LEAVING
Series One (6) 20 June-25 July 1984 BBC2
Series Two (6) 2 May-13 June 1985 BBC2
MAIN CAST
Daniel Ford
Martha Ford
Mr Chessington
Gina Ford
Matthew Ford
Mrs Ford
CREDITS
Writer
Director/Producer
Keith Barron
Susan Hampshire
Richard Vernon
Lucy Aston
Gary Cady
Elizabeth Bradley
Carla Lane
John B Hobbs
Daniel Ford and his wife Martha wish to have an amicable divorce, neither wishing to cause the other any unnecessary anguish.
But such traumatic transactions rarely run smoothly and the Fords find numerous personal problems interfering with their plans.
Leaving represented more bitter-sweet fare from writer Carla Lane, who had started to invent a new genre, moving further and
further away from conventional sitcom towards serial humorous drama. Some critics bemoaned the paucity of laughs, ignoring the
series' intentionally serious premise and the writer's attempt to try something new. The low-key comedy element was no real
problem, it just acquired an attitude adjustment on the part of the viewer; but the series suffered a more fundamental flaw in
that its characters, while believable, were, unfortunately, rather dull.
Mark Lewisohn
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