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This is a list of interesting trivia on Green Wing.
Film, TV, Book and Theatre References
This show is the second
time that Oliver
Chris and Sally Bretton have played characters who sleep
together. They previously played lovers in The Office series 1.
Tamsin Greig and
Julian
Rhind-Tutt both played minor parts in 2002 film Miranda, which was broadcast by
Channel 4 following the last episode of a Green Wing series 1
re-run, on the night before series 2 started.
Sarah Alexander and
Karl
Theobald are the only members of the regular cast to have
worked with Victoria Pile previously, both working on
Smack the
Pony, Alexander as an actor and Theobald as a writer.
Guests who have worked with Pile in the past have so far included
Sally
Phillips (Holly Hawkes) and Darren Boyd (Jake).
In, "Lodgers,"
Martin says he wants a motorbike helmet made out of Adamantium, the
fictional metal from X-Men
that Wolverine's skeleton is made from.
The scene in series 2,
episode 7, where Sue Michelle Gomez saws a hole in a table from
below is probably inspired by famous cartoons.
The,
"Ventriloquist's Dummy," sequence in series 2, episode 7, is based
on the epsiode The Ventriloquist's Dummy in the 1945
horror film, Dead of Night.
The dream scene in
series 2, episode 1 were Guy (Stephen Mangan) and Mac (Julian
Rhind-Tutt) fight in front of a fireplace half-naked, is taken
from the novel and film Women in Love.
During Alan
(Mark Heap) and
Joanna's (Pippa
Haywood) run from the law, Alan quotes the, "Blow wind and
crack your cheeks," speech from King Lear.
Mac is big fan of The Kinks. In the second episode of series 2
Caroline sings You Really Got Me to try and attract
him and make him remember their relationship.
The name Green Wing is said to have come
from a small plastic green pixie with wings that was on top of
Victoria
Pile's computer monitor. This appears at the end of the credits
on every show.
The show had a half-hour pilot made a year before
transmission that was never aired. Scenes from the pilot can easily
be spotted in the first episode "Caroline's First Day" due to the
characters' appearance, most notably Stephen Mangan's and Julian
Rhind-Tutt's haircuts.
Much of the show, notably the
hospital's exterior and the main corridor and chapel, is filmed at
Basingstoke's
North Hampshire Hospital.
Although most of the filming is done
on location, some scenes are filmed in a studio. These include
Sue's office, and Alan's office.
The shows crew often make
appearances in the show as extras. Nearly everyone involved makes a
small appearance.
Most of the character names are related to
people known to the writers or other members of the crew. For
example, Dr. Caroline Todd is also the name of
Victoria
Pile's GP.
There are some storylines that never made it to air. One was about
Alan having an eighty-year-old wife and grandchildren as old as
him. Another was Guy suffering from impotence. One cut scene in
series 1 involved Angela dumping Liam, but not realising that he
was very rich until after she did so.
In the scenes in Guy's
flat in "Caroline's First Day" where Caroline tries to get the
"Monster" down, Tamsin Greig ruined the inside of the toilet
bowl with the skipoles.
Some people believe that the lack of
patients in Green Wing might be a satirical reference on
the National Health Service today. An
article in The Word magazine read, "Now Labour has
stealthily encouraged privatisation in far more areas than Thatcher
ever managed, the NHS has found itself populated by tired, cynical
loons who will do everything they can to grab 40 winks or get their
rocks off at work because they don't know anyone else and never see
their houses. And in true New Labour New Medical Profession-style
there's not a trace of medical jargon nor a doctor-patient
relationship in sight. The hospital staff are all, without
exception, idiots. They have social problems, hygiene issues,
chequered histories and very loose morals. And they don't do any
work." <ref>The Word, Issue 39, Published May 2006,
"Nurse! The screens!" Page 133</ref> One possible example of
this is, is Caroline and Mac trying to put some students off
working in medicine in, "Housewarming Party".
Parts of the
hospital are named after people who work on the show. For example,
"Fincham Ward" as mentioned in "Joanna's Birthday" is named after
executive producerPeter
Fincham.
Other
In "Emergency" Martin has a coat
hanger sticking out of his white jacket, which is visible when he
talks to Sue at the beginning of the episode.
In the first few
episodes, Guy wears a face mask in the operation scenes, as do
Caroline and Mac, but later it was decided that he did not need one
as he was the anaesthetist. In "Tangled Webs" Caroline points
this out, and believes to be a sign that he his hiding his real
feelings behind an emotional invisible mask in order to protect
himself.
Of all the people in Green Wing, only
Karl
Theobald is not a proper actor. He is a stand-up comedian.
Guy has a sticker of the Swiss flag on the front of his car.
In
"Housewarming Party", Harriet has straw on the back of her
jacket.
Guy does impersonations of Jimmy Savile in "Joanna's Birthday" and
Paul Daniels
during the "Geordie
operation" scene in "Tangled Webs".
In "Slave Auction", there is
a teddy bear in
Alan's bed.
Although the total amount of money raised in "Slave
Auction" is never mentioned, the minimum amount raised was
£3,530.30. Martin spent £3,000 on Caroline, Joanna spent £500 on
Lyndon, Sue spent £30 on Guy, and Boyce spent 30p on Alan.
Although so far never heard, Boyce's name badge (as seen in series
2, episode 2 when Martin is dressed up as Michael Jackson), shows
that his first initial is "I" thus giving him the full name of Dr.
I. Boyce.
Alan's name badge is vandalised in the episodes
"Caroline's First Day" and in series 2, episode 3, by have some of
the letters in the word "Consultant" crossed out to spell
"Cunt".
Several animals have "died" in the show. They have
included a cat, a hamster and a swan. There is also the famous stuffed
heron. The tamagotchi may also be
considered to be an animal as it is a virtual pet.
In "Rumours", a
cello is being sold for £80.
In series 2, episode 4, the same cello is being sold for £30.
In
series 2, episode 7, the sign outside the hospital show that there
is a ward call the "Marshall Ward." It also shows the hospital
logo. It is a blue, upside-down triangle with the hospital initials
(E.H.T.) in white, two on top and one on the bottom.
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