Roger And Val Have Just Got In - Series 1 episode guide
Dawn French and Alfred Molina star in BBC Two's new comedy, Roger And Val Have Just Got In, focusing on the everyday trials and tribulations faced by a middle-aged couple, examining their first half an hour at home together after walking through the door at the end of the day.
The Stevensons have been married for more than 20 years and their home - on the surface at least – is a sanctuary of warmth and tranquillity. Botanist Roger is a principled, sensitive man, whose love for his wife is matched only by his passion for the seeds and saplings he nurtures at work. Val is a food technology teacher at the local comprehensive and being able to bring her work home is a natural perk of the job.
Watch a clip...
Episode 1: The Guarantee
Friday 6th August 2010
Over tea, biscuits, Scotch pancakes and more tea, the childless couple tackle the pressures of the day, whether that involves rehanging the curtains or going on the hunt for their broken vacuum cleaner's guarantee.
But, with Roger's father seriously ill in hospital and an anniversary looming, the question remains as to whether their happy marriage and united front against the outside world is quite as solid as it first seems.
Episode 2: The Unglamorous Row
Friday 13th August 2010
Val's committed a cardinal sin in the eyes of Roger the botanist, and left their evening meal - fish fingers and frozen peas – in the conservatory fridge usually dedicated to Roger's seedlings and other plant-related projects. Thus begins a chain of events and escalating rows - each seemingly about fish fingers, but could there be more to it than that?
Despite various attempts by both parties to smooth things over there is no mistaking the tension in the air. Is Roger's bad mood down to more than the trespassing fish fingers? Is it because the two new warring water voles at the Winter Gardens have been named after Roger and his boss Phil?
Episode 3: The Dining Room Curtains
Friday 20th August 2010
Val arrives home to find that Roger has had yet another run in with Phil - his boss at the Winter Gardens. Roger's father is also critically ill in hospital. Plus there's the job of re-hanging the freshly laundered dining room curtains - courtesy of Year 9 - in the newly painted dining room.
Top of the agenda, however, is putting on the kettle and unwinding with a cup of tea and a snack. In typical fashion, one scotch pancake leads to another and, with the pressing need to generally put the world to rights, will either of them have the energy for household chores?
Episode 4: Be Our Guests
Friday 27th August 2010
Roger's dad is slipping away. To add to the anxiety, cousin Cathy is arriving with her husband to say her last goodbyes and, in a mad moment, Val has been panicked into inviting them to stay in the spare room. But no one has stayed in the spare room before – and, now, for a variety of reasons, both Roger and Val are feeling the pressure of getting it ready for guests.
Suddenly, it all becomes too much for Roger and – with the added complication of wearing a cagoule at the time – he finds himself in the type of crisis which only he and Val could understand.
Episode 5: Reply All
Friday 3rd September 2010
Roger lies almost mute in bed in the spare room. Val tries hard to reach him, but slowly it dawns on them both that there's more to this crisis than the recent news about his father. Roger reveals that, while alone in the house, he's taken up his grief counselling advice and written out an idealised self-image.
Unfortunately, he's mistakenly emailed the whole personal, heartfelt outpouring to the entire management team at his work. Hugely embarrassed, both he and Val try to salvage the situation – but will that just make matters worse? And for the first time in the series, somebody leaves the house.
Episode 6
Friday 10th September 2010
Val is curious to find out how Roger's work tribunal has gone but, following recent events, relations between the two of them are less then easy. Val unwittingly reveals that she's off to a work event which a former colleague is due to be attending - enough to set Roger off, despite her not having seen this colleague since he left for a sojourn in New Zealand.
So, in true Roger fashion, he reviews all things NZ and finds them wanting... dating back to Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing. But more to the point, will Roger and Val be able to surmount their own particular Everest?
