SHINE ON HARVEY MOON

This show, which in some circles is considered to be a comedy and others a drama, was written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran who later went on to write Birds of a Feather and Goodnight Sweetheart. The setting is just after the second world war in London's East End. Corporal Harvey Moon has been demobbed from the RAF in Bombay (where he saw out the war in relative comfort as a stores clerk) and returns to his home to find that most people had thought him dead, not least of all his wife, who had been entertaining the Americans on that assumptions for a few years.

After some contrived circumstances, his mate from Bombay who was demobbed at the same time, starts dating Moon's daughter Maggie (who more than pops up in a later Marks and Gran sitcom) whilst staying with Moon at his Mum's house in Hackney, and Moon's son, Stanley, often pops 'round without him Mum's knowledge.

This was a highly sucessful series and I remember it being broadcast on a Friday night, and it is great that Acorn Media have managed to secure the rights to the majority of the first series for release on video. Although originally broadcast as half hour episodes, they have been re-edited by Central Television (who made the shows) to hour long editions and these are what have been released on video by Acorn.

In the shops now, they are each priced at £12.99 with references AV0154 and AV0155, and can be obtained form their order hotline, 020 7801 9668 should you have difficulties locating them. And, that is not all, a further two volumes, AV0174 and AV0175, each with two 'hour' episodes, have just been released, again priced £12.99.

Main Cast

Harvey Moon	Kenneth Cranham
Lou Lewis	Nigel Planer
Rita Moon	Maggie Steed
Maggie Moon	Linda Robson
Stanley Moon	Lee Whitlock
Nan	Elizabeth Spriggs

Series One

Originally this consisted of 6, 30 minute episodes, but these have been re-edited by Central Television to hour long shows. Broadcast between 8th January and the 12th February 1982 on ITV on a Friday night at 8.30pm.

Series Two

By the second season the shows length had doubled to the standard 60 minutes slots and went out at the lightly later time of 9.00pm on a Friday evening between the 10th September and 15th October 1982 - a total of 6 shows in all.

Series Three

The third season continued with the longer format and was increased to 9 editions. Again on a Friday evenign at 9.00pm, this series was broadcast nearly two years after the second between 1st June and 27th July 1984.

Series Four

Series four was originally the last series and consisted of 8 shows, all an hour long, again broadcast on a Friday evening at 9.00pm between the 5th July and 23rd August, and actually saw the Moon's reunited, albeit in a shaky relationship. This would have been the end to the story but...

Series Five

..in 1995 there were a further 6 editions of the show, reduced back to the original 30 minute slot. This series was set a few years after the last and had Nicky Henson as Moon. Broadcast on a sunday evening at 8.30pm, between 23rd april and 28th May 1995.