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Fresh Fields

1984

Seasons & Episodes

  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

EP1 A Nose For Trouble Sep 04, 1986

William's snoring begins to give Hester disturned nights but when she has to look after a neighbour's dog, her days aren't too good either.
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EP2 The Old Folks At Home Sep 11, 1986

Upset that a Victorian mansion is to be torn down and replaced by ""a block of flats,"" Hester starts a campaign to persuade local councillor Mr. Gardner to convert the premises into a seniors' residence. When he doubts the need for such a facility, Hester invites him home, having persuaded Nancy, her sister Winnie, and Guy to pretend senility. The appalled Gardner not only approves the home but telephones to notify William and Hester that he has arranged for their dotty dependents to move in immediately....
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EP3 One Damned Ming After Another Sep 18, 1986

The Fields hope to get their Chinese vase onto a locally filmed episode of The Antiques Road Show. Returning home, they surprise a burglar at work enabling Hester to use her newly acquired martial arts skills.
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EP4 Life Is Full Of Ups And Downs Sep 25, 1985

William has financial problems, so Hester takes him to Bologne, France, for a carefree day and Duty Free goods. It's far from plain sailing.
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EP5 It Takes Two To Tango Oct 02, 1986

William comes home from work reeking of perfume. He says he can explain it; Hester stands by to listen with understanding and a rolling pin.
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EP6 Caught In The Act Oct 09, 1986

William insists on mending a leaky kitchen tap himself, necessitating an expensive visit from the plumber. Meanwhile, Hester gets a call from Peter's parents, the Richardsons, who are coming from Dorset to London for the day and invite themselves to dinner and to stay overnight. Driven mad by overbearing Margaret and epically boring Henry, and dismayed when their guests decide to stay another night, the Fields invent a dinner engagement at a Bournemouth hotel, but actually bundle themselves and Nancy next door to Sonia's for the night. Then Margaret and Henry turn up to chat with Sonia, and the Fields flee to Nancy's granny flat only to be mistaken for burglars. They excuse their return by claiming that Nancy has come down with flu; but next morning Margaret cheerfully announces that Henry has caught it from Nancy and will have to remain in bed for several days.
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EP7 Brighton Or Bust Oct 16, 1986

Hester joins in a sponsored cycle race to Brighton for the R.S.P.C.A. She finishes up in worse shape than most of the animals she is trying to help.
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EP8 Happy Returns Oct 23, 1986

After a sojourn in Italy, the Fields return home to celebrate Hester's 45th birthday. Despite William's back going out, and some complications arising from misunderstandings, they settle on dinner out to celebrate whereupon Hester is summoned to deal with an emergency at Lucy's Kitchen. This turns out to be a ruse as the restaurant is packed with their friends for a surprise party, and Guy and Nancy announce that they were re-married that morning, leaving Hester in floods of happy tears.
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6.6| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Fresh Fields is a British situation comedy written by John T. Chapman and produced by Thames Television for ITV between 7 March 1984 and 23 October 1986. A ratings success at the time, the show is well remembered for its opening titles featuring a silhouette of a person in a rocking chair. It stars Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers as Hester and William Fields, a devoted middle-class couple with an idyllic suburban lifestyle. William works while Hester keeps home. The crux of the show was that she was always looking to try new hobbies or find ways to improve her life, much of which exasperated her hard-working husband. The family home had a granny flat attached, in which Hester's mother Nancy lived. She was divorced from Hester's father Guy although remarried him as the series progressed. The couple had a daughter called Emma who frequently telephoned but never appeared. Her husband Peter did appear often. They later had a son — the Fields' first grandchild — whom they named Guy, after his great-grandfather. Perhaps, the best remembered supporting character was Sonia Barrett who would frequently pop round to borrow items to replace hers due to breakage, theft or mislaying. Hester was not perturbed by this, as the two were close friends, but it used to irritate William. Sonia had the show's only catchphrase — she would always knock on the back door of the Fields' home and then say It's only Sonia! as she walked in. This would sometimes lead to applause of recognition from the studio audience, a phenomenon more regularly seen within American sitcoms. Sonia's husband John appeared on occasion, as did William's secretary Miss Denham, played by Daphne Oxenford.

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Reviews

Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable
FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
RaspberryLucozade A number of years ago, I used to hold a very negative view of this show. Re-watching it again over the past few weeks, I have to say I still maintain some of my original thoughts on the show but I must admit that some of the episodes are quite amusing. 'Fresh Fields' is all about married couple Hester and William Fields - he a laid back slippers and newspaper type ( who works as an accountant ) who is happy with his lot and her an over-enthusiastic housewife who jumps from one hobby to the next ( in a bid to fight against her empty nest syndrome as her daughter Emma, who is never seen but heard frequently on the telephone, has left home ).Living next door to them is Sonia ( the late Ann Beach ), who barges into the Fields' home at the worst possible moments to borrow something, always announcing her presence with ''It's only Sonia!''. Also living at the bottom of the garden in a granny flat is Hester's mother Nancy ( Fanny Rowe ) who is divorced from Hester's lecherous father Guy ( played wonderfully by the late Ballard Berkeley, best remembered as the senile Major Gowen from 'Fawlty Towers' ).'Fresh Fields' was written by John Chapman, who earlier worked on the BBC's 'Happy Ever After' ( which starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield ). It is not dissimilar to the earlier show, with Julia McKenzie's Hester inheriting some of Terry Scott's traits, such as trying out new things, often with disastrous results, though not as funny as Terry Scott's portrayal. Anton Rodgers and Julia McKenzie both made for likable leads, though it was Ann Beach who stole the show as the scrounging Sonia. Also good were Fanny Rowe and Ballard Berkeley as the warring Nancy and Guy.'Fresh Fields' ended in 1986 after four series, though was back three years later, this time titled 'French Fields' when the Fields' upped sticks and moved to France, though Guy and Nancy did not appear as both Rowe and Berkeley died in 1988, though Sonia made a guest appearance in the final episode. Of all the cast, only Julia McKenzie survives. Anton Rodgers died in 2007 aged 74 while Ann Beach died last month aged 78.
ShadeGrenade I must admit I was not an admirer of 'Fresh Fields' when it first aired on I.T.V. in the mid-Eighties. In fact my nickname for the show then was 'Stale Meadows'! The main problem for me was that it went out at a time when alternative comedy shows such as 'The Young Ones' and 'Saturday Live' were considered the in-things to watch for young people ( which I was then ). Now that I'm middle-aged myself, I can watch and laugh and not feel guilty for doing so. I still dislike the theme tune and opening credits though. The show was about a happily married couple: accountant 'William Fields' ( the late Anton Rodgers ) and 'Hester' ( Julia McKenzie ). He is a pleasant, easy-going chap while she is facing a mid-life crisis and taking up one new hobby after one another, often with disastrous results. When she went to a gym in one episode, for instance, she was so worn out by the experience she had to be helped out of the building by friends. Other episodes had her taking part in a stage musical, cookery contests, art classes, and so on. Rodgers had an undeniable flair for comedy ( he stood in for Peter Sellers in the film 'Rotten To The Core' in 1965 ) that was put to good use here, while McKenzie had experience of sitcoms with 'Maggie & Her' and 'That Beryl Marsden'. The pair gelled perfectly in 'Fresh Fields'. The show bore a strong resemblance to the B.B.C.'s 'Happy Ever After ( later adapted into 'Terry & June' ) which starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield and was partly written by John Chapman, the creator of 'French Fields'. The main difference was that here the woman was the over-enthusiastic one. Supporting characters included 'Nancy Penrose' ( Fanny Rowe ) who lived in a granny flat close to her daughter, her estranged husband 'Guy' ( the wonderful Ballard Berkeley ), and the Fields' dippy neighbour 'Sonia' ( the lovely Ann Beach ), who had a habit of barging into their kitchen at inopportune moments. The Fields' daughter was 'Emma' ( Debby Cumming ), whom never appeared on screen and was heard only talking to her mother on the phone. Plots usually revolved around Hester's latest hobby or William's problems at work. It was cosy, middle-of-the-road stuff, and that led to it being savaged in some quarters, most notably from critic Nina 'Queen Of The Box' Myskow, who said it was 'so middle-of-the-road as to be a load of old bollards!'. Nevertheless, it notched up four seasons from 1984 - 86 and earned Anton Rodgers a T.V. Times Award ( which they do not give out any more ) for 'Funniest Man On Television'! In 1989, the Fields moved to France and the show continued ( minus Guy and Nancy - Rowe and Berkeley both died in 1988 - and Sonia ) under the title 'French Fields'.
stafdj I just want to say that I agree with the previous viewers where I clicked "yes" to what they said. We never seem to get good old BBC comedies on Aussie TV anymore and there's a large audience of 70 and 80 year old who love them. Anyway at least more and more are appearing on DVD - hope I can live long enough to see them all. From the 1960s to the 1980s was the best for British comedy as far as I'm concerned. Loved Anton in May to December - it was a very touching show. First saw Julia McKenzie in Blott on the Landscape and have watched her in everything that's come our way. Cheers from "downunder" Jessie in Sydney, Australia
Syl Anton Rodgers is better known to me for his role on the other British comedy, "May to December." On this show, he plays alongside the amazing Julia McKenzie, a well known British musical actress. The pairing of them as a couple with an empty nest syndrome. Rodgers plays William, the beloved husband to Hester played very well by Julia McKenzie. The other cast members include Hester's mother who lives just across the driveway and her friend Sonia played by Ann Beach. Anyway, I only caught glimpses of this show the first time around but NJN has brought Fresh Fields which is also the name of a supermarket chain and a legal firm on Fleet Street in London, England. With the kids grown and gone, Hester is left to fend for herself and keeps busy by jogging, joining the local community center and pottery classes, and cooking French food. Anyway, I recommend Fresh Fields because it is a well done show for mature audiences who love British comedy. Somebody compared Julia to Lucille Ball and I couldn't agree more. She has a wonderful singing voice as well and a good comedic voice too.