Colin's Sandwich

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Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox television Colin's Sandwich is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC2 in 1988 and 1990. It starred Mel Smith as Colin Watkins, a British Rail administrator who aspired to be a horror writer.[1] The show was written by Paul Smith and Terry Kyan and ran for two series of six episodes (18 October – 22 November 1988 and 12 January – 16 February 1990).[2] In the second series, Colin manages to achieve some small successes as a writer.[3]

Synopsis

The central character, Colin Watkins, is an educated, intelligent, neurotic man in his mid-thirties. By day he works in a dead-end job for the now defunct British Rail in their complaints department, where he listens to, and attempts to appease, a combination of complainants and abusive customers. (At the time the series was broadcast, British Rail had a poor reputation for its performance.) While the job involves mundane tasks such as photocopying and dealing with customers, Colin dreams of being a horror author.[4]

Colin lives alone in a top-floor flat though his girlfriend Jenny. His best friend Des often share time with him there. Jenny and Colin are revealed to have met at university and share a sexual relationship, though apparently do not maintain one. He is a neurotic who often turns to alcohol (whisky or white wine) for solace. Jenny is more down-to-earth and is a stable figure in his life. He tries to do the right thing in the numerous situations he ends up in (being bored by friends' endless dreary dinner parties, finding a dead cat and returning it to its owner, going on holiday while continually fretting about leaving appliances on in his flat). He is often conflicted and has a borderline depressive attitude to life – brought about in one episode by his colleague leaving British Rail for pastures new who encourages Colin to do the same.

The overarching plot of Series 1 has Colin submitting one of his few finished works to John Langley, a tough publisher who includes it in his anthology of horror short stories.

Home media

After its original transmission, the second series was repeated on BBC2 during the Summer of 1992,[5] and it was frequently shown on UK Gold during its early years,[6] although the show has rarely been repeated since then. The series was released on DVD by Simply Media on 9 June 2014, nearly a year after Mel Smith's passing. The boxset consisted of both Series 1 and 2.[7]

Episodes

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Series 1 (1988)

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Series 2 (1990)

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References

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External links

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