Teachers (UK)

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Channel 4 (ended 2004)
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Show Summary

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Teachers was a highly successful Channel 4 comedy, which followed a group of immature teachers working at Summerdown School, in Bristol. The theme song for the show was "The Boy With The Arab Strap" by Belle and Sebastian.''''Teachers first series began in 2001 and in 2003 became the only Channel 4 series ever to have a third series. In 2004 it broke its own record with a fourth series airing. Unfortunately, in January 2005 after three successful series and a fourth series which viewers felt let them down, Channel 4 producers announced that Teachers had run its course and would not be returning for a fifth series.''''The show originally starred Andrew Lincoln (Simon Casey), Adrian Bower (Brian Steadman), Navin Chowdhry (Kurt McKenna), Raquel Cassidy (Susan Gately) and Nina Sosanya (Jenny Paige). The original cast were joined by Tamzin Malleson (Penny Neville), James Lance (Matt Harvey) and Shaun Evans (John Paul 'J.P.' Keating), in series two. At the end of this series Simon, Susan, Jenny and J.P. were all wrote out. In series three Vicky Hall joined the cast as Lindsay Pearce and Andrew Lincoln briefly returned to the role of Simon Casey. In series four, the remaining characters from the first series of the show, Brian and Kurt, left, alongside Matt. Whilst three new cast members joined in the form of Lee Williams (Ewan Doherty), Daon Broni (Damien Waller) and Mathew Horne (Ben Birkett). The supporting cast featured Lloyd McGuire (Bob Porter), Ellen Thomas (Liz Webb), Gillian Bevan (Clare Hunter), Ursula Holden-Gill (Carol Schicklgruber), Zoe Telford (Maggie), Jonas Armstrong (Antony Millington), Jason Boyd (Grint), Liz White (Eileen), Damien Goodwin (Alec), Suthas Bhoopongsa (Ping), Kara Tointon (Pauline Young), Phoebe Thomas (Cheryl Cassidy) and James Corden (Jeremy Stevens).moreless
8.3
out of 10
Average Rating: Great
182 votes
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Episode Guide

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S 4 :  Ep 9 Aired 12/14/04
S 4 :  Ep 8 Aired 12/21/04
S 4 :  Ep 7 Aired 12/7/04
S 4 :  Ep 6 Aired 11/30/04
S 4 :  Ep 5 Aired 11/23/04

Teachers (UK) News

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  • Friday Afternoon Distractions 4

    Friday Afternoon Distractions

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    Whiling away your last few hours at work? These videos should help make time fly extra fast! There are a variety of ways in which the Australian television channels are targeting their programs to take advantage of the election coverage.… more

  • Networks primed for midseason battle 0

    Networks primed for midseason battle

    By Reuters, Jan 04, 2006

    Why wait for the Olympics next month to witness grueling competition--just watch the broadcasters roll out their midseason prime-time schedules in the coming weeks. American Idol prepares to rejoin the fray." link="/american-idol/show/11307/summary.html"> CBS and ABC might be running neck-and-neck for… more

Cast & Crew

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Fan Reviews (8)

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  • Great show, but with diminishing returns from Series 1 thru Series 4. Teachers went from being a comedy drama to more of a surreal comedy, with the characters becoming less likable and more absurd. S1 (10/10), S2 (8.5/10), S3 (7.5/10), S4 (5/10).moreless

    8.0
    "Great"
    By Skippy_TV, Aug 18, 2011 Report Abuse
    Judging by the reviews, what you like about Teachers depends very much on when you started watching. I started Series 1. I liked it because it was a well written and acted comedy drama. I liked the central character, Simon, and that the story revolved around him making his way in the world. Back then the show was realistic. People had real problems - Susan's divorce and breakdown, for example - but it was still irreverent and fun.
    By Series 2, Simon was no longer the central character. It was no longer a show about his journey, but instead about the cast at large. It was still a comedy drama, but the plots were starting to drift into the realm of unrealistic. Regardless, it was still very entertaining.
    Series 3 saw a paradigm shift. The show lost most of its cast - without explanation - and became more of a sit-com rather than a comedy drama. Surreal elements came to the fore more often, somewhat distractingly, and it became harder to relate to the characters. That said, I still liked it. I liked the acting of both of the two new main characters, Lindsay and Matt, and it still had enough laughs to keep you interested.
    By Series 4 the show was unrecognizable from Series 1. None of the main original cast were left. The setting and situations were unreal. The background donkeys, dwarfs, beatings etc had become hackneyed, often taking away from some pretty well written banter. The biggest change for me, however, was that I no longer felt any empathy for the characters. The characters were now a bunch of w@nkers, whose occasional funny dialog did little to stop me from despising everything they did.
    The biggest shame about 'Teachers' is that if they had stuck with the original format, a true comedy drama, they could easily have produced as many series as they wanted. I am not sure why they didn't. I can only assume they got bored and thought they constantly needed to one-up themselves. It does make me a little sad. I can't help but feel sorry for what might have been.moreless

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  • Series 2 was the Best !

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Petra-Jane, Apr 06, 2011 Report Abuse
    Recently watched all 4 Series on the box set from Amazon at a great price.
    I joined the series while it was on TV at Series 3, and being an ex-teacher the programme got me hooked from the start. Watching the Complete Series from the start onwards, I think Series 1 is the weakest-with far too much attention on Simon - to the detriment of the other cast members. Series 2 for me - is it where it REALLY starts !!
    It's like a whole new show - everything about it is better - best of all is how it all seems better balanced, with more lines for the other teachers who are far more interesting and funny than that pratt Simon !moreless

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    0 0

  • It may have faltered in its final season, but the first three years of this show were absolute genius

    10
    "Perfect"
    By ScullySayer, Oct 07, 2006 Report Abuse
    Honestly, watching Teachers is an incredible experience, particularly if you're viewing episodes from the first two seasons. Both funny and dramatic at the same time, its witty scripts coupled with bordering-on-abstract direction make for a delightfully surreal 45 minutes of television. Add to that a great music soundtrack and you have a feast for the senses.
    What really puts this television show above the rest, though, are the characters - often implorable but always entertaining, it's because of them that so many people became addicted to this show. Who can forget Simon's self-obsessed wailings and Susan's constant attempts to placate him? How about Kurt and Brian the double act? All the sex-related shenanigans the gang would get up to? The actors played these characters to a T, making their performances so believable that the show gets ensconsed within your reality. While some of my peers mightn't agree, I honestly believe this is a modern masterpiece of television, and everyone reading should watch it.moreless

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    3 0

  • Teachers was an ace show that seems to have had a number of copycat shows pop up in recent months.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By hanabat, Apr 20, 2006 Report Abuse
    Teachers was a fantastic show. I know many people say it, and I hate to agree, but it did go slightly downhill in the third & fourth seasons. Still though at its lowest points it was a 7.

    The main reason that this show was so succesful was that they showed Teachers as normal people. Twenty/thirty somethings who were just plugging through the day, counting down the minutes until they could go to the pub. Some of them were naturally abled at their job (Susan), some had fallen into it and were just cruising through (Simon). They had to deal with dramatic issues but of course they wish they didn't.

    As if this wasn't enough for you, the off beat humour was continuous, hilarious and beatifully subtle at times. It was a real treat to watch.

    And now there are the copycat shows. I'm mostly talking about the lame lame lame Waterloo Road on BBC1. I'd recommend to anyone interested in these school situated drama shows not to bother with the ones on TV right now and to buy or rent the Teachers series instead. It's worth anyone's time.moreless

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    2 0

  • Superb Show!!!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By dmcarter, Dec 14, 2005 Report Abuse
    I think this is the funniest show that i have seen on TV yet. It's so realistic and it is full of humour and reality.
    It's a shame that the original characters have left the show but it is still great to watch. I have series 1-4 on DVD and i watch it over and over again.
    I would love it if they bought it back to Channel 4 as it's just brilliant!!!moreless

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    1 0
 

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