There She Goes (TV series)

There She Goes is a British comedy-drama television programme which first aired on BBC Four on 16 October 2018. The show follows the learning-disabled Rosie Yates (Miley Locke), along with her parents Emily (Jessica Hynes) and Simon (David Tennant), and her older brother Ben (Edan Hayhurst). There She Goes is based on the experiences of series creator Shaun Pye, whose daughter was born with a chromosomal disorder. It contains scenes set in 2006, as the parents learn of Rosie's abnormalities, and 2015, when Rosie is aged nine. The programme received mostly positive reviews.

There She Goes
Created byShaun Pye
Written byShaun Pye
Directed bySimon Hynd
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series1
No. of episodes5
Production
Producer(s)
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkBBC Four
Original release16 October 2018 (2018-10-16) –
present
External links
Website

Cast and characters
  • Miley Locke as Rosie Yates, a non-verbal nine-year-old with a learning disability. She is stubborn when refusing to go where her parents want, eating food she is offered and she often throws and damages things.
  • David Tennant as Simon Yates, Rosie's father. An alcoholic in 2006, he is often disparaging towards his daughter despite loving her.
  • Jessica Hynes as Emily Yates, Rosie's mother. She bears most of the work involved in looking after Rosie.
  • Edan Hayhurst as Ben Yates, Rosie's older brother. A well-behaved kid, his needs are often overshadowed by Rosie.
  • Yasmine Akram as Helen, a friend of David's.
  • Ben Willbond as Chris, the Yates's next door neighbour.
  • Maya Kelly as Ellie, Chris's daughter.
  • Nigel Planer as Gandalf.
  • Philip Jackson (actor) as Grandad John.

Episodes
No.TitleOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [lower-alpha 1]
1"One Day in the Life of Rosie Yates"16 October 2018 (2018-10-16)[2]0.98

In 2015, Simon tries to take his children Rosie and Ben to the park, but Rosie resists at every step. After Emily drives them there, they drag Rosie out of the car and she lies on the ground moaning. They immediately return home, and Emily tries to use an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tablet to talk to Rosie. She and Simon try to get Rosie to eat by singing and making "x" sounds. Later, as they search for faeces which Rosie has hidden, she goes to the kitchen and naughtily pours milk over herself. After Emily cleans her, Simon lures her to bed with crisps and an iPad. When the iPad runs out, she bangs the door until it creates a hole in the wall. Simon gets increasingly frustrated until Emily brings her downstairs.

In 2006, Simon regularly goes to the pub and gets drunk, telling Emily that he is at work events. When Rosie is two months old, Emily argues with her mother, saying that something is wrong with Rosie. Meanwhile, Simon talks derisively about Rosie to his friend Helen. When he returns home at 1:30 a.m., Emily vents to him that Rosie isn't normal and nobody believes her.
2"Bubble Chess"23 October 2018 (2018-10-23)[3]0.66
3"What Rosie Wants"30 October 2018 (2018-10-30)[4]0.69
4"The Wrong Grandad"6 November 2018 (2018-11-06)[5]0.52
5"Ben"13 November 2018 (2018-11-13)[6]0.52

Production

Written by Shaun Pye, everything in the programme is based on events from real life with his learning disabled daughter Jo, who was born in 2006.[7][8][9] He would regularly make Facebook posts about funny incidents involving her, to positive feedback from friends, leading him to consider that the topic could be suitable for a sitcom.[7] However, he noted that it is not "a generalised story about disability", only one about his experiences.[7] Whilst not wanting to "sugarcoat" his experiences, he did want to demonstrate how "wonderful" his life with his daughter is.[10]

Pye's first draft focused on a more sympathetically-portrayed Simon, but this was rewritten after he showed his wife Sarah the script.[11] Sarah had a considerable role in the writing of the show, with her and Pye having lengthy conversations about the darker period of their life, which the 2006 timeline is based off.[7] Pye commented that Simon's dialogue is based on his own manner of speech, rather than what may be considered politically correct.[11] The programme's title comes from the song "There She Goes" by The La's, which Pye listened to while writing the first script.[12]

Jessica Hynes and David Tennant were cast as parents Emily and Simon Yates, having worked together on the science fiction programme Doctor Who in the past.[13] They found that their familiarity with each other aided their acting as a couple.[13][14] Hynes was interested in the script because of its "naturalistic" presentation of family life and the "familiar and recognisable" mother character. As a parent, Hynes found much of the material relatable and could "completely identify with" Sarah. She aimed to create something "unerringly truthful" and described the series as "gentle, poignant, truthful and funny".[13]

Tennant knew Pye prior to the series, having also worked with him when appearing on the panel show Have I Got News For You and talk show The Jonathan Ross Show. Tennant said that he was attracted to the role as the writing was "so honest and so candid". He said that his acting style was "ruthlessly honest", commenting that "at no point are we trying to construct comic moments" as the power of the story is that "it is just what happened".[14] At the time of filming, Tennant had three children and said that the series affected his perspective on parenthood.[9]

Miley Locke, who does not have learning difficulties, was cast as Rosie. Though disabled actors were auditioned for the role, advice from psychologists was that the long working hours with minimal breaks would be too burdensome for a learning disabled child.[15] Characters such as the Yates' neighbour are based on real people from Pye's life, as are some scenes such as Simon taking Rosie to a Baby Sing class and Emily hearing Rosie laugh for the first time.[8] During filming, Pye had to leave the set for a couple of scenes due to the emotive acting by Hynes and Tennant.[16]

Analysis

Pye has a background in comedy writing, but he describes the show as comedy-drama.[8] It also contains some traits of biopics and tragicomedies.[17] Its humour is dark, bleak and contains bathos; it is presented in the form of one-liners.[17][18] Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian commented that the show is rare in that it shows the negative effects of motherhood, and compared it to the 2018 thriller series The Cry.[19]

Reception

For her performance as Emily Yates, Jessica Hynes won the category of Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme at the 2019 British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs).[20] Simon Hynd won the 2019 Royal Television Society Scotland Award for Best Director.[21]

Victoria Segal of The Sunday Times chose There She Goes as the "TV pick of the week". Segal commented that the "gallows humour might be a bit tough for some viewers to stomach", but praises that the parents are presented as loving whilst still sometimes acting poorly.[22] The Times' Chris Bennion rated the programme four out of five stars, calling it "bracingly honest" and "a marvel from start to finish".[23] Sean O'Grady of The Independent also gave the show four out of five stars, praising the "searing emotional honesty" and the "sensitive and engaging" acting of Hynes and Tennant.[17] O'Grady gives the first series finale a rating of four out of five stars, lauding the "formidable quantity of quality talent".[24]

Louisa Mellor of Den of Geek praised There She Goes as "unsentimental, honest [and] well-written", lauding the usage of two timelines, so the "lighter and warmer" 2015 timeline can balance the 2006 timeline which is "full of pain". Mellor praised Pye for being "bravely unflattering" in his portrayal of Simon, and for his "boldly unsentimental writing and diamond-clear truths".[25] Aroesti gave the show a positive review, describing it as an "uplifting experience". She praised the programme as "mordantly, outrageously funny" and lauded Hynes' acting.[19] Joel Keller of Decider praised Pye for demonstrating that Simon "can be a total prat" at times, calling the programme a "very realistic and balanced look" at parenthood which any parent can relate to. Keller praised Locke, saying he was surprised to find out that she was not disabled, but found Tennant's Scottish accent tough to understand.[26] Euan Ferguson of The Observer described Pye's writing as "gutsily and refreshingly honest" and praises its delivery by Hynes and Tennant.[18]

In a negative review for New Statesman, Rachel Cooke described the show as "airless and over-loaded", criticising the number of flashbacks. Cooke praised it as "determinedly unsentimental" but described the humour as "a few carefully deployed bad-taste gags".[27] Whilst Saskia Baron of The Arts Desk approved that the parents were not "impossibly warm and saintly", she found that some of their dialogue made for "uncomfortable viewing" and recommended "more consideration of the feelings of learning disabled people and perhaps their greater involvement". However, Baron praised the programme's "ring of complete authenticity" and hoped that it would "[make] viewers think before rushing to judgement next time they see someone with unusual behaviour".[28]

Release

A short trailer for the programme was released on the BBC website on 5 October 2018.[29] The first series premiered on BBC Four in the UK, from 16 October to 13 November 2018.[2][6] It is available in the United States and Canada on the streaming service Britbox.[10]

References
  1. "Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 1 January 2019. Select the period in which the episode aired, the channel BBC Four, the consolidation time 28 days and press "View figures".
  2. "There She Goes – Series 1: 1. One Day in the Life of Rosie Yates". BBC iPlayer. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  3. "There She Goes – Series 1: 2. Bubble Chess". BBC iPlayer. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  4. "There She Goes – Series 1: 3. What Rosie Wants". BBC iPlayer. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  5. "There She Goes – Series 1: 4. The Wrong Grandad". BBC iPlayer. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  6. "There She Goes – Series 1: 5. Ben". BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  7. "Interview with Shaun Pye". British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  8. ""We made conversation while my daughter licked the pavement"". British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  9. Hodges, Michael (16 October 2018). "David Tennant felt "huge responsibility" starring in new BBC comedy There She Goes". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  10. Ramos, Dino-Ray (9 February 2019). "'There She Goes' Creator Did Not Want To "Sugarcoat" His Real-Life Experiences Raising A Child With A Disability – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  11. Dowell, Ben (16 October 2018). "There She Goes: David Tennant shines bright and believable as the flawed father of a daughter with a disability". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  12. Pye, Shaun (9 October 2018). "There She Goes: 'The idea of a sitcom about a girl with a severe learning disability made me shudder. Then I thought – why not?'". i. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  13. "Interview with Jessica Hynes". British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  14. "Interview with David Tennant". British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  15. Robinson, Abby (16 October 2018). "New David Tennant comedy There She Goes is funnier than it has any right to be". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  16. Wright, Mike (13 October 2018). "There She Goes creator Shaun Pye on why he turned raising his severely disabled daughter into a sitcom". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  17. O'Grady, Sean (16 October 2018). "There She Goes, episode one review: This depicts raising a disabled child with searing emotional honesty". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  18. Ferguson, Euan (21 October 2018). "The week in TV: Butterfly, There She Goes, Child of Mine, Informer". The Observer. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  19. Aroesti, Rachel (15 October 2018). "There She Goes: the brutal new comedy busting motherhood myths". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  20. "Bafta TV Awards 2019: Full winners and nominees list". British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  21. "RTS Scotland Awards 2019". Royal Television Society. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  22. "TV pick of the week: There She Goes; Blue Peter Is 60; Invictus Games Preview; Locke". The Sunday Times. 14 October 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  23. Bennion, Chris (17 October 2018). "TV review: Informer; There She Goes". The Times. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  24. O'Grady, Sean (13 November 2018). "There She Goes episode 5, review: David Tennant convincingly goes against type as an ugly, unfunny drunk". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  25. Mellor, Louisa (13 November 2018). "There She Goes: unsentimental, honest, well-written comedy drama". Den of Geek. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  26. Keller, Joel (16 April 2019). "Stream It Or Skip It: 'There She Goes' On BritBox, Where David Tennant Plays The Struggling Dad Of A Developmentally Disabled Girl". Decider. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  27. Cooke, Rachel (17 October 2018). "David Tennant and Jessica Hynes's new comedy There She Goes is well-meaning, but fails to entertain". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  28. Baron, Saskia (17 October 2018). "There She Goes, BBC Four review - mining disability for family comedy?". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  29. "Trailer: There She Goes". British Broadcasting Corporation. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.

Notes
  1. 28-day data taken from BARB, including viewers on television, computers, tablets and smartphones.[1]
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