Bluestone 42 (original) (raw)
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British TV sitcom (2013–2015)
| Bluestone 42 | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Sitcom |
| Written by | Richard HurstJames Cary |
| Directed by | Iain B MacDonald David Sant |
| Starring | Oliver Chris Gary Carr Jamie Quinn Scott Hoatson Katie Lyons Stephen Wight Tony Gardner Kelly Adams Keeno Lee Hector Matthew Lewis Laura Aikman |
| Composer | Vince Pope |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 21 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Stephen McCrum |
| Producer | Michelle Farr |
| Production location | South Africa |
| Editor | Nigel Williams |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | BBC Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Three |
| Release | 5 March 2013 (2013-03-05) –13 April 2015 (2015-04-13) |
Bluestone 42 is a British sitcom about a British bomb disposal detachment in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick, first broadcast on 5 March 2013 on BBC Three. The third and final series began on 9 March 2015 and ended on 13 April 2015. In July 2015, writers Richard Hurst and James Cary confirmed the show would not return for a fourth series, citing BBC Three's impending move to online and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as contributing towards the show having run its course.[1]
While the show takes place in Helmand Province, the series was filmed in South Africa.
A mix of black comedy and action, Bluestone 42 focused on the camaraderie between soldiers, situational comedy, bureaucracy, conflicts of interests and relationships, and is contrasted with the deadly situations the soldiers are required to defuse. The show's name refers to the unit's call sign and is rendered verbally as "Bluestone Four-Two".
Cast and characters
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Christmas Special (2013)
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Bluestone 42 has been met with positive reviews. In The Independent, James Rampton described the show as "The Hurt Locker meets Miranda" and said that it "strikes the right balance between edgy and entertaining".[2] Rich Johnston of BleedingCool.com compared the show favourably to M*A*S*H.[3] Corporal Daniel Whittingham, a British Army bomb disposal expert, said the series' black humour was "spot-on" and its action scenes "pretty accurate".[4]
| Series | Release name | No. of discs | UK release date (region 2) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bluestone 42 – Series 1 | 2 | 29 April 2013 | Out-takesMac and Rocket: Uncut |
| 2 | Bluestone 42 – Series 2 | 1 | 23 March 2015 | |
| 3 | Bluestone 42 – Series 3 | 1 | 16 November 2015 | |
| 4 | Bluestone 42 – The Complete Collection | 4 | The Complete Series contains 21 Episodes including Out-takes and Mac and Rocket: Uncut |
In December 2014 Series 1 was broadcast on the Australian ABC network, and online player ABC iView.[5]
- ^ Bluestone 42 ends – News – British Comedy Guide
- ^ Rampton, James (5 March 2013). "Bluestone 42: The Hurt Locker meets Miranda in military comedy set in Afghanistan". The Independent. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (28 March 2013). "Bluestone 42 – A New M*A*S*H?". BleedingCool.com. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ Laura Barnett (16 March 2014). "A bomb disposal expert on the comedy Bluestone 42". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ Bluestone 42 ABC Programmes. Retrieved 9 February 2015