''Captain Butler'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

starring

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2 ...

as Butler, the captain of a motley crew of pirates which included

Roger Griffiths Roger Griffiths (born 6 February 1965) is an English actor who has had several roles in television. He first rose to prominence opposite Lenny Henry as Gareth Blackstock's foil Everton Stonehead in BBC One 1990s sitcom '' Chef!''. Before star ...

Shaun Curry Shaun Curry (5 June 1937 – 7 July 2009) was a British actor, best known for his appearances on television. His credits include: ''Z-Cars'', '' The Saint'', '' Up Pompeii!'' as Spartacus, ''Warship'', '' The Sweeney'', '' The New Avengers'', ...

, Lewis Rae, and

Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Radio 4 and BBC Two sketch comedy series ''Goodness Gracious Me (TV series), Goodness Gracious Me'' and as t ...

. Created by John Smith and Rob Sprackling, the series ran for only six episodes on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in 1997. Its theme tune was the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

version of " Friggin' In The Riggin'" (with minor variations by the actors within the series).

Plot

The series is set during the 18th century, sometime between the period known as the '

Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy was the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Histories of piracy often subdivide the Golden Age of Piracy into th ...

' and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, and follows the adventures of a misfit band of pirates led by Captain Butler (Craig Charles). However, the setting intentionally introduces historical anachronisms, as both

Blackbeard Edward Teach (or Thatch; – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he ma ...

and Admiral

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

are portrayed in the series, and it is difficult to determine the specific time period.

Characters

*Captain Butler (

) *Cliff (

) *Bosun (

) *Roger (Lewis Rae) *Adeel (

)

Episodes

References

External links

* *
''Captain Butler''
at TV Timewarp Channel 4 sitcoms 1990s British sitcoms 1997 British television series debuts 1997 British television series endings Television series about pirates {{UK-comedy-tv-prog-stub