'Nightingales' was a hilarious Channel 4 sitcom from 1990 which despite starring Robert Lindsay, David Threlfall and James Ellis, strangely seems to be under the radar. It is about three night-watchmen - the intellectual Carter, the well meaning Sarge and dim-witted ( and extremely violent ) Bell ( nicknamed Ding-Dong ) - who patrol a deserted office block somewhere in London. During their shifts the three seem to encounter all manner of surreal events. In the first episode, the three are training a young student named Eric Swan ( Ian Sears ), who is marred with a terrible curse - at the stroke of midnight whenever a full moon rises he is transformed into a werewolf. In another episode, the three win a night in the company of a glamorous model as a prize in a competition and desperately try to win her affections and, in what I think was one of the show's funniest moments, a new fellow was sent to work with them and it turned out, to everyone's horror, he was a mountain gorilla!
A fourth security guard was also present - Mr. Smith - who in actual fact was dead, however this was never reported to head office by the other three as he earned a higher wage packet ( which they divided between them ).
'Nightingales' was to my mind one of the best sitcoms of the 1990's and why it is forgotten is an absolute puzzler. Paul Makin's scripts did vary in quality but when they were good they were excellent. Robert Lindsay was superb as Carter ( ''I wonder what Leonardo Di Caprio is doing tonight!'' ) and his brawls with Bell were quite often the best part of the show. James Ellis likewise was hilarious as Sarge. Some episodes would conclude with him addressing the audience with a salute before signing off with an ''Evening all!''. The show's excellent theme tune was Robert Lindsay's rendition of 'A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square'. Edward Burnham appeared in the first two episodes as the dithering cleaner Piper who was often the subject of Bell's verbal, and sometimes even physical, abuse!
Channel 4 didn't seem to know what to do with the show and put it out in a late night slot where it went out unnoticed. After only two series, it was gone. Shame. If it were scheduled better, it could well have been a contender.
In conclusion, 'Nightingales' will always have a special place in my heart and to my mind it is far more amusing than Lindsay's more recent, and vastly overrated, 'My Family'.
A fourth security guard was also present - Mr. Smith - who in actual fact was dead, however this was never reported to head office by the other three as he earned a higher wage packet ( which they divided between them ).
'Nightingales' was to my mind one of the best sitcoms of the 1990's and why it is forgotten is an absolute puzzler. Paul Makin's scripts did vary in quality but when they were good they were excellent. Robert Lindsay was superb as Carter ( ''I wonder what Leonardo Di Caprio is doing tonight!'' ) and his brawls with Bell were quite often the best part of the show. James Ellis likewise was hilarious as Sarge. Some episodes would conclude with him addressing the audience with a salute before signing off with an ''Evening all!''. The show's excellent theme tune was Robert Lindsay's rendition of 'A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square'. Edward Burnham appeared in the first two episodes as the dithering cleaner Piper who was often the subject of Bell's verbal, and sometimes even physical, abuse!
Channel 4 didn't seem to know what to do with the show and put it out in a late night slot where it went out unnoticed. After only two series, it was gone. Shame. If it were scheduled better, it could well have been a contender.
In conclusion, 'Nightingales' will always have a special place in my heart and to my mind it is far more amusing than Lindsay's more recent, and vastly overrated, 'My Family'.