Birds of a Feather

[pigamus]

It was on ITV? Well that passed me by

[Cold Meat Platter]

Utter worthless shit. Don't watch any more. Why on earth would you watch this in 2022? WTF is going on?

[Twonty Gostelow]

I was always amazed at the photo effects in the opening credits until I found out that Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson were childhood friends.

You must be joking!

Anyone who gets that can give me karma when Neil brings it back.

[Twonty Gostelow]

Birds of a Feather pilot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovVz83U9Qms&t=59s

[jamiefairlie]

Birds of a Feather pilot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovVz83U9Qms&t=59s

They plagued our childhoods them two, always ruining stuff alongside their Anna fucking Scher stage school for cockneys mafia chums. Linda Robson has had that downturned mouth since she was a kid.

Cockneys

[Icehaven]

I'm sure I saw an advert on the back of a bus years ago for a Pauline Quirke stage school, and thinking it must be a joke or that I was hallucinating.

Edit: Nope it's real.
https://www.pqacademy.com/

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Just as Peter Cook peaked in the 1960s with getting Lenny Bruce to appear at " The Establishment" and having that TV show originally entitled solely for Dudley Moore and making " Bedazzled" and all that, so did Pauline Quirke peak with her very own TV show " Pauline's Quirks", an anarchic programme for children which featured her eating the Thames TV Ident in the opening credits, and a running joke involving Flintlock getting their kit off. It was all downhill from there, and " Birds Of A Fucking Feather", the cuddly Cockney criminal comedy show was very much part of that descent.
( she was good in " The Sculptress" though, remember that?)

[Jerzy Bondov]

This is the show that taught me that not all sitcoms are automatically good. I watched some terrible shit very happily but this is where I drew the line.

[Sonny_Jim]

The theme music at the time filled me with terror and wistfulness.

The 'Howards Way' theme music always makes me anxious.  I guess it's because it was on at around the time I'd be asked to go to bed and I'll be like "Noooooo.  I don't wanna'

_{28 years old etc..}

My only memories of Birds of a Feather would be it was something that my Mum watched whilst knitting and the 'haha prison is a laugh, isn't it?' felt incredibly jarring.

[timebug]

I remember when episode one was first shown. We though we would give it a go, because we though Pauline Quirke was a decent actress. After about six minutes, I decided I would rather have toothache or piles, and went to read a good book. My wife stuck it for the entire episode, but never watched another one!

[Fambo Number Mive]

I watched part of the second episode and had to turn it off as it was so bad. Even though there is very little on television worth watching, I don't think I'll be watching any more of this.

Am surprised that a sitcom as bad as this ran for 12 series.

[Uncle TechTip]

Just as Peter Cook peaked in the 1960s with getting Lenny Bruce to appear at " The Establishment" and having that TV show originally entitled solely for Dudley Moore and making " Bedazzled" and all that, so did Pauline Quirke peak with her very own TV show " Pauline's Quirks", an anarchic programme for children which featured her eating the Thames TV Ident in the opening credits, and a running joke involving Flintlock getting their kit off. It was all downhill from there, and " Birds Of A Fucking Feather", the cuddly Cockney criminal comedy show was very much part of that descent.
( she was good in " The Sculptress" though, remember that?)

I think Pauline's Quirks was cited by Mary Whitehouse or someone as an indication of society's eternal damnation.

[TommyTurnips]

This thread reminded me of this quirky tv moment. Bonus bit of Shooting Stars at the end.

[canadagoose]

My Granny on Dad's side used to watch this on Sunday evenings (I think?), when I was there. I've never seen it, though, due to having to run through to the other room because the theme tune made me cry and I was embarrassed. I was a bit daft.

Going by this topic, I might not bother watching it any time soon.

[turnstyle]

"The Pauline-ah, Quirke-ah, Academy-ahh"

I am lucky enough to live in a town that houses one of  these esteemed faculties of learning, though sad to say I have never once bumped into Quirky whilst out buying bog roll.

Birds of a Feather transports me back to an age when there were so few channels it was either this or watching Fred Dibnah climbing up a chimney. We knew he'd never fall off the chimney and shatter his Northern pelvis, so what was the point?

Ha ha, that Dorien sure loved having sex didn't she ha ha mad innit, and that woman has a long Greek surname fucking hell my sides I think I'm going to die.

[Icehaven]

Which begat which, the cliche of Essex girls being called Sharon and Tracy or BOAF doing it?

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

It was very much of its time, and that time was 10:30pm on a school night in January when you have PE, maths and English all before lunch tomorrow.

christ I felt that

[The Guppy]

I watched this every week at my nan's but all I can remember is Nellie Boswell yelling SHE IS A TART about Dorien. Starting to doubt my nan even existed.

[idunnosomename]

This thread reminded me of this quirky tv moment. Bonus bit of Shooting Stars at the end.

gawd. Like a dream that promised more then the doorbell woke me up. Wanna watch Shooting Stars and Confidence and Paranoia.

Note in 1998 the BBC wanking off its Dr Who nostalgia despite it being between the McGann film and the 2005 revival

[Dayraven]

I'm sure I saw an advert on the back of a bus years ago for a Pauline Quirke stage school, and thinking it must be a joke or that I was hallucinating.

As featured here:

https://twitter.com/hrfmichael/status/914826172093075456?lang=en

[Brundle-Fly]

Grimly amusing that it all ended with Pauline Quirke falling out with the other two, leading to one morbidund Quirkeless series and a cancellation.

Well, you know what they say? Birds off a feather, stick togth... Oh.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Apparently there was a stage tour in 2012:

The 2012 Birds of a Feather UK tour includes the original three leading actresses. Quirke and Robson's real-life sons, Charlie Quirke and Louis Dunford, share the role of Travis Stubbs, the son born to Tracey in the final episode of the TV series

A Birds of a Feather dining experience would be somewhat bleak.

[robhug]

Terrible show

As a schoolboy I do remember fancying Linda Robson, which seems incredible now and just proves the benefits of being cast next to Pauline Quirke.

[thelittlemango]

WADDLE AYE DOOOOO

desolation.

Used to find it funny to change this to 'wattle and daubbbb' as a kid, not sure why, it's all I can hear now though.

[Ignatius_S]

Grimly amusing that it all ended with Pauline Quirke falling out with the other two, leading to one morbidund Quirkeless series and a cancellation.

That's roughly the narrative being laid out in the tabloids, but the show didn't enjoy the full-throated support of ITV and more than once, it looked very likely it would be axed.

Prior to the final series being agreed, ITV had very little publicly denied that they were cancelling the show but it was being 'rested'. In other words, cancelling it.

The 'falling out' being reported was due Quirke not doing the series. Production of the series IIRC, was during the covid pandemic relatively early on - personally, if I was a similar age to Quirke, I would have thought long and hard about whether I really wanted to shoot a show in those conditions and one that was essentially having a short stay of execution. Actually, I wouldn't have thought that long about it.

Even if Quirke had been in that series, there was no guarantee on there being another. Quite frankly, it's pretty incredible that it lasted so long.

I saw the first ITV series and it was solid enough and I think did okay, but ITV wanted more unrealistically.

[kalowski]

Hang on, the final series of this shit was made during the pandemic? This bollocks was on when I was a kid.

[gilbertharding]

Hang on, the final series of this shit was made during the pandemic? This bollocks was on when I was a kid.

Hang on - their husbands are still in prison after *checks maths* THIRTY TWO YEARS?!

What had they done? That's some dark shit right there.

[kalowski]

Hang on - their husbands are still in prison after *checks maths* THIRTY TWO YEARS?!

What had they done? That's some dark shit right there.

Ha, yes. Pauline Quirk married to Ian Brady and Linda Robson with Ian Watkins. "Surely she knew something," they say.

[petril]

yeah the husbands got released because they'd been in so long, then Daryl immediately tried to use the girls' business for fraud and got done again. think Chris got banged up as an accomplice

[Ignatius_S]

yeah the husbands got released because they'd been in so long, then Daryl immediately tried to use the girls' business for fraud and got done again. think Chris got banged up as an accomplice

Yeah - and the two being out of prison allowed them to shake out the series; wouldn't say it worked flawlessly but did freshen things up.

I think you're right about Chris also going back to prison with Darryl - IIRC, he was actually innocent. Pretty sure that he was going straight and was genuinely sorry for being such a bad husband to Sharon.

Pretty sure that Tracey said to Darryl that she wouldn't be waiting for him again - in the ITV version they had definitely split up for good. Have a feeling the latter was killed off.