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A British Series about the personal and professional lives of a group of oil rig workers on the fictional Osprey Explorer. It ran from 1994-1995.
Provides examples of:- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Chris. He milks it.
Tessa: "You can't help but fancy him." Hilary: "And it's always the bastards, eh?" - Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Village's mum, who shouts to him in Italian across an airport lounge full of roughnecks.
- Ascended Extra: Cath, who can be seen in a few scenes at the airport talking to the guys in Series One. She gets a much greater role and Promotion to Opening Titles in Series Two.
- British Brevity: Ran for two series. Series one had six episodes, and series two had seven episodes.
- The Casanova: Chris.
- Casanova Wannabe: They don't call Village "Village" for nothing.
- Character Development: Village - starts off an idiot (thus the nickname) but he matures during the course of the series.
- Daddy's Girl: Heather.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Village - he is an idiot, and also Welsh. The jokes write themselves.
- Everybody is Single: With a couple of notable exceptions. This is not actually unrealistic, given that being away for weeks at a time would play merry hell with a relationship.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Delightfully subverted. When Cinders is sick, Tessa has a go at cooking:
Chris (no doubt speaking for everyone): "How can you mess up frozen peas?!" - The Gambling Addict: Cinders. It caused his divorce.
- Gentle Giant: Archie. (Clive Russell plays this type frequently.)
- Heterosexual Life Partners: Chris and Ceefax.
- Hey, It's That Guy!: Chris is Davos Seaworthy, Cinders is DCI Wise, Archie is Mr Vandemar, Ian is Roy Maloney, and Tom is Jeor Mormont. In short, is is packed full of every guy who always appears in gritty Northern dramas, although it too positive to actually be a Kitchen Sink Drama, on account of the fact everyone's got a good job and is well-paid.
- Hufflepuff House: The Osprey has a crew of 80, so there are a lot of people kicking round in the background we know nothing about.
- In-Series Nickname: Ceefax is called Ceefax
 because he "knows everything". - Ladykiller In Love: Chris, with Heather.
- Left Hanging: There were a number of interesting plot developments in S02E07, but unfortunately a third series was never made.
- Married to the Job: Quite a lot of the rig crew are essentially this, because their work schedule means relationships are hard to maintain.
- Nice Guy: Ceefax, Ian and Archie.
- The Nineties: Roughnecks mostly averts being Unintentional Period Piece, as the orange boiler suits everyone wears on the rig are hideous in any decade. However, anytime Hilary, Tessa and Chris are in civvies, they wear things that were the height of fashion at the time.
- Odd Couple: Ceefax and Chris.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Ceefax and Cinders. Their real names are respectively Graeme and Douglas, but are rarely referred to as such.
- Overprotective Dad: Tom.
- No Woman's Land: The rig. This is, of course, truth in television. And then Hilary and Tessa turn up.
- Photography and Illustration: During an inquiry being held about an accident on the rig, there is a black and white photograph of the real-life rig Piper Alpha, which exploded, killing 167 men. It is an utterly chilling sight when you know what it is.
- Rated M for Manly: Some of the guys rather like to think working on an oil rig makes them this.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Being labelled "NRB" ("Not Required Back") is considered this by the guys on the rig.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Ceefax and Chris.
- Team Mom: Izzy.
- Territorial Smurfette: Thankfully averted - Hilary and Tessa get along perfectly well.
- Those Two Guys: Kevin and Davey.
- Totally Eighteen: Chris is at pains to point out when he starts going out with Tom's daughter that she is nineteen now. He has a perfectly valid point, but Tom is still...displeased. With his fist.
- Visit by Divorced Dad: Archie visiting his children.
- Your Cheating Heart: Tessa and Drew, Tessa and Chris.
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