the 32 episodes - more than half - with his son writing another 7, and a small number of other writers contributing one or two episodes each.

John also owned the company that made the show, and acted as executive producer on all of the episodes that he did not personally pen. It's not like some ghastly interlopers kidnapped his baby. If you don't think much of The Green Green Grass, that's your own problem. The show was exactly what he wanted it to be.

Quote: Aaron @ August 28 2012, 10:48 PM BST

Sorry, where's this bizarre notion come from that John Sullivan didn't write the series? He penned 18 of the 32 episodes - more than half - with his son writing another 7, and a small number of other writers contributing one or two episodes each.

John also owned the company that made the show, and acted as executive producer on all of the episodes that he did not personally pen. It's not like some ghastly interlopers kidnapped his baby. If you don't think much of The Green Green Grass, that's your own problem. The show was exactly what he wanted it to be.

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Many of the episodes I watched were credited to other writers. That was maybe a coincidence. But the whole show didn't have the usual Sullivan-handwriting. I mean for example the secondary characters were so cartoonish (with dumb unfunny lines)...Trigger, Mickey Pearce or Uncle Albert seem like character studies played by method actors compared to them.
But you're right: THAT is MY own problem. I hope for Sullivan that he was happy with this whole thing. RIP John...you gave me many many laughs!!

I'm watching a few of these now on Yesterday after missing or not bothering with it first time around. It looks like a favour project for a mate of the writer's to be blunt, but then I think Sullivan earned that privilege.

Boycie doesn't seem Boycie enough to me, did he tone down the spivvie voice thing or is it just me? I quite like it overall, nice laid back feel, not too bothered it's corny and cartoony, it's not pretending to be OFAH.

It's a stain on John Sullivan's legacy, sadly. Much like the Only Fools comeback specials.

For me, the casting was poor. The supporting cast just weren't very funny and it was all too forced.

Boycie didn't really feel like Boycie in this. Marlene however was quite good. Kept the consistency up with the acting.

As someone has already said, the show wasn't entirely in John's hands and I guess he wanted something a bit different to OFAH.

However, I am not disolusioned and no matter what you think of the 2001 specials/GGG/Rock and Chips - NOTHING will or can spoil the excellent work the great man did with OFAH in general. How can you? Infact I don't understand fans of TV shows who decide one or two episodes they dislike should magically mean they dislike the entire TV show they once loved. Bit childish talk if you ask me.

Watching the reruns again and it reminds me a of The Vicar of Dibley which was just as cartoony and contrived but keeps cropping up in these top sitcom lists. TVOD possibly had better scripts but there is not an awful lot of difference to the flatpack one dimensional character set up. not sure why there's such a huge gap in reception for both.

Not sure which eps I'm watching and who's writing them but I'd be surprised if they're the JS penned ones as most have been awful, looking more like someone who has no store of good lines or plots needed, writing on empty, plucking desperate situations and dialogue from the air just to fill the timeslot. You need a lot of good material to fill a 30 min narrative well just once never mind every week.

But having said that I still find them watchable because its a cosy sitcom with daft characters with an audience laughing and I know what it is, as bad as some have been. Rather this than have to work out where to laugh or smile at a so called sitcom which looks more like a soap.

As a West Countryian, there is nothing more infuriating than bad actors trying to mimic a typical west country accent.

GGG was not even set in Somerset/Cornwall/Wiltshire part of the country so I do not know why the characters were written to speak with a comedy farmer's accent.

I enjoyed Boycie and Marlene as a whole, but the Boycie vibe was definitively different in this. He was far too clownish compared to the more serious Boycie a few years before in OFAH.

This series also felt like JS was providing his offspring with a platform to begin his writing career in. I think that proved to be the show's downfall.

Spinoffs are rarely a success.

Quote: Tommy Griff @ 9th May 2019, 9:24 AM

As a West Countryian, there is nothing more infuriating than bad actors trying to mimic a typical west country accent.

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How do you think I feel when an East Anglian accent is more often than not a mock west country one a la The Wurzels or Robert Newton in Treasure Island.

Hated this. Wasn't very good, Boycie and Marlene wasn't the same, without being in peckham. I found the country to be a dull setting tbh, not keen on sitcoms based in the country. Wasn't really keen on any of the characters, found them quite boring. Maybe it's because I love OFAH too much, I hated this.

I had high hopes for GGG but it didn't take me long to abandon those hopes.

The only thing I remember about it is that I was watching a scene involving two of the estate workers and I distinctly remember thinking it was absolute crap.

Maybe all the episodes I didn't see were brilliant, or maybe they were even worse than the one(s) I'd already seen.

I'll never know.

Quote: Tommy Griff @ 9th May 2019, 9:24 AM

I enjoyed Boycie and Marlene as a whole, but the Boycie vibe was definitively different in this. He was far too clownish compared to the more serious Boycie a few years before in OFAH.
.

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That's what it is yes, the scripts are much baser than OFAH's, relying on a comedy of morons and the lead character is getting affected, but then it's known that people's characters do change in different surroundings. It would be hard to remain that straight in a house full of idiots.