Cold Feet returned for a seventh series this month following its surprise revival last year. It perfectly captured the spirit of the original and it’s no surprise that it will be back for more.
We’re in the age of TV revivals, where long dead favourites (mostly) return from the grave. In the US, we’ve had everything from The X-Files to Twin Peaks, but the phenomenon has come to our shores too, and Cold Feet isn’t the only one. Only Fools and Horses, one of the most successful British comedies of all time, is perhaps the most famous (or infamous) revival, but it was by no means an isolated incident.
Set The Tape’s Baz Greenland decided to take a look at five of the other British TV shows which have returned from the grave, some with mixed results…
The Likely Lads
Think TV revivals are a modern thing? The original The Likely Lads ran from 1964–1966, but it returned, revamped in glorious colour as Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? for another run in 1973-1974. The show’s creators Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais were back to pen both series, picking up the friendship of Geordie pals Bob Ferris (Rodney Bewes) and Terry Collier (James Bolam).
The show even developed into a feature film in 1976, before a falling out between the two actors scuppered any further plans to continue their story…
Birds of a Feather
Still going strong, Birds of a Feather featured Pauline Quirke’s Sharon and Linda Robson’s Tracey as two Essex wives of a pair of jailed criminals, adjusting to their new lives alongside sexaholic older neighbour Doreen (Lesley Joseph). When the show ended its nine-series run in 1998, that seemed like the end of their story. But miraculously it reappeared for a new series in 2014, moving from the BBC to ITV.
It’s still going strong, about to have its thirteenth series this year, and what’s more it’s somehow managed to capture the magic of the original while still adapting to a new decade…
Open All Hours
Running from 1976 to 1985, this British comedy classic starred Ronnie Barker, David Jason and Lynda Baron and centred around the running of a Yorkshire grocers. So popular was this British working classic comedy, the show returned for a 40th anniversary special in 2013 entitled Still Open All Hours, written by the show’s original creator Roy Clarke and putting David Jason in the lead following the death of Ronnie Barker in 2005.
The wave of nostalgia was a hit for the BBC and the sequel series had three further series between 2014 and 2016.
This Life – the one-off special
This Life was part of the cultural zeitgeist of 90’s British television. Coupling and Cold Feet might share the title of being the ‘British Friends‘ but this was the more mature, explicit and totally captivating cousin that ran for two years between 1996 and 1997. It launched the careers of Andrew Lincoln (aka Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead) and Jack Davenport, who went onto Coupling and then a whole host of movies from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to Kingsman: The Secret Service.
This Life was the show about a group of 20 somethings that had lots of sex, drank, did drugs all the while juggling sexuality, careers and the the joys of house sharing. Our own lives were never this wild. The show reunited the core cast for This Life +10 in 2007 and while it might not have reached the heights of the original show, it was still wonderful to see Egg, Miles, Anna, Milly and Warren once more.
It’s also worth noting the one off revival of Cracker in 2006, but it couldn’t hope to meet the gritty brilliance of its predecessor.
Doctor Who
If there was any show anywhere that returned from the dead and was more popular than Doctor Who, I certainly missed it. When Russell T. Davies revamped the series for modern audiences in 2005, with a new 45-minute episode format and inspiration from modern shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it brought back Saturday night family television in a big way. It showed that Billie Piper could be a good actress and reintroduced Daleks and Cybermen to the modern consciousness.
Now it is even more popular than ever, a big hit across the world – including the States – and under the reigns of Davies and later Steven Moffat we have had some phenomenal television, not to mention some amazing leads in Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi. The show’s 50th anniversary in 2013 was a massive global hit and now the show is still going strong, with a new female Doctor in Jodie Whittaker, under the tenure of Chris Chibnall, looking to ensure Doctor Who remains just as huge for many years yet…
Did we miss any major British shows that came back from the dead? What do you think of Cold Feet’s new series? Let us know in comments or on social media.