Rocket Man (TV series)

Rocket Man is a BBC television drama series produced in 2005 by Philip Leach, about a recently widowed Welsh man who is struggling to build a rocket in which to launch his wife's ashes into space while raising his two children. It was created by Alison Hume, directed by Jon East (episodes 1 and 2), Jane Prowse (episodes 3 and 4) and James Strong (episodes 5 and 6), and stars Robson Green, Charles Dale, John Rhys Halliwell and Lucy Evans, with Alison Newman, Janine Wood, Kay Bridgeman, Kai Owen, Dave Hill, Philip Whitchurch and Marcus Smith in supporting roles, among others. The six hour-long episodes in the series were set in coastal Wales, in a town devastated by the closure of the local carriage works[1] though filmed in Druridge Bay, Northumberland.[2] According to the sign on the local chocolate bonbon factory appearing in Episode 1 where George, Barney, Diane et al. work, the exact location where the set is (fictional) Tonglas, in Newport.

Rocket Man
GenreComedy, drama, family drama
Written byAlison Hume
Directed byJon East
Jane Prowse
James Strong
StarringRobson Green
Charles Dale
John Rhys Halliwell
Lucy Evans
Kai Owen
Janine Wood
Alison Newman
Kay Bridgeman
Dave Hill
Philip Whitchurch
Marcus Smith
Opening theme"Rocket Man", by Elton John
ComposerThe Insects
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producersSandra Jobling
Rob Pursey
ProducerPhilip Leach
Production locationsFilmed in Druridge Bay, Northumberland
Set in fictional Tonglas, Newport, Wales
EditorsMartin Sharpe
Liz Webber
Running time60 mins
Production companiesBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Rocketman Productions Ltd.
Touchpaper Television
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release30 October (2005-10-30) –
4 December 2005 (2005-12-04)

Cast edit

  • Robson Green as George Stevenson, dyslexic widower and single parent
  • Charles Dale as Barney Scott, George's best buddy and co-worker at the chocolate factory
  • John Rhys Halliwell as Tom Stevenson, George's eight-year-old son
  • Lucy Evans as Angela Stevenson, George's teenage daughter
  • Kai Owen as David 'Shiner' Owen, security guard and another of George's mates
  • Dave Hill as Huw Masters, another of George's friends
  • Alison Newman as Diane Scott, Barney's wife
  • Janine Wood as Mary Hughes, patent officer, former designer at the carriage works and George's love interest
  • Philip Whitchurch as Lloyd Edwards, owner of the local scrapyard
  • Kay Bridgeman as Pam Tomlyn, special needs co-ordinator / social worker at Tom's school
  • Marcus Smith as Ed Fernandez, Angela's love interest
  • Maureen Bennett as Barbara Masters, Huw's wife

References edit

  1. ^ Rocket Man description on Jon East's Vimeo site [Retrieved 2015-07-24]
  2. ^ Rocket Man entry on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) [Retrieved 2015-07-24].

External links edit