Snoddy was a six-part Scottish television sitcom, written and created by Johnny Crawford, that first broadcast on BBC One Scotland on 13 March 2002.[1] The series, which aired at 10:35pm on Wednesdays, starred Gregor Fisher of Rab C Nesbitt fame as DCI Samuel J. Snoddy, the head of Scotland's Elite Crime Squad, who is obsessed with spending more time playing golf abroad rather than fighting crimes.[2]

Snoddy
GenreSitcom
Created byJohnny Crawford
Written byJohnny Crawford
Directed byRon Bain
Starring
ComposerDave Hurricane
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerEwan Angus
ProducerColin Gilbert
Production locationScotland
EditorJohn Brooks
Running time30 minutes
Production companyThe Comedy Unit
Original release
NetworkBBC One Scotland
Release13 March (2002-03-13) –
17 April 2002 (2002-04-17)

Only a single series of six episodes was broadcast, and the series was never shown outside of Scotland.[2] The series was regarded as unsuccessful and was axed by BBC bosses following poor ratings.[citation needed] The series was heavily promoted in and around the Glasgow area, with a number of billboard posters portraying the tagline "it's a Hotel Oscar Oscar Tango of a show” being put up around the city.[3] Notably, the series has never been made available on DVD.

Production

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Snoddy was Johnny Crawford's first television writing credit, eventually being produced by The Comedy Unit for BBC One Scotland after first being offered to Channel 4 in 1998. Producer Colin Gilbert described Snoddy as Crawford's "rich, refreshing, and tangential left-field vision". Scripts for the series were subject to redrafting, with Gilbert commenting, "It's been a challenge for us to control everything into half-hour episodes that make narrative sense and are still funny. John's certainly had to work at making Snoddy just that bit easier for folk to follow, re-writing and re-writing, but he's become a much better writer as he's gone along."[4]

Cast

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Episodes

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Episode Title Written by Directed by Original airdate Viewers
(millions)
1"Get Carty"TBATBA13 March 2002 (2002-03-13)TBA
2"Sky Where the Sea Should Be"Johnny CrawfordRon Bain20 March 2002 (2002-03-20)TBA
Professor Baxter is hospitalised following an assault and uses an unusual method of communication to provide a description of his attackers. Snoddy tries to help out former police officer Ally Black (Andy Gray) who finds himself homeless after being robbed whilst using a virtual reality machine. Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Chalmers (Hugh Ross) orders the Elite Crime Squad to investigate an unsolved cold case involving the theft of a rare malt whisky, and takes the team on a tour of a local brewery run by Keith Malarkey (Vince Handley). During the tour, Snoddy makes an unexpected connection between the two cases.
3TBATBATBA27 March 2002 (2002-03-27)TBA
4"Cyborg Polis"Johnny CrawfordRon Bain3 April 2002 (2002-04-03)TBA
5"B.A.W.S."Johnny CrawfordRon Bain10 April 2002 (2002-04-10)TBA
6TBATBATBA17 April 2002 (2002-04-17)TBA

References

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  1. ^ "Snoddy". British Sitcom Guide. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  2. ^ a b ""Crime never kips" for Snoddy". BBC Press Office. 2 March 2002. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  3. ^ "Snoddy : Off the Telly".
  4. ^ ""Breaking all the Laws of Comedy"". The Herald. 4 March 2002. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
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