Still Game - Television Tropes & Idioms

A Scottish Sitcom, Still Game follows the misadventures of pensioner pals Jack Jarvis and Victor McDade, as well as the rest of the community of the fictional Glasgow housing estate of Craiglang. Produced by The Comedy Unit and the BBC, the show was created and written by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who also played Jack and Victor respectivley.

Running for six seasons from 2002 to 2007, Still Game began as a stage play starring Kiernan, Hemphill and Gavin Mitchell (who would later be replaced by Paul Riley; all four would have major roles in the television adaptation) before the characters appeared in comedy sketch series Chewin The Fat (again starring Kiernan and Hemphill). When Chewin The Fat came to an end in 2002, Still Game was given the go-ahead for its own series.

The first, second and third series were originally broadcast in Scotland but all further episodes were broadcast across the UK on BBC 2 until the show concluded in 2007 due to disagreements between Kiernan, Hemphill and Paul Riley over control over their production company, Effingee Productions. Receiving very high ratings and critical acclaim, Still Game dealt with a broad array of Black Comedy and poignant moments and is among the most popular Scottish television productions ever made.

Provides examples of:

Acting for Two/Hey, It's That Voice!: Every single offscreen male, whether it's a radio DJ or a TV Weather man will be voiced by Ford Kiernan A.K.A Jack
- Played for laughs in the last episode of Series 4 where Sanjeev Kohli portrays his usual role of Navid and his (supposed) illegitimate son.
Actor Allusion: Paul Young (who plays Shug) is known for fronting several television shows about fishing on the BBC, STV and laterly the Discovery Channel. Shug, of course, is the go-to man when Jack and Victor want to go fishing.
Adaptation Expansion: Originally a play featuring just Jack, Victor and Winston that was turned into a television sketch with those three plus Tam. Expanded into an entire community when it got its own series.
The Alcoholic: Pete The Jakey
Anti-Hero: Winston is often a Type I, though he sometimes crosses over into Type III areas. He can sometimes be petty and selfish, but balances this out with moments of support and kindness towards his grandson (one of them anyway) and Isa (the latter being all the more admirable given his dislike of her.) The rest of the cast usually hover between Type I and Type II with occasional lapses into Type III, aside from Tam whose selfishness and greed are more in line with Type IV.
Ascended Extra: Everyone mentioned in the original play but who did not actually appear.
Asian Store Owner: Navid and Meena, but that's as far as the stereotypes go.
Awesome yet Practical: Shug's ridiculously good hearing lets him hear across long distances, through walls, identify the make of a car by its horn in the background of a recording of a phonecall and even count the exact amount of change in a till by the rattle made by it opening.
Berserk Button: Vince the snack van driver and uncleanliness; Davie the bus driver and donuts.
Bilingual Bonus: Sort of. Meena Harrid speaks only in Hindi, but is subtitled - thus, the audience know what she's really saying, while the rest of the characters are in the dark.
Black Comedy
Black Widow: The residents of Craiglang suspect Wullie Reid's girlfriend of being this.
Bonnie Scotland: Well, maybe not very "Bonnie"...
Brand X: "Spire" stores briefly buy out Navid's shop.
British Brevity: Forty-four episodes from six series, a Christmas Special (British form) and two Hogmanay specials.
Butt Monkey: Boaby The Barman, who can never get one up on Jack and Victor (or anyone else).
Boaby: (as Jack and Victor walk into the Clansman) Hey! Look! It's Lambert and Butler!
Jack: Shut it Boaby. You're the only fag in here
- Winston to an extent, as well.
Can't Hold His Liquor: Navid gets drunk after a single drink.
Catch Phrase: "Two pints, prick" (Jack and Victor to Boaby)
- "That's plenty Jack"
Christmas Episode: In 2005, 2006 and a Christmas/Hogmanay double in 2007.
Comic Book Time: Characters generally don't age. For example, Victor revealed that he was 74 in the first series but did not hit 75 until the fifth series. Meanwhile, a ned introduced in the first episode ages from being a little boy into a teenager.
Continuity Nod: The events of the 2006 Christmas Episode are mentioned in the 2007 Hogmanay special.
Crapsack World: Played for Laughs in Craiglang.
Domestic Abuse: Peggy on Charlie. Played for Laughs.
During The War: Shug likes to discuss his wartime antics.
Eccentric Townsfolk: Loads, and a slightly darker take on it all.
The Faceless: Meena, Navid's wife.
Fat Bastard: Peggy was initially this.
Grumpy Old Men
Heterosexual Life Partners: Jack and Victor, they were even Mistaken for Gay in one episode.
Hey, It's That Guy! / Special Guest: Pippin is a poetic stranger in Central Station, Hagrid drives the dial-a-bus and the seventh Doctor is a recluse. Also, Kate MacLeod is a home help, and one of the ever-present barflies from Rab C. Nesbitt is her lover.
As Himself: John McCririck, Michelle McManus, Jim Watt and Lorraine Kelly appear as themselves.
Identical Stranger: The owner of the bar that Boabie visits in "Dial-A-Bus" looks exactly like him, and there are two regulars who are deadringers for Jack and Victor.
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All the episode titles are written in Glaswegian slang/accents.
- This was dropped after Series 3 when they started broadcasting it outside of Scotland.
Large Ham: Robbie Coltrane in a guest role.
Laser-Guided Karma: Winston pretends to have a bad leg to get a home helper to do his housework. He later has to get his leg amputated.
My Local: The Clansman which was renamed Jenny's at the end of Series 4.
- Status Quo Is God: The characters continue to refer to it as The Clansman nevertheless.
Mood Whiplash: Regularly invoked and Played for Laughs.
Name's the Same: Wullie MacIntosh.
Nosy Neighbor: Isa. And she knows it. She even takes it as a personal insult when someone knows something before her.
Off The Wagon: Pete in the series 6 episode, "Recipe". Ultimatley costs him a fortune.
Prophecy Twist: The spey wife who predicted that Isa would be hit with a silver car wasn't exactly wrong...
Punny Name/Fail O'Suckyname: "Boaby" which is a glaswegian variation of "Bobby" is also a scottish slang term for penis
Reality Subtext: The discussion of how tired "Gonnae no dae that" is in the episode Scones - which was the catch phrase from Kiernan and Hemphill's sketch show Chewin' the Fat and used ad naseaum on the playgrounds of Scotland.
Retcon: In "Big Yin" it's implied that Navid arrived in Craiglang less thant 15 years ago, but was later revealed to have first met the rest of the cast in 1975.
Secret Identity: When Boabie is away, Winston pretends to be "Harvie Gallagher" and the owner of the Clansman to trick the temp into giving out free drink.
Screen-to-Stage Adaptation: Inverted, going from stage to screen.
The Other Darrin: When it was still a play - Gavin Mitchell was replaced as Winston by Paul Riley, although Mitchell would return in the television series as Boabie the Barman.
The Scrooge: Tam.
The Teetotaler: Ironically, Pete was one in his younger days. Navid, being a Muslim, often complains about having to be this.
A Simple Plan: Most of the characters' schemes.
The Tag: Every episode.
Timeshifted Actor: The whole premise of the show is a bunch of 30 and 40 year olds playing 70 and 80 year olds
Truth in Television: Alcoholism, old age isolation, poverty and violence are all very much a reality in Glasgow.
Third Line, Some Waiting: The usual style of plotting.
Violent Glaswegian: The Neds
- Hell, every character qualifies for this at some point.
Wedding Day: Tam and Frances.
What Could Have Been: After seeing the original play in Edinburgh, Sean Connery requested the role of Winston should they ever make a television series.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Winston's grandson was a supporting character for most of the first series, after that he was never seen or mentioned again. Although one of Winston's grandsons comes to stay with him for an episode in Series 4, whether it's the same grandson or not is never revealed.
- Pete's long-lost son is never seen or mentioned again after his single appearance in series four.
Whole Episode Flashback: The 2006 Hogmany special is mainly a flashback to the first Hogmany party held at Osprey Heights, way back in 1975.

Steptoe and Son

British Series

Stingray

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